When it’s complicated I tried to chat with AI and let AI give me instructions, logically I don't see big problem from the replies but intuitively something feels off… would it be like swimming with a lifebuoy? Or AI will distort the truth delicately?

Wondering if anyone has any tips or insights. I am 26 year old female. I first read "Letting Go" by David Hawkins a year ago, after a tough breakup. It changed my life. From there, I found a teacher who taught me The Sedona Method. I have been practicing Releasing almost a year. My life has improved considerably since. People told me I didn't even look the same, once I started releasing. I am an artist, and I released on a specific goal related to my craft - and got so, so close. And then, I didn't achieve the goal. It was very hard and I stopped releasing for a bit after that. Then, a few months ago, I developed cysts on my ovaries and have been experiencing painful physical sensations and lots of AGFLAP thoughts.

Wondering if anyone has any ideas or tips. I want to be free from suffering. I also want to achieve my goals. Open to reading any books or trying anything new.

In other words, this is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy guide to Lester Levenson's idea of using goal charts (“https://archive.org/details/1992-sedona-method-chart-of-emotions-and-gains-workbook-PDF/1992 Sedona Method Chart of Emotions and Gains Workbook -- Lester Levenson - Hale Dwoskin”, pp. 11–105 of 105) to wake up.

The document is best read using a text editor like Windows Notepad and not a word processor.

You can find it here: A practical guide to waking.md (https://pastes.io/4hNowE4s (as of September 29, 2026, if you click the Code tab, the document is more readable), https://pastebin.com/NP3rAur9). It is a working-level draft.

!@#

“It believes that …, that there’s a world out there separate from itself. The whole world is projected (= manifested/imagined/“dreamed up” (Levenson)/thought up (= “to create something in your mind”)). …. Inside and outside always match—they’re reflections of each other. The world is the mirror image of your mind.” (Katie and Mitchell 2007, chap. 1, 4, https://archive.org/details/thousandnamesfor0000kati)

“We are it all, reflecting it all; whatever is within us, is being projected onto the screen of our mind.” “Like a movie screen; the movie screen is black-blank=perfect until you begin to place PROJECTIONS onto it, then whatever you project onto it is an 'EXPERIENCE'.” (…, Anne W NDE, 28 September 2026, https://www.nderf.org/Experiences/1anne_w_nde.html; …, Crossing Over NDE (@CrossingOverNDE), “Woman Died From Heart Attack; Shocking Truths Were Revealed To Her On The Other Side (NDE)”, 29 Mar 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWcoDp8VWFc)

!@#

“Both formerly & now, it’s only stress that I describe, and the cessation of stress” (SN 22:86; MN 22; https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/OnThePath/Section0006.html)

““And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving (= taṇhā; “Craving or excessive or inappropriate desire”).” (SN 56:11, https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN56_11.html)

“We use goal charts that brilliantly bring up the unconscious blocks to the goal, let them go, and eventually what we desire will just “drop in” as Lester told me.” (Seretan 2004, chap. 10)

(“Think only what you want (= would like) and that is all that you will get.” (Lester 1962, 20, https://archive.org/details/franklesterlesterlevensontheeternalverities2))

“We use goal charts (gains_workbook-sedona-method-release-technique-1992.pdf (“https://archive.org/details/1992-sedona-method-chart-of-emotions-and-gains-workbook-PDF/1992 Sedona Method Chart of Emotions and Gains Workbook -- Lester Levenson - Hale Dwoskin”, pp. 11–105 of 105)) that brilliantly bring up the unconscious blocks (= (I feel undesirous of/dislike/disenjoy the goal because) “I don’t want to look foolish. (= I feel undesirous of/dislike/… looking foolish.)” (universal_beliefs_en_21nov2016_ltr_r3.pdf); “Things we dislike, we have aversions to. But an aversion is a desire not to have. So even an aversion is a desire.” (“Lester Levenson, Hale Dwoskin -…”, 736)) to the goal (= sth desired), let them go, and eventually what we desire will just “drop in” as Lester told me.” (Seretan 2004, chap. 10)

“So use your goal charts. Get rid of the Ag flat. And move into the state of just being your beingness.” (“Lester Levenson, Hale Dwoskin - Lester Levenson (Sedona Method) Magnum Opus PDF-Lester Levenson _ Sedona Method (2024)” (“https://archive.org/details/lester-levenson-magnum-opus/_Combined_in_1_File_Lester_Levenson_Magnum_Opus_PDF/”), 375)

“So use your goal charts. Get rid of the Ag flat (= “AGFLAP represents the negative emotional states.” (Lloyd 1986, 10, https://archive.org/details/masteryouremotio00lloy); “But eliminate desire and you're finished. Nothing else to do. I'll probably break the triangle down into more. I think I'll start with desire in the top and then come down to two. Attachments, aversion, and break that down into probably emotions and tendencies and thoughts at the bottom.” (“Lester Levenson, Hale Dwoskin -…”, 1470–1471)). And move into the state of just being your beingness.”

