ALSO BY DA VID R. HA WKINS, M.D., PH.D.
Dissolving the Ego, Realizing the Self
Along the Path to Enlightenment
Healing and Recovery
Reality , Spirituality , and Modern Man
Discovery of the Pr esence of God: Devotional Nonduality
T ranscending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment
T ruth vs. Falsehood: How to T ell the Differ ence
I: Reality and Subjectivity
The Eye of the I: Fr om Which Nothing Is Hidden
Power vs. For ce: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
Dialogues on Consciousness and Spirituality
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis and Calibration of the Levels of Human Consciousness
Orthomolecular Psychiatry  (with Linus Pauling)
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Copyright © 2012 by David R. Hawkins
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or
electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as
brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews—without prior written permission of the publisher . The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique
as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a
physician, either directly or indirectly . The intent of the author is only to of fer information of a
general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use
any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the
publisher assume no responsibility for your actions. Previously published by V eritas Publishing (ISBN 978-1-933885-98-8)
Library of Congr ess Contr ol Number for the printed edition:  2013947046
T radepaper ISBN:  978-1-4019-4501-5
16  15  14  13     4  3  2  1
1st Hay House edition, 2013
Printed in the United States of America 
Dedicated to r emoving the blocks to the Higher Self on the path to
Enlightenment 
C O N T E N T S
T itle Page
Copyright Page
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1:   Introduction
Chapter 2:   The Mechanism of Letting Go
What is it? Feelings and Mental Mechanisms
Feelings and Stress
Life Events and Emotions
Mechanism of Letting Go
Resistance to Letting Go
Chapter 3:   The Anatomy of Emotions
Goal of Survival
Scale of Emotions
Understanding Emotions
Handling Emotional Crises
Healing the Past
Enhancing Positive Emotions
Chapter 4:   Apathy and Depression
“I Can’ t” vs. “I W on’ t”
Blame
Choosing the Positive
The Company W e Keep
Chapter 5:   Grief
Allowing the Grief
Handling LossPreventing Grief
Chapter 6:   Fear
Fear of Public Speaking
Healing Ef fect of Love
Owning the “Shadow”
Guilt
Chapter 7:   Desire
Desire as an Obstacle
Having—Doing—Being
Glamour
Power of Inner Decision
Chapter 8:   Anger
Using Anger Positively
Self-Sacrifice
Acknowledgment
Expectations
Chronic Resentment
Chapter 9:   Pride
V ulnerability of Pride
Humility
Joy and Gratitude
Opinions
Chapter 10: Courage
Courage to Let Go
Self-Empowerment
A wareness of Others
Chapter 11: Acceptance
Everything Is Perfect As It Is
Acceptance of Self and Others
Personal ResponsibilityChapter 12: Love
Love in Everyday Life
Love Heals
Unconditional Love
Oneness
Chapter 13: Peace
Profound Impact of Peace
Silent T ransmission
Surrender to Ultimate Reality
Chapter 14: Reducing Stress and Physical Illness
Psychological Aspects and Stress Proneness
Medical Aspects of Stress
Ener gy System Response to Stress and the Acupuncture
System
Interventions to Alleviate Stress
Kinesiologic T esting
Kinesiologic T esting T echnique
The Relationship of Consciousness to Stress and Disease
Chapter 15: The Relationship between Mind and Body
Influence of Mind
Disease-Prone Beliefs
Comparison with Other T echniques
Chapter 16: The Benefits of Letting Go
Emotional Growth
Problem Solving
Lifestyle
Resolution of Psychological Problems: Comparison with
Psychotherapy
Chapter 17: T ransformation
Health
W ealth
HappinessState of Inner Freedom
Chapter 18: Relationships
Negative Feelings
The Human Condition
Positive Feelings
Sexual Relations
Chapter 19: Achievement of V ocational Goals
Feelings and Abilities
Negative Feelings Related to W ork
Positive Feelings Related to W ork
Feelings and the Decision-Making Process
Feelings and Sales Ability
Chapter 20: Physician, Heal Thyself
Basic Principles
Healing of Multiple Diseases
Healing of V ision
Chapter 21: Questions and Answers
Religious and Spiritual Goals
Meditation and Inner T echniques
Psychotherapy
Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
Relationships
The Mechanism
Surrender to the Ultimate
Appendix A: Map of Consciousness
Appendix B: Muscle T esting Procedure
References
About the Author 
F O R E W O R D
This book provides a mechanism by which to unlock our innate capacities
for happiness, success, health, well-being, intuition, unconditional love,
beauty , inner peace, and creativity . These states and capacities are within all
of us. They do not depend on any outer circumstance or personal
characteristic; they do not require belief in any religious system. No single
group or system owns inner peace, as it belongs to the human spirit by
virtue of our origin. This is the universal message of every great teacher ,
sage, and saint: “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” Dr . Hawkins says
frequently , “What you are seeking is not dif ferent from your very own
Self.”
How can something innate to us—part and parcel of our true being—be
so dif ficult to attain? Why all the unhappiness if we were endowed with
happiness? If the “kingdom of heaven” is within us, why do we often “feel
like hell”? How can we get free of the sludge of non-peace that makes our
journey to inner peace seem so arduous, like molasses running uphill on a
freezing cold day? It’ s nice to hear that peace, happiness, joy , love, and
success are intrinsic to our human spirit. But what about all of the anger ,
sadness, despair , vanity , jealousy , anxieties, and daily little judgments that
muf fle the pristine sound of silence within us? Is there really a way to shake
of f the sludge and be free? Dance with unimpeded joy? Love all living
things? Live in our greatness and fulfill our highest potential? Become a
channel of grace and beauty in the world? In this book, Dr . Hawkins of fers a pathway to the freedom that we long
for but find dif ficult to attain. It may sound counter -intuitive to get
somewhere by “letting go”; however , he certifies from clinical and personal
experience that surrender is the surest route to total fulfillment. Many of us have been raised to correlate worldly and even spiritual
accomplishment with “hard work,” “keeping our nose to the grindstone,”
“living by the sweat of our brow ,” and other self-stringent axioms inherited
from a culture steeped in the Protestant ethic. According to this view ,
success requires suf fering, toil, and ef fort: “no pain, no gain.” But where
has all the ef fort and pain gotten us? Are we truly , deeply at peace? No.There is still the inner guilt, the vulnerability to someone’ s criticism, the
wanting to be assured, and the resentments that fester . If you’re reading this book, you’ve probably already reached the end of
your rope with the mechanism of ef fort. Perhaps you’ve seen that the more
you pull on the rope to hitch yourself up to where you want to be, the more
frazzled and frayed it becomes. Possibly , you might be wondering, “Isn’ t
there an easier , better way?” Are you willing to let go of the rope? What
would it be like to utilize the mechanism of surrender instead of the
mechanism of ef fort? I can share what it was like for a highly educated person who had
already tried many dif ferent methods of self-improvement. Despite
professional success, there were physical and emotional problems that
never seemed to improve and, eventually , reached a breaking point. The
encounter with Dr . David R. Hawkins and his writings catalyzed a healing
ef fect that was unexpected and dramatic. At first, there was skepticism. Having explored various spiritual,
philosophical, and religious avenues with unfulfilling or only temporary
results, I approached my study of Hawkins with the thought, “It will
probably turn out like the rest.” However , the conscientious seeker in me
said, “I’ll check it out. What have I got to lose?” So, I read Power vs.
