In the post How I Got Rid of Pain Using the Law of Attraction, I chronicled how I was able to release physical pain (in this case, a stomach ache) by focusing on a neutral symbol. Basically, I made the point that we have the power to change our physical experience by focusing in a way that deactivates or disallows whatever is causing our suffering. I talk about this in pretty much every one of my posts, of course – the way we focus allows us to not only feel better, but manifest the reality we want (or not). And most people who read this type of material believe or at least want to believe this to be true to some extent. But it becomes a lot more difficult to get our heads around the idea that we truly are this powerful in the moment, when we’re being slapped in the face by a physical condition of some kind. And even if one does believe that completely ignoring our pain causes it to diminish or even go away entirely, is it really possible to completely ignore our physical suffering? Is it really possible for a normal person to tune out their current, painful reality?

Well, yes and no. While it’s possible to completely tune out our pain or physical discomfort to the point where we no longer feel it, it’s really, really hard to do when the pain or discomfort is bad enough. Luckily, it’s not necessary to just ignore it. There’s another way to get relief. It’s not the easiest thing in the world and takes a little bit of training, but it’s totally doable.

My learning experience – Night One

Often, when I ask a question, the answer comes to me in the form of an experience that allows me to fully understand the answer, not just get it intellectually. So, a few months ago (this is really recent stuff!), when I was exploring suffering, the cause of it, and the real question: how to release it, I had a powerful experience that led to the insight I’m about to share with you.

I was lying in bed one night, meditating. I tend to meditate at night, just before going to sleep. I decided not to guide my meditation, but simply to open myself up and allow whatever information I needed to know most to come through. I consider the knowledge and clarity I receive during meditation to be manifestations – and when I simply leave it up to the Universe, I always get the answer I most need at that time.

So, there I was, all relaxed and floaty, when a powerful wave of anxiety swept through my body. Adrenalin was pumping through my veins, my breathing became faster, and terror swept through me. I was in the midst of a full blown panic attack, and as anyone who’s ever had one can tell you, they aren’t pleasant. I had no idea what the anxiety was about and couldn’t imagine that any thought I’d had in the midst of meditation could’ve inadvertently triggered these feelings. I held on as best I could, acknowledging that I was physically safe and that my body was simply reacting to something I hadn’t discovered yet. I reassured myself that what I was feeling was mostly a result of the adrenalin coursing through my system and eventually, it would pass. I balled my fists, braced myself and decided to “just get through it”, as if resigning myself to being tortured. It would have to end at some point. Panic attacks can’t last forever.

And it did end, eventually. The aftermath (muscles twitching, nausea, breathlessness, etc.) lasted for more than an hour, until I finally managed to drift off to sleep.

Night Number Two – a pattern emerges

The next day, I wasn’t able to get any more clarity on what had happened or what had triggered the panic attack. I couldn’t make any sense of it. I hadn’t had a full blown attack in years. I do occasionally manifest anxiety – it’s one of my body’s favorite ways to manifest resistance because it always gets my attention, and fast. But this hadn’t been just a bit of anxiousness sweeping through me. This was the real deal and I wasn’t eager for a repeat performance. I wanted to figure out what had happened.

That night, as I lay in bed, I set the intention to obtain some clarity and went into a meditative state. And BAM! I got hit with a panic attack again. And again, I braced myself and rode it out. It would have to end eventually and I knew that I was strong enough to get through it. I knew this because I’ve created a lot of suffering in my life. In fact, I used to pride myself on just how much pain I could endure. If I got the flu, I worked through it. Proudly. If I was stressed out to the point of nearly having a nervous breakdown, I’d press on. It wasn’t easy to stop me, damn it. Of course, now I know that it wasn’t easy for my inner being to get my attention and it took a lot of suffering to get me to finally be willing to make a change. But when faced with a big challenge, especially physical discomfort, I still had a bit of a tendency to just turn into the storm, head first, ready to do battle and take my lumps. Like I said, I was strong enough, damn it.

