GOSS: How to Let Go

When developing relaxation & calm during meditation you can use the GOSS Formula to deepen relaxation & calm.

This is how you do it. (picture 1 below)

1. G = You develop awareness of your body by relaxing as a grounding point.
2. O = You observe how nice it feels to relax and let go with each breath to develop a momentum of letting go within your mind.
3. S = You learn to find enjoyment in your body and breathing softening & relaxing into it.
4. S = You smile with kind eyes into the enjoyment of your body and breathing to reward your mind for letting go.
5. Repeat if needed.

When thoughts, memories etc. are in the background and not distracting you from your body or breathing you simply let them be there and continue to enjoy developing relaxation & calm.

This is how you do it. (picture 2 below)

1. G = You don't need to do anything because awareness is already grounded in your body.
2. O = You observe the anatta (by-itself) nature of the background thoughts, sounds, etc. letting them come and go by themself without clinging to them.
3. S = You than gently soften your interest in the background distractions, instead finding enjoyment in the increased awareness of your body & breathing.
4. S = You smile with your eyes into how nice it feels to let them go, smiling with kind eyes into the enjoyment of your body and each breath to reward your mind for letting go.
5. Repeat if needed.

When your attention wanders to sounds or thoughts etc. but you are not completely distracted from awareness of your body or breathing you apply the GOSS Formula to bring awareness back to your body. 

This is how you do it. (picture 3 below)

1. G = You don't need to do anything since awareness is already grounded in your body & breathing and you weren't distracted from it.
2. O = You notice the autonomous, by itself (anatta) nature of your attention wandering.
3. S = You than soften your interest in the wandering, enjoying how nice it feels to relax and letting go in your mind, body and breathing.
4. S = As you soften you smile with kind eyes into the enjoyment of letting go to reward your mind for letting go and for returning to awareness of your body and breathing.
5. Repeat if needed.

When you become distracted and have completely forget your body awareness you use the GOSS Formula to reward your mind for returning to mindfulness and for letting the distraction go.

This is how you do it. (picture 4 below)

1) Ground: As soon as you notice you have been distracted and mindfulness has returned, take a few gentle softening breaths to relax awareness back into your body.

2) Observe: Take a few moments to develop insight into the anatta (by-itself) nature of the distraction before softening and letting it go. This is as simple of reflecting on what it felt like to be lost in your mind for that time and then reflecting on what it feels like now that mindfulness has returned.

Difficult Distractions: If the distraction such as a thought or emotion is sticky and your mind can't let it go, add this sequence:

1. Anatta: Observe how the distraction happened autonomously by itself.
2. Sensation: Observe the elemental qualities of the distraction in your body, separating them into pieces such as hardness, tension, warmth, coolness, etc. to weaken your minds identification with what you are experiencing
3. Feeling: Observe any feeling of pleasantness or unpleasantness that is present in your body. It is this feeling that makes your mind cling to it.
4. Relationship: Observe any wanting or not wanting present in your mind toward the pleasant or unpleasant feeling of your present experience.
5. Effort: Then observe the effort it takes to want or not want your present experience.

3) Soften: You can then soften and relax the effort within your mind and body, enjoying how nice it feels to relax and let go in your body and mind.

4) Smile: And as you soften, smile with kind eyes into how nice it feels to put down all liking and disliking and let go to reward your mind for letting go and for returning to awareness of your body and breathing.

5) Repeat if needed.

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