For ce: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior . When the book was
finished, there was the inner realization, “I’m a changed person from the
one who picked up this book.” That was in 2003. Now , many years later ,
the catalytic ef fect is still operating in all areas of life. What convinced me of the truth of his work, ultimately , were the
transformations in my own physical and nonphysical consciousness. There
were empirical facts that I could not deny: the healing of an addiction that
had been previously impossible to overcome, despite many sincere
attempts; freedom from several aller gies (pet dander , poison ivy , mold, hay
fever); letting go of long-standing resentments, with a capacity to see the
hidden gifts within the various life traumas I had been through; alleviation
of several life-long fears and an anxiety disorder that had severely limited
my career and personal life; resolution of several inner conflicts related to
self-acceptance and life purpose. These major breakthroughs at the physical
and nonphysical levels were concretely observable not only by myself but
by those around me. They would ask, “How do you explain the
transformation?” Now , if faced with that question, I will suggest that theyread this new book, Letting Go: The Pathway of Surr ender . It lays out the
pragmatics of the inner process of transformation that was experienced
upon reading his earlier books. Letting Go: The Pathway of Surr ender  provides the roadmap to a freer
life for anyone who is willing to make the trip. Y our life will be changed for
the better if you apply the principles described in this book. They are not
dif ficult to understand or to implement. They do not cost anything. They do
not require special attire or travel to an exotic country . The major
requirement for the journey is a willingness to let go of the attachment to
your current experience of life. As Dr . Hawkins explains, the “small” part of ourselves is attached to
the familiar , no matter how painful or inef ficient it is. It may seem bizarre,
but our self with a small “s” actually enjoys an impoverished life and all the
negativity that goes with it: feeling unworthy , being invalidated, judging
others and ourselves, being inflated, always “winning” and being “right,”
grieving the past, fearing the future, nursing our wounds, craving assurance,
and seeking love instead of giving it. Are we willing to imagine a new life for ourselves, characterized by
ef fortless success, freedom from resentment, gratitude for all that’ s
happened to us, inspiration, love, joy , win-win resolutions, happiness, and
creative expression? One of the biggest hurdles to happiness, he tells us, is
the belief that it isn’ t possible: “There’ s got to be a catch”; “It’ s too good to
be true”; “It can happen for others but not for me.”
The gift of a person and teacher like Dr . Hawkins is that we see and
experience a being who IS that happiness; who IS that boundless joy; who
IS that unassailable peace. The book was written because he himself
experienced the power of the mechanism it describes. T o read about and be
in the presence of such a liberated being gives us the catalyst, the hope, and
the launch for our own inward trek. And so, despite the cynicism of the
small self, there is the Self that beckons us on. W e may first hear its call as
coming from an advanced consciousness such as Dr . Hawkins, a teacher , a
guide, or a sage who has realized the Self. Then, as we have our own
experiences of truth, healing, and expansion, we hear the call as coming
from an inner place. “The Self of the teacher and that of the student are one
and the same,” says Dr . Hawkins. He radiates the truths of this book. As a serious seeker who saw much
of contemporary spiritual writing as shallow , I wanted to verify theauthenticity of this work. It was all-important to know: does this author
speak from a true inner Realization? The answer is “Y es!” Close
observations made during several years of interviews and visits confirmed
the advanced state. In this book, he reminds us of the law of consciousness
that says: W e are all connected at the ener getic level, and a higher vibration
(such as love) has a powerful ef fect on a lower vibration (such as fear). I
feel the truth of this law whenever I am with him; his ener gy field transmits
healing love and profound peace. As he explains in this book, these higher
states are available to all of us at any time. No matter where we are in life, this book will illumine a “next step.”
The mechanism of surrender that Dr . Hawkins describes is applicable to the
entire inner journey: from the letting go of childhood resentments to the
final surrender of the ego itself. Thus, the book is equally useful for the
professional interested in worldly success, the client in therapy seeking to
heal emotional issues, the patient diagnosed with an illness, and the spiritual
seeker devoted to Enlightenment. The important step for all of us, he
advises, is to acknowledge that we have negative feelings as a consequence
of our human condition, and to be willing to look at them without judgment. The high state of non-dual awareness may be our goal. But how do we
handle the persistently dualistic “small self” that wants us to see ourselves
as “better than” or “worse than” another? In his previous ten books, Dr . Hawkins has described the non-dual state
of Enlightenment with rare pristine awareness. As he says humorously at
the start of many lectures, “W e begin with the end.” Indeed, in his lectures
and books, he has thoroughly illuminated the highest states of
consciousness that are the culmination of human inner evolution. Now , in this book published in the latter part of his life, he is taking us
back to our common starting point: acknowledging the existence of the
small self. W e must start where we are to get to where we want to go! If we
want to go from here to there, we don’ t get there faster if we fool ourselves
and say we are starting from nearby . By thinking we’re closer than we are
to the goal, we actually make the trip longer . As he explains in the book, it
takes courage and self-honesty to see negativity and smallness in ourselves. Only when we can acknowledge the negativity that we’ve inherited from
the human condition will we have the possibility to surrender and be free of
it. W e simply need to be willing to acknowledge and accept that part of ourhuman experience. By accepting it, we can transcend it—and Dr . Hawkins
shows us the way . In this highly pragmatic book, he illumines a technique by which we
can transcend the small self and break through to the freedom for which we
long. This state of inner freedom and unalloyed happiness is our
“birthright,” he says. As we read, we draw encouragement and inspiration
from the real-life clinical examples that he shares from his decades of
psychiatric practice. In case after case, we see the power of surrender
applied to nearly every area of life: relationships, physical health, work
environments, recreational activities, spiritual process, family life,
sexuality , emotional healing, and addiction recovery . W e learn that the answer to the problems we face is within  us. By
letting go of the inner blocks to it, the truth of our inner Self shines forth
and the path to peace is revealed. Other spiritual teachers have emphasized
the cultivation of inner peace as the only real solution to personal
dif ficulties, as well as collective conflicts: “Inner disarmament first, then
outer disarmament” (The Dalai Lama); “Be the change you want to see in
the world” (Gandhi). The implication is clear . Because we are all part of the
whole, when we heal something in ourselves, we heal it for the world. Each
individual consciousness is connected to the collective consciousness at the
ener getic level; therefore, personal healing emer ges collective healing. Dr . Hawkins may be the first to attempt to understand this principle in light of
scientific and clinical applications. The crucial point is: by changing
ourselves, we change the world. As we become more loving on the inside,
healing occurs on the outside. Much like the rising of the sea level lifts all
