The Art of Letting Go

Vidya Frazier

With refreshing insight, Vidya Frazier demystifies enlightenment for us. Speaking as a human being, not as a guru, she helps us discover a pathway to spiritual freedom that is simple and practical, yet powerfully profound. With gentle encouragement and compassion, she guides us in letting go of our mistaken identity with our ego and consistently points to our true Self that is already free, here and now, living in peace and harmony with all that is.

"Exploding the common myth that enlightenment always happens suddenly and to only a select (and divinely chosen) few, Vidya Frazier lets us know that everyone has access to this way of being. Her warm and friendly style is encouraging and validating, reminiscent of a wise and very human grandmother passing on wisdom about one of life's natural evolutionary processes. It becomes clear that although we cannot will enlightenment to appear, we can prepare the way for this 'event' or life-stage to occur. At long last, we have a feminine approach to enlightenment - soft, heartful, and embracing of human frailty - yet profoundly ringing of Truth." Anthea Francine, M.A., C.P.P.C., contributing author to Our Turn, Our Time, Women Truly Coming of Age

"In The Art of Letting Go, Vidya Frazier brings enlightenment down from the lofty, mysterious heights where only a few select people might ever go - to the ordinary, everyday realms where most of us live. As she leads us through practical, down-to-earth steps that any of us can take, she gently encourages us to simply let go - let go of the struggle, let go of trying to control our lives, let go of believing ourselves to be the mind, the emotions, the body. It's so simple - and yet so profound - to take this path of letting go. Throughout all the years of attending satsangs and reading books by enlightened teachers, I've never felt so encouraged." Grace White, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

"Vidya Frazier's compelling description of her own journey of awakening has confirmed and validated my own. I can finally put words on deep and subtle experiences I have had. Especially helpful are the signposts she points out for us along the way: what we can expect, pitfalls to avoid, choices we can make. The exercises and meditations she offers are invaluable. They help us to realize that our awakened Self - far from being something we might possibly discover in the distant future - is already very much alive within us and surprisingly easy to access. This book is clear, easy to read, and light - yet not at all lightweight. I am making it a required text in the teacher-training course in my school." Margit Jacob, founder and director of the Napa School of Yoga

INTRODUCTION
1: Giving Up the Struggle
2: The Shift

EXPERIENCING YOUR TRUE SELF
3: Becoming Aware of the Self
4: Deepening and Prolonging the Glimpses
5: Once the Glimpse Has Passed
6: Attracting Glimpses into Your Life

DETACHING FROM THE EGO SELF
7: Understanding the Ego
8: Detaching from the Roles We Play
9: Detaching from the Body
10: Dealing with Health Issues
11: When You Don’t Like Your Body Image
12: Facing the Fear of Death
13: Detaching from Your Emotions
14: Experiencing Emotional Freedom
15: When Emotions Overwhelm You
16: Letting Go of the Story
17: Experiencing Freedom Within Relationship
18: How the Mind Gets Us in Trouble
19: Stilling the Chattering Monkey
20: Rejecting the Ego’s Game Plan for Happiness

SURRENDERING TO THE SELF
21: Accepting Life as It Is
22: Learning to Trust the Self

IDENTIFYING WITH THE SELF
23: What to Expect as Time Goes on
24: Keeping Focused on the Self

LIST OF EXERCISES
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Learning to truly let go in life is an art. Letting go of trying to control our life, letting go of our identification with the ego self, letting go of our story of suffering--all demand a certain amount of inspiration, focus, and experimentation. And, as with any art, letting go can be developed over time, with practice.

Although certainly not the only way to discover spiritual freedom, learning to consistently let go and surrender in life is a powerful pathway to take. Yet it is not all that demanding: the only real 'doing' involved is that of stopping the attempts to control, manipulate, and hold on to things. It does involve vigilance and awareness; yet it is ultimately effortless.

In essence, letting go is a way of simply saying yes to the Freedom that is already present within us. It is a way of stepping through the doorway into the vast Silence within and discovering what has been true all along--that we are the Freedom, the Love, the Joy, the Peace we have always been seeking.

Blue Dolphin, 2002

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