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Writer's pictureReiner Kraft, PhD

Why "Letting Go" should be part of your regular Mind Management Toolbox

Updated: Sep 4, 2021


We are usually holding on to old emotions and negative thoughts. Sometimes these were even triggered by traumas from our childhood or major life events from the past.


Every thought requires energy when it is produced. Electrons are moved within our brain to facilitate our thinking activity. When you don’t fuel a thought by identifying with it, you will notice that it disappears after a short time. The average “lifetime” of a thought ranges typically between 5 to 20 seconds. The energy is released then.


However, suppose you identify yourself particularly with negative thoughts. In that case, this may trigger and create a negative feedback loop, where new thoughts are being generated in greater intensity within a short time frame. While being identified with these thoughts you are actually continuously feeding them with new energy.


If you cling to those negative thoughts the energy is not being released. And as you still know from physics class in high school energy can’t be lost.


So, where does it go?


As we’re learning more about quantum physics in the past decades it became clear that when you go below the subatomic level we’re basically made of energy that is stretched mostly over empty space. While we still need to learn a lot on the science side to explain how areas such as energy medicine actually works, we observe that there are numerous applications (e.g., like Reiki) that produce reproducible results.


If you browse Youtube on this topic of energy medicine or healing you will be amazed at the number of videos showing people self-healing themselves from a disease, or energy healers in action who perform healing work that cannot be explained with the current state of science. However, this doesn’t mean it can’t exist. It just means we haven’t figured out yet how it really works.


In all of these cases there is no special power needed. Anyone can learn some basics on how to manipulate energy, and one of the proven methods is through visualization while being in a meditative state.


The good news is we do not need to understand all the science to benefit from its application. What I care about is getting results that can be reliably measured. I usually look at proven bio markers, such as HRV (heart rate variability) as a proxy for resilience that have been exhaustively studied within the science community in the past decades.


Going back to the question, where does the energy from your daily negative thoughts that you cling on go?


As it is not released the energy will simply be stored in your body's energy field.


Not a big deal initially. It happens every day. But over time, this stagnant energy accumulates and may become a problem eventually when it reaches a tipping point.


You may then feel some- sometimes unpleasant- bodily sensations or experience signs of stress, anxiety, which are increasing gradually in intensity if the underlying energy causing these symptoms in your body is not released periodically.


Worse, your body actually needs the energy to keep it locked up and suppressed in this stale state. That means you are basically wasting your energy on old useless stuff that is a source of stress and suffering instead of using it for creating new ideas that are helpful toward accomplishing your life’s mission.


It’s clear that you want to get rid of this old energy and stale emotions.


But how?


Over the years, I experimented with different methods and approaches with varying levels of success. It is not an easy topic, but there are countless ideas, and neuroscience research is continuously coming up with new insights and findings that help tackle this important topic to manage your mind better.


One approach, If you know for sure where the trauma, feeling, or emotion originated from, is to recall it into your awareness, experience it again fully (this may not be pleasant), and then be gentle by welcoming it while letting it go.


This approach works well and is used successfully by the so-called “Sedona method.” (Google it for more details). As there is no right or wrong method, I encourage to explore and review several approaches to determine whether they are helpful to you or not.


However, oftentimes you have no idea what this stale energy in your body is and where it came from, but you feel that it is there while potentially causing you more pain and suffering.


Think about this stale energy field as an entity. Eckhart Tolle, the well-known author of “The Power of Now,” refers to this energy field as your “pain body.” This illustrative concept is helpful, as the mind is familiar with the concept of an entity and its needs.


The “pain body” simply wants to be acknowledged instead of being buried and suppressed deep within your body’s energy field. That means you need to deal with it sooner rather than later.


If you are not paying attention to it, it continues to typically cause stressful symptoms or possibly even triggers anxiety attacks on a regular basis.


However, oftentimes you have no clue on the underlying root causes of this stale energy field. Therefore we require a different method that is agnostic to the root cause and where it came from.


For this reason I have created and over time refined an effective “Letting Go” method, which works on your stale energy directly and does not require you to know where it came from and why it is there.


It works by simply releasing and draining this stale energy stored in your body’s energy field, by using a meditative visualization method that you can easily apply in the early morning before getting up.


This means you can effectively use 10 minutes of your time while still lying in bed, and conveniently recycle your old useless energy, freeing it up and clearing your body’s energy field.


Isn’t that great in terms of productivity?


One of the reasons this works that well is that your brain is still mostly in a relaxed alpha state, and your ego is not fully loaded yet. This makes it easy to manipulate your subconscious mind and get rid of some unhelpful old programming.


Be advised: The method is not a one-time fix!


Sure, it will provide immediate relief. You will typically feel very light and possibly refreshed afterward as if some weight has been lifted from your shoulders. It is a great feeling!


However, this method needs continuous application, and I encourage you to do it regularly, at least a few times per week for maximum effect.


Similar to a detox strategy that you need to apply on an ongoing basis to drain your body from environmental toxins, the “Letting Go” method, when applied continuously, will deal with freshly accumulated stale energy that you catch on a daily basis when not being fully present.


Notice: If you were to be mindful all day, meaning if your level of present awareness (LPA) is very high, then you will not accumulate a lot of this negative energy. The reason is you become aware of these thoughts as they occur and then simply let them flow by.


However, most of us are not in a mindful state all the time, and therefore this negative energy can make it into our body’s energy field, piling up gradually.


Think about the “Letting Go” method as part of your ongoing “mind maintenance” hygiene, similar to brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Yes - it is that essential!


Take action:

  • Check out the Sedona method (google it), and there are several videos on Youtube. This is an example of a "Letting go" method, but there are countless others.

  • If you work with a method, use a reliable HRV monitor to measure its impact (immediately) and over time. I typically recommend using the Oura ring as part of your technology toolset.

  • If you are experiencing stress and anxiety, and are committed to tackle this in a systematic way contact me for more details on possible training options. The aforementioned "Letting Go" method is part of my "10x Presence & Self-Awareness" training, that elevates your level of present awareness systematically and significantly over 4-6 months. It is truly a transformative training and available for those who are ready.


Resources:


Follow 👉🏻 @themindfulleader on Instagram for more content like this.

“There is no better moment to increase your level of present awareness than NOW” –Reiner Kraft


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