Let Yourself Go!
Spring! ...finally. Here in SW France "Spring is busting out all over" like the words of a song I remember. Life is expressing itself in the blossoms, bird song and dance, the gentle breezes, the longer days. It is just gorgeous, that's all there is to say, gorgeous and inspiring.
And what about us? Are we busting out all over with life energy and expression ? Now is the time...what are we waiting for ?
Are we doing and living the way we really want, allowing the inner, deep desires to move us toward our destiny? Or, are we allowing those hold-back, negative voices of conditioned, small self control the scene? You know those voices, the ones that say..."I don't know how.... ", what if...?", when...(the kids are bigger, I have more money/time) etc..."
What is your dream? Great question.... but not always immediately apparent. And, often if we don't know exactly what the dream is, we push it off to another day sometime in the future to think about, while something eats away inside, a kind of gnawing discontent or 'malaise'...that says "this is not what I want to be doing or living!"
So, what to do? How do we "let ourselves go" (words from another Cole Porter song)? How do we step up to the vision of our larger/higher Selves and step into the role of he/she who cannot fail. There's a question to meditate on: what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? Could we even entertain that as a possibility, a real possibility, not a mere intellectual game?
I know from within my own internal command center, within my mind, the beliefs and fearful voices appear very real, and as A Course in Miracles says: I DO believe them. I have been an excellent student of conditioned, societal beliefs and ways of thinking and believe I'm not up to it, not good enought to...or, I "should" be doing something else (grander, more important, you know). In that frame of mind, it's difficult to concentrate on a personal "dream"for more than a few minutes...seconds. My life story seems so important, all the ways I 'failed' in the past or didn't measure up to the idealized version those impossible-to- please judges replay over and over.... I must admit the story is even boring at this point, but hard to let go. Spiritual teachings from different traditions remind us to live in the Now, let go of the past.Wonderful teaching...the day to day, minute to minute practice is quite another thing (as you know if you have ever brought your attention to the manner in which you actually live minute by minute).
It has become more and more clear to me in my own practice and reaction to life, and what it puts my way in the way of trials, challenges and pain, that letting myself go is directly related to the practice of love, love and the 'flavors' of love taught in Buddhism. I refer here to what is sometimes called the 4 "faces of love", and which include the love that "cares", and love of compassion. I find that when the harsh, judgmental voices of "you're not doing it right" or "you're not up to it" (and we all know they have different disguises....up to each of us to see how they appear in our own heads) arise, if I can call upon the love that cares and feels compassion for the scared, downtroden part of myself that is always getting beaten up by those voices of criticism and hate, these latter often become silenced. Or, with enough attention and caring (personal wherewithal), I can actually tell those voices something along the lines of "not the time, I'm being kind to myself, can't listen."
With the voices of hatred and harshness quieted, I feel my body relax, and a quietness settles within that allows me to feel like perhaps I could do....(a step in the direction of something I'd like to do, but get stopped in the act of by those internal critics and saboteurs). And then I do. I take another step. I move myself along. Perhaps it's not earth-shattering, but I know how much I need that loving kindness to "let myself go", to release myself from the binds of duty, "shoulds", or you can't.
Letting ourselves go is practicing what Roberto Assagioli taught in psychosynthesis: "There is no certainty, only adventure". It's also putting into practice the ultimate teachings of the Course which is that we are love itself, but we have put a lot of barriers and obstacles to that love. The circumstances of our life serve only to awaken us to who we truly are. We, as is all of life around us (visible in the busting out of springtime)...we are life loving itself!
Could we stop judging ourselves and let ourselves go, just enough to get a glimpse of Love loving us...just for a minute seeing ourselves the way God sees us. What would that be like?
That my friends is the pratice I'm suggesting this Spring. Let yourself go! Let go of the aprioris. Tell the jugmental, harsh voices of belittlement that they're not invited- 'take a hike', and invite the Love that cares, that is full of compassion and non-judgment, and allow yourself to know that you are loved, and that you are just possibly, love itself.
Let me know how it goes!
Blessings and Happy Spring!
Abigail
Abigail DeSoto
Transformational Coach & Psychosynthesis Guide
www.inner-discovery.com
http://innerdiscovery.blogspot.com/
For transformational coaching (and/or group trainings ) to define and realize your dreams, and guidance in releasing fears and blocks that keep you from realizing your potential and passion, email me to set up a free phone call to discuss how psychosynthesis and transformational coaching can help you claim your personal power and live the life you aspire to.