ships, so the radiance of unconditional love within a human heart lifts all of
life. Dr . David R. Hawkins is a world-renowned author , psychiatrist, clinician,
spiritual teacher , and researcher of consciousness. Details of his
extraordinary life are given in the “About the Author” section at the back of
the book. His unique work ef fulges from a wellspring of universal
compassion and is dedicated to the alleviation of suf fering in all dimensions
of life. The gift of Dr . Hawkins’ work to human evolvement is beyond what
can be said about it.The state of Enlightenment is totally complete in its bliss, such that one
would never leave it except out of a total surrender of love to God and to
one’ s fellow human beings, to share the gift that was given. This book on
letting go, and all of his work in the world, is the result of that surrender . As
you will read in one of the chapters, there was a very deep surrender that
allowed the resumption of his personal consciousness in order to fulfill
certain commitments in the world. The state of oneness was not lost or left,
but extraordinary love had to be directed toward the challenge of
verbalizing the inef fable. Y ou will notice that some of his pronouns do not
fit grammatical convention—for example, “our life”—yet they are true to
the experience of a spiritual state that knows the impersonal oneness of all
life. That Dr . Hawkins would re-enter the world of logic and language in
order to share a “Map of Consciousness” with us—so that we might also
complete our destiny—speaks volumes of his selfless love for humanity . By
showing us the way to liberation, Dr . Hawkins gives us the chance of
reaching it. Thank you, Dr . Hawkins, for the gift of total surrender . Fran Grace, Ph.D., editor . Pr ofessor of Religious Studies and
Stewar d of the Meditation Room
University of Redlands, California
Founding Dir ector , Institute for
Contemplative Life
Sedona, Arizona
June 2012 
P R E F A C E
During many years of clinical psychiatric practice, the primary aim was to
seek the most ef fective ways to relieve human suf fering in all of its many
forms. T o this end, numerous disciplines of medicine, psychology ,
psychiatry , psychoanalysis, behavioral techniques, bio-feedback,
acupuncture, nutrition, and brain chemistry were explored. Beyond these
clinical modalities were philosophical systems, metaphysics, a multitude of
holistic health techniques, self-improvement courses, spiritual pathways,
meditative techniques, and other ways to expand one’ s awareness. In all of these explorations, the mechanism of surrender was found to
be of great practical benefit. Its importance necessitated the writing of this
book to share with others what was clinically observed and personally
experienced. The previous ten books focused on advanced states of awareness and
Enlightenment. Over the years, thousands of students at our lectures and
Satsangs have asked questions that reveal the everyday obstacles to
Enlightenment. It is pragmatic and helpful to share a technique that will
facilitate their success in overcoming such obstacles: How to handle the
vicissitudes of ordinary life, with its losses, disappointments, stresses, and
crises? How to be free of negative emotions and their impact on health,
relationships, and work? How to handle all of the unwanted feelings? The
present work describes a simple and ef fective means by which to let go of
negative feelings and become free. The letting go technique is a pragmatic system of eliminating obstacles
and attachments. It can also be called a mechanism of surrender . There is
scientific proof of its ef ficacy , an explanation of which is included in one of
the chapters. Research has shown the technique to be more ef fective than
many other approaches currently available in relieving the physiologic
responses to stress. After researching most of the various stress-reduction and
consciousness methods, this approach stands out for its sheer simplicity ,
ef ficiency , clinical ef ficacy , absence of questionable concepts, and rapidity
of observable results. Its simplicity is deceptive and almost disguises thereal benefit of the technique. Simply stated, it sets us free from emotional
attachments. It verifies the observation made by every sage, that
attachments are the primary cause of suf fering. The mind, with its thoughts, is driven by feelings. Each feeling is the
cumulative derivative of many thousands of thoughts. Because most people
throughout their lives repress, suppress, and try to escape from their
feelings, the suppressed ener gy accumulates and seeks expression through
psychosomatic distress, bodily disorders, emotional illnesses, and
disordered behavior in interpersonal relationships. The accumulated
feelings block spiritual growth and awareness, as well as success in many
areas of life. The benefits of this technique can, therefore, be described on various
levels:
Physical:
The elimination of suppressed emotions has a positive health benefit. It
decreases the overflow of ener gy into the body’ s autonomic nervous
system, and it unblocks the acupuncture ener gy system (demonstrable by a
simple muscle test). Therefore, as a person constantly surrenders, physical
and psychosomatic disorders improve and frequently disappear altogether . There is a general reversal of pathologic processes in the body and a return
to optimal functioning. Behavioral:
Because there is a progressive decrease of anxiety and negative emotions,
there is less and less need for escapism via drugs, alcohol, entertainment,
and excessive sleep. Consequently , there is an increase in vitality , ener gy ,
presence, and well-being, with more ef ficient and ef fortless functioning in
all areas. Interpersonal Relationships:
As negative feelings are surrendered, there is a progressive increase of
positive feelings that results in quickly observable improvement in all
relationships. There is an increase in the capacity to love. Conflicts with
others decrease progressively , so that job performance improves. The
elimination of negative blocks allows vocational goals to be more easily
accomplished, and self-sabotaging behavior based on guilt progressivelydiminishes. There is less and less dependence on intellectualism and a
greater use of intuitive knowingness. W ith the resumption of personality
growth and development, there is often the uncovering of previously
unsuspected creative and psychic abilities, which are thwarted in all people
by suppressed negative emotions. Of great importance is the progressive
diminution of dependency , the bane of all human relationships. Dependency
underlies so much pain and suf fering; it includes even violence and suicide
as its ultimate expression. As dependency diminishes, there is also a
diminution of aggressiveness and hostile behavior . These negative feelings
are replaced by feelings of acceptance and lovingness toward others. Consciousness/ A war eness/ Spirituality:
This is an area that opens up by continuous use of the mechanism of
surrender . The letting go of negative emotions means that the person
experiences ever -increasing happiness, contentment, peace, and joy . There
is an expansion of awareness, progressive realization, and experiencing of
the real inner Self. The teachings of the Great Masters unfold from within
as one’ s own personal experience. The progressive letting go of limitations
allows the realization at last of one’ s true identity . Letting go is one of the
most ef ficacious tools by which to reach spiritual goals. Anyone can accomplish all of these ends, with gentleness and subtlety ,
as one silently surrenders throughout daily life. The progressive
disappearance of negativity and its replacement by positive feelings and
experiences is pleasurable both to watch and to experience. It is the purpose
of this information to assist the reader in having those rewarding
experiences. David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. Founding Pr esident,
Institute for Spiritual Resear ch
Sedona, Arizona
June 2012 
CHAPTER
1
I N T R O D U C T I O N
While in contemplation one day , the mind said:
“What in the world is wrong with us?”
