LETTING GO
One of my virtual mentors is Tara Brach, Phd. A Psychologist and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Tara’s wisdom has been a regular support for me personally and professionally and I continue to listen to her weekly podcasts which incorporate mindfulness practices with somatic therapy, an understanding of the brain and the impact of trauma, and are infused with a great deal of story and humor.
Listening today to a talk entitled “Releasing Limiting Beliefs” she discussed this powerful practice:
Whenever you realize you are caught in a state of discomfort…PAUSE.
Ask yourself: What am I believing right now?
She discussed how we often find beneath discomfort an un-investigated belief that is causing pain.
“I am not OK”
“I’ll never get it all done”
“Things just don’t work out for me”
“It’s all going to fall apart”
There may be underground beliefs running our emotional experience about OURSELVES, OTHERS, or THE WORLD.
She invited us to engage the work of another wise teacher, Byron Katie to investigate the belief.
Is it TRUE?
Can I know absolutely that it is 100% TRUE?
Just the act of questioning it’s solidity may start to loosen things up. She then encourages bringing a kind presence to the part of yourself that holds this belief.
Feeling Empathy and Offering Care:
What is it like to be living inside this belief?
What does the part that believes this most need from me right now?
What would my life be like if I wasn’t believing this?
She reminds us that this is not a “magic bullet” that immediately relieves all dysfunctional beliefs and pain, but a practice, that over time helps us see the illusions we are living under…release unnecessary beliefs that only cause us suffering, and wake up to the truth of our lives.
To quote a wise man who sums up the concept up well:
“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened”
Mark Twain
Check out this talk from Tara Brach and so much more at:
Check out the Work of Byron Katie at: