Sometimes change happens. Sometimes you are ready, and sometimes not.

But when change is in the air, you can consciously make space for it by doing a little letting go.

You know when your room is full of stuff, it’s hard to think, or find anything? Well, it’s the same with change. If there’s no space for it, probably won’t be easy.

So it’s really useful to name one thing you want to let go of so you can move forward. When you want a shift, change, or breakthrough, it is even more important.

Letting go of what keeps you stuck—a fear, self-doubt, perfectionism, or whatever your obstacle is—makes an opening so you can shift, readjust, realign, and receive what is coming with grace. And when you shift your intent, your body/mind follows!

Play With This

Look at the list of very common what-I-want-to-let-go-of experiences, and choose one you want to work with:

Fear

I’m not good enough

My need to be perfect

Self-sabotage

I’m stuck

Shame

My small self-image

Holding on too tight (trying to control everything)

Perfectionism

Procrastination

My denial of who I am (anonymity)

Self-doubt

Overwhelm

I can’t find a relationship

I feel alone

Releasing and Becoming Source

OK, now you are going to learn a simple way to release the obstacle (your what-I-want-to-let-go-of-experience) and fill with the power of the universe to help you make a change. As you do it, try to visualize or feel what is happening. Trust me, it works!

Speak out loud one thing you want to let go of.

Breathe it out into universe, past the stars, past blue-black space. See your obstacle flyng into the heart of the universe.

Now breathe back in the power of the universe—alive, vibrating energy, a sea of potential, empty but full of all possibility. Breathe it into your heart. Fill your heart with the energy and power of the universe.

On your next outbreath, breathe it out. On the inbreath, breathe in the power.

Repeat, over and over, until your heart shifts and your energy lifts.

Notice how you feel, just in this moment.

When you work with a big obstacle, something that’s held you up for a long time, it takes a while. Every time you repeat the practice, you feed your intent to let go, and you remind your body-mind that it’s time to shift. It’s gradual: and what could be better than practicing filling yourself with sacred power, the power of the universe?

You can use this kind of releasing and filling with personal stuff—such as grief, fear, anger, or exhaustion—as well as your responses to world issues such as climate change, deforestation, animal cruelty, or violence.

For example, I've been using this practice to work with the imbalance I've been experiencing from climate crises. I breathe out the emotional, physical, spiritual imbalances, and breathe in the creative, mysterious energy of the universe.

Bypassing The Turtle Effect

All of us pull in energetically like turtles when we are nervous, afraid, or sad. Inside our shells, we cannot take in or receive anything—love, compliments, appreciation, or happiness. When someone tries to give us some good energy, we may deflect it, not hear it, or dive deeper into our isolation.

If you are already a turtle in your shell, what is the worst that could happen? What do you have to lose in trying, and what might you gain?

Letting go of what keeps you separate makes an opening so you can shift, reconnect, and receive. This takes much less energy than hiding behind your shell or resisting good energy!

Exerpted from Weave the Heart of the Universe into Your Life: Aligning with Cosmic Energy by Meg Beeler.

Meg Beeler—Author, Shamanic Guide, and Spiritual Mentor—helps you heal your spirit and find your luminous presence through mentoring, training, healing, and community ceremony. A lifelong explorer of shamanic, animist, and meditative consciousness, Meg is the creator of Energy AlchemyTM, founder of Earth Caretakers, and works with clients worldwide. She lives on Sonoma Mountain in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.megbeeler.com