“Why doesn’ t happiness stay put?”
“Where are the answers?”
“How do we address the human dilemma?”
“Have I gone nuts or has the world gone crazy?”
The solution to any problem seems to bring only brief relief, for it is
the very basis of the next problem. “Is the human mind a hopeless squirrel cage?”
“Is everybody confused?”
“Does God know what He’ s doing?”
“Is God dead?”
The mind just kept chattering along:
“Does anybody have the secret?”
Don’ t worry—everybody’ s desperate. Some seem cool about it. “I can’ t
see what all the fuss is about,” they say . “Life seems simple to me.” They
are so scared they can’ t even look at it!How about the experts? Their confusion is more sophisticated, wrapped
in impressive jar gon and elaborate mental construction. They have
predetermined belief systems into which they try to squeeze you. It seems
to work for a while and, then, it is just back to one’ s original state again. It used to be that we could count on social institutions, but they have
had their day; nobody trusts them any more. W e now have more watchdogs
than institutions. The hospitals are monitored by multiple agencies. Nobody
has time for the patients, who get lost in the shuf fle. Look down the
corridors. There are no doctors or nurses. They are in the of fices doing
paperwork. The whole scene is dehumanized. “W ell,” you say , “there have to be some experts who have the
answers.” When upset, you go to a doctor or psychiatrist, an analyst, a
social worker , or an astrologer . Y ou take up religion, get philosophy , take
the Erhard Seminars T raining (est), tap yourself with EFT . Y ou get your
chakras balanced, try some reflexology , go for ear acupuncture, do
iridology , get healed with lights and crystals. Y ou meditate, chant a mantra, drink green tea, try the Pentecostals,
breathe in fire, and speak in tongues. Y ou get centered, learn NLP , try
actualizations, work on visualizations, study psychology , join a Jungian
group. Y ou get Rolfed, try psychedelics, get a psychic reading, jog,
jazzercise, have colonics, get into nutrition and aerobics, hang upside down,
wear psychic jewelry . Get more insight, bio-feedback, Gestalt therapy . Y ou see your homeopath, chiropractor , naturopath. Y ou try kinesiology ,
discover your Enneagram type, get your meridians balanced, join a
consciousness-raising group, take tranquilizers. Y ou get some hormone
shots, try cell salts, have your minerals balanced, pray , implore, and
beseech. Y ou learn astral projection. Become a vegetarian. Eat only
cabbage. T ry macrobiotics, go or ganic, eat no GMO. Meet up with Native
American medicine men, do a sweat lodge. T ry Chinese herbs,
moxicombustion, shiatsu, acupressure, feng shui. Y ou go to India. Find a
new guru. T ake of f your clothes. Swim in the Ganges. Stare at the sun. Shave your head. Eat with your fingers, get really messy , shower in cold
water . Sing tribal chants. Relive past lives. T ry hypnotic regression. Scream a
primal scream. Punch pillows. Get Feldenkraised. Join a marriage
encounter group. Go to Unity . W rite af firmations. Make a vision board. Get
re-birthed. Cast the I Ching. Do the T arot cards. Study Zen. T ake morecourses and workshops. Read lots of books. Do transactional analysis. Get
yoga lessons. Get into the occult. Study magic. W ork with a kahuna. T ake a
shamanic journey . Sit under a pyramid. Read Nostradamus. Prepare for the
worst. Go on a retreat. T ry fasting. T ake amino acids. Get a negative ion
generator . Join a mystery school. Learn a secret handshake. T ry toning. T ry
color therapy . T ry subliminal tapes. T ake brain enzymes, antidepressants,
flower remedies. Go to health spas. Cook with exotic ingredients. Look into
strange fermented oddities from faraway places. Go to T ibet. Hunt up holy
men. Hold hands in a circle and get high. Renounce sex and going to the
movies. W ear some yellow robes. Join a cult. T ry the endless varieties of psychotherapy . T ake wonder drugs. Subscribe to lots of journals. T ry the Pritikin diet. Eat just grapefruit. Get
your palm read. Think New Age thought. Improve the ecology . Save the
planet. Get an aura reading. Carry a crystal. Get a Hindu sidereal
astrological interpretation. V isit a transmedium. Go for sex therapy . T ry
T antric sex. Get blessed by Baba Somebody . Join an anonymous group. T ravel to Lourdes. Soak in the hot springs. Join Arica. W ear therapeutic
sandals. Get grounded. Get more prana and breathe out that stale black
negativity . T ry golden needle acupuncture. Check out snake gallbladders. T ry chakra breathing. Get your aura cleaned. Meditate in Cheops, the great
pyramid in Egypt. Y ou and your friends have tried all of the above, you say? Oh, the
human! Y ou wonderful creature! T ragic, comic and yet so noble! Such
courage to keep on searching! What drives us to keep looking for an
answer? Suf fering? Oh, yes. Hope? Certainly . But there is something more
than that. Intuitively , we know that somewhere there is an ultimate answer . W e
stumble down dark byways into cul-de-sacs and blind alleys; we get
exploited and taken, disillusioned, fed up, and we keep on trying. Where is our blind spot? Why can’ t we find the answer? W e don’ t understand the problem; that’ s why we can’ t find the
answer . Maybe it’ s ultra simple, and that’ s why we can’ t see it. Maybe the solution is not “out there,” and that’ s why we can’ t find
it.Maybe we have so many belief systems that we are blinded to the
obvious. Throughout history , a few individuals have reached great clarity and
have experienced the ultimate solution to our human woes. How did they
get there? What was their secret? Why can’ t we understand what they had
to teach? Is it really next to impossible or nearly hopeless? What about the
average person who is not a spiritual genius? Multitudes follow spiritual pathways, but scarce are the ones who
finally succeed and realize the ultimate truth. Why is that? W e follow ritual
and dogma and zealously practice spiritual discipline—and we crash once
again! Even when it works, the ego quickly comes in and we are caught in
pride and smugness, thinking we have the answers. Oh, Lord, save us from
the ones who have the answers! Save us from the righteous! Save us from
the do-gooders! Confusion is our salvation. For the confused, there is still hope. Hang
on to your confusion. In the end it is your best friend, your best defense
against the deathliness of others’ answers, against being raped by their
ideas. If you are confused, you are still free. If you are confused, this book
is for you. What’ s in the book? It tells of a simple method to reach great clarity
and transcend your problems along the way . It’ s not by finding the answers,
but by undoing the basis of the problem. The state reached by the great
sages of history is available; the solutions are within us and easy to find. The mechanism of surrender is simple and the truth is self-evident. It works
during daily life. There is no dogma or belief system. Y ou verify everything
for yourself, so you cannot be misled. There is no dependence on any
teachings. It follows the dicta of “Know thyself”; “The truth shall set you
free”; and “The kingdom of God is within you.” It works for the cynic, the
pragmatist, the religionist, and the atheist. It works for any age or cultural
background. It works for the spiritual person and the non-spiritual person
alike. Because the mechanism is your own, nobody can take it away from
you. Y ou are safe from disillusionment. Y ou will find out for yourself what
is real and what are just the mind’ s programs and belief systems. While all
of this is going on, you will become healthier , more successful with less
ef fort, happier , and more capable of real love. Y our friends will notice adif ference; the changes are permanent. Y ou aren’ t going to go for a “high”
and crash later . Y ou will discover there is an automatic teacher within
yourself. Eventually you will discover your inner Self. Y ou always
unconsciously knew it was there. When you come upon it, you will
understand what the great sages of history were trying to convey . Y ou will
