You may have noticed a slight change in the tone and content of these posts so far this year.

In fact, OK, what I’m probably saying here is that I really hope that you have noticed.

Because, you see, I am doing a thing here. My thing. The thing I think I always wanted to do but never quite felt brave enough or free enough or perhaps never slowed down enough to notice that I wanted to do it.

I am Letting Go.

You see, I’m writing this from the Sophie I really feel myself to be right now, in this moment, rather than the Sophie I think perhaps I ought to be. Yep. I’ve let go of the ought to.

It’s a funny thing. When I’m working with clients, I actively choose to be present in the moment as it happens with them. Someone please bonk me over the head with a shovel (tenderly, affectionately of course) if I ever start trying to be a persona – some scary concoction of what I think that they think that a therapist or coach should be, for example. Because I find that just gets in the way of what we can do together.

When I’m working with my clients, I am here. Right here. Connected to my own deep sense of who-I-am-as-I-experience the words, the images, the metaphors of what is happening for that client. I’m saying, ‘Yes! Come into this space with me and let’s experience this together with our minds and our bodies and let’s find out what exciting, wonderful, surprising thing can happen next…’

And when I’m working with people in the Word Sauce Online Programme,  we’re always talking about how we can let go of all those old narratives, metaphors, stories – the ones someone else keeps trying to dump on us, or the ones that just don’t fit who we are anymore – to make space for stories and possibilities that feel so right.

In fact, come to think of it, I even wrote a PhD thesis in which the second chapter was called Letting Go. I wrote a book and now I’m writing a bigger book that begins with Letting Go.

And, you know, I’m doing all this and even then, oh yes, even then, there comes a time – and it’s in most weeks, to be honest – when I realise that I’ve accumulated a couple of fairly new stories that just aren’t helping me, or maybe it’s a new-old story that emerges into my conscious awareness: ‘Oh, there’s that thing I do, that story I tell myself…’

So I’ve been re-Letting-Go. As I do. From time to time. And I notice that this time I’m doing it with a little more kindness to myself. None of that ‘Oh, here we go. When will this ever stop and when can I just stop doing this?’ kind of talk. Because that’s not really letting go.

None of that wrestling, that ‘Can I?’ and ‘Do I deserve to?’ and ‘Am I really willing to let go of this one?’ No, none of that, thank you.

More of a gentle, vaguely amused noticing. A kind curiosity.

It feels gooooood.

And so, as much as I can, I’m beginning to write these blog posts from this new place where I find myself. I’m writing them from a place of really bringing together all the things I do – the therapy, coaching, work with writing, the workshops and online programme – into something that feels so much more me.

I’m writing as me. I’m loving being more of me here on this blog, not feeling that I should point you to the latest celeb story about hypnosis or the latest news and research on brain science to get the Google love, SEO, key-word-kind-of-stuff in.

Nope. None of that.

Just me. Just what it feels like when I feel I have something to really say, to really share. (And the funny thing I’ve noticed is that suddenly I have ooodles, heaps, dollops of delicious, deep-down, cool and sometimes a little bit crazy and also very, very exciting-to-me ideas that I just want to shout out.)

OK. So maybe I should do it gradually. Or your ears will be aching.

Now I’m not necessarily saying that there won’t be more research and hypnosis stuff on this blog. I love the hypnosis and hypnotherapy stuff, the debates and the questions. I want to spread the good research around.

And it’s not that I wasn’t being me before. It was just a different kind of being me. If you know what I mean, which I’m sure you do.

I’m just going to do it from this place here, where I feel I am now with my work and my life. It’s time to let go again. Because I’ve changed, I’ve grown  from where I was when I began this blog three years ago.

I may not always get it ‘right’ here. But I will be as much myself as I can be. If I catch myself thinking how I ought to do it, I’ll gently notice and then listen to how I really want to do it.

So, I’d like to ask you, what can you let go of today? What story or belief or idea or ’should’ or ‘ought’ are you ready to gently, kindly notice and let go of?

Go on. I double-dare you. Let me know what happens next.