Shawna Galvin
Letting go is part of the human con- dition. It’s an opportunity for healing and growth as we learn from, and move away from, those things we need to let go of. It’s a lifelong journey.
Various stages of life bring many different things people often want to let go of, including past regrets, negative energy, fear, anger, and toxic relationships.
Past regrets might include wishing we hadn’t done a certain thing, or wishing we could go back and handle something in a different way. I still shudder at things my mother went through while in the hospital with cancer from October 2003 to the end of that December when she passed away. I was her advocate and did the best I could. Looking back, I wish there were things I could go back and change, such as simply getting the doctors to communicate with each other during the last two months of her life. I wish I knew then what I know now, but experience is part of our life lessons. Over time, I’ve come to remember my mother as she was before the cancer, and even appreciate the time we had together while sitting together at her chemotherapy appointments.
I was six months pregnant with her first grandchild when my mother passed away, and although it was sad, in a way, Mom got to know her grandson before he was born. Now I see so much of my mother in my son, especially her wit and many of her gestures. This brings me joy. Grief comes in waves, and everyone deals with it differently. We don’t want to let go of our friends and loved ones when they cross over. It’s not really “letting go” in the sense of forgetting, but is perhaps gaining new a perspective on death, loss, and the mystery of life. Letting go of my mother wasn’t easy. I miss her every day, but I see her through my son, which is a beautiful thing.
Also, there are things we regret doing, and that has a lot to do with forgiving ourselves. Even if we can’t fully forgive ourselves, we need to face the pain now and then, and this means getting help if it gets too deep.
Protection from Fear and Negativity
In all my years of studying energy and healing with other spiritual healers, the greatest gifts they gave to me were the tools for protection. This doesn’t mean I’m immune to any sort of negative energy; it just means I feel more prepared and knowledgeable about using protection. I was raised Catholic, so I learned prayer as a means of protection at a young age. As I grew up, I continued to explore my own spirituality and work with healers. I became a Reiki II practitioner. I also had polarity energy treatments and a few spiritual readings, studied and practiced meditation, and delved into homeopathic remedies.
Most of these practices begin and end with visualizing a white or other colored light going through our bodies and throughout the work space. Crystals, incense, and white sage smoke are used for clearing rooms, clearing ourselves, and creating a positive environment, along with calling on positive energy and not allowing negative energy in. Breathing techniques are also used. I have been using these things automatically in my life.
I say the “Hail Mary” often as a prayer and personal mantra to give me strength and pull me through hard times and also because I enjoy saying it to myself, using the purple light of St. Germain, as was taught to me by my late spiritual reader. She told me to visualize the purple flame within me and say something like, “I am the purple flame of St. Germain. I guard you from the north, south, east, west, and from the center where everything comes from.” I use this for extra protection.
The way I visualize white light or another brightly colored light, such as pink or blue, is to see it surrounding my body and imagine it entering through the top of my head, flowing throughout all of my limbs, and shooting out through my fingertips and toes. Filling ourselves with light through visualization is both a clearing and a grounding experience, along with taking some slow cleansing breaths. I do these practices when I’m in my car, flying in a plane, going to work, or just lying in bed at night. I also visualize healing light around my loved ones.
Smudging with white sage has become a favorite technique of mine for clearing out negativity. I smudge with white sage when moving into a new house or whenever I feel our house is ready for a clearing. I burn the end of my bundle of white sage and walk around to each room as the smoke flows to the corners of each space. I also do this if something negative enters our life: a negative situation, a negative person, illness, or when it all just feels like too much.
I have collected rocks from a very young age. Later on, I learned more about crystals from my healers and on my own, and took this further by studying geology in college. To this day, I keep rocks and stones around me, ones that I am drawn to and that I like, and also stones with certain healing properties. I tend to wear moonstone often to keep negativity at bay as much as possible and let positive energy in. Other stones I’m drawn to for healing energy include quartz crystal, amethyst, Herkimer diamond, London blue topaz, and lapis.
Techniques to Help You Let Go
Here are some techniques that help me let go. Perhaps you will use some of these techniques or find and practice what feels good for you.
Breathe. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, hold that breath for a few seconds, then breathe out slowly through your mouth, letting all the air out. Repeat a few times. This will really help you focus on the moment and regroup.
Surround yourself with healing energy, such as white light. Visualize this going through you, cocooning you, energizing you, and bathing you in love.
Getting up and moving around helps. Throw yourself a private dance party, mow the lawn, work in the garden, swim, jump the ocean waves, hike, or sled. Whatever gets you up and about can help.
Nature especially is something I’m drawn to when I need to just be at peace. It gives me a sense of being at one with Spirit. I am drawn to the ocean in particular, in any sort of weather, at any time of day. Perhaps it’s the constant change of the ocean I love combined with the scent of it, the air, and the exhilarating feeling I get from being by the sea. Other things I love anywhere are stargazing, sunsets, clouds, flowers, trees, plant life, rocks, mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, or any natural body of water.
Indoors (and even outdoors sometimes, weather permitting), I love to read, write, listen to music, and talk with family and friends. Going to see art at museums is something that uplifts me. There is so much beauty and joy in life.
It helps to change your thoughts in order to make major changes. Try to make a plan, or have a plan in place, and get some support. Some changes take longer than others, and some situations require outside help and resources.
Take time to concentrate on you, no matter what sort of a busy day you have. Schedule some time just for you. Even just stepping outside and taking deep breaths, looking at the sky, and appreciating the moment can be rejuvenating.
Full moons are a good time for releasing things, especially the Flower Moon in May, although any full moon will work. The full moon is a time when we often have the most energy and heightened senses, and is perhaps when we feel closer to spiritual entities. This is a good time to gain or end something and banish negativity. There are a variety of full moon rituals designed to help you let go of the past and clear out negative energy. I simply go outside, even if just for a minute, and bathe in the moonlight. I also try to do some writing. This is a time when my dreams frequently give me some creative ideas for writing my poetry, short stories, and novels. I’m no artist, but I have painted watercolors over the years inspired by dreams; these I keep to myself.
Wanting to make changes in life takes work. I’m on a path where I am exercising more and eating better. For me, I have to really want something, commit to it, and, most of all, work at it. I have to accept that sometimes I will get off-track, too.
The moment you want to move on, the moment you are willing to change and release, you begin to let go.
Letting go can feel incredible, but it can also require a lot of work. Breathe; surround yourself with healing energy and clear out negative energy.
Take each day one step at a time. You might go backward some days, but try to remember why you started, and get back to the positive.
Shawna Galvin lives in Maine and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast inaugural class of 2004. Her novel, The Ghost in You, was released in 2014, and a collection of poetry and essays, Mimi’s Alchemy: A Grandmother’s Magic, was released in February 2014. Shawna’s short stories, articles, flash fiction, and poetry have appeared in publications such as Words & Images and USM’s Free Press. She has edited short stories for Brutal as Hell, is a freelance editor, and has embarked on a spooky publishing journey at Macabre Maine while continuing to write. Visit her at shawnagalvin.com and http://macabremaine.wix.com/macabremaine.
Illustrator: Jennifer Hewitson