Once the waves of panic passed, I lay there, adrenalin still coursing through my system, stunned at having been hit with another seemingly unprovoked attack. It began to dawn on me that there might be a purpose to these sessions – that this might have something to do with my intention to understand and overcome suffering in general. Perhaps, bracing and “just getting through it” was not the most optimal way to deal with this kind of discomfort. I have come to believe, strongly, that suffering in all its forms is unnecessary. So, I reasoned that there must be a better way to deal with pain or anxiety. But what?

Night Number Three – Clarity

Enter the third night. As I got into bed, I knew that I wasn’t just going to go to sleep. I had work to do, discoveries to make, clarity to obtain. I got into my meditative state and asked “What’s a better way to deal with physical suffering? What’s a better way to deal with these panic attacks?” The answer I got was “Just let go”, which, I’ve got to tell you, kind of annoyed me. I mean, if I could “just let go” of the anxiety, I would, right? Obviously, my guides had never had a freaking panic attack, or they wouldn’t be so damn flippant about it. You can’t just turn off a full blown panic attack. Just let go, my ass.

I tried to get a better answer, but I just kept hearing “Just let go”, like some kind of broken record. Our guides, by the way, will never change their answer just because we don’t like it. They can be really stubborn that way.

And so, I decided to relax and just allow the experience to happen. There was something for me to discover here, and even if I didn’t yet know what it was, I had enough faith in my ability to find it, to allow me to just go with it. I relaxed and waited for the suffering to begin.

And it did. Great big waves of anxiety swept over me. And I noticed myself tensing – bracing for the storm. Turning into it, head first, like the fighter that I’ve always been. Only, this time was different. I noticed myself bracing; I watched myself doing it. And then I heard it again: “Just let go”.

And it began to dawn on me. Let go. Don’t fight the storm. Don’t brace and turn into it. Let the storm take you. Ride the waves. Just go with it. Accept it and STOP FIGHTING.

I began to relax. It was scary – what if going with it made the anxiety worse? What if the waves washed me away? I tensed, then relaxed some more. And I thought, “Ok anxiety, I surrender. Just take me.” I stopped fighting, turned and let the waves take me.

Relief

And then something amazing happened. Instead of the anxiety increasing and peaking, instead of “just getting through it”, I still felt the waves of adrenalin coursing through me (you can’t stop a panic attack on a dime), but my experience of it changed drastically. I wasn’t afraid. There was no terror. There was no panic. I rode the waves. Hell, I surfed them. Instead of clenching my jaw and fighting the experience every step of the way, I welcomed it, surrendered to it. And the moment I did, my anxiety passed. I still felt the adrenalin for a little while (although my recovery took minutes instead of over an hour), but all fear was gone. All discomfort was gone.  And then – clarity arrived.

I realized that ALL suffering is caused by our insistence on weathering the storm. We brace, we fight and we suffer. If we can just go with the moment, just flow with the energy of it, just ride the waves and let them take us, suffering ceases instantly. When we think “I don’t want this! Please stop! Please make it stop!”, we are fighting. The suffering increases. But when we think “Ok, here we go. Just take me. I won’t fight. I surrender”, suffering decreases or goes away altogether.

I’ve since tested this theory several times and it works every time – both with physical as well as psychological discomfort. For example, if I’m out dancing and the DJ is playing horrible music, I could get all annoyed and stomp out. Or, I can decide to dance, to let the music flow through me, to just go with it. And then I have fun. When I have a cramp (I don’t get them often, but I did manifest one while testing this theory), I can hate the fact that my body is putting me through hell and that apparently, women are meant to suffer more than men, or I can make peace with it and just allow the pain to wash through me. And when I do that, the pain diminishes and either goes away completely, or fades into the background and becomes a non-issue. It’s about allowing – allowing whatever is to just be, and to decide to just be ok with it. It’s about not trying to change what’s happening, but to just let it go. And when we manage to do that successfully, our experience changes for the better.

