Using automatic writing and everyday rituals to release what no longer serves.
In a time when we hear more about detoxing than ever before, there tends to be a belief that letting go has to be done in a BIG way. That it must be hard and done urgently.
Maybe not. Maybe shedding is a gradual process, or rather a continual one – like brushing your teeth or bathing.
This week, I’d like to share a few simple practices with you, ones which are easily added to your daily routine. These are ways of letting go more gradually and easily but make no mistake, they are also quite powerful.
INTENTIONAL RELEASE – this can be combined with
- Showering
- Hand washing
- Gargling
The idea is quite straightforward: to incorporate release into these daily habits. As you do any of them, just imagine the water gathering and taking away anything that no longer is needed. If you’ve said words which you regret, for example, you can gargle with the intention of gathering them all and then let them literally disappear down the drain.
Many practitioners, me included, use the time between client appointments to wash our hands thoroughly in order to create a clear energetic space for the next consultation.
As you shower off the literal grime of the day, you may do the same with any energy you’ve picked up over the day.
(No water? We all know that can happen here in South Africa! You can use your breath very similarly. The Buddhist technique of Tonglen, generously shared by Pema Chödrön on YouTube, is a great way to clear what feels heavy or difficult with your own breathing.)
DEEP SOAK
An age-old way to shed what does not belong to us is to soak in a very warm bath with a handful of sea salt, Epsom salts or even bicarb. Twenty minutes is good, just relax and imagine all that isn’t yours swirling down the drain once you’ve finished. It’s as easy as that.
FIRE RELEASE
There was a point in my life when I burned thirteen years worth of my journals in one afternoon. Many of them had been written during my trauma recovery journey and I did this to symbolize crossing a threshold into a new way of life. It made for quite a spectacular bonfire!
And I ended up in bed for a couple days! So yes, this is very powerful and no, I don’t recommend waiting that long!
You can certainly burn any (unnecessary) documents as a way to release the contents of them. But that’s not always needed.
Here’s the approach I use now:
AUTOMATIC WRITING
- Gather some copy paper or a simple notebook, along with a pen or pencil that feels good in your hand. Hopefully you’ll use a lot of paper so don’t go for your beautiful journals.
- Set a timer for 5 – 15 minutes – perhaps start with five to begin with. This is ideally done on your own, without interruption.
- This is literally an exercise, so please don’t pay any attention to grammar, spelling or which language/s you are writing in. The idea is to let it flow. It’s likely the feelings will also flow, so maybe have some tissues on hand.
- Begin by writing the words “I release” or “I let go of” or “I now shed” and then finish the sentence. Begin again with the same words, and so on. It will look something like this:
“I let go of all the undone tasks I think I must accomplish today. I let go of the words my friend said to me in anger. I let go of the belief that I am not good enough. I let go of the leftovers that have been sitting in the fridge for too long. I let go of my need to be right.”
- Continue in this way until the timer goes off, being sure to breathe steadily throughout the process. If you run out of ideas, just repeat your beginning phrase over and over – “I let go I let go I let go” – until another sentence forms.
- The real release is this next part: take the sheets of paper and twist them individually. In a safe way, of course, burn them and as you do, allow yourself to imagine every single thing you let go of on the pages literally dissipating into the air.
- You can always shred the papers, too, if burning isn’t an option. This allows you to feel the release through your body as you do so.
- The whole point is to let them go, to shed what’s been held within you – so best to do this as soon after you write as possible.
There are so many ways to allow ourselves to let go. And yet we aren’t taught or encouraged to do so, are we? As human beings, we tend to hold onto things, words, beliefs.
What if the way forward is, like the little boy in Week One’s story, to let go of what we don’t need or want any longer, and in doing that, let ourselves begin again?
In July, we’ll focus on just that: Becoming.
