The ability to acknowledge and honour our experience without judgement and return our attention to the breath is a key component of mindfulness practice and in many respects a rather exquisite form of letting go.

Whenever we return our attention to the breath, we ‘let go’ of something (thought, feeling, sensation) that has taken us away from the richness and immediacy of the present moment. This practice of returning thus enables us to hold the more unhelpful, elaborative and ruminative aspects of our experience ‘more ‘lightly’, letting go of them if necessary, with greater ease.

In this programme Mark Tully asks when it is right to relinquish our dreams and how best to leave grief behind? From sporting defeat to the loss of a loved one, the broadcast looks at the benefits of knowing when to let go, and the consequences of not doing so.

Readings explore the notion of letting go of worldly successes and status symbols in preparation for retirement; the pain of bereavement as the gradual process of forgetting begins; a Hindu tradition of renouncing material possessions and family connections before death; and the joy of finally accepting defeat.

The first of those readings, Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye, will be familiar to those of you who have attended an 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course.

You can listen to the programme by clicking on the following link: Something Understood – BBC Radio 4 on Letting Go

The programme last 30 minutes. It’s available only until Sunday 6th January. I hope you enjoy it.