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54. Making Room
Episode 5424th February 2025 • Creative Spiritual Journey • Judy Cooley and Ghia Cooley
00:00:00 00:17:58

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Ghia—The winter and the new moon combine to make an awesome time for letting go, not just of material clutter but also of unuseful thoughts.

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Speaker:

Hooray!

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Gia here.

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Welcome to the Creative Spiritual

Journey Podcast, where Judy and I talk

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about those things that bring us joy.

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For me, I find joy by connecting with

nature, connecting with Jesus Christ and

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our heavenly parents, seasonal living.

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And all the bits of magic and wonder

I come across while navigating this

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remarkable journey we call life.

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Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's

still winter, the cold, dark time of year.

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But that's okay, because every day

it's getting lighter and lighter.

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But as I'm putting out this

podcast, the moon is getting darker.

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And we'll be completely

dark in three days.

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If you've been listening to this

podcast, you know that I've been diving

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into the energy of the moon and I have

learned this dark moon or new moon is

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a time of rebirth or new beginnings.

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Can I just tell you that I love this?

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You know how some people find

motivation in New Year's resolutions?

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That's great, but it

only comes once a year.

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The new moon happens

12 to 13 times a year.

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And each of these moons is a great

time to birth something new in

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your life, a new goal or habit.

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Of course, you don't need

to wait for the new moon.

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You can start a new habit any time.

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But I have discovered that if

I'm needing motivation, the new

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moon gives me a starting date.

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For example, I have a mini

trampoline that I like to bounce on

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because I think it's good for me.

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The idea is that it helps keep my lymph

fluid from stagnating in my body, because

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unlike blood, which has a heart to keep

it moving around, the lymph movement.

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The mini tramp also is supposed to help

strengthen my pelvic muscles, which

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I am particularly aware of as I age.

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Does anyone else sneeze

and have a dribble problem?

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and I don't know about you, but I

hear more and more stories about

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women with prolapsed bladders.

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This sounds terrible to me.

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So if bouncing helps strengthen my pelvic

muscle, I'm willing to give it a try.

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but here's the truth.

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Despite the health benefits, I

go days, weeks, and even months

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without getting on the trampoline.

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I was lamenting this not long ago

when I realized that the new moon

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was only two days away and it gave

me an excellent starting date.

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So now I've been bouncing again and I

have miraculously been able to keep it up.

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So this was the first time I

have ever deliberately used The

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rebirthing energy of the moon.

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And it made me so happy.

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this idea brings me to

the topic of this podcast.

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that the new moon energy is arriving

at the same time the light of the

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sun is growing with the season.

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This makes me feel that there

is an upwelling of energy.

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Spring will be here before we know it,

and spring is a time for planting seeds.

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Literal seeds and metaphorical seeds.

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Spring is a time we

traditionally get moving, right?

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That means that winter is a

time to prepare for spring.

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We slow down, we rest

up, we nourish our roots.

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But what do those flowery

words actually mean?

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What do they look like in practice?

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Here's one idea.

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It's still winter, right?

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We aren't quite ready to bloom.

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This is the perfect time to clear

some space for what is coming, to

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clear space for the seeds that are

going to create that spring bloom.

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And we clear that space by letting go.

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Do those two words scare you?

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Letting go?

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Let me share with you a story

about this idea of letting go.

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This is a story of learning

what we can do without.

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My daughter Riley has been a river

guide in the Grand Canyon for 20 years.

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Here's what that looks

like most of the time.

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It looks like three people, two river

guides and one helper called a swamper,

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taking thirty passengers through a

completely remote and isolated stretch

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of river for seven to eight days.

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All the people and all the gear is packed

into two 30 foot inflatable motorboats.

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Let me tell you that those boats can

hold a lot of gear, which makes these

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river trips relatively luxurious camping.

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But everything needed for the whole trip

must be on the boats before they get on

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the river, because once they leave the

boat ramp, there's no place to pick up

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anything that might have been forgotten.

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Well, that's not completely true.

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It's possible to ask other trips for

something that has been left behind,

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but obviously that would mean cutting

into the supplies of the other trip.

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And it is also possible to call the

river office on a satellite phone

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and have them hike stuff down the

Bright Angel Trail, which hits the

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river about the middle of the trip.