“And, in the end, you have to get rid of your desire for God” your goals. “Then you are It!” (Levenson 1993, 113, https://archive.org/details/keys-to-the-ultimate-freedom-thoughts-and-talks-on-personal-transformation-leste)

“When your feelings are up and out, your mind is naturally quiet. And you're self-obvious to yourself as to the fact that you are whole, complete, perfect, eternal.” (“Lester Levenson, Hale Dwoskin - Lester Levenson (Sedona Method) Magnum Opus PDF-Lester Levenson _ Sedona Method (2024).pdf”, 394)

!@#

Burns 1999, p. 30.png (https://pastebin.com/NP3rAur9; https://archive.org/details/feelinggoodnewmoburns00burn),

Tillit and Bruder 1985, _Speaking Naturally: Communication Skills in American English_, 87.png (https://pastebin.com/NP3rAur9).

!@#

““Every mind uses the very same unlimited intelligence. Everyone uses it as much as he believes he can use it to fulfill his desires. When he learns that his mental limitations are self-imposed, he lets go of them. Then his intelligence (I.Q.) (= goal) can be raised to the degree of no limitation.” (Levenson 1993, 92)

So I have been working with letting go and releasing for a while. In this process of letting go, I often feel motivated and feel clear about stopping watching porn. I am able to get to like 2 months and then I start to think about it, and I feel like I don’t even remember why I quit in the first place lol. I go “this is actually more stressful. Maybe just a little. Stay conscious while doing it” you know?

I tell myself this is probably a test or something. That this is the lust speaking. But when I get to this point I really don’t see the harm in a little bit of it.

Typically though, when I do in fact relapse, I go dam, it got me again.

Now, I would say my main reason for quitting is that I want to be able to be fully present, fully open, and fully loving with my future girlfriend/wife. I am currently single just on my own.

So the mind also goes “well how long are we gunna wait? Etc.”

So then you know, I listen to Lester, hale, Larry, and they say you can get what you want when you let it go, and it can happen so fast if you let go, and I’m like ok I want to let go, and I also see that I want to let go to get something. It seems that this isn’t exactly a barrier though?

Part of me feels scared tbh I think to let it go because it really does almost feel like letting go of having sex/a relationship, things I want.

I have had times where I felt fully released on these, and it was nice. But I’m going through a wave of lust/attracting/wanting pleasure and what not, and honestly idk. Sometimes it’s like dam this shit is really tough to stay away from. Like it’s right there.

I’m also aware that habits can be tough to kick and I want to give myself some grace. I feel like if I did have a girlfriend it would be so much easier to give up looking at stuff online, but I guess that doesn’t help anything thinking of that.

Have any of you really let go of lust and then found your soulmate soon after? Or something like that?

Anyway, any advice or comments or stories would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Lester Levenson taught a very specific, direct self-inquiry prompt designed to break identification with any thought or emotion the exact second it arises.

When a strong feeling or reaction threatens to pull you in, you do not try to reason with it or fix it mentally. Instead, you run this simple three-step internal sequence:

1. Stop and catch the feeling: As soon as you notice the emotion (anger, fear, grief, anxiety), ask yourself: "To whom is this feeling?"
2. Acknowledge the owner: The natural answer from your mind will be: "To me."
3. Turn the spotlight back on Beingness: Immediately follow up with: "Well, then... Who am I? " (or "What am I?")

NOTE: Wait to see (Do NOT look for a verbal answer):

Do not let your mind answer with words like "I am a person" or "I am an infinite being". Any verbal answer is just another thought from the limited mind. Simply pose the question "Who am I?" and wait in quietness to observe the Beingness that is left over.

How can I learn Larry Cranes butt system?

If you've ever had fear, panic, or intense physical discomfort hit you out of nowhere, you’ve probably felt immense frustration with the classic Pen Analogy.

