How to Release Unwanted Life Patterns

By Matthew Joyce

Sometimes it’s easy to manifest the new life experiences that you want to have. Other times it seems like no matter what you do, the existing pattern remains in place.

If you feel clear about the new experience that you want in life, yet you remain stuck in an experience that you don’t want, then chances are the problem isn’t with the new pattern. Rather the problem is with your inability to release the existing life pattern.

Everything is created according to patterns.

If you’ve read some of my other articles or taken the Manifestation and Creation workshop then you already know how everything from physical objects to energy to life experience expresses itself according to patterns. Once you understand the pattern you understand how the observable phenomenon came into being.

If you want to experience something in your life—from a bowl of breakfast cereal to a new job—you create it according to a pattern. Everything you experience in life is the result of some pattern or another Even things that you don’t desire that end up happening anyway.

Find the pattern that created the current phenomenon and you’ve found the source of your problem.

But the pattern itself is not the problem.

Repeated thoughts and underlying beliefs create patterns of energy and behavior that result in life experiences. Sometimes those patterns are problematic. But the reason you continue to experience the problem rather than the new life experience that you want is not because of the existing pattern.

It’s because of your attachment to the existing pattern.

Let me repeat that. If you’re clear that you want something new in your life yet you continue to experience what you don’t want, then the problem isn’t with the patterns for the new or old experiences.

The problem is with your attachment to the old pattern.

Sometimes you cling to old patterns out of fear. Other times you do it out of habit. Many times you are not even aware of the underlying beliefs that hold the pattern in place, the roots deep in your past or a virtually invisible part of your belief system.

Regardless of the cause, the end result is the same. You hold onto the old pattern like a fist clenched around a penny. No matter how much you want the new pattern, you can’t grab hold of it until you let go of the old one.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to let go.

Sometimes simply recognizing that you are holding onto the old pattern is enough to release it. Of course you want to let go of that penny to accept the check for winning the lottery. But other times the process of letting go can take a bit more effort.

How to release an unwanted life pattern

If you find yourself having difficulty letting go of an existing life pattern consider trying the following exercise.

1. Find a quiet place to sit or lie down where you will not be disturbed for the duration of this meditation.

2. Take a few breaths to relax and close your eyes.

3. Identify the thing that you are currently experiencing that you don’t want. If you are experiencing multiple issues at the same time, you can treat them all at once, but you may find it easier to focus on one at a time.

4. Trace the phenomena back to the pattern(s) that created them. Sometimes this is straightforward. Other times it can take a significant amount of introspection to find the source of the problem.

5. You’ll know you’ve identified the source when you can state the idea in a single sentence, such as I’m afraid to ____ because _______ or I can’t ______ because ______.

6. Exploring the origin of this belief can be helpful in bringing to light the reasons behind the current pattern. It’s also helpful for understanding the reasons why it is now outdated and no longer serving a useful purpose. But doing such exploration is not necessary for this method.

7. With the source belief summarized in a single sentence, repeat the sentence aloud or in your mind. Notice how you feel when you say it. Pay attention to obvious and subtle feelings.

8. Repeat the sentence, allowing your inner experience to broaden and encompass your discomfort or frustration with the current situation. Stay in the discomfort until you have a strong sense of it, including any related thoughts or emotions.

9. Now temporarily let go of this uncomfortable experience and craft a new statement about what you want instead. For instance, if your uncomfortable statement was “I’m afraid to express myself, because it is not safe,” then your new statement might be “I am safe and it is easy to express myself.”

10. Say the new sentence aloud or in your mind, and pay attention to obvious and subtle feelings.

11. Repeat the new sentence, feeling your desire for the new experience. Then move past the desire and imagine that it has been fulfilled. Create an image in your mind of what life feels like when the new pattern is in place. Add more and more detail until the visualization is as intense and as real as was your earlier discomfort.

12. Then temporarily let go of the new experience and shift back into the old one. Repeat the problematic sentence and revisit the thoughts and feelings associated with it. Compare this experience to the new one that you want instead.

13. Shift to the new experience and make the comparison from that point of view.

14. Move back and forth several times between the two experiences. Once you are comfortable going back and forth, shift your awareness from comparing the two states and notice how the transition itself feels.

15. Repeat the transition process a few more times. The transition is the release of a current pattern and the embrace of a new pattern. That is all it takes to let go of an existing pattern. Since the transition can be relatively easy, the real trick is not to return to the old pattern.

16. To avoid returning to the old pattern, envision yourself firmly in the new pattern you want. Repeat the sentence for the new pattern and surround yourself with the images, sensations, and feelings you now associate with it.

17. From this point of view, look back at the old experience as if you were watching it on a movie screen. Imagine the lights coming up and film ending. Imagine you are staring at a blank screen. Then imagine the screen itself disappearing. Once it’s gone you are now fully in the new experience with no old pattern to return to.

18. End your meditation and act as if the new pattern is fully in place.

Live the new pattern

Sometimes the transition process can be lightening quick. When this happens you let go of the old pattern and instantly experience the new one as being real for you. It seems as if a miracle has occurred.

Other times it can take a considerable amount of time to feel comfortable enough with the new pattern to let go of the old one. But don’t despair. If you find yourself, falling back into the old pattern, repeat the exercise again. With repetition the old pattern will dissolve and the new one will feel normal.

Transitioning between patterns is normal and easy when you are not attached to the old pattern. When you feel stuck this method can help speed up the manifestation of the new experiences you really want.

Next Step

Read more articles, and if you haven’t done so already:

(That’s a hint!)