understand it because T ruth is self-evident and within your own Self. This book is written with you, the reader , constantly in mind. It is easy ,
ef fortless, and enjoyable. There is nothing to learn or memorize. Y ou will
become lighter and happier as you read it. The material will automatically
start bringing you the experience of freedom as you read through the pages. Y ou are going to feel the weights being removed. Everything you do will
become more enjoyable. Y ou are in for some happy surprises about your
life! Things are going to get better and better! It’ s okay to be skeptical. W e’ve been taken down the primrose path
before, so be as skeptical as you like. Indeed, it’ s advisable to avoid gushing
enthusiasm. It is a setup for a letdown later . Therefore, rather than
enthusiasm, quiet observation will serve you better . Is there such a thing as something for nothing in the universe? Oh, yes,
most certainly there is. It’ s your own freedom which you have for gotten and
don’ t know how to experience. What is being of fered to you is not
something that has to be acquired. It is not something that is new or outside
of yourself. It is already yours and merely has to be reawakened and
rediscovered. It will emer ge of its own nature. The purpose of sharing this approach is merely to put you in touch with
your own inner feelings and experiences. In addition, there is much helpful
information that your mind will want to know . The process of surrender will
begin automatically , for it is the nature of the mind to seek relief from pain
and suf fering and to experience greater happiness. CHAPTER
2
T H E  M E C H A N I S M  O F  L E T T I N G  G O
What is it? Letting go is like the sudden cessation of an inner pressure or the dropping
of a weight. It is accompanied by a sudden feeling of relief and lightness,
with an increased happiness and freedom. It is an actual mechanism of the
mind, and everyone has experienced it on occasion. A good example is the following. Y ou are in the midst of an intense
ar gument; you are angry and upset, when suddenly the whole thing strikes
you as absurd and ridiculous. Y ou start to laugh. The pressure is relieved. Y ou come up from anger , fear , and feeling attacked to feeling suddenly free
and happy . Think how great it would be if you could do that all of the time, in any
place, and with any event. Y ou could always feel free and happy and never
be cornered by your feelings again. That’ s what this technique is all about:
letting go consciously and frequently at will. Y ou are then in char ge of how
you feel, and you are no longer at the mercy of the world and your reactions
to it. Y ou are no longer the victim. This is employing the basic teaching of
the Buddha, which removes the pressure of involuntary reactivity . W e carry around with us a huge reservoir of accumulated negative
feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. The accumulated pressure makes us
miserable and is the basis of many of our illnesses and problems. W e are
resigned to it and explain it away as the “human condition.” W e seek to
escape from it in myriad ways. The average human life is spent trying to
avoid and run from the inner turmoil of fear and the threat of misery .Everyone’ s self-esteem is constantly threatened both from within and
without. If we take a close look at human life, we see that it is essentially one
long elaborate struggle to escape our inner fears and expectations that have
been projected upon the world. Interspersed are periods of celebration when
we have momentarily escaped the inner fears, but the fears are still there
waiting for us. W e have become afraid of our inner feelings because they
hold such a massive amount of negativity that we fear we would be
overwhelmed by it if we were to take a deeper look. W e have a fear of these
feelings because we have no conscious mechanism by which to handle the
feelings if we let them come up within ourselves. Because we are afraid to
face them, they continue to accumulate and, finally , we secretly begin
looking forward to death to bring all of the pain to an end. It is not thoughts
or facts that are painful but the feelings that accompany them. Thoughts in
and of themselves are painless, but not the feelings that underlie them! It is the accumulated pr essur e of feelings that causes thoughts . One
feeling, for instance, can create literally thousands of thoughts over a period
of time. Think, for instance, of one painful memory from early life, one
terrible regret that has been hidden. Look at all the years and years of
thoughts associated with that single event. If we could surrender the
underlying painful feeling, all of those thoughts would disappear instantly
and we would for get the event. This observation is in accord with scientific research. The Gray-
LaV iolette scientific theory integrates psychology and neurophysiology . Their research demonstrated that feeling tones or ganize thoughts and
memory (Gray-LaV iolette, 1981). Thoughts are filed in the memory bank
according to the various shades of feelings associated with those thoughts. Therefore, when we relinquish or let go of a feeling, we are freeing
ourselves from all of the associated thoughts. The great value of knowing how to surrender is that any and all
feelings can be let go of at any time and any place in an instant, and it can
be done continuously and ef fortlessly . What is the surrendered state? It means to be free of negative feelings
in a given area so that creativity and spontaneity can manifest without
opposition or the interference of inner conflicts. T o be free of inner conflict
and expectations is to give others in our life the greatest freedom. It allows
us to experience the basic nature of the universe, which, it will bediscovered, is to manifest the greatest good possible in a situation. This may
sound philosophical, but, when done, it is experientially true. Feelings and Mental Mechanisms
W e have three major ways of handling feelings: suppression, expression,
and escape. W e will discuss each in turn. 1. Suppr ession and r epr ession . These are the most common ways in which
we push feelings down and put them aside. In repression, this happens
unconsciously; in suppression, it happens consciously . W e don’ t want to be
bothered by feelings and, besides, we don’ t know what else to do with
them. W e sort of suf fer through them and try to keep functioning as best as
we can. The feelings that we select to be suppressed or repressed are in
accord with the conscious and unconscious programs that we carry within
us from social custom and family training. The pressure of suppressed
feelings is later felt as irritability , mood swings, tension in the muscles of
the neck and back, headaches, cramps, menstrual disorders, colitis,
indigestion, insomnia, hypertension, aller gies, and other somatic conditions. When we r epr ess  a feeling, it is because there is so much guilt and fear
over the feeling that it is not even consciously felt at all. It becomes
instantly thrust into the unconscious as soon as it threatens to emer ge. The
repressed feeling is then handled in a variety of ways to ensure that it stays
repressed and out of awareness. Of these mechanisms used by the mind to keep the feeling repressed,
denial and projection are perhaps the best-known methods, as they tend to
go together and reinforce each other . Denial results in major emotional and
maturational blocks. It is usually accompanied by the mechanism of
projection. Because of guilt and fear , we repress the impulse or feeling, and
we deny its presence within us. Instead of feeling it, we project it onto the
world and those around us. W e experience the feeling as if it belonged to
“them.” “They” then become the enemy , and the mind searches for and
finds justification to reinforce the projection. Blame is placed on people,
places, institutions, food, climatic conditions, astrological events, social
conditions, fate, God, luck, the devil, foreigners, ethnic groups, political
rivals, and other things outside of ourselves. Projection is the main
mechanism in use by the world today . It accounts for all wars, strife, and