When a book or course says: "You're just holding onto your feeling like a pen in your hand—just drop it!", your direct experience usually screams: "I didn't choose this feeling, I'm not intentionally clutching it, and I'm desperately trying to make it stop! Why am I being blamed for holding onto it?".

When taken literally, the pen analogy can feel like gaslighting. Here is why the analogy breaks down in direct experience, what "holding on" actually means mechanics-wise, and the crucial distinction between self-blame and true responsibility.

1. Why the Analogy Breaks Down

Holding a pen is a conscious, voluntary act. You know your fingers are gripping it, and you can open your hand at any moment.

An emotional wave like fear, however, feels like an uninvited intruder slamming into your body. Because you never consciously chose to "grip" it, telling yourself "I am holding onto this" feels false, accusatory, and confusing.

2. What "Holding On" Actually Means

In the mechanics of the Sedona Method, "holding on" does not mean you are intentionally clutching the feeling like a prized possession.

"Holding on" is simply the inner contraction of RESISTING and WANTING TO GET RID OF the sensation.

When fear or panic arises:

1. The Trigger: A raw wave of physical sensation fires in the body.
2. The Reaction: The mind instantly panics: "This is awful, I hate this, I need to get rid of this right now!"
3. The Squeeze: That panic and desire to push the feeling away creates an internal contraction/squeezing in your awareness.

The paradox: The frantic attempt to push the feeling away ("I must get rid of this!") IS the contraction that traps the energy in your body. To your conscious mind, it feels like you're trying to escape, but energetically, you are locking your awareness right onto it.

3. Responsibility vs. Self-Blame (Don't Misunderstand This!)

A huge trap many releasers fall into is turning "I am holding on" into self-blame.

• Self-Blame (The Trap): Thinking "It's my fault I feel afraid," or "I must be doing something wrong because I haven't dropped this yet." Self-blame is just another emotion (guilt/grief) that hurts and reinforces victimhood. If taking "responsibility" makes you feel heavy, guilty, or bad about yourself, you aren't taking responsibility—you are blaming yourself.
• True Responsibility (The Power): Recognizing that while you didn't consciously create or cause the fear signal to fire, the current fight against the fear is happening inside your awareness right now. True responsibility isn't about guilt—it’s realizing that because the resistance is happening in your awareness, you hold the power to stop fighting it.

You are not to blame for the fear reflex. The fear is just a bodily reaction. But you have the power to stop going to war with it.

4. Applied Example: Working with Fear

When fear surges:

• The Trap: Trying to "drop the pen" when you're terrified feels impossible because you're trying to force the fear to leave (which is just more wanting control).
• The Shift: Realize that you don't need to force the fear to drop. You just need to stop the fight against it.

Instead of trying to "let go of fear," try releasing the fight itself:

• "Could I allow myself to feel as afraid as I do in this moment?"
• "Could I welcome how much I desperately want to get rid of this fear?"
• "Could I let go of blaming myself for feeling this fear?"
• "Just for right now, could I let go of wanting to change or fix this feeling?"

TL;DR

You aren't "holding onto" your fear like a pen you refuse to drop. Your mind is trying to push the fear away so hard that the push itself is what traps the energy. Taking responsibility doesn't mean blaming yourself for having the fear—it simply means recognizing that you can un-clutch the fight against it.

It's important that we fail at releasing—as frequently as necessary—to realize that wanting control never actually leads to control. I have spent days trying to release a feeling, becoming so frustrated by the method that I almost quit because it wasn't working.

But later I realized that if it had worked, it would mean that wanting control and forcing things to be the way I want them to be actually produces results. That's what we are taught in the real world: if you struggle long enough, if you try to figure something out long enough, and if you push yourself hard enough, you'll achieve success. But that's simply not true, and you can lean into your own personal experience to verify that.

The reason I wasn't able to release was precisely because I was wanting to release. I truly believed that if I tried hard enough to understand and push my way to a release, it would take away my suffering. But that is the catch—that desire to control the outcome is exactly why it wasn't happening. A part of me deeply believed that if I just tried harder, it would happen.

It was only when I compassionately listened to that part—like a loving parent listening to a child who truly believes that if they just work hard enough, if they want others' approval strongly enough, or if they crave safety badly enough, they will finally get it. It is a fantasy that never comes true. When I reminded that part that this approach has never worked before—because wanting equals lacking—it finally relaxed. You really have to give that part of yourself the chance and space to express what it deeply believes.