We create our suffering by fighting the moment – by pushing against the NOW. When we stop fighting and allow ourselves to be swept up by the moment, when we surrender to our NOW, our suffering ceases. Like I said, it’s not necessarily easy and it does take some practice (and it can be scary as hell), but it works.

Try it for yourself (but maybe don’t start with the biggest pain in your life). Just let go. Ride the waves. Let the storm take you. Doesn’t that feel better?

How do you handle suffering? Can you learn to let go? Do you have another technique you can share? Let me know in the comments!

Also, for those of you who just can’t get enough of me (you know who you are, you happy shiny puppies you), the incredibly intuitive Angela Artemis published an interview with yours truly on her blog yesterday. The audio recording is full of awesome nuggets of LOA wisdom and I even threw in some metaphors I’ve never mentioned anywhere else before. Check it out here: Is Your Life All it Could Be? 3 Crucial Steps You May Be Missing.

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  • So simple, loved the detail and insights you have been giving here.
    Do not fight, but experience, surrender, let go, feel every discomfort, just ride the wave, instead of creating a dam…

  • A few nights ago I had a dream most of which I can’t remember. But there was one distinct part of it I didn’t forget. At one point in the dream I heard a distinct voice say “just let go” and all of a sudden I was plunged into the atmosphere full of vibrant colors swirling everywhere. I felt a rush of energy through me almost like being on a roller coaster. I felt so alive. Like I was rising up and speeding forward at the same time. What I make of it is parts of me that were dormant is waking up and whatever major resistance is dissolving. I think it’s an indication of what needs to happen as I’m now ready for what I want.

    The recognition of resistance and the process of releasing it is part of our becoming self aware. That’s my take away from reading this and my dream.

    • Hey Mimi,

      I’d say that this process has already started for you if you’re dreaming about it. Just don’t get in the way. Relax and go with it. Just say yes to life. 🙂

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • Hi Melody

    Thanks for sharing this blog. It came to my attention when I needed it.

    I am wondering when you post your comments and at the end it says “Melody Fletcher invites you to read ….” How do you decide which link to send to other individuals? Is it your intuition? Hehe..

    • You’re welcome Claire. 🙂

      Actually, I only have a choice of the last 10 posts on my blog, not all of them (that would be awesome). So, I usually try to link to one of the last ten in one comment per post, like a little extra exposure. If I want to point you to a specific post that’s older, I have to do it in the comment itself.

      But I write intuitively, so the order in which the posts get published, the decisions on what to write about each day, that’s all part of the co-creation. And it’s always perfect. 🙂

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

      So now, I’m going to link to my newest post, because you may not have seen it yet. 8)

  • Oh Melody, this topic sure hits home. I know about it all too well, having suffered with GAD three years ago. I did not know what it was at first with the manifestation of the first few symptoms. I thought it was vertigo or some kind of brain seizure or something (it sure felt that way) or my heart was malfunctioning or there was a nervous system problem because of the tingling I felt in my extremities. I had test done, even had a brain scan and nothing was found. Then, a few months later, the attacks came with a vengeance. I also had the ever fearsome de-personalization. I felt like I was not here. Like I was a ghost of sorts. Everything felt weird and I was terrified of going out. I would get it in the subway, having gotten off at earlier stops at times, just to regain breathing normally. what a hell it created. I thought I was losing my mind. Was I schizophrenic? Will I need to be institutionalized? Oh crap.

    However, I know I am better than I was and I have come a long way because reading your post was actually solidifying knowledge about it, rather enlightening, calming and I totally understood what you were talking about, things I was not able to do before. I did all sorts of therapy, including acupuncture (the most helpful one) and took major steps to turn my life around and focus on myself, not what was outside myself and reacting to that. I read a book about it and its true causes (general anxiety) of how we look at ourselves. For those suffering a while with the disorder, treating ourselves with utmost love and respect is what is called for. Our nerves are tired of the mean things we say to ourselves. They can’t take all that crap and, in order to protect themselves, shut down and we experience de-personalization, a really scary phenomenon. I had been beating myself up with regrets and things I should have done and just blaming myself about things, flogging myself until there was nothing left.

    since then, I have been on this journey and on my way to finding myself again. Just goes to show what negativity can do when spun out of control. It makes me appreciate myself and my health! 🙂

    • Hey Kat,

      Thanks so much for sharing your experience here.

