Letting Go: Complete Guide to Release & Surrender

By Nicole, Founder of Mystic Ryst

Letting go is one of the most powerful spiritual practices—and one of the hardest. We hold onto relationships that ended, jobs we lost, dreams that didn't work out, pain from the past, and control over the future. But holding on keeps us stuck. Letting go sets us free.

Letting go doesn't mean you didn't care. It means you're choosing peace over pain, freedom over attachment, and trust over control. When you release what no longer serves you, you make space for what does.

This is your complete guide to letting go—how to release, surrender, and find freedom.

What Is Letting Go?

Letting go is releasing attachment to outcomes, people, situations, or emotions that no longer serve your highest good.

What Letting Go Is NOT

• Giving up on what matters
• Not caring
• Forgetting or pretending it didn't happen
• Weakness

What Letting Go IS

• Accepting what is
• Releasing control
• Trusting the process
• Choosing peace
• Making space for new

What to Let Go Of

Past Relationships

• Ex-partners who aren't coming back
• Friendships that ended
• People who hurt you
• What could have been

Past Mistakes

• Things you regret
• Choices you wish you'd made differently
• Guilt and shame
• Self-blame

Control

• How things "should" be
• Other people's choices
• Outcomes you can't control
• The future

Expectations

• How people should act
• How life should look
• Timelines for manifestation
• Perfection

Why We Hold On

• Fear: Of the unknown, of being alone, of change
• Hope: That things will go back to how they were
• Identity: We've defined ourselves by what we're holding
• Comfort: Even pain can be familiar and safe
• Control: Holding on feels like control

How to Let Go

1. Feel Your Feelings

• Don't suppress or bypass
• Cry, scream, journal
• Let emotions move through you
• Feeling is healing

2. Accept What Is

• Stop fighting reality
• "It is what it is"
• Acceptance doesn't mean approval
• Acceptance brings peace

3. Forgive

• Forgive others (for YOU, not them)
• Forgive yourself
• Forgiveness is freedom
• You don't have to forget

4. Release Ritual

1. Write what you're releasing on paper
2. Read it aloud
3. Say: "I release this with love"
4. Burn the paper safely
5. Watch it transform to ash
6. Symbolic and powerful

5. Surrender to Higher Power

• "I surrender this to the universe"
• "Not my will, but divine will"
• Trust something bigger is guiding you
• Let go of the how and when

6. Focus on What You Can Control

• You can't control: others, outcomes, past
• You can control: your thoughts, actions, responses
• Focus your energy there

Letting Go Affirmations

• I release what no longer serves me
• I let go with love and gratitude
• I surrender control and trust the process
• I am free from the past
• I choose peace over attachment
• Letting go creates space for better
• I trust divine timing

Crystals for Letting Go

Work with these:

• Obsidian: Releases attachments, cuts cords
• Smoky Quartz: Transmutes pain, grounds
• Rhodonite: Emotional healing, forgiveness
• Apache Tear: Grief, gentle release
• Amethyst: Spiritual surrender, peace

Letting Go Meditation

1. Sit comfortably, close eyes
2. Breathe deeply
3. Think of what you're holding onto
4. Visualize it in your hands
5. Feel the weight of holding it
6. When ready, open hands and release
7. Watch it float away
8. Feel the lightness
9. Say: "I let go"

Full Moon Release Ritual

1. On full moon, write what you're releasing
2. Light candle
3. Read list aloud
4. Say: "I release this under the full moon"
5. Burn paper safely
6. Thank the moon
7. Let go

Signs You're Ready to Let Go

• You're tired of the pain
• You want peace more than you want to be right
• You're willing to trust
• You're open to something new
• You're exhausted from holding on

What Happens When You Let Go

• Immediate relief and lightness
• Space for new opportunities
• Emotional freedom
• Better things arrive
• Inner peace
• You realize you're stronger than you thought

Letting Go vs. Giving Up

Giving up: Quitting from fear or defeat
Letting go: Releasing from wisdom and trust

Giving up: "I can't do this"
Letting go: "I trust the process"

Your Letting Go Practice

Start today:

1. Identify one thing you're holding onto
2. Feel your feelings about it
3. Write it down
4. Do release ritual (burn it)
5. Say: "I let go with love"
6. Notice the freedom

Final Thoughts

Letting go is an act of courage, not weakness. It takes strength to release what's familiar, even when it hurts. But on the other side of letting go is freedom, peace, and space for miracles.

What you're holding onto is holding you back. Let it go. Trust the process. Make space for magic.

Welcome to letting go. Your freedom begins now.

What have you let go of? How did it change your life? I'd love to hear!