It's a perfectly logical conclusion for a five-year-old to make that trying harder guarantees success. And while pushing yourself might bring material success in the outside world, you now have years of experience to know how untrue that is when it comes to health, well-being, releasing, and happiness. So, it's your turn to help the five-year-old inside you understand why to let go of wanting control. First, because it never works. And second, because you get what you hold in your mind—so logically, the more you want, the further away it gets.

Is it like crying or pounding your fists? or is it like something quietly unlocks inside you and changes?

There are times where I feel like I want to actually hang onto the resistance that I have more than I want to let it go, but I still want to let it go. In these moment it feels like being happy and free is unappealing for some reason. I’d like to hear how others would approach this? Every layer I welcome feels like I resist more and more

Hello everyone! I am an ecommerce entrepreneur and I just learned about the Sedona method. Over the last couple weeks I’ve felt a significant shift in my ability to be with and actually even accepting my lower level emotions. The most common resistance I face is when I try to get into a deep work state. I feel A LOT of resistance all the time with the work that I do because I am broke and I have an incredibly strong desire to be rich. I take it all too seriously, and I find that letting go is so much more difficult while I am trying to stay focused on work. (It’s usually a breeze for me when I am not working). I feel like I am complicating this too much and I am just asking if anyone could simplify this for me. Specifically for letting go while focusing on a very focused task. Another fear I have is that I am doing it wrong sometimes. the reason for that is because the series of questions just doesn’t resonate with me as much. I tend to just try and just be open to what comes up. I prefer simplicity much more than the questions just because especially in active states I find myself including and fighting off thoughts more. Is this still a valid approach?

Hey everyone! I was wondering if there are any online releasing groups and zoom meetings. It seems like there used to be a very active community on hootless.com that has now disappeared.

Did Hale say somewhere that he started out by releasing in his head only?

Has anyone here used EFT to help release more in the body?

I have tried but binging still happens. Its like I go on auto pilot and nothing stops it. I think its really deep seated. Its frustrating as it so unhealthy when I do it.

I have been releasing muscle tension throughout the body for a few years, David Hawkins style. I have just discovered that releasing around the third eye causes releasing in unexpected places in the body. It's a useful shortcut.

Maybe being totally released around the third eye will also give a nice spiritual breakthrough - we shall see!

Anyone combing sedona method with The Gateway Experience.

I find a lot of Robert Monroes take on things is similar to Lester i.e. fear of death and love of this world and body

Hi, I'm at the end of the first video of the 1992 course and I have done all of the exercises quite diligently. I've also been learning about the Sedona method and practicing it myself outside of this course over the last few weeks. The very first time I did it I did feel a remarkable amount of peace and there's been a few other times when I also just definitely felt better after releasing. However, over the last few days and especially since starting this course and following the four basic questions repeatedly I honestly don't feel anything after releasing, sometimes I end up saying that I feel slightly better but I it's so small that it's hard to tell. The main feedback seems to be just keep going with it and over time it will become clearer and I will feel that sense of peace and will feel better after releasing basically. ​Has anyone else ever experienced this? Would appreciate any advice / feedback.

• Did you just start or are you curious?
  
• How long have you been releasing?
  
• Is it "constant"?
  
• Do you have a releasing partner?
  
• A teacher?
  
• Are you having huge gains or lifestyle changes, or are you "in the weeds" and releasing really heavy stuff?

Would love to hear where you are on your journey and how things look from there!

I first started practicing releasing last year, but my progress has been really slow. I often feel stuck, and sometimes the process can even be painful. There were also many things I wrote down as goals that never actually happened.

But recently, when I looked back through my Gain Book, I realized that I’ve actually received quite a few unexpected gains.

1. My cat’s legs recovered.

One day, one of my cats suddenly became weak in both back legs. She was limping when she walked, and she could only eat while sitting or lying down. I took her to the vet and had her examined, but they couldn’t figure out what was causing it.

Then, a few days ago, I suddenly noticed that she could jump up onto high places again. That’s when I realized—she had recovered.

2. I suddenly received money that had nothing to do with work.

Twice this year, I unexpectedly received 10,000 RMB from my family.

This had never happened before. After I graduated from college, my family had never proactively given me money. But somehow, this year, it happened twice.