      One thing – your anxiety also caused you to create the desire for more stability, confidence and happiness than you ever could’ve imagined before. So, the pull of those emotions will be stronger than than ever before and as you find your way there, you’ll become more spectacular and inspiring than you could’ve been pre-anxiety.

      So, even though you didn’t NEED to go through this, by doing so, you inadvertently created a BIGGER, BRIGHTER version of yourself. 🙂

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • ‘Just let go, my ass!’…well said, Sunshine! Your posts never cease to amaze me. This is why I feel a strong connection with you. Good golly Miss Molly, your words are my words, your fears are mine as well. I have Fibromyalgia and other irritating stuff going on in this body of mine. I recently figured out that most of my panic attacks and body pain was coming from my loss of identity – empty nest syndrome combined with major change in lifestyle, combined with early and undesired retirement. Dammit, I can still do something, just can’t work a ‘regular’ job anymore. Now that I am letting go of who I used to be, I am feeling better. All the things I used to do, don’t matter anymore. Stopped taking the narcotics the Docs were drugging me with and I feel so much better. The Docs at the Traumatic Brain Institute told me I had PTSD and tried to get me to ‘relive’ my experiences – hurricane Jean, house fire, flood, horseback riding accident, husband cheating etc. Seriously?! Why the hell do I want to bring all that up again? So I can deal with the pain again? Nope, not on your life. Been there, done that and dealt with it once and don’t want to go back. Thanks again for a great post. Peace, love, and big smelly horse hugs. 🙂

    • Hey Deb,

      I moved this comment to this post. I think you meant to put it here, LOL.

      It’s wonderful how you’re figuring out the cause of your resistance. And don’t blame the doctors too much. They are making headway. At least they didn’t JUST drug you. They did attempt to figure out an emotional (psychological, from their view) cause and that’s already a huge step in the right direction. They’re still approaching it analytically, instead of emotionally and intuitively, but hell. Progress is progress, I say.

      And really, what YOU experience is down to your vibration anyway. 🙂

      I love horsey hugs! Smelly or otherwise.
      Happy shiny Barcelona sunny pony hugs right back atcha. With sprinkles on top. Yeah.. I’m competitive that way…

      Melody 🙂

  • hello maam..i am 19 years old and i am from india…mam i amvery depressed and i feel like everything is going out of control…i hve panic attacks and i can stop them to an extent by 7-11 breathing…i used to have panic attacks and i was in depression for a month 4 years back…and then i used “the let go” principle…and i was anxiety free for a long time…but maam a few days back i watched a horror movie..and it triggered my panic attacks..maam i am very afraid my only “the let go” solution is lost.what should i do…i am having suicidal thoughts..but i dont want to die ..i love my mom so much and my brother my father….they have been so good to me…they dont even know i am depressed.

    • Hi Sashwat,

      first of all, stop watching horror movies. You were doing better and then you focused on something that made you feel awful.

      You HAVE found something that worked – the “let go” principle. You were using it and you were feelign better. That’s awesome! Nothing went wrong and this technique didn’t fail you. You simply exposed yourself to something that you weren’t ready for and kept watching it even when it didn’t feel good. So now, you know that you have to stay away from horror movies, at least for the time being.

      Remove yourself from anything that makes you feel bad. Surround yourself with things that feel good – Good feeling music, good feeling books, blogs like this one, etc. Be vigilant about it and just immerse yourself in it. do things that feel good and have fun. Play video games. Read funny books or articles. If you slid down quickly, you can recover, as well. Meditate, sleep a lot and just withdraw as much as possible. Go to your room and focus exclusively on things that will help you to feel better.

