As you know most of us humans have so much stuff buried inside us from the past
that it’s any wonder we are even walking around.

Things like pain, trauma, shame, guilt, addiction, depression, and an endless number of ways that we have been wounded through our lives.

The deepest wounds, of course, come from our childhood and are locked in place by age 5.

Then, of course, we get to keep triggering these wounds in our relationships and life events because they haven’t yet been fully healed.

We really are the walking wounded and yet some of us do get to heal.

What makes the difference and how do we finally get relief from our past baggage that we carry around buried in our unconscious?

What I’ve discovered that’s helped me and thousands of others like me is that one of the keys to healing our wounds is to change the relationship we have with our mind.

If the relationship we have with our mind is based on it being in control of us rather than us being the master of it – then we are screwed.

As long as we stay a slave to our mind and beliefs then we are forever stuck in the past and subject to re-creating all our buried wounds over-and-over again.

This is because our mind and emotions are connected. When we have a thought filled with pain then our emotions will reflect the same. They feed off each other so that it becomes an endless cycle of suffering.

To change this behavior we need to become an observer of the mind instead of being pulled into a thought stream that ends in pain or suffering.

By learning to step back from the mind and observe it with an attitude of non-judgment it creates separation from it.

When this happens, then we no longer get identified with stories from the past no matter how painful they were – then we are free.

The way to achieve this is to meditate and specifically mindful meditation as this is how we create non-judgmental awareness of the mind and feelings.

Mindful meditation is as simple as watching your breath flow in and out of your body for a few minutes. This is how we start to come back to the present in which all healing takes place.

I’m going to list the top 5 things which, if you can let go of them in your life, will allow your true nature to shine forth from every cell of your body. The only thing that stands in yours way to waking up each day feeling inspired and grateful to be alive and going to bed at night feeling happy and fulfilled from the day – is you!

It’s what you hold onto that cause your life to stay safe, small and stressful that keeps you stuck in the cycle of pain and misery. Nobody else is doing it to you and nobody else can fix it for you – it’s all up to you. Once we accept this basic premise, then instantly it becomes easier to change.

Let’s take a look now at the top 5 things you can let go of today that will allow you to be more authentic in everything you do:

1. Let go of the need for approval

While this may sound easy to do, for many people the need for approval is so ingrained in their mental and emotional habits that it can be quite a daunting prospect to follow through with. Whenever we look for approval for who we are and what we are doing then instantly we give away our power to be self-reliant to others. Even worse than that is that when we seek approval and don’t get it, then we feel bad about ourselves and blame the other because we feel bad.

Letting go of the need for approval simply means that you’re okay with who you are and what you do, regardless of what others think about it. Sure, they are entitled to their opinion but that’s all it is – their opinion, it doesn’t mean that you have to make it yours. Next time you want to do something that matters to you – just do it. Then no matter what others say to you about it just thank them for their feedback and leave it at that.

2. Let go of  caring about what others think of you

This follows on from what we just spoke about. When you allow the criticisms and judgments of others about who they believe you should be or what you should be doing with your life impact the decisions you make and actions you take – then you lose. You lose your self-respect and the chance to let your brilliance shine through into every part of your life. It doesn’t matter what others think about you and unless they are the perfect human being, which as far as I know doesn’t exist, then who are they to try and tell you how to live your life.

From now on, if you have anyone try to tell you what to do, or what not to do, then check in with what’s true for you and then go do what it is right for you. If anyone doesn’t approve and gives you a hard time about it, then perhaps it’s time to start hanging with people that actually do care about you and where you’re headed in your life.

3. Let go of the need to fix anything about yourself

Now this may fly in the face of conventional wisdom when it comes to personal development but stay with me for a moment. What if the things that we thought were wrong with us were just parts of us waiting to be loved and accepted. Isn’t that what everything in life that is not in harmony with itself really wants – to be loved and accepted? Think about every argument you’ve ever had, what were they really about? Arguments always arise when one or more people who are arguing feel that they are not being seen,heard, or understood from their point of view. In other words, they don’t feel loved and accepted during those moments.

The same applies to those parts of us that we believe we need to change or get rid of. The fastest way I know for permanent change to happen is to find a way to accept what is. Once you’ve done that, then what you do next will come from a place of love and compassion, rather than from judgment and anxiety. What if there never was, nor ever will be, anything about you that isn’t exactly the way it is supposed to be? How would you think about yourself then?

4. Let go of the need to be serious

Serious people lead serious lives, which if you think about it just sounds like plain old hard work. It takes way more energy to stay serious about things even when they probably really don’t matter, than to relax and enjoy your life. For those things that do matter, even then you don’t need to be serious about them, it is perfectly okay to have fun and enjoy every moment you are alive – if you want to.

I have found that instead of getting serious over stuff, try being sincere. Sincerity has a completely different energy to it, as well a different impact on your body language. When you think about people who are serious all the time what impression do you get of their energy and body language? Do images of tightness, hardness, being closed and not fun to be around come to mind? In comparison what impressions do you get when you think of people who are sincere? Most likely they are images of strength, openness, flexibility, and enjoyable to hang with. which do you choose?

5. Let go of worrying about the future

Almost all anxiety comes from worrying about something that may or may not happen in the future. This is completely irrational and unfounded in reality, yet it exists. The question is why? It exists because you have forgotten how to live from your center. Your center is that part of you that is grounded in the here and now, and is able to stay focused on the present moment without getting distracted by thoughts or feelings about the future.

I look at it this way… what on earth is there to worry about when we know that at some point in the future we will no longer be here. We are all going to die and there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s when we accept this fact and find a way to really be at peace with it that a deep gratitude for life arises in your mind, body and spirit, and each day becomes another chance to stretch our wings and fly free – while we can.

There is nothing holding you back from living your greatness except what keeps you distracted from opening up to your true potential. These distractions can have many faces and look like many things but really you can distill them all down to one thing – and that’s fear. Fear of change; fear of success;  fear of failure; and even fear of your own power. The best way I know to overcome these deep seeded fears is to make love more important than fear in your life.

As your love for yourself and the life you have deepens, so too will your fears dissolve. Love and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time, so it makes perfect sense to just keep focusing on opening your heart and Soul to the deepest levels of love you can find and live. Then, from a place of unwavering self-love you will automatically be living your greatness.

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Michael Atma
Michael Atma Blog
Skype: michaelatma
Email: Michael@MichaelAtma.com