Hello my friends, enjoy By Lama Surya Das Letting Go, Letting Be How do you spell relief? For starters, stop trying to change things you have no control over. Q. I hear a lot about letting go, but how do I do it? There seems to be few teachings on the subject, except that letting go and practicing nonattachment are supposed to be good things to do. A. The Buddha said we experience the peace of nirvana by letting things be as they are. Indeed, applying the Beatles' exhortation to "Let It Be" to our lives can bring a lot of serenity and equanimity. My own personal Buddhist bumper sticker is "breathe, relax and smile." It works for road rage and for diminishing all kinds of problems. Repeat after me: "Breathe, relax and smile." Now that's not so hard, is it? Of course, if it were that easy, we'd all be enlightened by now. Letting go, letting be, or embodying the Buddhist term "nonattachment" greatly reduces and even alleviates suffering. In fact, it is the goal of Buddhism. Buddha taught that the cause of suffering is craving and attachment. Therefore, letting go of our tight-fisted grasping is in our own self-interest, as it helps erode our wellspring of dissatisfaction and anxiety. Attachment is like holding on tightly to something that is always slipping through my fingers--it just gives me rope burn. For me, attachment is like holding on tightly to something that is always slipping through my fingers--it just gives me rope burn. But letting go--nonattachment--relieves the constant, painful irritation. A good example of this is not being able to fall asleep at night because you keep turning something over and over in your mind. It's one of those times when letting go is obviously a necessary virtue, and having some kind of relaxation tool can be extraordinarily helpful. Scientific research has shown that people who are optimistic and have an ability to accept or let go of negative memories, experiences, and events tend to be healthier and live longer than people who are pessimistic and worry about or try to change things that are out of their control. Indeed, acceptance is actually transformative, and awareness is curative. Sometimes mistaken for passivity or complacency, acceptance has a powerful magic that is actually quite dynamic and creative. Have you ever noticed, for example, how accepting your mate rather than trying to change him or her ends up improving your relationship? Kathy/simikathy.com

Letting go was the single most difficult thing for me to learn.
Learn it I did, taking years of reflection and redirection.
It is one of the keys that leads to enlightenment.

To let go means to give it away and accept that it is gone from
your life without any further thought.

There is another word for it.

Freedom

Hi Kathy,

 SOme really timely advice. I have always told my children not to worry about things you have no control over, and not to sweat the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.

Thanks again for a great article.

Your Good Friend

Deborah

Hello my friends, I tell my children I choose my battles,I am not going to worry about small stuff that has no reason or ryme to it,Only pick your battles.kathy/simikathy

Hello Kathy!!

Well letting go and letting God!  What could be easier!!

Holding on, attachment, comes from trying to control things around you.   Namely the people you are involved with.   Holding on also stems from fear, of whats next, what will be. .... again not being in control of the people or your surroundings, situations.

I believe if we were not attached, trying to control someones doing or how they are being in our life, then what is to hold on to.  We dont want to die because we fear what is going to happen,  we fear leaving our peeps behind and our belongings and our money.

And all of these things are indeed material goods.  Not of any use in the after life.  We arent clinging and trying  to hold onto say, happiness or peace of mind.

I believe that advertising has us believing all the wrong things about ourselves. Too much value  placed, in what is on tv and making us believe, cos we here it over and over, that we are indeed in need of all of this stuff and more stuff.  They want us to think we are nothing without , and our friends and people we dont know, will think we are nothings and dont matter, if we dont have all the stuff they are shoving down our throats literally 24/7.  Between radio, tv, magazines and billboards, we are bombed continuously about, " you gotta have it or you will lose out in some way!!"

It takes a really conscientious, strong in their own personal beliefs, kinda person.  Or you'd crumble and be miserable continuosly about what you think you dont have.  And this is very prevalent in young girls that hate their bodies, men that go inward because they've lost their hair, teenagers that have to have that certain label on the clothes, etc...

Its like the John Cougar song, "You gotta stand for something or you're gonna fall for everything."

This is so true!!

The winds of change will blow you from one side of the planet to the other, if you dont dig in your spurs and have your own mindset, your own values and opinions of life.

Thanks!

Have a great summer!

Tina Ranieri