      And once you do feel better, and you will, be very selective about what you expose yourself to, especially in the beginning. Don’t be afraid to walk out of a movie if it doesn’t feel good. Stop reading a book that depresses you. Stop talking to people that bring you down. You don’t have to to this forever, just until you’re stronger (vibrationally).

      You’re having suicidal thoughts because you’re in pain and you don’t see a way to feel better. You don’t really want to die. You’re just desperate to feel better. Follow the instructions above and you’ll feel better in a couple of days.

      Huge hugs!

      Melody

  • Hi Melody,

    Again a great post. I can relate to it even though I never had a fullblown panic attack myself. My daughter had plenty of them though, some years even at the thought of just having to leave the house or to have a cup of coffee in a restaurant. And letting go was the farthest thing from her mind, she fought it. She wanted it to stop then and there, and she wanted answers from me, then and there. Mothers are supposed to know, are they not? But I did not.

    Fortunately she has come a long way since then. Her first fullblown panic attack came about five years ago when she was on the verge of leaving for her dream journey to Dubai, where she had wanted to go since she was about twelve years old, even if she did not know why. It was so bad that she was not even able to stand up, she could hardly talk and had severe pains all over. Travelling was out of the question. That came on top of loosing her boyfriend even though they both loved eachother very much (his parents refused to accept her as she is not a Muslim) and her job. . She tumbled in a very deep pit indeed and could not even eat or drink any more. And all this just before the wedding of our son in Vietnam, which meant that she could not attend the wedding either. Nor the funeral of her grandmother who died around that time too. So the panic attacks became very frequent indeed.

    Now we are almost five years further on and some months ago she finally went to Dubai, on her own, and in spite of secret fears that the same thing would happen again nothing happened and she had a wonderful time. Now she is back in the Emirates again, at the invitation of another Muslim friend from Saudi Arabia (the first one was from SA too, even though he lived in Holland), who spent almost a week there with her. And they like eachother very much indeed, so who knows. Her heart draws her to the Emirates, so she would like to find work there. In Holland she has never found a job again because of her illness. So maybe this is a turnaround in all respects for her and she can finally begin living again.

    Love,

    Anny

    • Hey Anny,

      It sounds like your daughter was working through some tough beliefs, but that she’s finding her way out. Good for her. These kinds of debilitating experiences can seem horrific, but they actually end up teaching us a lot about ourselves. Perhaps she simply wasn’t ready to be the person that she associated with the Emirates and now she is. That person may have been too big for her at the time, too scary. But now she’s more ready than ever to step into her power, to become more of Who She Really Is.

      Sending you huge hugs and love and light!
      Melody

  • Hey Sylvia,

    Well, I’m not sure you have to, since it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get triggered by being under a bed (you can generally control that. How often are you under a bed) or that someone will choke you out of the blue. But if you did want to work on it, I’d suggest visualizing first and then shifting within the visualizations. You could then lie next to a bed and get close and only trigger yourself a little bit at a time, that sort of thing. With that strong of a trigger it’s doubtful that you’d be able to shift while in the situation. It would be much better to do it while not being triggered. 🙂

    Huge hugs!
    Melody

  • Yes, Melody we actually create our suffering by fighting the moment or you can say by pushing against the NOW. It is definitely not easy when we need to stop fighting and allow ourselves to be swept up by the moment which cause our suffering ceases but it surely works. Thanks for the beautiful post and advice.

    • Hey Pete,

      I’ve often been amazed at how hard it can be to just be in the moment, even after having achieved that state many times. My instinct is to fight my way through the resistance, which, of course, doesn’t work. Each time, I have to remember to just let go, to go with it, to let it wash over me, and then the clarity and peace come. It is taking me less and less time to remember, but still. It can be surprisingly difficult. I’m looking forward to the day when I can shift into that awareness in seconds. I’m getting a little bit closer every day. How about you? 🙂

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • The Universe has been barraging me with the Let Go message. After I wrote a post on it a couple weeks ago, it seems like I’m reading it everywhere.