civil disorder . Hating the enemy is even encouraged in order to become a“good citizen.” W e maintain our own self-esteem at the expense of others
and, eventually , this results in social breakdown. The mechanism of
projection underlies all attack, violence, aggression, and every form of
social destruction. 2. Expr ession . W ith this mechanism, the feeling is vented, verbalized, or
stated in body language, and acted out in endless group demonstrations. The
expression of negative feelings allows just enough of the inner pressure to
be let out so that the remainder can then be suppressed. This is a very
important point to understand, for many people in society today believe that
expressing their feelings frees them from the feelings. The facts are to the
contrary . The expression of a feeling, first, tends to propagate that feeling
and give it greater ener gy . Second, the expression of the feeling merely
allows the remainder to be suppressed out of awareness. The balance between suppression and expression varies in each
individual depending on early training, current cultural norms and mores,
and the media. Expressing oneself is now in vogue as a result of a
misunderstanding of the work of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. Freud
pointed out that suppression was the cause of neurosis; therefore,
expression was mistakenly thought to be the cure. This misinterpretation
became a license for self-indulgence at the cost of others. What Freud
actually said, in classical psychoanalysis, was that the repressed impulse or
feeling was to be neutralized, sublimated, socialized, and channeled into
constructive drives of love, work and creativity . If we dump our negative feelings on others, they experience it as an
attack and they , in turn, are forced to suppress, express, or escape the
feelings; therefore, the expression of negativity results in the deterioration
and destruction of relationships. A far better alternative is to take
responsibility for our own feelings and neutralize them. Then, only positive
feelings remain to be expressed. 3. Escape . Escape is the avoidance of feelings through diversion. This
avoidance is the backbone of the entertainment and liquor industries, and
also the route of the workaholic. Escapism and avoidance of inner
awareness is a socially condoned mechanism. W e can avoid our own inner
selves and keep our feelings from emer ging by an endless variety ofpursuits, many of which eventually become addictions as our dependency
upon them grows. People are desperate to stay unconscious. W e observe how often people
flick on the television set the minute they enter a room and then walk
around in a dream-like state, constantly being programmed by the data
poured into them. People are terrified of facing themselves. They dread
even a moment of aloneness. Thus the constant frantic activities: the
endless socializing, talking, texting, reading, music playing, working,
traveling, sightseeing, shopping, overeating, gambling, movie-going, pill-
taking, drug-using, and cocktail-partying. Many of the foregoing mechanisms of escape are faulty , stressful, and
inef fective. Each of them requires increasing amounts of ener gy in and of
itself. Enormous amounts of ener gy are required to keep down the growing
pressure of the suppressed and repressed feelings. There is a progressive
loss of awareness and an arrest of growth. There is a loss of creativity ,
ener gy , and real interest in others. There is a halting of spiritual growth and
eventually the development of physical and emotional illness, disease,
aging, and premature death. The projection of these repressed feelings
results in the social problems, disorders, and the increase of selfishness and
callousness characteristic of our present society . Most of all, the ef fect is the
inability to truly love and trust another person, which results in emotional
isolation and self-hatred. In contrast to the above, what happens instead when we let go of a
feeling? The ener gy behind the feeling is instantly surrendered and the net
ef fect is decompression. The accumulated pressure begins to decrease as we
constantly let go. Everyone knows that, when we let go, we immediately
feel better . The body’ s physiology changes. There are detectable
improvements in skin color , breathing, pulse, blood pressure, muscle
tension, gastro-intestinal function, and blood chemistries. In the state of
inner freedom, all bodily functions and or gans move in the general direction
of normalcy and health. There is an immediate increase in muscle power . V ision improves and our perception of the world and ourselves changes for
the better . W e feel happier , more loving, and more easygoing. Feelings and Str ess
There is much attention and publicity given to the subject of stress without
a real understanding of its essential nature. It is said that we are more stress-prone than ever . What is the essential cause of stress? Certainly it is not the
external precipitating factors. They are merely examples of the mechanism
we described as projection. It is “they” or “it” that is thought to be the
culprit when, in fact, what we are feeling is merely the letting out of the
inner pressure of repressed emotions. It is these repressed feelings that
make us vulnerable to external stress. The real source of “stress” is actually internal ; it is not external, as
people would like to believe. The readiness to react with fear , for instance,
depends on how much fear is already present within to be triggered by a
stimulus. The more fear we have on the inside, the more our perception of
the world is changed to a fearful, guarded expectancy . T o the fearful person,
this world is a terrifying place. T o the angry person, this world is a chaos of
frustration and vexation. T o the guilty person, it is a world of temptation
and sin, which they see everywhere. What we are holding inside colors our
world. If we let go of guilt, we will see innocence; however , a guilt-ridden
person will see only evil. The basic rule is that we focus on what we have
repressed. Stress results from the accumulated pressure of our repressed and
suppressed feelings. The pressure seeks relief, and so external events only
trigger what we have been holding down, both consciously and
unconsciously . The ener gy of our blocked-of f feelings re-emer ges through
our autonomic nervous system and causes pathological changes leading to
disease processes. A negative feeling instantly causes a loss of 50% of the
body’ s muscle strength and also narrows our vision both physically and
mentally . Stress is our emotional reaction to a precipitating factor or
stimulus. Stress is determined by our belief systems and their associated
emotional pressures. It is not the external stimulus, then, that is the cause of
stress, but our degree of reactivity . The more surrendered we are, the less
prone we are to stress. The damage caused by stress is merely the result of
our own emotions. The ef fectiveness of letting go and reducing the body’ s
response to stress has been demonstrated in scientific studies (see Chapter
14 ). Many stress-reduction programs of fered today often miss the essential
point. They try to relieve the after -ef fects of stress rather than remove the
cause of the stress itself, or they concentrate on external events. This is like
trying to reduce the fever without correcting the infection. For instance,
muscle tension is the aftermath of anxiety , fear , anger , and guilt. A course inthe techniques of muscle relaxation is going to be of very limited benefit. It
would be far more ef fective, instead, to remove the source of the underlying
tension, which is the repressed and suppressed anger , fear , guilt, or other
negative feelings. Life Events and Emotions
The rationalizing mind prefers to keep the true causes of emotion out of
awareness and utilizes the mechanism of projection to do this. It blames
events or other people for “causing” a feeling and views itself as the
helpless innocent victim of external causes. “ They  made me angry .” “ He  got
me upset.” “ It  scared me.” “ W orld events  are the cause of my anxiety .”