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Both of these options require

inconveniencing someone else

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and admitting your mistake.

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There was Riley on the

first night of the trip.

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She was busy helping passengers

when the swamper walked up and

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asked her where the big box was.

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Riley was confused.

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The boat is full of big boxes.

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When she fully grasped that the

swamper was telling her she couldn't

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find the kitchen box, Riley said her

brain went black and she had to go sit

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in the back of the boat and breathe.

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The kitchen box is one of the

biggest boxes on the boat.

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It holds things needed for cooking,

like spatulas, large cutting boards,

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tablecloths, knives, tongs, serving

spoons, dish soap, bleach, cooking

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oil, lighters, The potato masher,

the grater, and mule gloves, which

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are used as heavy duty hot pads for

moving Dutch ovens and griddles.

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The kitchen box also held another

important item, the stove repair kit.

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Stoves are notoriously susceptible to

sand and the overall rigors of river life.

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It's rare for a stove to last the

whole trip without needing some work.

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But all of these things were left behind.

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It didn't matter whose job it was

to put the kitchen box on the boat.

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Riley, as trip leader, was

ultimately responsible.

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Can you imagine cooking for 30 people,

on vacation, without these things?

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I mean the realization of what they

had left behind was horrifying.

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Not to mention, half of the

crew's salary comes from tips.

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What were the passengers going to think?

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Now, this isn't the first time a river

trip has forgotten important items.

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I once heard of a river trip where all the

Dutch ovens were left at the warehouse.

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That is basically like leaving

all your pots and pans at home.

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What would you do?

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Well, in this case, each passenger

and guide had an ammo can.

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Ammo cans are often used on river

trips for personal gear because

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they are waterproof and convenient.

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The guides got creative, and

taking the lids off turned

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the ammo cans into cook pots.

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So, there was Riley, wondering

what she was going to do.

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Thankfully, she had plates, silverware,

and cups for each passenger.

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And they had a few things in

a separate, much smaller box

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that was used for lunches.

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This box held two knives, a small

cutting board, and a can opener.

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They also had a box of restock

items that contained things like

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dish soap, bleach, and cooking oil.

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But while they had these items, they only

had half of what they generally used.

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After a few moments to gather her

thoughts, Riley realized exactly what they

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were going to do without the kitchen box.

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Do without!

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Because what choice did they have?

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When she explained this to the

crew, they got so determined to get

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by that they refused to ask other

trips for supplies, and they even

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opted not to have anything hiked in.

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They did the whole trip

without the kitchen box.

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The crew got very creative.

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Instead of using mule gloves to

move hot Dutch ovens, they used

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the sleeves of their sweatshirts.

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After opening a can, they wove the lid

between the tongs of a fork to make a

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spatula for flipping eggs and pancakes.

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Riley said that in the end, she

realized they didn't actually

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need that huge kitchen box.

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She wouldn't want to go

without it for every trip.

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but it was amazing to realize

what she could do without.

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And the passengers?

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They figured it out, of course, and,

being impressed, tipped accordingly.

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I love this story.

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We live in a materialistic

society, and I feel like I'm

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on an acquisition hamster wheel.

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More, more, more.

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But the more we have, the more we have

to take care of, the more we have to

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move, and the more we have to store.

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new piece of clothing and

struggled to get it in your drawer?

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What if you could let it all

go, or at least some of it?

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Would you feel lighter, more spacious?

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Would this open up new

opportunities for you?

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I have heard stories of people

taking the time and putting in the

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effort to declutter their house

and losing weight spontaneously.

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The simple act of lightening

the load in one part of your

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life can help in other places.

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So I have to ask myself, what is it I

need to let go of in order to make room

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for new things to come into my life?

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I'm not just talking about reorganizing.

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yes, that can be helpful in creating more

room, but the clutter is still there.

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I'm talking about removing

things from my life.

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This can be things like dusty candles, the

mug I don't really like, clothes I never

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wear, old toiletries, apps on my phone.

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Listen to this quote titled Unclutter Your

Life from William Bradford of the Seventy.

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He says, A cluttered life is a life

that you do not have control of.