    My issues/resistance have been with my mother. I keep applying all the practices and techniques that have worked for me in other situations but this issue always seems to slip through untouched. I’ve been spending so much time on trying to understand why it’s there which only keeps the emotional pain in the forefront and keeps me out of the present moment and not feeling good. Once I decided to let go of trying to figure it out and fix it and just let it be, I’ve felt lighter. The saying ‘Let go, let God’ keeps coming into my head (I call it the Universe but ‘let go, let the Universe’ doesn’t sound as good). Following this phrase, I get visions of myself turning into an eagle and flying.

    Thanks for an even better explanation to reinforce it all for me. You’re the BEST!!

    • Thanks so much Paige. I’m glad the post was helpful for you.

      It just seems too simple – just let go. It couldn’t possibly work. That’s why it’s so hard. But really, once we do it, we always feel so much better and realize that it wasn’t hard at all. We, as a species really do love to make it hard on ourselves, don’t we? 😉

      Fly eagle, Fly! (The eagle from Scrubs comes to mind… anyone?)

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • Way to ride the lightning, so to speak. Letting go is one of the biggest challenges we face in any situation. Being in the “now” is so difficult because we spend our lives worrying about the past or the future when really there is only the present moment.

    • Hi Todd!

      For me, that’s certainly the biggest challenge. It means developing a supreme amount of trust, overcoming our need for control, overcoming our fears… And yet, when we do manage it, it seems so simple.

      Here’s to the journey! 🙂

      Hugs,
      Melody

  • It’s pretty amazing how much personal power we have. I know the moments of fighting against something or feeling I must be “strong” and deal with it – and to simply be present and release often seems near impossible – but it really is quite magical – that letting go.

    • Hey Aileen,

      It’s is great? I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what we’re capable of, but every once in a while, I get a glimpse of the highest level I can handle and WOW. It gives such a sense of ultimate control. When we let go of controlling the details, we gain control over our reality. Can I get a Wooohooo! 😀

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • I know I’ve said this a dozen times, but it’s crazy how your blog always, and I mean ALWAYS resonates with what I’m going through at the moment. I’m sure it happens to everyone else here as well.

    I have experienced letting go before and it’s pretty awesome. As much as I’d like to say I did it as a conscious decision, I didn’t. It just happened because I couldn’t bear the stress anymore. I let go, and the stress was gone. I started to realize that the best way around certain struggles was to just “enjoy” them. Don’t resist by wishing for something else or blaming someone or resisting. Just go with the flow, as they say, and the stress will evaporate on its own.

    I have to ask though… Let’s say something is preventing a person from reaching her dreams. If she lets go, wouldn’t that mean having to let go of pursuing her dreams? If she fights whatever is holding her back, it causes suffering. If she lets go, how will she know she’ll still achieve what she has always wanted?

    Thanks, Melody! 🙂

    • Hey Derrek,

      It’s because I can read your mind. Buwahahahahaha!

      Letting go of the struggle is not the same as letting go of the desire. You can’t actually let go of the desire. Your higher self is holding on to that for you. All you can do is allow it or not. When you let go, you’re letting go of the resistance. Does that make sense?

      HSP Hugs!
      Melody

      • Perfect sense, actually. 🙂

        So basically, your desires are intact, it’s just that you don’t struggle to make them happen? Am I getting it right? It’s like you want something, but you don’t have it right now, and the situation may be a little difficult, but you let go of the “how’s” and “whens” and “which way”, let go of fighting against the situation, and just enjoy the way things are, while allowing your desire to arrive whenever and however it will?

