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New Years resolutions seem to be a thing of the past, or are they? I don't tend to call them that, but as each year draws to a close I find myself reflecting on what has passed in the year before, and what my intentions are moving forward.
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 Many, many years ago a good friend shared some of the medicine that her Grandfather, a shaman, had passed on to her for letting go of worries and stress. She has since passed away, but in the time that I knew her she was a friend and a mentor, who taught me about living on the earth holistically. She shared how to "be" in harmony with nature.
A couple of days ago, as I walked by the river, memories of her sharing this powerful ritual of letting go returned, and I will share them here with you.  One of the main focuses of a Craniosacral Therapy session is to encourage your Nervous System to relax, so that your body can reset. When your Nervous System shifts from the sympathetic (fight or flight) to parasympathetic (rest and digest) function, the healing begins, on all levels. Allowing yourself to surrender and let go isn’t easy for some. It requires your confidence and trust in both me, and in yourself. Trust that I am a safe person to completely relax with, and that I have the skills and training to provide your session.
 Emotions are a natural and human way of expression. And you are human before you put on any of the other roles you have in this life.
Emotions are also an energy that you can suppress or release. Allow:
When a belief, relationship, physical item, etc. are held on to, part of your energy is held in the past, when you were first given the item, the relationship started or the belief was taught. If the associated memories are positive then you feel good when thinking about the past, and that energy of feeling good brings positive thoughts into your now. Where your energy belongs.
 Taking time to assess what you need to let go of is not, I don’t think, as difficult as the steps to actually letting go.
Life can become mired in old ways of doing things or holding onto items because you’ve had them for years, in other words, stagnation. Through following old beliefs or staying in relationships that no longer serve you, the journey forward becomes stuck. To recognize and assess what you need to let go of is a journey in itself. To take the steps to actually let go can be scary.  (shared with permission) Some months ago a client was telling me of all the moving pieces she felt the need to control with regards to a particular event in her life, in order for things to go well, and for her to meet the goals that she had. Putting the pieces in place had been an ongoing effort for many months and it was obviously emotionally and mentally draining for her.
I said to her that it seemed she was pushing a very large boulder up a steep, steep hill. She said that was what this felt like. I asked her what was the worse that could happen if she just stepped aside, stopped pushing the boulder and let go. Silence.  It’s happened, Autumn is here and the days are shortening, will soon grow cooler, and the season to gather and harvest is upon us.
Trees will soon begin to release that which they no longer need and nature will become quieter and turn inward. Holidays ending, darker skies, school beginning, leaves changing colours and falling from their branches… a somewhat abrupt end to the laid back days of August, and a theme of busyness casts its shadow.  The trees teach us how to let go During the months of September the trees are a shining example of letting go. The leaves they've grown through Spring and Summer change colours as they begin to die and then drop from the branches. The tree becomes bare, only to begin the cycle again the following Spring. There's no thought to it, there is just no more need of these leaves and so the tree simply lets them go.
We often marvel at nature as her colours turn to the reds, oranges and browns of Fall. The crunch of leaves beneath our shoes or jumping in piles of leaves that have fallen bring joy. I think though we often don't make a connection with the lesson the trees are sharing with us in the art of letting go. |
Teresa Graham,
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