A traditional Chinese saying goes: ‘Your heart can create heaven or hell.’ The modern version of this might go something like: “Your consciousness creates your reality.” We have all felt the effects of emotional problems on the body. When a loved one is sick, when you are going through a difficult transition at work, or when your home life is unsettled, you are playing a kind of emotional tug-of-war that is felt and often displayed on your physical body.
Body, mind, emotions and soul are inextricably linked. Each of us is a whole being. So it is very difficult – if not impossible – to have true physical health without a balanced and peaceful mind and spirit. It is crucial to understand that emotions affect your overall health. Both personal circumstances and larger, more global events are the basis of many physical problems.
Taoist perspective
A helpful practice is ‘letting go’. By giving free rein to emotions, you can get rid of disease-causing conditions that can negatively affect your health. But honestly, letting it go is easier said than done. How do you live a stressful situation day in and day out without feeling the stress? How do you let go when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel?
This important TCM and Taoist philosophy involves a change in perspective. It understands that while we cannot truly control external events and circumstances, we do have a choice in how we respond to them. It takes a step back and allows that what sometimes seems ‘bad’ is not always completely bad, and that what seems ‘good’ is not always one hundred percent good. It’s a new way to step back and look at the situation with clear eyes. While the situation may not be ideal, there is a silver lining – somewhere – if you look at it from the right angle.
And it begs for the universe’s help. This may sound cliché, but situations that seem impossible often are because we have lost our sense of control over them. This is when it is important to recognize the innate connection we are all born with – the connection that connects us to every living thing. The singing birds, swimming whales and graceful trees are all part of our nature as living beings – and what connects us to the earth and the universe itself.
To do
So, how do you ask for universal help for a situation that seems completely impossible to solve? If you’ve ever made a to-do list, you know where this goes. People who make to-do lists usually start their day or week with a list of things they want to accomplish. These things can be work-related, like “5pm deadline,” or home-related, like “bring a football team snack,” or a combination of both. Usually they are things that can be accomplished or checked off as the day or week progresses.
But what about the invisible to-do list we keep in our heads every minute – ‘stop fighting with the in-laws’, ‘come to a solution on the school problem’, etc. These are things that never make it onto a written list. They never have to. We don’t need a constant reminder that they are there; our minds and bodies know them all too well.
And therein lies the problem. If we want them to be resolved, we must remove these nagging problems from our bodies and even our minds. This does not mean that by letting go of these problems you will forget them. Not exactly. Simply that you ask the Universe – which has more power than any human – to hold them, mold them and transform them for you, and then send them back in a nice, clean package.
Speak your intentions
To give up control and “let go,” you must put your intentions out into the open. Go into nature and speak openly – ask the universe to take over this problem or situation from you. You’ll soon discover that many things you have no control over are there for a reason. They are not intended to be monitored. They serve a greater purpose that will be revealed when the time comes for the problem to resolve itself. Guaranteed: The universe has dealt with bigger and more powerful things than you ask for. And when the time comes for you to get that nice, clean package back, you’ll notice that it doesn’t look anything like it did when it was first started: it’s changed and shaped. And that’s when you can finally let go and really ‘let go’.
More information
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