Whether to dig up unconscious stuff to release on.. or release in the moment? (Lester Levenson, Advaita, and Sedona Method)

 

So I'm continuing a deep dive into Sedona Method, Release Technique, the teachings of Lester Levenson and related material. 

It's mostly centred around 2 main areas:

- Emotional release work

- Advaita, or nonduality based on the teaching model of contemporary Advaita Vedanta (most similar to Ramana Maharshi's teachings and model)

 

A question has come up after going through (again) several of the courses and reading some of Lesters original writings (as transcribed for example in 'Keys to the Ultimate Freedom', and 'Happiness is Free'). Lesters original talks recorded in the 1960 (1964 and 1966) are also available on YouTube pretty must for free now.. for example here : https://www.youtube.com/@lesterlevenson8168/videos)

 

That question is -- is it better to 'dig up' and trigger the emotional reactions and uncover where the 3 Wants are hiding (and thus emotional reactions on the AGFLAP chart), or is it better to just release what comes up in the moment (ie during the day or night or while involved in activities)?

 

Larry Crane and Hale Dwoskin put together the current two main commercial offerings that are now available with Lester's teachings and the Sedona Method style releasing system. I met Larry Crane in person when he visited Australia about 10 years back.. and unfortunately, he's gone now. Hale is still very active in the releasing community and has evolved the Sedona Method to be much larger and encompassing many approaches that Lester didn't originally use.

There are also a few ex-students of Lester around that have kept Lester's original simplified version the Sedona Method / Release technique. They tend to be very similar to how Lester approached the releasing, and just use the 2 Wants (Wanting Control and Wanting Approval) to release on.

Apart from Hale, who has now fully incorporated the approach of Advaita Vedanta (in modern terms and without any technical terms or non-English terms) into his teachings with Sedona Method, not many of the other teachers or students of Lester make use of the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, or self-inquiry.. and not in the direct way that Lester himself references the "Eastern" teachings, for example in "Keys to the Ultimate Freedom" talks.

But back to the question about whether to release on stuff as it arises, or make an effort to dig into the unconscious via goals, worksheets, topics, journaling etc..

My view now is that it is likely better to just release directly on things arising in the moment, rather than spending large amounts of time digging up stuff and constantly filling out worksheets and goals and topics. The reason for this is that when just keeping the releasing on what is arising in the moment, it aligns much better as a tool or 'means to an end' practice for then moving on to self-inquiry or resting in the moment as beingness, suchness etc... which was always Lester's "Ultimate Goal". The ultimate goal was never to clear out all of the unconscious garbage.. which is more aligned with a Scientology type goal of clearing 'unconscious traumas' etc and getting to some "Clear" state. 

In contrast, any preparatory practice in the nondual approaches was always aimed at making way for the simples of situations in which things are able to rest and be seen exactly as they are in perfect peace, ananda, as suchness.. see for instance the preparations and end for Dzogchen, or the silent teachings of Ramana Maharshi, in which nothing needs to be done.. indeed, all conceptual designations are let stand but are known to be nothing other than the Absolute.

So if you have gone down the rabbit hole of Sedona Method, and wonder how far down you need to go, and when you need to stop releasing... then it's useful to keep these above things in mind, and veer towards an approach where you just release on things (emotional triggers, reactions, wants, craving etc.) in the moment, rather than try stir up unconscious stuff in an effort to clear it all. By doing this, you'll have a much better chance of being able to recognise and attain Lester's view of the "Ultimate Goal" which is to be that imperturbable peace and Happiness itself.