Actually , it’ s the exact opposite. The suppressed and repressed feelings seek
an outlet and utilize the events as triggers and excuses to vent themselves. W e are like pressure-cookers ready to release steam when the opportunity
arises. Our triggers are set and ready to go of f. In psychiatry , this
mechanism is called displacement. It is because we are angry that events
“make” us angry . If, through constant surrendering, we have let go of the
pent-up store of anger , it is very dif ficult and, in fact, even impossible for
anyone or any situation to “make” us angry . The same, therefore, goes for
all other negative feelings once they have been surrendered. Because of social conditioning in our society , people even suppress and
repress their positive feelings. Suppressed love results in the broken heart of
the heart attack. Suppressed love re-emer ges as excessive adoration of pets
and various forms of idolatry . T rue love is free of fear and characterized by
non-attachment. Fear of loss ener gizes undue attachment and
possessiveness. For example, the man who is insecure about his girlfriend is
very jealous. When the pressure of suppressed and repressed feelings exceeds the
individual’ s tolerance level, the mind will create an event “out there” upon
which to vent and displace itself. Thus, the person with a lot of repressed
grief will unconsciously create sad events in life. The fearful person
precipitates frightening experiences; the angry person becomes surrounded
by infuriating circumstances; and the prideful person is constantly being
insulted. As Jesus Christ said, “Why do you see the splinter which is in
your brother ’ s eye, and do not feel the beam which is in your own eye
(Matthew 7:3)?” All the Great Masters point us within .Everything in the universe emits a vibration. The higher the vibration,
the more power it has. Emotions, also, because they are ener gy , emit
vibrations. These emotional vibrations impact the body’ s ener gy fields and
reveal ef fects that can be seen, felt, and measured. Motion pictures using
Kirlian photography , such as those done by Dr . Thelma Moss, show rapid
fluctuations of the color and size of the ener gy field with changes of
emotions (Krippner , 1974). The ener gy field has traditionally been called an
“aura” and can be seen by people who have been born with or learned the
ability to see vibrations of that frequency . The aura changes color and size
with emotions. Muscle-testing also demonstrates the ener gy changes that
accompany emotions, as our body’ s muscles instantly respond to positive
and negative stimuli. Thus, our basic emotional states transmit themselves
to the universe. The mind has no dimensions or size and is not limited in space;
therefore, the mind transmits its basic state via vibrational ener gy over an
unlimited distance. This means that we routinely and unwittingly af fect
others by our emotional state and thoughts. Emotional patterns and their
associated thought forms, for instance, can be picked up and received
consciously by psychics at a great distance. This can be demonstrated
experimentally , and the scientific basis for this has been a subject of great
interest in advanced quantum physics. Because emotions emit a vibrational ener gy field, they af fect and
determine the people who are in our lives. Life events become influenced
by our repressed and suppressed emotions on the psychic level. Thus anger
attracts angry thoughts. The basic rule of the psychic universe is that “like
attracts like.” Similarly , “love promotes love,” so that the person who has
let go of a lot of inner negativity is surrounded by loving thoughts, loving
events, loving people, and loving pets. This phenomenon explains many
scriptural quotations and common sayings that have puzzled the intellect,
such as, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer ,” and “Those who
have, get.” As a general rule, therefore, people who are carrying the
consciousness of apathy bring poverty circumstances into their lives, and
those with a prosperity consciousness bring abundance into their lives. Because all living things are connected on vibrational ener gy levels,
our basic emotional state is picked up and reacted to by all life forms
around us. It is well known that animals can instantly read a person’ s basic
emotional state. There are experiments demonstrating that even the growthof bacteria is af fected by human emotions, and that plants register
measurable reactions to our emotional state (Backster , 2003). The Mechanism of Letting Go
Letting go involves being aware of a feeling, letting it come up, staying
with it, and letting it run its course without wanting to make it dif ferent or
do anything about it. It means simply to let the feeling be there and to focus
on letting out the ener gy behind it. The first step is to allow yourself to have
the feeling without resisting it, venting it, fearing it, condemning it, or
moralizing about it. It means to drop judgment and to see that it is just  a
feeling. The technique is to be with the feeling and surrender all ef forts to
modify it in any way . Let go of wanting to resist the feeling. It is r esistance
that keeps the feeling going. When you give up resisting or trying to modify
the feeling, it will shift to the next feeling and be accompanied by a lighter
sensation. A feeling that is not resisted will disappear as the ener gy behind
it dissipates. As you begin the process, you will notice that you have fear and guilt
over having feelings; there will be resistance to feelings in general. T o let
feelings come up, it is easier to let go of the reaction to having the feelings
in the first place. A fear of fear itself is a prime example of this. Let go of
the fear or guilt that you have about the feeling first, and then get into the
feeling itself. When letting go, ignore all thoughts. Focus on the feeling itself, not on
the thoughts. Thoughts are endless and self-reinforcing, and they only breed
more thoughts. Thoughts are merely rationalizations of the mind to try and
explain the presence of the feeling. The real reason for the feeling is the
accumulated pressure behind the feeling that is forcing it to come up in the
moment. The thoughts or external events are only an excuse made up by the
mind. As we become more familiar with letting go, it will be noticed that all
negative feelings are associated with our basic fear related to survival and
that all feelings are merely survival programs that the mind believes are
necessary . The letting go technique undoes the programs progressively . Through that process, the underlying motive behind the feelings becomes
more and more apparent. T o be surrendered means to have no strong emotion about a thing: “It’ s
okay if it happens, and it’ s okay if it doesn’ t.” When we are free, there is aletting go of attachments. W e can enjoy a thing, but we don’ t need it for our
happiness. There is progressive diminishing of dependence on anything or
anyone outside of ourselves. These principles are in accord with the basic
teaching of the Buddha to avoid attachment to worldly phenomena, as well
as the basic teaching of Jesus Christ to “be in the world but not of it.”
Sometimes we surrender a feeling and we notice that it returns or
continues. This is because there is more of it yet to be surrendered. W e have
stuf fed these feelings all of our lives and there can be a lot of ener gy pushed
down that needs to come up and be acknowledged. When surrender occurs,
there is an immediate lighter , happier feeling, almost like a “high.”
