I had an experience recently that showed me the value of "letting go." It is a very simple example of how we interrupt the natural flow of life by attaching to the egoic mind and emotions.
My laptop battery was almost out of charge so I plugged it in. When I tried to turn the laptop on, nothing happened. I waited a few minutes...nothing...then I popped the battery out for 20 seconds and still nothing.
After several minutes of this I started to feel frustrated and anxious because I had a lot of work to do on my computer before I needed to leave for my office. Also, it was April 17th and I needed to sign my income tax returns online and then submit them. At one point I had the thought to unplug the computer before I popped the battery out but I reasoned to myself that this was unnecessary. Instead, I continued to feed myself with negative thoughts like "I don't have time to get my computer fixed," "I hate technology"and "What if I can't get to my income tax documents?" My frustration and anxiety were growing.
Finally I decided to surrender the entire situation. I stopped feeding the negative thoughts. I gave myself permission to feel the frustration and anxiety and set the intention to let them go. I felt the parts of my body that held the feelings and I relaxed them. Basically I decided to give up the struggle and set down my arms.
A minute later, the thought to unplug the computer before taking the battery out occurred to me again and this time I listened. That fixed the problem.
The Universe was guiding me all along but I was so distracted by the chatter in my mind and the worrisome feelings that I missed it.
The practice is to stay centered and watch the drama that the mind and heart get involved in and then let it all go.
"The more you are willing to just let the world be something you're aware of, the more it will let you be who you are---the awareness, the Self, the Atman, the Soul." (The Untethered Soul, p. 37)
