the blunt tool of language

Here in these bodies we can use various means to access different states that are natural to us, but obscured by the wear and tear of the physical hurly-burly. We can meditate and sink beneath the obscuring thought-matter or we can use language (teachings) to evoke new thought patterns—ones that are less opaque and allow the relieving truth to shine through.

Two really good, brief teachings that I like a lot are the concepts of letting go and letting be.

As with all things involving language, the definitions are not apparent in the actual words. Letting go, I learned a long time ago, is not something actually achievable. First of all, even if you think you can let go of something, the truth is that there is nothing "out there" for you to let go of. So it's kind of a tricky thing. You may think you are clinging to something—a person, a fear, a habit, a job—but in truth you are simply believing a thought pattern and creating a temporary sense of self around that thought pattern.

So in order to let go of something that is causing you pain, you have to first realize that the thing itself is doing absolutely nothing to you. It is your belief that you have to have the thing, whatever it is, that is creating the problem. Around this belief, whether it be that you have to have love, or have to have money or have to have enlightenment, has solidified a sense of self with which you identify. Letting go means letting go of the "you" that believes it has to have this thing—turning your back on it and walking away.

Letting go means enduring the anxiety and temporary feelings of unease that occur when you have no solid sense of self any more. When you've been clinging deeply to something and you turn your back on that clinging self, there's a period of "don't-know-mind" which can be uncomfortable. Eventually, this state of don't-know-mind becomes your best friend and when you feel it you heave a sigh of relief.

Letting be, on the other hand, is a steady state of mind that makes the periods of letting go less traumatic. When things become tangled and stressful in our lives, we tend to engage with them in knee-jerk ways that we believe will alleviate the stress and make the painful feelings go away. We say and do things while in a reactive mental state, which is always a bad idea.

Letting be means living with the feeling of discomfort until you can see it clearly. When you can see why you are uncomfortable it becomes possible to investigate whether the discomfort is based on anything real. You can follow the thoughts to their "worst case" scenario and see if in truth there are any circumstances in need of altering. Most often there aren't and interfering will only make things worse.

Letting be means that you lean back and allow what is happening to happen. You let it play out without assuming that your ordinary human mind understands the why of it, or the consequences that will come of it. Again, it's the don't-know-mind, but in this case it is something you step back into while observing appearances.

In letting go, you take your attention off of appearances altogether and walk face first into not knowing.

Comments

[Aileen Cheatham]

Brilliant post, Marian. I can see how "letting go" is impossible. Rather the concept or belief lets go of you when you don't identify with it anymore. I'm seeing a lot of that lately! As you say it is crucial to not run away from the anxiety because not looking at it causes it to stick more.