What limits us and prevents us from becoming who we are and achieving our full potential?
External and internal limitations
There can be physical limitations that exist outside of ourselves. These might include poverty and deprivation, the limitations of our environment or physical bodies and circumstantial limitations. However, many of the limitations we experience come from inside ourselves – our own thinking or perceptions – and they are often the result of fear. If we lack self-worth, we may be afraid of being seen or judged by others. We may limit ourselves because we are afraid of how others will react to us or because we are scared to feel out of control.
Letting go of limiting beliefs
Our inner limitations can leave us in the role of victim. If we give our power away to other people (to make us feel bad or judge us), we have no choice and no responsibility for the way our lives turn out. We become powerless. Such patterns of thinking often begin in childhood as a way of protecting ourselves. However, as adults, letting go of limiting patterns of thought, beliefs and behaviours can help us to feel more free, more expressive and more fulfilled.
Our founder, Yumiko Assakura has worked as a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher. She explained that the first step to letting go of limitation is to understand what is truly limiting us and to recognise the importance of our mindset. While we may believe that we are limited in our choices by external factors such as a lack of money or opportunities, in reality what may actually be limiting us is our beliefs.
Connecting with our playful creativity
Yumiko has worked with children facing extreme deprivation who had very limited life choices. She used play therapy to help them to connect with their inner creativity. As a society we tend to underestimate the value of play. Over-focusing on achievement deprives children of the chance to discover what they really enjoy and what matters to them without a need for validation from others. This can set up a pattern for life.
Learning to let go and have fun is an important step in overcoming limitations. Many of us are so accustomed to doing what we believe others want us to do that it can be difficult to connect with what we really want to do and simply play and have fun. If we were trained out of our natural playfulness as a child, we may need to re-learn how to do it. Being out in nature is one way to reconnect with who we really are.
Limitations help us focus
However, not all limitations are bad. Our human bodies impose certain limitations – or boundaries – on us that we do not experience when we are pure spirit. Ironically, these boundaries help to focus our creativity so our work is not to let go of every single limitation but simply to release patterns and beliefs that constrain us and prevent us from connecting with our higher selves. At Leaves Institute, much of what we teach supports people to develop greater spiritual awareness so they can connect more easily with their higher self – the self that is beyond consciousness.
There are no such things as mistakes
The fear of making mistakes is another limiting factor that can prevent us from stepping fully into our power. We teach there is no such thing as a mistake. When problems or difficulties arise, it is an opportunity for us to look at things in a new and more creative way. It is impossible to develop and grow without these problems in our life so try to see them as opportunities and trust that you will be guided to become a new version of yourself who knows just what to do in this situation. While the situation might appear to be a problem for your old self, your new self will be able to take care of it or find it as a great chance. All you need to do is relax and allow your intuitive knowing and playful creativity to arise. Doing something mundane and everyday, like tidying up or preparing vegetables, can allow your mind to free-fall and to create more space in your mind so that new insights can arise. It is why, so often, you find yourself coming up with the solution to a problem when you’re in the shower or out on a walk.
Discover more about letting go of limitations
If you would like to learn more about developing your spiritual awareness and learning how to connect with your higher self and let go of limitations, click on the following button for details of our short courses and Diploma qualifications:
