Hugh Prather - The Little Book of Letting Go: Cleanse your Mind, Lift your Spirit, and Replenish your Soul

Praise for The Little Book of Letting Go

At last a book that not only counsels us to let go but that tells us exactly how to do it.... Here's a book that can make a real difference in our daily lives, not just in our heads.

Hal Zina Bennett, author of Write from the Heart and twenty-eight other books on creativity and spiritual development

Reading this, I am struck once again by Hugh Prather's down-to-earth brilliance. Letting goparticularly of fearhas been my desire and goal for years. With the help of this book, I am finally beginning to do it!

M. J. Ryan, author of Attitudes of Gratitude and 365 Health and Happiness Boosters and editor of The Grateful Heart

Ah, the freedom gained from releasing old, inhibiting stuff! The dream of such freedom can become a reality with the help of Hugh Prather's wonderful Little Book of Letting Go.

Sue Patton Thoele, author of The Courage to Be Yourself, Freedoms After 50, and The Woman's Book of Soul

Letting Go is the key to happiness, success, and all the positive aspects of life. Please do yourself a favor and read this book. Then practice it. I guarantee it works, if you work it.

Wally Amos, author of Watermelon Magic

Practical while being humorous, this book addresses the most common of human struggles while offering ways to lift the soul to all it is capable of.

Lee L. Jampolsky, PhD, psychologist and author of Healing the Addictive Mind and Smile for No Good Reason

The Little Book of Letting Go leads to the big heart of loving.

William Elliott, author of Tying Rocks to Clouds

This book brings wit, wisdom, insight, and practical help into some of life's most difficult attachments. Letting go seems to be the most difficult thing in life to do. But, with this book, you not only see the wisdom in doing so, you are also given the tools that will facilitate the process.

Beverly Hutchinson, founder and director of Miracle Distribution Center

In his masterful style, Hugh Prather has once again presented a way to a deeper happiness. Put this book into practice and you will have the twinkly heart of a child.

Barry and Joyce Vissell, authors of The Heart's Wisdom and Meant to Be

This edition first published in 2017 by Conari Press, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

65 Parker Street, Suite 7

Newburyport, MA 01950

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2000, 2017 by Hugh Prather

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously published in 2000 as The Little Book of Letting Go: A Revolutionary 30-Day Program to Cleanse Your Mind, Life Your Spirit, and Replenish Your Soul by Conari Press, ISBN: 978-1-57324-503-6.

ISBN: 978-1-57324-692-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prather, Hugh.

The little book of letting go : a revolutionary 30 day program to cleanse your mind, lift your spirit, and replenish your soul/Hugh Prather.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-57324-503-8 (trade paper)

1. Peace of mind. 2. Peace of mindProblems, exercises, etc.

I.Title.

BF637.P3 P73 2000

158dc21

00-022063

Cover design by Jim Warner

Cover image Unusual Day, 1971 (pencil, pen & ink and w/w with crayon on paper), Searle, Ronald (19202011) / Private Collection / Photo Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

Interior photos/images by sabri deniz kizil c/o Shutterstock.com

Interior by Frame25 Productions

Typeset in Adobe Devanagari

Printed in the United States in America

M&G

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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To Gayle with love

(As with all our books, this was a team effort. Gayle contributed the title, the theme, and worked out most of the concepts. I did the writing.)

In most instances, identifying details have been altered in these stories as well as throughout this book to protect the identity of the individuals mentioned. Three of these stories have appeared in previous books.

Is anything more important than learning to experience ourselves as whole and as the essence of Love? I cannot think of anything, and Hugh Prather has written a simple, clear book that presents practical ways to let go of the blocks that interfere with experiencing our natural state of wholeness, joy, peace, and oneness with our Creator. The stories in this book, which are honest and deeply affecting, leave readers with the kind of Ah ha awareness that allows for spiritual transformation.

I have known Hugh and Gayle for more than twenty-two years and cherish the deep, loving friendship that we have. I have witnessed their humanness, trials, errors, and tribulations, and, as for most of us, life has not always been easy for them. But through these years, I have also witnessed their absolute commitment to their spiritual journey and to those who come to them for help.

As he always does, Hugh writes with humor and clarity about the ordinary, mundane problems that most of us struggle with. While deeply spiritual in tone, his writing tends to stay away from the kind of religious terminology that can separate rather than unite. Above all, this is a practical book, with practical solutions for everyday difficulties. It is not an abstract book of impressive-sounding concepts, but one that is filled with the precious spiritual nuggets that can lead us to a life filled with love and hope. It is a book about healing our fear of intimacy and our fear of love and happiness.

Hugh makes it absolutely clear that life does not have to be as complicated as we usually make it. He brings freshness and candor to ancient insights and leaves the reader free to ponder, disagree with, and especially to reexamine old beliefs, habits, and thoughts. When we finally realize that letting go of what has no value is not a sacrifice but the road to our personal freedom and happiness, we will embrace the practices that allow us to accomplish this. The Releases in this book are a way to freedom from the judgments, thoughts, and attitudes that poison our minds and lives. They will help readers become more conscious of their feelings and thoughts as a preparation to freeing their minds and becoming whole.

Letting go is an ongoing process that must be mastered, and while the writing in this book is clear, concise, and easy to read, it does require readers to participate in their liberation. The value of these Releases is priceless because they open the door to freedom from the bondage of negative, fearful thinking and set hearts and minds free to soar with the wings of peace, unity, and happiness.

The last chapter of this book is a powerful, poetic description of the benefits of letting go, surrendering to love, and finally taking that leap of faith to trust God as our guide through the pathways of life. The result is a joy and peace that defies both imagination and comparison.

This is a great, must-read book.

Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear