Hale Dwoskin - The Sedona Method - Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being

I don’t know about you, but when I used to keep a junk drawer, I could get very frustrated trying to find anything there. Finally, I cleared it out and organized its contents. Using the Sedona Method, you can do this with the mind as well. As you spend time working through and releasing the nine emotional states, you’ll see that all the emotions relate to each other in a very organized way. This will help you to sift through your accumulation, discard what you no longer need, and uncover what is important to you. As you release, you’ll find your mind getting progressively sharper and your memory progressively clearer. Not only will you get clearer about what you’re feeling in the moment, you’ll also begin to understand other people’s emotions better.

“Understanding my feelings gives me a more peaceful life with better focus. I feel more in present time. The Sedona Method Course gave me what no other course ever did: a clear-cut system to support my goal of letting go of the barriers. I can also decide for myself where to go and how fast to develop.”

—B.V., Gent, Belgium

When you visualize the scale of energy and action, or look at the chart at the end of this chapter, imagine that courageousness, acceptance, and peace are buried under the other emotions. As you let go of your apathy, grief, fear, lust, anger, and pride, you’ll be uncovering these higher energy emotions, which are the real you that has always been here. Your whole life will turn around as a result. Everything will get easier for you.

Please be aware that the turn-around might not happen suddenly. It might be a gradual process. However, every time you work through the process of releasing, no matter where you start out—whether in apathy, grief, fear, lust, anger, or pride—you will find that you tend to gravitate naturally towards courageousness, acceptance, and peace. Recognizing your underlying strengths in this way can make a tremendous difference in how you feel and act and your whole outlook on life.

As you read through the nine sections that follow, permit yourself to be as open as you can to whatever feelings, thoughts, or pictures arise. Please pause any time you’d like to release whatever has come up. Definitely pause at the end of each section and spend some time releasing everything that is in your awareness.

When we experience apathy, we feel as though desire is dead and it’s no use. We can’t do anything, and no one else can help. We feel dense and heavy and see no way out. We withdraw and play weak so we won’t get hurt. Our minds can get so noisy that we may go numb. The pictures we have are limited and destructive. We only see failure and how we can’t do it and how no one else can, either. We have little or no energy to act on our pictures and thoughts, because inwardly we are being pulled in so many conflicting directions.

Cheryl was retired and had been living in the same house for over 30 years, a period she’d spent collecting all kinds of objects and detritus. Her house, in fact, looked like the junk drawer I described a few pages ago in reference to the subconscious mind. By the time she decided to attend the Sedona Method Basic Course, she reported feeling quite heavy and apathetic about the condition of her environment. Interestingly, during the course she never directly released on the issues of her accumulation or her apathy. She merely listed procrastination as one of her goals. But when she arrived for the second weekend of the course—looking much more alive—she excitedly told the story of how, as she released throughout the week, she found herself cleaning and throwing things out. As her surroundings became less cluttered, her energy and self-confidence grew steadily higher. Cheryl said that she’d been trying to force herself to clean her home for many years, but to no avail. When she lightened up by releasing, she found herself doing just that.

Words and phrases that describe apathy:

• Bored

• Can’t win

• Careless

• Cold

• Cut-off

• Dead

• Defeated

• Depressed

• Demoralized

• Desolate

• Despair

• Discouraged

• Disillusioned

• Doomed

• Drained

• Failure

• Forgetful

• Futile

• Giving up

• Hardened

• Hopeless

• Humorless

• I can’t

• I don’t care

• I don’t count

• Inattentive

• Indecisive

• Indifferent

• Invisible

• It’s too late

• Lazy

• Let it wait

• Listless

• Loser

• Lost

• Negative

• Numb

• Overwhelmed

• Powerless

• Resigned

• Shock

• Spaced out

• Stoned

• Stuck

• Too tired

• Unfeeling

• Unfocused

• Useless

• Vague

• Wasted

• What’s the use?

• Why try?

• Worthless

Allow yourself to take a few moments and remember the last time that you or someone you know experienced apathy. Then give yourself a few moments just to be with whatever feeling this memory brings up in this moment.

Could you allow yourself to welcome this feeling as best you can?

Could you allow yourself to let it go?

Would you let it go?

When?

Repeat the releasing process a few more times until you feel as though you’re able to let go of some or all of what you are feeling. Then move on to the next emotion.

When we experience grief, we want someone else to help us because we feel that we can’t do anything on our own. We hope maybe someone else can. We cry out in pain for someone to do it for us. Our bodies have a little more energy than in apathy, but the energy is so contracted that it is painful. Our minds are a little less cluttered than in apathy, but they are still very noisy and opaque. We picture our pain and loss, often getting lost in these pictures. Our thoughts revolve around how much we hurt, what we have lost, and whether we can get anyone else to help us.

When Sarah’s aging mother had a stroke, she realized they had turned a corner. She felt extremely sad to be losing the relationship they used to enjoy when her mom was vital and capable. Because of how much help her mom now required, it was as though Sarah were taking on the role of being the parent while her mom was becoming the child, at least part of the time. Making a decision one day, Sarah dove into her grief and found a measure of peace. She understood that, as long as she used the Sedona Method, she could allow herself to grieve appropriately instead of being stuck in a constant state of sorrow. Although there was sadness, and the unknown, there was also a feeling of great relief and movement. Releasing made it easier to welcome the changes in her mother.

Words and phrases that describe grief:

• Abandoned

• Abused

• Accused

• Anguished

• Ashamed

• Betrayed

• Blue

• Cheated

• Despair

• Disappointed

• Distraught

• Embarrassed

• Forgotten

• Guilty

• Heartbroken

• Heartache

• Heartsick

• Helpless

• Hurt

• If only

• Ignored

• Inadequate

• Inconsolable

• It’s not fair

• Left out

• Longing

• Loss

• Melancholy

• Misunderstood

• Mourning

• Neglected

• Nobody cares

• Nobody loves me

• Nostalgia

• Passed over

• Pity

• Poor me

• Regret

• Rejected

• Remorse

• Sadness

• Sorrow

• Tearful

• Tormented

• Torn