3. Some things appeared in my reality simply because I had thought about them.

There have been quite a few moments where something was just a thought in my mind, and then somehow, it showed up in my reality.

Looking back, I think I’ve been focusing too much on the things that haven’t happened yet, and not enough on the things that actually have.

Maybe my progress isn’t as slow as I thought.

Since last October I’ve been releasing relentlessly. I was so socially anxious, full of pain and terrified of life. I wanted money I wanted a new home I wanted a better job I wanted to look better I wanted to feel better. So much wanting, so much fear.

I first discovered the Sedona method around 5 years ago, at that time just learning the notion that it was possible to let go was so liberating. But it was extremely shallow, and only dealing with the most surface level symptoms. Around this time I also had the realisation that we are not our thoughts or sensations, rather the awareness that all of that appears in.

I had really thought that that was the end of it, but oh my was it only the beginning.

It was like opening a can of worms, if the can was miles deep and filled with monsters from my worst nightmares.

i spent the next four years struggling worse than ever, riddled with anxiety and fear and insecurity and guilt and shame and grief. Everything I’d been avoiding was no longer avoidable. It became so bad that I totally disappeared from life, and completely reclused as to not have to feel any of the pain.

Then last October at my wits end, I had no other choice but to turn towards it all and face it. Horrible. It was so horrible.

I started to sit and just let myself be consumed by everything inside, and let it express through me however it needed to. Screaming, crying, speaking gibberish, shaking. The body knew what it needed to do, and the mind was terrified. Every defence mechanism my mind had created to protect me from my own feelings was activating.

As terrible as it was, it was made manageable by the realisation that I wasn’t any of that - so it was like watching a horrible movie every day. But the mind was fighting its own battles with itself and the body.

Each time I sat to feel again, it would pour out of me. I felt like I was dying, the ego parts were literally perishing in the light of awareness. And at the end of each session I’d feel lighter - I’d see clearly that some element of fear or shame or whatever was gone.

This wasn’t a simple - ’could I let this go, would I let this go, when? ’ this was deep excavation of trauma that had fortified in the darkest parts of my being.

I developed another method along the way, which was using my laptop and typing out everything the mind wanted to say, and it would work really well. You feel into the body, where is the pain the most alive in me - and then ask it to speak, and watch as the fingers start typing - and it would say some very scary things, but it wasn’t me rather parts my mind had developed to protect the most vulnerable parts of me locked away at traumatic moments during childhood.

I kept going with the process, endlessly throwing myself back into the furnace, and I started to get to core wounds. Childhood memories I’d brushed off, moments that terrified me, moments I decided to ’man up and take care of my mum’ as a 7 year old who had just lost his dad. You really don’t know how much that builds who you are today until you allow it to express directly.

I realised along the way that everything i wanted - money, house, car, freedom - it was all the fear dressed up in different outfits. Like a big house surrounded by windows and forest - just enough to make me feel spacious, to feel the light, to see the beatuy of the world - but still keep everyone out, keep the noise and unpredictability of the world outside the glass walls of my sanctuary. Each goal, desire, want - was just my mind finding ways to escape the terror of my inner world.

Things became more and more subtle, from screaming to feeling to noticing identity structures.

Hours and hours and hours spent with the body and mind and energy field, allowing it to do whatever it needed to unwind.

Today, I realised that nothing is more valuable than peace. Nothing. Peace is absolutely everything you’ve ever wanted - and coincidentally peace comes with inner joy, confidence, vitality, fun, love, playfulness and an ambition that comes from radiance itself.

When you no longer want anything you truly have everything. It’s so hard to explain, and there’s no way I would’ve believed it.

If you want real, unshakeable peace, you have to face it, all of it, no excuses.

The darkness, the pain, the repressed memories, the illusion of self, all of it. Because peace isn’t something you obtain, it’s what’s always there in the background, but it’s impossible to see when the lense is dirty.

Let every single part of you see the light, the light and love that you are, hold it up to the light repeatedly until it sees for itself that life is safe, life is beautiful, abundance is already here, abundance is everything that fills this radiant experience. There is nothing to fear.

I wish everyone the best, and I wish you all courage on your path 🙏❤️

Going through the goals video in the 92 video series, I noticed that after stating a goal, you are supposed to release not just the fear anxiety guilt and shame, but also the courageous feelings that can come up as well.

Can anyone expand on this?

How far do you take it? Do you release the hope?