3 Tips to Help Release Mental and Emotional Baggage
“I believe that behind both the person who weighs 400 pounds and the one who weighs 85 there is a lot of baggage, and it has nothing to do with their bodies” – Kirstie Alley
The Weight of Emotional Baggage- letting go and release
The largest weight we carry is ourselves. We hide our baggage in hidden caves and in the locked up closet of our soul. It sits beneath the surface in a way that makes us feel heavy, burdened, and always looking back in the rear view mirror. That inner weight acts as a channel blocker, disrupting our flow and our ability to find joy or reach for dreams in the present time. When we can touch back to what we hold deep within we open up a space to resolve whatever past hurts, lost hopes, and mental or emotional sorrow hinder us.
Sadly, we sit bewildered in suffering by not taking the time to introspect and journey to our inner settings for resolution, harmony, and clearing of old energy. Sadness permeates our essence and weakens our foundation- making us feel less capable of progressing and frozen in the shapes of old pain and fears. We reject our openness and vulnerability when we stay chained to anything that destructs us in some way- whether it’s mistakes we have made or inner wounds we have had cast on us by others.
We become like a mirror, a reflection of everything we hold onto and let go of- Christine Evangelou/Rocks into Roses
Moving forward requires a release and to let go of what holds us back- and this is something only we can do for ourselves. Retreating back into the deepest pockets of all that has shaped us- our challenges, hardships, failures and heartbreaks is a painful journey to make. Going back to the shadows is an emotional walk into the silhouette of grief and sadness, yet what has not been accepted and moved to a more loving place will silently haunt us and continue to damage us.
1. Absorb and Feel
Facing hurt and the scar tissue of old memories is a plunge into darkness without a view of the horizon. Yet we can travel through it and endure with an inherent trust and spiritual resolve that what lies at the end of it will illuminate and elevate us somehow. We cannot silence pain or divert its cries- emotions are the language of our soul. When we run from facing (the fear of) pain it will always hold us fervently in its arms- once we absorb and feel it we begin to loosen its grip on our life force and direction. We can only release whatever we wilfully dive deeply into- we breathe it in so we can purposefully exhale it.
Transitioning our sorrow and relinquishing how we protect old pain guides us to eventually find some freedom and beauty through the shadows- in whatever capacity we can. We immerse into our power by embracing our light through the darkness of what we have cocooned so tightly within. A profound letting go and release.
“It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I’ve learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place” – Angelina Jolie
2. Acceptance and Finding a Way Through
We move past inner hurt once we have come to an acceptance and understanding of it. It existed, it happened, and the pain has left its indelible mark. Every experience becomes a part of us. Powerful changes and finding our emotional truth are instigated by the sharpness of pain just as deeply as the softness of love. We cannot negate or ‘magic away’ what hurts because it affected us on such a level that is too deep to simply ignore or dismiss. Instead, we can feed our inner wounds with recognition and love, and find a way to be thankful for the lesson beneath the hurt. The pain had its purpose- to inspire within you a rebirth and renewal of some sort. Compassion helps to set off a release valve, and we find a way to breathe again, to transform the inner grief.
Grief may not lessened, but the response to the weight of it is. We heal by finding a way through- and the way through becomes our way out. Acceptance transmutes the energy, perception, and power of that pain and it becomes less of a monster to our soul.
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar” – Thich Nhat Hanh
3. Opening our Heart Space and Vulnerability
Our hearts thrive on the transparency and authenticity of whom we are. We are all built on a mechanism of vulnerability- it is one of our greatest strengths. It is only through openness and innate courage that we are able to take chances and manoeuvre into uncertain places, for growth and expansion in all parts of life. When we follow our hearts it leads us to the experiences that develop and expand us- testing and pushing us into unknown dimensions. The toughest circumstances serve to open us up- breaking us out of our own shell. Through it all we recall that both the fragility and pure strength of our heart are laced with vulnerability. Heartbreak can open our heart rather than shut it down. Pain can expand our strength rather than weaken it, and sorrow can sow the seeds of the deepest compassion into our existence.
New experiences and beginnings are invited into our lives when our natural softness has an opportunity to override being eclipsed by tough times that we grip to the painful memory of.
“Someone who has experienced trauma also has gifts to offer all of us – in their depth, their knowledge of our universal vulnerability, and their experience of the power of compassion”- Sharon Salzberg
Working through what lies in the attic of your soul means you can find a way to dilute its affliction rather than be consumed by it.
By lovingly letting go and release, we can take flight and find our wings to soar once more. Just like the beautiful phoenix that elevates from the darkest of ashes- we too can rise again.
Categorised as: Motivation, Well Being and Mindfulness