Switch On To Your Inner Strength. Sandy MacGregor

some far distant point in the future. But the idea of being able to let go on life itself is important to us at all ages. This may apply to people of any age who face a life threatening situation.

      Letting go is one of the uses of meditation. In meditation in the alpha state or in the deeper meditation of the theta state (use A Peaceful Place Tape number 5, the words of which start on page 125) it is possible to quietly bring to mind the things that you need to let go. Bring them into mind, look at them for some time and then just let them go. Sometimes it can be difficult to achieve this at your first sitting because the thing you might need to let go is so deeply ingrained into your pattern of habits that it won't go on the first attempt. If this is the case don't get worried about it, just work on it time after time in meditation. Another technique, where the thing to be let go won't go away immediately, is to imagine some picture like a bird flying away, or a ship disappearing towards the horizon, or a sand castle at the beach gradually being worn away by the waves. In your imagination the thing to be let go is represented by the bird, or the ship, or the eroding sand castle.

      Don't necessarily take the images I have suggested here. When you go into a meditative state of mind some picture or image which is most useful to you will come up. Work with that one!

      If you feel comfortable about doing it, you might like to let these things go to God. There is nothing to inhibit you from using prayer during alpha or theta meditation. In prayer you can let go of the old and take on the new. Here is a prayer which was recently written by a friend of mine. You might like to use it yourself.

       Dear God –

       I thank you for all the different phases of life.

       In particular, today, I thank you for all the

       wonderful pleasures which I have experienced

       in being a father.

       I will always treasure the memories of my children

       when they were young. As they grow older, now

       into their teenage years, help me to let go

       that period in which they were “little kids“

       and guide me to take on the challenge

       of what comes next.

       Equip me always to be a good father

       however the future may turn.

       I look forward to serving in this way.

       Amen.

      You can adapt the general idea of that prayer to many other circumstances and perhaps you can think of ways that you can now use it in your own life. If you prefer to adapt it as an affirmation instead of a prayer, that's fine.

      Finally, don't be reluctant to let go. By letting go you are not necessarily losing the value that you once gained from that old habit or phase of life. What you are doing by letting go is removing it from the forefront of your mind or removing it as a barrier to future progress. The good thoughts of the thing you are letting go will still be there in your subconscious mind and you can still easily access them in future – when and if you need them. What you're really letting go is your attachment to the “need”.

      By letting go you are actually contributing to the resources of your inner strength. The thing you let go will become part of that vast bank of experiences and knowledge you are carrying around with you at all times. It will contribute to the intertwined web that gives the strength and breadth to your personality. Letting go will help you to clear the decks for future action! Some words from the nineteenth century poem, Ulysses, by Lord Alfred Tennyson summarise it for me –

       “I am a part of all that I have met;

       Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'

       Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades

       For ever and for ever when I move.”

      And always remember, whenever you go through this exercise, the example of the monkey which gave up its life because it wouldn't let go.

      I had been a fairly heavy smoker (30 a day) for 27 years. I did not make a big deal about the smoking as a goal, but it was there in the background the whole time. On the Wednesday following the seminar I had my last cigarette after dinner. Very cool, no fuss _ I just KNEW it was my last cigarette. A week later I still had no urge to smoke (just a feeling of “what's missing?”. I haven't been irritable or cranky (haven't beaten the kids once!) and I feel just great and not a little pleased with myself. I went on and applied the techniques to releasing weight. I released 5 stone (that's 31 kilos) _ my self esteem soared, relationships improved _ you can just imagine all the great effects can't you? I feel just great!

      Julie Van den Driesen, Victoria