The Little Book of Letting Go: A Revolutionary 30-Day Program to Cleanse Your Mind, Lift Your Spirit, and Replenish Your Soul
Hugh Prather
ISBN: 157324-503-8
Hugh Prather and his wife, Gayle, have been sharing their spirituality for almost 40 years. He is the resident minister at St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church in Tucson, Arizona.
The contents include sections for letting go of: problems, fear of letting go, worry, our first reaction, motivation through crisis, money anxiety and travel worries, anticipated and unanticipated emotions, victim-perception, word magic, stories, neglect, fear of happiness, t-thoughts; I, me, and mine; outcomes, relationship battles you aren’t having, useless blocks to relationship, sticky thoughts, gloom, rigid responses and limited answers, “turning it over”, scattered thinking, blame and damage, body thoughts, t-thoughts, spiritual attainment, “higher” path, “spiritual” laws of success, our personal struggle.
From letting go: the basics:
“Within the human heart, we all feel the call to be simple, to be present, to be real. Yet throughout the day, the world urges us to be at war with ourselves and each other” “Be resentful about the past.” “Be anxious about the future.” “Be hungry for what you don’t see.”
“Be dissatisfied with what you do see.” “Be guilty.” “Be important.”
“Be bored.” “Be right.” Little else in nature exhibits this need to be more that it is. The simplicity of rain, the clarity of a star, the effortlessness of s bird, the single-mindedness of an ant—all are just what they are.”
From letting of problems:
“To “become like a little child” is merely to relinquish our need to judge all things, change all things, and be right on all occasions. This removes the blocks we put on our capacity to enjoy, or at least to be still and at peace.”
“There are only three things you need to let go: judging, controlling, and being right. Release these three and you will have the whole mind and twinkly heart of a child.”
Prather defines t-thoughts as a core belief that we developed at some point in our lives, usually doing our formative lives, that now stands in the way of our experiencing unity and peace. When something happens during the day to trigger a t-thought, it automatically clicks on, like a tape or a computer program. If we are not aware of its activity, the set of emotions it produces controls our decisions and outlook. (page 95)
From letting go of t-thoughts:
“There is no way to perfect egos. Nor is there any reason to. Why would you want to perfect an imaginary playmate? Would that get rid of it? Certainly not. Likewise, there is no need to make a project of your ego and attempt to perfect an imaginary identity. Just seeing it clearly will show you that you don’t want it; don’t need it; and don’t have to fear it.”
[...] a review of this book, “the contents for letting go include problems, fear of letting go, worry, our first [...]