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It is a life in which the things you

surround yourself with and allow

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to use up your time are controlling

you and negatively influencing your

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happiness and eternal progress.

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And note, he isn't just

talking about physical items.

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He's also talking about things like

letting go of control, letting go of past

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mistakes, letting go of feelings of lack,

letting go of needing to be perfect.

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It can also be letting go of thoughts

such as she doesn't like me, or this

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is dumb, or I don't have enough time.

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Did you know that you can let go of these

thoughts just as easily as old candles?

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we think we can't let go of these

things because we believe they are true.

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How can we let go of

something that's true?

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But they are only true because our

brains have told us they are true.

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I once heard that half the

things we believe aren't true.

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This idea blew my mind.

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Then why do I believe them?

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Here's why.

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Our brains are continually

trying to make sense of things.

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That's what brains are for.

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so if an acquaintance doesn't respond to a

text, my brain will try to figure out why.

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And it thinks, maybe she doesn't like me.

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After I've had this thought,

my brain begins looking for

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evidence to support this thought.

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I notice things like when this

person comes into the room, she walks

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over and says hi to someone else.

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She might smile at me, but

she doesn't look sincere.

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She might even look me in the

face and say something rude.

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so there is no denying it then, right?

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Obviously she doesn't like me,

My brain has figured it out.

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My thought must be true.

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But what if I find out that her

husband was just diagnosed with cancer?

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Might my brain come up with

different thoughts about her?

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I know this is overly simplified,

but I think you get my point.

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We can let go of thoughts, even when

our brains are convinced they are true.

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I love the idea of simply believing

everyone is doing the best they can.

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Everyone!

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My most dread political candidate.

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The drug addict on the corner.

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The lady who cut me off on the freeway.

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I can simply choose to believe they

are all doing the best they can.

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I also love the idea of simply

believing what people say.

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Has someone ever said something

nice about you and you think, I

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wonder if they really mean that?

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Or are they just trying to be nice?

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I'm over that game.

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I am letting that thought go.

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deliberate choice to believe

whatever anyone says about me.

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I mean, why not?

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I can't get in their mind and read

their thoughts, so why not make my

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life easier and simply believe them?

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How freeing is that?

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And there is more we can let go of.

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I love the talk from Bishop Budge

in this last General Conference.

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He said, When praying, what if we

were to spend less time talking

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and more time just being with God?

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What?

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Let go of talking during a prayer?

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Did you know we can do that?

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He also said, Paradoxically, helping

God hasten his work of salvation and

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exaltation may require that we slow down.

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Being always in motion may be adding

to the commotion in our lives and

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robbing us of the peace we seek.

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Letting go of commotion?

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Did you know that was possible?

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So in this time of increasing light,

in this time of the new moon, is

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there anything you need to release?

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Get rid of or let go.

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Use the power of the seasons and

the moon to help you throw it in the

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trash or the thrift store box, or to

deliberately release it from your mind.

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And then take the time to notice

the space it makes in your life.

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A small thing will leave a small space.

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But as you get used to the motion, as

you get comfortable with it, you will

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find you can let go of more and more.

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And you will find, like Riley,

that you don't actually need

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everything you thought you did.

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The more you release,

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This means that in the spring, there

will be room for new opportunities,

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new friends, better fitting clothes,

and the peace that comes with more

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appropriate thoughts and feelings.

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So there you go.

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That's my winter new moon message.

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Judy, and I know your time is precious

and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes as

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we navigate this journey of life.

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Now, I have a special request.

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If you like this podcast, will

you share it with a friend?

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I had a listener recently tell me

how much she loved our podcast, and

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then she went on to say that she

keeps meaning to share it with her

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Facebook group, but hasn't done it yet.

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If you have had thoughts like this, will

you please take the time right now to

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share this podcast I don't know if you

have noticed, but under the title of the

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show, Apple Podcasts often has a number

representing the number of followers.

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Until you reach a certain

number, that space is left blank.

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I can't figure out what number they

deem worthy of mention, but the lowest

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numbers I have seen are around 150.

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So that's our first podcast goal,

and we would so love your help.

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With that, let me end with

this final quote from the

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Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu.

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When I let go of what I am,

I become what I might be.

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When I let go of what I

have, I receive what I need.

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Namaste.

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