Letting Go

We often hear about the need to let go of things. Letting go can mean removing an emotional imprint that an event in life had on us. Every life experience can leave an imprint on us - like a sediment left from a deep emotional experience. As time passes letting go becomes more and more difficult–the longer we hold on, the deeper becomes the imprint. Therefore it becomes harder to remove it. Why does it become more difficult as time progresses? I watched a video of a person who held his hand up in a fist for many years. The result was that it gradually became very stiff. Fibrosis set in making him unable to move his hand or let go of his grip. A grip which was voluntary to begin with now has become impossible to let go of. This shows that the best time to let go of an imprint is immediately after an event. The sooner we do it, the better it is for our emotional wellbeing. 

How about all the impacts that we already have that are deeply engrained and imprinted within us? 

We may need to work patiently to get them out. I have found that the practice of meditation helps create a state of mind where the ability to wait increases. Some imprints take a longer time to let go. As our ability to wait improves, it creates a favorable environment to let go of our emotional sediment. If we leave these emotional imprints intact, when it finds a circumstance where it can manifest again, it will try to manifest. The deeper the imprint and the longer it has remained with us, the more forceful might be the pent-up emotion that is released. Such a strong outburst, if it is a negative emotion such as anger or frustration, can ruin a relationship. 

Whether good or bad, harboring these emotional imprints within us keeps us bound to the past. We are conditioned by them. When the bonds of our emotional impacts are loosened, one may say that such an individual is liberated from the clutches of their past. Such an individual, for the first time, can act unconditionally. There is nothing left to condition them. 

This can also be looked at as a clearing of the will, developing a truly free will. Such a person acts according to the need of the moment with a sense of duty without being conditioned by past decisions. Such a duty bound action with no expectations, anxieties or worries is not constrained by the past and therefore causes no further emotional impact to oneself. He becomes free to act with no conditions or constraints. A person in that state is not concerned about anything, even the results of their action.  

How to attain this condition, a state of true freedom? 

It is possible to do it by developing an interest in Self-improvement and making it a priority in one's life. The process involves unfolding of the complex web of the past. During this process, it is possible that submerged emotions may surface but we develop the patience to let go. To go through this process of inner purification one needs to have faith in oneself, which brings the ability to face what is within. An attitude of willingness and love for the ultimate state we are striving for will make the process easier. 

Why do we need to let go of things? What is it that makes our life complete? 

When the sediment of the past is removed our heart becomes pure and clear making us whole and complete. Isn’t this a wonderful state to look forward to?

A man of wisdom by the name of Lalaji, very beautifully put it as follows, "When the dirt of the mind is washed away, your true form you shall behold."

When the imprints are erased without a trace, when memory of the past remains but without its emotional impact, then we have truly let go.