Letting Go ceremony

This comes from the Oracle of the Grail Code card and book set by Amy Sophia Marashinsky.
The Letting Go card was drawn, as it happens, in conjunction with the Time To Let Go card from the Healing With The Angels deck by Doreen Virtue.
The meaning of the card:
Letting go appears before you signaling that the time of holding on and holding firm has passed. This is the time of endings before the birth of something new and wonderful. It is essential to your wholeness to step back and walk away from that which you have been engaged in or dealing with. No more energy, time, love or whatever will have any effect. Only a complete and utter surrender will achieve the best, highest and most loving for all concerned.
Have you fought on for years, believing you will win in the end, if you just continue to hold on, it will all come out right and you will get what you want? Are you scared to let go, afraid that if you do you will lose the little that you have? Have you become accustomed to and entrenched in the familiar way things are and fear what a new situation will bring?
Remember that if something is truly yours you can never lose it. Sometimes taking a break and letting something die and end can facilitate it coming back in a better form. Your energy is best spent grieving the loss, then making space for something new in your life. Whether it's a loved one, job, or other situtation, spending time in mourning helps to create closure and will energize your healing. Once you are really done with your emotions then you will be ready for the new. Trying to hurry the process can only result in being overwhelmed by emotions later, when you least need it. Do it now and be done with it. Then sail on, willing and able into a bright future.

Meditation
Find a time and a place when and where you will not be disturbed and sit, lie or stand comfortably with your spine straight and close your eyes. Take a slow, deep breath and as you release it see, sense or feel your tension as tight armor covering your body. Take another slow, deep breath into the armor and as you relase it see, sense or feel the armor lighten and begin to fade. Take a last deep breath into the armor and as you release it see, sense or feel the armor vanish. You are now completely relaxed. Let your breathing return to normal.
Focus on your heart chakra, located in the middle of your chest near your heart. Take a deep breath into your heart chakra and as you release it feel a sense of peace. Take a deep breath into your heart chakra and as you release it, feel a sense of ease. Take a deep breath into your heart chakra and as you release it, feel a sense of love. Breathe into that love and let it expand. Breathe into that love and feel it expand until it surrounds you. Now breathe into that love and feel it surround you and hold you. Allow yourself to stay with that until you feel ready to continue.
See, sense or feel the love that is surrounding you and holding you as the presence of Divine Mother. You tell Divine Mother that you are thankful for Her presence with you. She tells you that She loves you and is with you always. She asks you what you need and you tell Her that you need Her help in letting go and grieving a loss. Divine Mother tells you that She is delighted to be of assistance.
Divine Mother tells you that the reason why it is difficult for you to let go is because you are hooked to what you are holding in your emotional body and that is where She will assist you first. She then tells you She will flood your emotional body with love and that will flush out any hooked areas. Gradually you begin to feel the warmth of unconditional love filling your emotional body. It flows into any and all tight, painful and wounded areas, bringing ease and peace, calmness and strength, renewal and regeneration. You melt into Divine Mother's love and feel all suffering cease. You hear Divine Mother whispering in your ear, "You were hooked because you were seeking love. Now you are filled with all the love that you need. Let go of the hook. Become Whole in My love for you." You feel something drop off your body and when you glance down, you see your hooks lying on the ground.
Next, Divine Mother tells you that you need to unhook from some beliefs that are keeping you tied to the situation you are letting go of in your mental body. She tells you that She if flooding your mental body with unconditional love and light and pulling out the sticky-stuck beliefs. You feel the tugging, as the old beliefs are pulled out of your mental body by Divine Mother. When the tugging subsides, you begin to feel the vibrancy of unconditional love and light filling your mental body. It flows into any and all tight, painful and wounded areas, bringing ease and peace, calmness and strength, renewal and regeneration, clarity and insight. You melt into Divine Mother's love and feel all suffering cease. You hear Divine Mother whispering in your ear, "You were hooked because you were seeking love. Now you are filled with all the love that you need. Let go of the hook. Become Whole in My love for you." You glance at Divine Mother and notice that She has a dark, sticky, and gooey blob in Her hands. She blows on it and it becomes a globe of radiant light.
"All losses must be grieved if you are to have wholeness," Divine Mother says. "All grief comes from the personality/ego, not from the soul. You will need to spend time in your soul and time in your personality/ego doing the grief work. Are you willing to do some grief work now?" You say yes.
Divine Mother places her arms around you and surrounds you with Her being. You begin to grieve: crying, wailing, keening, or making whatever sounds are appropriate for you. You feel able to go deep into your grief, thanks to Divine Mother providing a container for you, holding you gently, firmly, compassionately.
When you have done whatever feels right for you, you thank Divine Mother. She asks if you have any questions for Her about letting go and grieving and you ask Her about any concerns you may have. It is time for you to return. Divine Mother says that it would be helpful for you to spend more time with Her during this challenging time. Please connect with Her as often as you want.
Focus on your hands and breathe into the tips of your fingers. Now focus on your feet and exhale through your toes. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, move your body gently. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, if ready, open your eyes.
Welcome back!

