What does it mean to release? To surrender limiting beliefs in order to live a new story? The time-old question of, “What do I need to let go of in order to birth something new?” We’ve all seen these questions, usually lurking around the time of a New Moon or even a Full Moon as we move through our monthly patterns of new beginnings, figuring it all out, deciding what is important enough to us to even hold on to, and then releasing it all over again just to start a new cycle. That’s life, yes?
Spring Equinox is one of these special times where we are asking ourselves what do we want to create, and then realizing that in order to create something new, we need to have the space to allow that newness in. What is holding most of us back from being this open? Most of the time it comes down to two main states that so easily fill us: anger or worry, which can be further traced back to some form of limiting belief about yourself, other people, or the world we live in. Personally, I’ve found myself frustrated by overly simplified notions of simply “letting go of limiting beliefs”, especially when many of these beliefs were formed subconsciously throughout our early lives. So, what does it really mean to let go of limiting beliefs when it comes to overcoming worry or anxiety? How does one go about such a task in day to day life without feeling overwhelmed by the process? What tools do we already have that we can use?
I’ve discovered a helpful process that will hopefully be useful to you too in navigating these tricky waters. And I say waters intentionally, because it is usually very tied to fixed emotional states. If you’ve ever listened to Esther/Abraham Hicks, you’ve probably learned a thing or two about the law of attraction. A fundamental part of the process of manifestation is not often talked about. It is not only “releasing” energy that doesn’t serve you, such as anger, worry, dissatisfaction, etc. That's oversimplified and not actually helpful in achieving our real goals. It’s been proven time and again that simply releasing anger does not generally attract what you actually want, such as kindness, forgiveness, compassion, joy, etc. We likely attract to ourselves more of what we don’t want if we only focus on releasing what we don't want.
The step that often goes unacknowledged (& therefore makes any attempts at manifestation futile) is that of transmutation. When we are in an energetic state such as anger or worry, we can purposefully & consciously turn that energy into one of a higher vibration such as excitement, love, amusement, trust, appreciation or joy. This conscious transformation of what we were experiencing as worry or anxiety is the main ingredient in raising our vibration to manifest what we desire. It’s not simply avoiding the worry or the situation that causes worry by pretending it's not there, but it’s purposefully choosing to see what else is there for us hidden beneath our worry, and letting that positive feeling underneath take the lead. The logic here is that what we put out into the universe is what we get back. If we want more high frequency vibrations to enter our lives, we need to first tune ourselves to those vibrations. The great thing is that we already have the tools we need to begin this process, and that starts with our thoughts & feelings.
Now that we’re aware of this whole other part of the process of manifestation, the transmutation, this is where mindset practices come in. We can use this simple questioning technique to gain a better understanding of what’s really going on when we are feeling something we don’t really want to feel. From “The Big Leap”, Gay Hendricks talks about how when we are in a state of worry, there is actually something positive trying to come through. That’s encouraging right? Try this process below as a tool the next time you feel wrapped up in a state of needless worry or “disaster-bating” as one of my dear friends calls it.
Step 1: Notice that you are worrying about something.
Step 2: Shift your focus away from the thoughts of worry, enough to get to the next point below.
Step 3: Wonder, what positive new thing is trying to come into being?
Step 4: Open your awareness to how you feel in your body, and let yourself feel it deeply for as long as you can.
Step 5: Be open to receiving insights throughout your day, and usually you’ll get an idea of the positive thing that was trying to come through, completely shifting your energetic state into that positive state rather than worry. If you enjoy writing, this may be a good time to write down any insights that come to you.
This is a great example of the transmutation process. It’s not allowing yourself to stew in it too long, or simply “venting” about your worries to a friend or letting the rut get deeper in your mind. There’s a definite action you can take when you start to get into these thoughts or other emotional states that don’t match what you’re tying to create.
Using this awareness tool is a daily practice that will hopefully get easier and become more natural over time, helping you to see that the point of power is always in the present, or better yet, in the presence.
