Healing the psyche and the sequence of release
The solution is two fold - healing and clearing the psyche, and dealing in a healthy way with what arises. The two are interlinked.
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The way to clear those repositories of suppressed pain is very simple - to allow whatever comes to be and then leave. Allowing is the key word. It is the opposite of anything the ego is doing when it faces that pain. By allowing painful emotions to be, they can at last finish their cycle and be released. Consequently, the cache inside you slowly gets cleared away.
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The steps of this simple process are what I call The Sequence of Release.
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The basic principle is not to raise any defenses or contribute in anyway to a painful emotion as it arises. Instead, you relax and allow and accept it totally from the position of being the uninvolved watcher and ideally your Pure Identity.
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When you allow an emotion to be in a complete way without any interference, it is free to complete its arc and leave. When you allow the pain to appear you experience it, and that’s not pleasant, but it’s incomparable to the tormenting suffering that comes from perpetually reacting, fear and suppressing it. It is a very different kind of pain. It is a healthy pain in its raw form, the kind of pain which is on the way out.
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The steps of the Sequence of Release are the following:
1. Identifying the painful emotion
identifying that there’s a negative emotion or thought and the pain it carries.
2. Identifying the instinct to respond
identifying the instinct to respond to that pain - to close down, push away, participate in it, act on it, influence it, have a dialog with it, make sense of it, make a story about it, pacify it, argue with it.
3. Acceptance, Non-resistance and Non-involvement
you identify the instinct to close down, get involved and handle the emotion, but you don’t follow the command. You let the pain be. Don’t raise shields or run away. Instead, accept it a total way. Accept the existence of the emotion and thought, of the pain and of the desire to react. Accept it all 100% and allow it to be. Let it play out by itself.
4. Embody your essential self
embody yourself as the watcher or ideally as Pure Identity. If you don’t have yet a clear sense of your presence, you can just notice that you are noticing those emotions which by itself will position you in the post of watching.
5. Relax and let it pass
relax. You can take deep breaths to the belly if you want. Let it all play out, and the natural cycle of the pain to complete itself.
Deep belly breathing
Deep belly breathing is an extremely helpful tool in relaxing your emotions and creating a first step of disidentification with the pain. You’re invited to use it throughout this sequence, and even begin with it. It is particularly useful when the pain is more intense. This breathing dulls the edges of any emotion and supports the process.
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The steps offered in the sequence are not rigid. You can play with applying them in the order that feels right. Its principles are quite clear and simple. After becoming versed and habitual in applying the Sequence, the steps naturally bundle into a one automated action as a new habit of response to pain.