        Correct me if I’m wrong, Melody. 🙂

  • Thanks AJ. Actually, in this post I didn’t talk about releasing the underlying problem. When you’re in the midst of a panic attack, for example, I’m not sure it’s possible to figure out what’s causing it. You have to get through it first. Just as when we’re being emotionally triggered by something or someone, if the trigger is strong enough, we often have no choice but to react. Then, later, we can go back and reframe the situation and release the belief that caused the reaction so the trigger is gone.

    You’re so right. This is all about being in the moment and allowing it. The more we live in the NOW, the less resistance we have. Because when we’re fully allowing and fully in the moment, there is no conflict, no judgment, no resistance. There’s just joy and playing and fun and happiness. What a great feeling! 😀

    Huge hugs!
    Melody

  • Interesting. I believe in letting it all wash over me. Then i surf the waves of anxiety and break on through to the other side. (Can you tell I am a “Doors” fan?). I actually learned this (not the Doors – the surfing) from my Mom. She’d liken it to having a shower and wiping off and coming out fresh.

    🙂 I just loved your interview at Angela’s. It was a great way to start my day! I happily cranked up the volume since I was alone at home – and felt as though I had two friends with me in the room!

    Happy Shiny Puppy Big Big Boisterous Hugs! Love, Vidya

    • Hey Vidya,

      The more you write about your mom, the more I love that woman. How lucky you were to have such a wise woman to guide you growing up. 🙂

      Thanks so much! I loved doing the interview. It was really just a chat between friends. I love doing recordings like that. They’re always much more entertaining and valuable than formal interviews, I think. 🙂

      Happy Shiny running through the grass with bare feet puppy hugs!

      Melody

  • Hi Melody,

    Great post, as always! This one is timely for me. I had a sort-of-start-of-an anxiety attack this morning. I got to Animal Control where I volunteer and was overwhelmed with the number and noise of the dogs. For the first time I’ve seen, almost every cage was full, and some had two dogs. One female was in heat, and every male was howling! On top of that, both vets were at the city dump looking for more rescues, and people kept coming in with questions we couldn’t answer. Then three people in a row came in leaving their pets for adoption! Anger on top of frustration = overwhelmedness!

    I thought about your advice that sometimes you just have to leave, and realizing that I could walk out (and come back tomorrow) calmed me down. I looked at the situation from my soul’s perspective, and it was actually a little funny. (That’s the detachment you’re talking about in the post…) Then the vets and assistants came back, and a flood of family feeling and support swept me. It’s amazing to work with an awesome team! From there on out, everything was fine. A woman brought in a mama dog with 13 puppies – 13! Fine!

    Here’s the turnaround – as soon as I started feeling terrific, people started pouring in the doors wanting to adopt. It was like there was invisible radar or a Batman signal or something – PUPPIES! Soon the whole waiting room was full of people with puppies in their arms, waiting to sign the papers to adopt. And a disabled (differently abled?) older dog attracted his own great new owner!

    I’m not sure what the message is here – maybe that when you ride the wave, relax, get out of your own way, you not only feel better but you make space for awesomeness to arrive.

    Anyway, thanks for listening! Giant smooshy hugs!

    Mary Carol

    • Hey Mary Carol,

      Wow, I love the learning opportunities that shelter is providing you with! Those dogs sure are cooperative teachers. 🙂

      I’ve found that I still get overwhelmed sometimes, but now I don’t push against it anymore and it passes in seconds. It’s really helping me in crowds and the like, which have always been hard for me. The energy would just be too much. But now I realize that if I don’t resist it, I don’t engage. And then I’m free. Yay!

      Butterfly hugs followed by puppy hugs! (mixing it up)
      Melody

  • Great article! Like Jenapher, I honed in on the “Just let go my ass” line. Too funny. I think only the people who’ve had panic attacks really get it.

    Your technique makes a lot of sense. It reminds me of doing tai chi push-hands. If someone’s really good at it and you try to push into them, it’s like they disappear. Your hands are in contact but you might as well just fall into thin air. It’s the focus and the conflict that causes all the problems. As soon as you give up on the struggle, your mind opens up to other, less painful, possibilities.