My personal observations:
Letting go is often misunderstood. At least it has been by me. I have seen it as pushing away or repelling something I wish to care for. This is sometimes, but not always, the case.
Recently, I have seen the need for different types of letting go in my life.
For over a year now, my son has been involved with various music lessons. Previously, my family helped pay for these. Then I had to take over payment. But with today's gas prices combined with the cost of living, a high mortgage and a medical technician's salary, I can't afford for him to continue. This saddens me. I believe music is an important part of life, whether or not one is a professional musician. My son enjoyed the lessons and I enjoyed taking him and being part of this element of his life. He had no intent of being a professional musician, he just enjoyed developing the skills for his own use. However, to him, the need to cease the lessons is a "bummer." For me, it has caused active grief.
First, I see myself as a failure as a parent and a provider. This is the first thing I need to let go of because such negativity only begets more negativity and leads to depression. Second, I realized that I am holding onto the dreams of my youth, which did involve me becoming a professional musician. I never had the talent and I was thwarted by my family once it became apparent that for me, music was more than a hobby. Somehow, I see letting go of this dream as letting go of the desire to have music in my life, to be around unusual and artistic people who are like me, and to have a fun time. I see letting go as admitting that I'm "old" and shouldn't like certain types of music any more. But I must let go of this erroneous thought. I am who I am and I like what I like. I can't allow others to define this for me.
And I do need to let go of that old dream from my youth. And I do need to weep for it. I do not weep easily. I become angry and swallow my grief. I learned in youth that tears were a sign of weakness.
I inadvertently passed this erroneous belief to my son. Although I never belittled him for crying if he was hurt or unhappy, I always stoically swallowed my emotions and eventually had angry outbursts which, though rarely directed at Michael, probably frightened him as a child. (I also had undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which didn't help.) Recently, Michael (who is now almost 16) revealed to me that it made him angry when my father said things that implied that men shouldn't cry. He told me that it was difficult for him to cry, even when he's alone and feels the need. My son, who is a good-hearted individual, is carrying a lot of anger. I'm sorry that this unfortunate family tradition was passed down to him. I need to let go of this belief. Perhaps if I can, he will see that he can too. But it's difficult for me. I'm afraid that if I feel my grief, it will destroy me.
Also, and this is hard:
My son is now almost an adult. I need to let go of him.
Not give him up or stop loving him. Never do that. But let him make his own decisions. He's always displayed responsible behavior. I can give him my opinions and offer advice. I can't make his decisions for him and it's unfair to use guilt to prevent him from moving away when the time comes. He wants to go to a college in Vermont that is a perfect fit for him. It will teach him even more than I ever could about making good decisions that are right for him. I need to encourage this. While holding him in my heart and always being there for him, I need to let him be free.
I will miss him badly, though we will be in touch frequently, it will never be the same.
What do you know? Two whole tears! Maybe hearts of stone do soften sometimes after all.
I have a dear friend who is also bipolar. She is going through a terrible depression which is more a psychic dark night of the soul than a biochemical depletion. I have given her advice as a fellow sufferer, prayed and done spell work. I can do no more. To attempt to force things to change causes anxiety for me. I shall continue to advise, pray, and cast positive spells. But then I must release the problem to the Divine Healers who are greater than either of us. This does not mean giving up on my friend. It means letting the Universe do what it needs to do.
Then there are things that I need to let go that need to be kicked out never to return. Most of these are negative beliefs. These include:
I'm heavier than I want to be = I'm a fat, ugly pig.
Instead: I'm heavier than I want to be. But I'm working on it. This is a tough battle but it's one I share with a lot of people. If I enjoy the fight, I can win in the end. Even if I never lose the weight, I'll still be a winner.
I'm having a hard time making ends meet = I'm a loser. I'll never amount to anything. I'll always be broke and it will only get worse.
Instead: I'm having a hard time making ends meet = I can find a way to make ends meet and it doesn't have to be one that I hate. I can believe in miracles. I deserve them too.
I'm bipolar = I'm crazy and everyone else thinks so too.
Instead: I'm bipolar = I happen to have this condition, which in some ways makes life difficult but in other ways gives me gifts that ordinary people don't have. I'm unique. And other unique people will appreciate me.
This project hasn't worked yet = This project will never succeed. I'm a failure.
Instead: This project means a lot to me but it's taking a longer time that I'd like for it to succeed. I need to pray for a new approach and I need to perservere. I don't want to give up just before success comes.
These are a few examples of letting go, and of learning new beliefs. Think of some that apply to you.
Love and Light,
Lily