By continuously letting go, it is possible to stay in that state of
freedom. Feelings come and go, and eventually you realize that you are not
your feelings, but that the real “you” is merely witnessing them. Y ou stop
identifying with them. The “you” that is observing and is aware of what is
happening always stays the same. As you become more and more aware of
the changeless witness within, you begin to identify with that level of
consciousness. Y ou become progressively primarily the witness rather than
the experiencer of phenomena. Y ou get closer and closer to the real Self and
begin to see that you had been duped by feelings all along. Y ou thought that
you were the victim of your feelings. Now you see that they are not the
truth about yourself; they are merely created by the ego, that collector of
programs which the mind has mistakenly believed are necessary for
survival. The results of letting go are deceptively quick and subtle, but the
ef fects are very powerful. Often we have let go but think that we haven’ t. It
will be our friends who make us aware of the change. One reason for this
phenomenon is that, when something is fully surrendered, it disappears
from consciousness. Now , because we never think of it, we don’ t realize
that it has gone. This is a common phenomenon among people who are
growing in consciousness. W e are not aware of all the coal that we have
shoveled; we are always looking at the shovelful we are handling right now . W e don’ t realize how much the pile has gone down. Often our friends and
family are the first ones to notice. T o keep track of progress, many people keep a chart of their gains. This
helps to overcome the resistance that usually takes the form, “This isn’ t
working.” It is common for people who have made enormous gains toclaim, “It just isn’ t working.” W e have to remind ourselves sometimes what
we were like before we started this process. Resistance to Letting Go
Letting go of negative feelings is the undoing of the ego, which will be
resistant at every turn. This may result in skepticism about the technique,
“for getting” to surrender , a sudden upsur ge of escapism, or venting feelings
by expressing and acting out. The solution is simply to keep on letting go of
the feelings you have about the whole process. Let the resistance be there
but don’ t resist the resistance. Y ou are free. Y ou don’ t have  to let go. Nobody is forcing you. Look at
the fear behind the resistance. What are you afraid of regarding this
process? Are you willing to let go of that? Keep letting go of every fear as it
arises, and the resistance will resolve. Let’ s not for get that we are letting go of all the programs that have
made us a slave and a victim for a long time. These programs have blinded
us to the truth of our real identity . The ego is losing ground and will try
tricks and bluf fs. Once we start letting go, its days are numbered and its
power is diminishing. One of its tricks is to go unconscious about the
technique itself, for instance, to decide suddenly that the mechanism of
surrender isn’ t working, things are still the same, it is confusing, and too
hard to remember and do. This is a sign of real progress! It means that the
ego knows we have a knife with which to cut ourselves free and it is losing
ground. The ego is not our friend. Like “master control” in T r on  (1982), it
wants to keep us enslaved by its programs. Letting go is a natural ability . It is not something new or foreign. It is
not an esoteric teaching or somebody else’ s idea or a belief system. W e are
merely utilizing our own inner nature to get freer and happier . When letting
go, it’ s not helpful to “think” about the technique. It’ s better , simply , just to
do it. Eventually it will be seen that all thoughts are resistance. They are all
images that the mind has made to prevent us from experiencing what
actually is . When we have been letting go for a while and have begun
experiencing what is really going on, we will laugh at our thoughts. Thoughts are fakes, absurd make-beliefs that obscure the truth. Pursuing
thoughts can keep us occupied endlessly . W e will discover one day that we
are right where we started. Thoughts are like gold fish in a bowl; the realSelf is like the water . The real Self is the space between the thoughts, or
more exactly , the field of silent awareness underneath all thoughts. W e have had the experience of being totally absorbed in what we were
doing, when we scarcely noticed the passage of time. The mind was very
quiet, and we were simply doing what we were doing without resistance or
ef fort. W e felt happy , maybe humming to ourselves. W e functioned without
stress. W e were very relaxed, although busy . W e suddenly realized that we
never needed all those thoughts after all. Thoughts are like bait to a fish; if
we bite at them, we get caught. It’ s best not to bite at the thoughts. W e don’ t
need them. Inside of us, but out of awar eness, is the truth that “I alr eady know
everything I need to know .”  This happens automatically . Paradoxically , one resistance to surrendering is due to the ef fectiveness
of the technique. What happens is that we keep letting go when life is not
going too well and we are beset by unpleasant emotions. As we finally
surrender our way out of it and all is well, then we stop letting go. This is a
mistake because, as good as we may feel, there is usually more to it. T ake
advantage of the higher states and the momentum of letting go. Keep on
going because it will get better and better all the time. Letting go gains a
certain momentum. It is easy to keep it going once it is started. The higher
we feel, the easier it is to let go. That’ s a good time to reach down and let
go of some things (suppressed and repressed “garbage”) that we wouldn’ t
want to tackle if we were in the dumps. There is always a feeling to be let
up and surrendered. When we are feeling good, the emotions are merely
subtler . Sometimes you will feel stuck with a particular feeling. Simply
surrender to the feeling of being stuck. Just let it be there and don’ t resist it. If it doesn’ t disappear , see if you can let go of the feeling in bits and pieces. Another block that may occur is the fear that if we let go of a desire for
something, we won’ t get it. It is often beneficial to look at some commonly
held beliefs and let go of them right in the beginning, such as: (1) W e only
deserve things through hard work, struggle, sacrifice, and ef fort; (2)
Suf fering is beneficial and good for us; (3) W e don’ t get anything for
nothing; (4) Things that are very simple aren’ t worth much. Letting go of
some of these psychological barriers to the technique itself will allow an
enjoyment of its ef fortlessness and ease. CHAPTER
3
T H E  A N A T O M Y  O F  E M O T I O N S
There are numerous complicated psychologies of the human emotions. They often involve considerable symbology and references to mythology ,
and they are based on hypotheses that are hotly debated. As a result, there
are various schools of psychotherapy with their dif ferent aims and methods. Simplicity is one of the earmarks of truth, and so we will describe a simple,
workable, testable map of the emotions that can be verified by subjective
experience, as well as by objective testing. The Goal of Survival
Whichever psychology is studied reveals that the primary human goal,
superseding all others, is survival. Every human desire seeks to ensure one’ s
personal survival and the survival of one’ s identified groups, such as family ,
loved ones, and country . Humans fear , most of all, the loss of the capacity
to experience. T o that end, people are interested in the survival of the body
because they believe that they ar e  the body and, therefore, they need the
body to experience their existence. Because people view themselves as
separate and limited, they are stressed by their sense of lack.
_OceanofPDF.com_Letting_Go_-_David_R_Hawkins.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        ALSO BY DA VID R. HA WKINS, M. D. , PH.
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.
Who is the author of the book?
To provide a mechanism for unlocking our innate capacities for happiness, success, health, and spiritual growth.
What is the primary aim of the author's work?
The attachment to negative emotions and the ego's influence, which leads to a cycle of suffering and self-justification.
What is the main obstacle to achieving inner peace and fulfillment?
The author recommends a mechanism of surrender, which involves acknowledging and accepting one's negative feelings, rather than suppressing or avoiding them.
What is the author's approach to addressing negative emotions?
The author claims that his technique is scientifically proven to be more effective than other approaches in relieving emotional pain and promoting spiritual growth.
What is the author's claim about the effectiveness of his technique?