    Thanks for sharing your story!

    • Hey Jason,

      Welcome to Deliberate Receiving!

      I second Mary Carol! 🙂 I love that line, too. It was such a revelation to realize that when we stop fighting, our whole experience changes for the better. And I’ve now witnessed this on so many levels. It always holds true. I suppose this is the real meaning of the word “resistance”.

      Happy Shiny Puppy Hugs!
      Melody

  • Haha, this was awesome! As a recovering sufferer of panic attacks, this made me lol-“Obviously, my guides had never had a freaking panic attack, or they wouldn’t be so damn flippant about it. You can’t just turn off a full blown panic attack. Just let go, my ass.”

    For people who have never suffered from them it’s like letting go of someone strangling you. It’s pretty damn hard, but you make it seem doable! 😀 This is great advice. You rock! 🙂

    • Hey Jenapher,

      I’m so glad you liked it. Give it a try the next time you feel anxiety. It takes a bit of practice, but after you do it successfully once, it gets much easier. Even when I manifest a bit of anxiety just to get my own attention, I now release it in seconds. I see it and I ease into it and it just flows away and never gets bigger. Of course, I still heed the message it sent me… It really is amazing how much less suffering we can have if we just learn to flow with it. 🙂

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

  • I’ve done this many times, and it always “works”, but it usually involves facing death or my own perceived mortality.

    Why resist homelessness? Cuz it feels like death. Why resist arrest? It feels like death. Why resist cutting off that friendship? Cuz it feels like death.

    Not many people actively want to die, and so most people resist anything that “looks” like it could lead to that. 🙂

    • Wow Jason,

      That’s a powerful insight. I suppose all fears can be linked to death in some way. Although, I did not release all fears even once I released the fear of death. I think that ultimately, we fear powerlessness, and death triggers that fear, being the ultimate expression of powerlessness, but by no means the only one. The thing that comes up most for me when I’m just letting go is that by doing so, I might lose all control. The opposite is actually true, but the mind takes a while to realize that and my first few attempts at letting go were incredibly scary. Of course, like you, I was letting go of some big stuff, which is much more uncomfortable and much harder than starting with smaller baggage. 🙂 Ode to the ambitious…

      Thanks for adding your valuable insights.

      Huge hugs!
      Melody

      • “Powerlessness” is a far more apt description, and far more Abe-oriented, I’d say. You’re spot on with that, Mel.

        I use death ’cause for me, it *relates* a lot better to my peeps and feels smoother on my tongue 🙂

        I was listening to a guy who wanted a “Spanish” Abe, and they said we can come through Esther or through a spanish-speaker, so why not let it be YOU, sir. The audience laughed, and the guy was thrilled to be a spanish-abe-channeler.

        For me, if I’m able to express any wisdom in words people “get” like “fear of death”, I’m thrilled.

        “Loss of control” is another awesome one, again, pretty much synonymous with death in my experience, and it’s mainly a reminder for me that there IS no control, save over internal stuff, and through that, external control.

        Great discussion 🙂

        Actually, I’d love you to take a look at an Abe process (Emotional Grids) I explained, as well as a deeply personal story of how I used it – http://ryzeonline.com/effing-happy

        • OMFG Jason! I just heard that recording (Spanish Abe Channeler) yesterday!!! Holy synchronicity Batman! 😀

          And thanks for pointing me to your awesome post. I’ve gotten a bit behind on my reading lately (inundated with emails), but that one was super worth reading.

          Huge hugs!
          Melody

          • I absolutely LOVE signs like that. Very pleased 🙂

            So glad you’re feelin’ it 😀

            P.S. I like to think (and it’s born out by others) that all the material on Ryze is that caliber, maybe the odd exception 😛

  • wow mell,

    Once again a great post as always.

    well my question here is about money issues.
    how to let go the fact that we dont have enough money and the fear that we wont have any in the future too.

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