The Not So Subtle Art of Letting Go

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to be talking about letting go, why this has become quite a paradox and a thorn in the side of many people, such as myself, who struggled with overattachment to thoughts, feelings, things, and people. I will be sharing some of my simplest yet effective ways to let go of something in every sense of the word, without any more chit chat - let's get right into it

Why Letting Go Is So Hard

We have all tried letting go of something, and with that being said, it is known that letting things go can be a bit of a paradoxical situation. I mean, everyone says it, but few people, I reckon, can actually let go, and even fewer can tell what it really means to let things go. Letting go is hard, you know, if only that meant not thinking about it anymore, and it just fades away, but you’d understand the irony: the harder you try not to, the more you find that you do, in fact, hold on more to it that requires letting go of. A paradox, I tell you.

You would say to yourself, “Okay, I’m letting it go now,” but in that very sentence said and every thought you have, you’re still thinking about the thing you want to release and reaffirming it right into the front of your mind. Remember how they'd say, "Don't look down," and all of a sudden, all you wanna do is look.

The thought of it loops in the emotions that follow, and next thing you know, you are caught up in what I call the feedback loop from hell, right in the middle between wanting to be free of it and panic that you’re not doing it right and probably messing it up... Urrgh

Why does this Mysticism thing need to be so complicated? I remember this stage vividly, the moments when I began to consciously work with manifestation, and the whole “letting go” became the biggest source of anxiety for me. I was already under a lot of pressure from waddling too deep into the woo-woo pool, and now I have to worry about not botching my intentions because I can't "let it go to receive".

This felt a lot like making a nice cake and then ruining the whole thing while trying to add a cherry at the top.

How do you just turn it off? Where is the button to stop wanting something you want so bad? How does one completely detach from a desire, a desire that feels important, urgent, or life-changing? It seemed virtually impossible, thinking of it made me hella nervous.

But over time, with lots of testing and whatnot, I began to realize that letting go has nothing to do with forgetting about it and not thinking of it at all, but has everything to do with trust.

You are probably thinking "Trust in what?" at least I am hoping that you are at this point, so I can go on about my precious discoveries. Stay tuned, folks.

Understanding the Paradox of Letting Go

“Photo by Deborah L Carlson on Unsplash .”

See, the more we try and grip onto something mentally, the more resistance we create around it. We live in a validating universe; essentially, what this means is that we are wired to seek more of what we already are. A person seeking advice, I'll say 8 out of 10 times, only wants to hear that they are already doing great. Validation...

Desire, by its very nature, is a double-edged sword: it pulls us in toward what we want, but it also emphasizes that we don’t yet have it. The brain, on the other hand, has been wired for generations to first process the worst-case scenario (that's why it's so easy to think of what could go wrong as opposed to how great things will turn out). That emotional tension—between wanting and having—is what keeps many manifestations from flowing naturally.

Letting go doesn’t mean erasing your desire. It means releasing the energy of needing it. It’s saying, “I already have it in essence; it will arrive when it must.” That subtle shift—from wanting to knowing — is what changes everything.

I remember once seeing a meme that unexpectedly taught me this lesson. It showed three images of a hand holding onto a rope.

“Credits: Unknown.”

This simple visual became a metaphor for my inner process for letting go. The rope was my attachment to things literally binding; it is my need to control the “how” and the “when” of manifestation. And with each time I practiced this release, the rope slips just a little bit further away.

My Letting Go Exercises

“Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash .”

Below are 3 of my most effective letting go exercises... You can even call them daily hacks if you want;

1. The Rope Exercise

Inspired by the rope meme above. I present the "ROPE EXERCISE!"

I lie down or sit where I am comfy, then I close my eyes and imagine myself holding a rope just like in the photo. On the other end of the rope is whatever I’m struggling to release— you know that thing, that person, the goal, those expectations, even a thought (I visualize thoughts as light in a jar). I feel the imaginary tension in my hand as I pull on the rope. Then I breathe.

I take 10 deep breaths to relax. Each breath, I feel the tug at the end of the rope.

I take 10 deep breaths to relax. Each breath, I feel the tug at the end of the rope.

"Credit: Unknown"

Your goal is to replicate the feeling you get from looking at the GIF above every time you do the rope exercise.

On my last exhale, I say quietly, “It’s okay to let go.” And as I breathe out, I let the rope slip from my fingers. I watch it snap away, carried into the distance, until it disappears completely. I don’t force the image. I simply let the scene fade when it’s ready.

On my last exhale, I say quietly, “It’s okay to let go.” And as I breathe out, I let the rope slip from my hand and fingers. I watch it snap away, carried off into the distance, until it disappears completely. I allow just the scene to fade away when it’s ready.

If the thing rises to the surface, I simply repeat the rope exercise, no pressure, as many times as needed, sometimes until I get bored and stop. This takes off the edge. You can't botch an intention by thinking about it often.

2. The Balloon Exercise

“Photo by Ankush Minda on Unsplash .”

This one is much more emotional. Here is what you do

Imagine a pink balloon. I then take a deep breath and imagine breathing my worry or desire into that balloon.

Whenever I start to feel the feedback loop from hell of letting go. I inhale all that tension and blow it into the balloon; you could get an actual balloon if you are having difficulty visualizing it. I blow in air into it until I sense that it’s full—complete. It can't pop, so it gets bigger and bigger. Then I tie it off and release it.

I watch the balloon float upward, and I gently let go of the string I tied off the balloon with, slow and light. I watch it rise higher and higher until it becomes a dot, a faint dot in the sky, and vanishes into the blue. Out of sight and out of mind. When the thought or desire returns later—as it often does—I remind myself, “The balloon is already gone.”

The Science of Surrender

“Photo by JEREMY MALECKI on Unsplash .”

This one is a bit more of a hands-on approach. What makes this particular visualization exercise powerful is that it speaks the very language of the subconscious mind. Emotion. Science says that the human brain, on a good day, doesn’t know the difference between an imaginary event and a real, actual one, sees the very same neural pathways fire either way, and that's why memories of an event raise the feelings associated with that event. Therefore, whenever one imagines letting go and feels it as real, the human brain believes it as such and that it is already done.

So the instant your subconscious believes something to be real, then the emotional resistance around that thing dissolves. This is the moment things will start moving —ideas begin to flow, opportunities start to pop up here and there, and synchronicities start to unfold.

Therefore, this isn’t just an act—it is a psychological reset.

Summary

• Letting go of something means to release emotional resistance and not erase your desire for it.
• Visualization helps convince the subconscious mind that the release is real.
• The subconscious mind responds to imagery and emotion more than logic.
• The Conscious mind's resistance is dissolved by sensory activities the brain thinks are real, hence manifestation flows with ease.
• True surrender is trust—trust is built with repetition to gain certainty.