From the February 2010 Idaho Observer:
The last time we focused on the importance of our emotions in healing was in April 2009 with Susan Greene’s article on Emotional Freedom Technique. Due to the stress levels many of our readers are encountering, we need to be reminded that all healing comes from the mind first. I.O. subscriber Arlene Benjamin also saw the need to share a method of healing by releasing emotional baggage that has helped her immensely. She has graciously agreed to share this simple and yet profound method of healing that I am certain we can all apply and benefit from. ~ILC
Once upon a time, I believed that life was difficult and there was little I could do about it. I thought there wasn’t much of an impact one person could have in helping to make this a better world for all life forms. Then I learned about the Sedona Method, which has helped me in many ways so I know it can help you, too.
What is the Sedona Method? It involves letting go of or releasing thoughts and feelings that impede our ability to be present in each moment. Hale Dwoskin, CEO of Sedona Training Associates in Sedona, Arizona, says that when we are young, we naturally let go of emotional upset, but around the time of the terrible twos, we begin to hold on, creating emotional baggage, and this is the beginning of our troubles. We often get stuck in the cycles of suppression and expression - expression often being explosive outbursts that we later regret because the suppressed content has to be vented somehow.
This brief article will provide you with an alternative choice to the cycle of suppression and expression. A way to free yourself so you can be more fully present in your life, allowing you to make better choices based on direct knowing-ness.
Before the terrible two stage, we remained open to life, flowing with the current. But after that, we get into resistance and begin the struggle to hold on. So what does this mean? We begin to experience life through tinted glasses, and not necessarily rose-colored ones. We form beliefs and opinions based on what we learn from parents, siblings, peers, teachers and others in society. We begin looking outside of ourselves for answers instead of the most important place - within ourselves. Our point of view becomes shaped by someone else’s point of view instead of from our own direct experience. And then we suffer and the suffering continues until we remember that we can let it all go and once again be free of the limiting emotions that block us from experiencing who we truly are.
Here’s an example of how the Sedona Method helped me when I first began working with it.
I used to have a fear of driving to places I was not familiar with. Just the thought of getting lost brought up so much anxiety, I rarely drove very far from home. As it so happens, I had signed up for a seminar about two and a half hours drive from my home just about the same time I bought the Sedona Method. As I listened to Hale explain what the Sedona Method was about and followed his instructions, I began using it to let go of or release the anxiety I had about driving. As the time arrived for me to begin my drive, waves of anxiety came up and I opened up to letting them go. By the time I arrived at my destination, I was laughing at myself and wondering what all the fuss had been about. A few months later, I looked forward to driving to an even farther and more challenging destination, but this time I did so with a sense of joy and appreciation.
Now that may sound silly or even simple, but for anyone who has had the experience of what we label as anxiety, to be free of it is noteworthy. Since then, I have had far more profound gains.
Lester was a man who loved challenges. So, instead of giving up, he decided to go back to the lab within himself and find some answers. Because of his determination and concentration, he was able to cut through his conscious mind to find what he needed. What he found was the ultimate tool for personal growth—a way of letting go of all inner limitations. He was so excited by his discovery that he used it intensively for a period of three months. By the end of that period, his body became totally healthy again. Furthermore, he entered a state of profound peace that never left him through the day he died on January 18, 1994.
What Lester discovered firsthand is that we are all unlimited beings, limited only by concepts of limitation that we hold in our minds. These concepts of limitation are not true; furthermore, because they’re not really true, they can easily be released or discharged. Lester’s experience made him understand that not only could he practice this technique himself, he could teach others how to do it as well.
Here is an introduction of the basic ways of letting go taken directly from the Sedona Method website www.sedona.com so you can try it out for yourself. You are also encouraged to read the articles posted there since they cover nearly every situation for releasing, along with mp3 files for listening. Also, take advantage of the free introductory offer. The 2 hour DVD is a wonderful way to learn about the basics of releasing along with some more in-depth information.
Now, hold the object in front of you and really grip it tightly. Pretend this is one of your limiting feelings and that your hand represents your gut or your consciousness. If you held the object long enough, this would start to feel uncomfortable yet familiar.
Now, open your hand and roll the object around in it. Notice that you are the one holding on to it; it is not attached to your hand. The same is true with your feelings. Your feelings are as attached to you as this object is attached to your hand.
We hold on to our feelings and forget that we are holding on to them. It’s even in our language. When we feel angry or sad, we don’t usually say, “I feel angry,” or “I feel sad.” We say, “I am angry,” or “I am sad.” Without realizing it, we are misidentifying that we are the feeling. Often, we believe a feeling is holding on to us. This is not true… we are always in control and just don’t know it.
You can do the same thing with any emotion: choose to let it go.
As you master the process of releasing, you will discover that even your deepest feelings are just on the surface. At the core you are empty, silent, and at peace, not in the pain and darkness that most of us would assume. In fact, even our most extreme feelings have only as much substance as a soap bubble. And you know what happens when you poke your finger into a soap bubble. It pops. That’s exactly what happens when you dive into the core of a feeling.
There is also a fifth way of releasing: Surrendering into Presence Awareness. Details of applying each releasing method is available in the book, The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being by Hale Dwoskin.
Allow yourself to play with the basic ways of releasing. Let go of any attachment to outcomes because that gets in the way, as I learned when I first began releasing. This is just the beginning of a wonderful new adventure in freeing yourself from suffering and limitation. I have been working with the more advanced Sedona Method programs after learning the basics and can say that I am so very grateful to have this powerful, yet simple tool to use.
Give The Sedona Method a try. Play with it. I am certain that you will be pleasantly surprised at how valuable a tool it is to have, especially in these times of “apparent” uncertainty.
“The best part of releasing old issues using the Sedona Method is that it is a one-time event. No other tool or technique I have encountered is so instantly and permanently effective in removing conscious and unconscious barriers to living in comfort, ease, and joy. Since learning and utilizing the Method, I live with less fear, more peace, and from a much deeper, more spiritually connected part of myself. Even amidst the apparent harried and ‘emergency’ situations that I encounter, I am able to remain calm and to approach challenges from a balanced perspective.” ~Jeff G., California