Release.
Let go of anything that no longer serves you.
I know you’ve heard this before. And you might be thinking: it’s a lovely sentiment, but how do we actually let go?
How do we drop our fears, our hurts, our anger?
How do we step away from the pain within them to see brightness again?
Give them wings.
Let the butterflies carry them away.
Every butterfly-send is release. Their bright energetic bodies flying beyond me into the universe.
And I get the benefit of it!
Every time I release butterflies, I release something of my own. Something I no longer need.
An old belief, a negative thought, a regret.
The release happens whether I plan for it or not. But the healing power of this is exponential when I set my heart to it.
Sometimes I know exactly the thing. I can almost picture it, balled up in my stomach, or heavy on my shoulders. A gremlin, a weight, a dervish mid-whirl.
I can picture gently plucking it from where it sticks, pulling away as much as I can, and gingerly depositing it upon the waiting wings of a butterfly.
Often I don’t realize exactly what I’m releasing.
The beauty of it is, I don’t need to know.
When I feel something weighing me down, it doesn’t really matter what it is. Of course I want to identify it. I want to quantify it. I want to know where that thing came from and how it got in here.
But I don’t really need to know.
All I need to do is release it.
Which is what these butterflies are positively genius at.
Alchemic wizards that they are, the butterflies transform the energy of all that is released into fuel to brighten their colours and carry them far out into the world.
Back in the depths of my heart, now that the thing is released, there is new space. Space to receive the gifts of the butterflies: love and ease and comfort and joy.
They take away all we don’t need. They bring us all that we need.
As with the other facets of butterflies, we can practice this simply. The idea of release can flutter through our mind as we see the butterflies.
Or we can go deeper, feeling the things we need to release – even if we don’t yet know what they are – and seeing ourselves gently loading them on bright waiting wings.
We can fall into the vision as we watch the butterflies gain altitude, and transform in colour and size as they burn our worries as fuel to carry them to the next destination.
They give and they receive. They arrive and they depart. They bestow and they release.
Like breath.
Like life.
Like butterflies.
Is there something you are holding that is stopping your heart from feeling peace? Is there something you are ready to release?
Picture your butterflies happily carrying away all you no longer need. Feel the flow in your heart where it once hurt.
Share in the comments how it feels to you to release to butterflies.
Would it feel nice if I helped boost your butterfly power?
You might be interested in Butterfly Healing.
Perfect!
Thank you
Simply beautiful, Teresa!
Love the post!
That felt wonderful! And I feel lighter. Thanks!!
This is just such a beautiful and comforting image! As a hypnotherapist that uses guided imagery, I can see this being so beneficial for a client to release so many different things from the subconscious! Lovely!
Love the butterfly analogy. It’s beautiful.
Thanks.
~Debra
Aaah, it feels good and peaceful to release… I am going to start doing this every time I see a magical butterfly. When I was young I used to write things out and tie the to a balloon and let it float away…I like the butterfly way better 🙂 Thank you for the dreaminess, as always.
Hmmm…this has the beautiful feeling of a meditation. You could easily turn it into a recording and provide it to your peeps as a free gift or a bonus. You perfectly explained this wanting to know what exactly it is that is making me feel this way, as I’ve raked my brain for the past few days trying to figure it all out it was quite refreshing to read your words and truly know that it doesn’t matter – I can let it go on butterfly wings anyway! Exhilarating!
I love how you are embracing the Butterfly Shaman title!! It totally suits you.
I love the image of the butterflies carrying away anything I need to release. Beautiful!!
I’m enjoying your take on the world Teresa! You’ve inspired me to share this with my kids. From now on we’ll be releasing all kinds of things when we see butterflies.
I love this! Like Christie, I am going to share this with my daughter. Last year we bought caterpillars and watched them turn into butterflies—it was magical for us to witness. And I have some poignant butterfly stories to tell, perhaps one day we can share.
I spent my weekend out doing a lot of physical activity – a LOT more than I usually do and I woke up this morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I assumed it was entirely physical because there was good reason for it, but I took a moment when I read your article to check my energy field anyway and see if I could clear some of it. 15 minutes later, I am feeling MUCH better. I’m only slightly sore and what was a raging sinus headache from my allergies has come down to a dull back-of-the-head ache. In short, I’m feeling about 90% better than I did 15 minutes ago. Thanks for the reminder and the energy support in this piece.
Beautiful, powerful images — thank you so much! There’s a hurting that I know I need to release but I haven’t found the way. Maybe the butterflies are just what I need – I even felt a little bit lighter just from reading this. <3
Forgive me if you’ve covered this question somewhere else as I’m currently scrolling through entries. How do you release butterflies?
Blessings, Stacey
Hi, Stacey!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! My writings about butterflies are just beginning, so I’m sorry I haven’t explained it clearly yet. All of my use butterflies, starts with imagining or visualizing a butterfly (or butterflies!). The butterfly may be arriving, or I may be sending it to someone in particular. Or I may visualize the butterfly only to be able to release my worries onto its wings.
Being able to see the butterfly, in my mind’s eye, and place that heavy cargo (heavy on my heart, light and easy for the butterfly to carry) somewhere outside of me that can transport it away, is such a freeing and uplifting experience! If you haven’t yet, give it a try and see if it works well for you, too!
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~