Do you know what happens when you don't let it be?

If you’ve ever had healing Reiki from me, and you requested quiet, soothing music to play in the background while I carried out your treatment, then you might have noticed that I always conclude all of my sessions with the same song - Let It Be.

And there’s a very real reason why I do this.

Because this song, Let It Be, is all about the healing power of acceptance.

You see, whatever struggle or setback you’re currently facing, acceptance of what’s happening right now is vitally important, because acceptance encourages the healing process.

Let me explain.

Although it’s often an instrumental version of the song that I play at the end of my Reiki Treatments, whether the words are included or not, most people know the lyrics…

…when I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to be, speaking words of wisdom, let it be…

Let It Be was written after Paul McCartney had a dream about his mother, Mary

The Beatles song was written in 1968, at a time when Paul McCartney was feeling emotionally and physically drained. Apparently, every area of his life wasn’t working, he was depressed, and his relationships with fellow band mates were challenging.

But then he had a dream about his mother, Mary, who had died 10 years earlier. And in the dream, Mary McCartney told her son “Let it be.” Paul took this to mean, don’t worry, everything will work itself out. And so, the iconic song was born.

Let It Be. I really do think that’s the very best advice you could ever give someone, or take yourself.

Don’t worry about anything you can’t change. Accept everything. Because it’s that acceptance that allows things to change naturally.

We all know that worry is completely pointless. Not only do you have the challenge of whatever it is that’s occurring in your life right now, but you also have the added burden of worrying about it. But the worry will not change the original setback, it’ll just make it twice as hard to deal with.

Resistance to, and worrying about, situations we can't change is so counter-productive.

Of course, it’s a normal human impulse to resist adversity, just as it’s also inevitable that we will all endure some kind of setback at some point in our lives. That’s why, when we suffer physically or emotionally, we immediately want to change our situation so that we can return to a state of well-being.

That resistance to whatever is happening usually manifests as frustration, negative thoughts, or even anger towards other people. But those emotions, that mental suffering, is only there because we’ve failed to let it be.

If we’d been able to let it be, and accept, not only would the first situation have been more tolerable, but there’s also every chance that it would have changed, or even disappeared altogether.

Science has proved many times that the best way to deal with physical pain is not to try to avoid or mask it, but to be mindful of it, which means, to accept it. Once we do that, the pain becomes milder. Resistance to pain or illness simply intensifies and prolongs our unhappiness.

When you resist what’s happening, the mind is in conflict with the body. But with an attitude of acceptance, when we let it be, we often recover more quickly because acceptance creates balance, and even harmony, between the mind and the body.

Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it, this is something that you can absolutely put to the test for yourself, right now.

If you currently find yourself in a negative situation that you can’t change—maybe it’s an illness, or even just something as simple as a traffic jam, try not to add to the negativity of the situation by wanting to change it. Just let it be. Accept whatever is happening.

And then observe the results. You might find that the situation ceases to be negative and just becomes neutral—or even pleasant. Let it be. And see.

Until next week.

Much love,

Denise