The biggest lesson I’ve been taught on my 10 year journey with the plants is, “Let go... surrender”. If you cling on tightly to the 3D consensus reality during a journey with any plant then you’re probably going to have a tough time. This is true in our everyday lives too. A zen proverb comes to mind: “Let go or be dragged”.
If we cling, we suffer. But what are we even clinging on for in the first place? Many of us hold on to things that do not serve us. We hold onto a drug addiction, an unhappy relationship, food, old trauma, a job that we hate, a grudge, old anger, material objects, an expectation of how things should be… and so on.
In my experience, everyone I’ve ever met is holding onto something and from my understanding, we hold on because we find great comfort in those things that we are desperately clinging on to - even if they are not good for us. If we let go, it’s the unknown, and that can be perceived as a terrifying place for us to be.
Meet the present with grace
Holding on is simply dissatisfaction with the present moment. When we truly surrender to what is, and drop our stories and non-serving behaviours, we open ourselves up to so many possibilities. We then have the choice to recognise the magic and mystery in our everyday reality, and we have the option to rewrite our stories. We gain so much personal strength when we give up that which no longer serves us.
If we are satisfied with our present reality then we don’t need to hold onto anything.
There’s also another side to things; that is that we see these stories as an extension of ourselves and we identify with them far too strongly. It may help to ask yourself questions like, Who am I if I don’t have my partner? Who am I without this drug addiction? The alcohol? Who am I without my childhood trauma?
Clinging becomes a habit, and then a ‘truth’
We end up clinging on for so long that it becomes a habit, and this then becomes our truth. When we have a habit, we become so deeply entangled in it that often we can’t even really recognise that we’re holding onto anything at all, let alone that it is not good for us. It becomes a mindset. We become set in our minds.
The addictions and behaviours we cling to tend to be a result of wounds that we have suffered, and deep traumas. We create a comfort blanket for ourselves. It takes great courage to let go of these old traumas and wounds… the things that brought you to your knees, the people who left, the losses you’ve suffered, the ones who abused you, the betrayal you’ve felt.
We have carried our hurt and baggage with us through many dimensions and lifetimes, forming behaviours to cling to as a means of comfort. These behaviours drive our lives. Now is our time for freedom.
The answers are within
Somewhere inside you is the faith to stop clinging on so tightly, and the courage to let go. Trust that the universe will catch you once you surrender into the ebb and flow of life. My own experience went something like this: I recognised the habits, feelings and stories that I was holding onto, I went into a strong state of denial and then finally acceptance, I then explored the drivers behind my habits.
The idea of letting go was horrifying... but when I finally stopped fighting and I jumped into the abyss, it was truly beautiful. I feel lighter. I feel free. I feel the shackles have been dropped from my body. I realise that all I really had to do was release my fears and step into a state of love. I truly hope that you too can come to this space of freedom from those things that no longer serve you.
Release resistance. Embrace the mystery. Make friends with the unknown. And in the words of Eckhart Tolle... ”Die to the past every moment.”