The Power of Letting Go

My Journey to Cairo, Egypt

Imagine you being in Egypt with your girlfriend. All inclusive hotel in the middle of the desert. Each day, you wake up. There is a big breakfast, great weather, a nice gym, and many people escaping their boring lives.

Waking up everyday, having deep talks, laughing, sobbing and sharing ideas.

Snorkeling in the coral reefs, filming the ocean and its majestic beauty.

Enjoying the hot burning sun, while the butter melts on your toast.

On the last day, as we packed, I realized something that would dictate my next two days. I don’t have my ID with me. I grab my 50€ Wallet from Galeria Kaufhof, search all the cards within, but nothing found. My ex girlfriend started getting nervous, and me too. But I was playing it cool for now. As we approached lunchtime, we were in the lobby calling for police.

I started to be a bit more louder and authoritative. I tried not to be too aggressive.

Still nobody in that whole hotel was able to call police. Finally, one officer came. He had no official papers. He presented some obviously fake ones.

Nobody could help us, and I started to realize that I need to do this on my own.

As we got to the airport, the border control at the airport declined entry for me without ID or passport. I looked at Jasmin and said that she should go without me— of course she broke out crying. It was all so dramatic. I tried to stay stoic. I know how much energy and patience these next days will require from me.

So she flew. I got back to the hotel lobby. Then, I started a social media campaign with the hashtag #freetarkan on Instagram. Many friends reposted this hashtag in their stories. It raised awareness about me being trapped in Egypt, lol. It was jokingly funny, I was genuinely amused by my situation.

“How can I end up here again?”, “Again?? I never was here— why do I even say that?” I think I have some heritage or past life in Egypt. Anyway…

The social media campaign was nice and all, but had no practical use.

The most ridiculous fact is that I have a distant friend named Leo. 
His father is a German diplomat in Cairo, Egypt. 
I could have contacted him, and they would have treated my like a king.

But why didn’t I notice him?
Because I did not remember.

So I guess my soul wanted to experience an adventure. So off we went! I took a taxi for 300€, driving from my hotel to Cairo along the Nil River. A ride of 700 kilo meters up north in the mystic darkness of Egypt.

Along this night I woke up and thought “this guy could kick me out and no one would ever know”. That thought was a bit scary yet realistic.

Arriving in Cairo, an assistant from my traveling agency got assigned to me. We went from the German consulate to a police station, then to get food, and back to a government building.

I vividly remember entering the police station. I saw a chain of handcuffed men being brought inside. When I entered the office, it was like the wild west. To my right, a handgun was being handled. To my left, a small prison cell. A small woman inside it clung to the bars with one hand.

It was like movie.

After all of those actions completed, I held my new passport in my hand. It was 11:11 am on the 11th march 2018.

I open my phone case, and there it flips out… my ID.

Yes, my “lost” ID was in my phone case the whole time— what a joke!

Anyways, on to the next mission. Getting back to Germany. I drove with a taxi to the airport and booked a flight to Berlin for 400€.

And now comes the reason why I am telling you this story. I was now forced to wait almost a day at the airport for my flight on the next day. I didn’t want to leave the airport, because I had enough of Egypt. To kill time, I literally ABSORBED the audiobook of "Letting Go" by Dr. David Hawkins.

I could either fight the chaos or let it be. I wanted to find peace in whatever happened. Hawkins spoke about observing and releasing our emotions. He said to let them rise and fall like waves, without trying to control them. Anger, frustration, and fear—they were all there, but I didn’t have to carry them. Simply observing each emotion and allowing it to exist, without judgment, felt like a new way of being. I was going through the motions effectively.

By the time I reached Cairo, I had reached a strange place of acceptance. Yes, the situation was ridiculous. Yes, I had made things harder on myself. But I didn’t have to fight it. I didn’t have to hold onto my frustration, worry, or the endless questioning of “why me?”.

Hawkins' words became a lifeline. They showed me that, by letting go of control, I could get through it with a clear mind and an open heart.

I stopped seeing the trip as a disaster and started to experience it as an adventure, a lesson in surrender. And the irony of discovering my ID, hidden in my phone case the entire time? A reminder that, sometimes, what you think you've lost is with you. If only you'd stop fighting long enough to see it.

Essential for Freedom, Growth, and real Success

We believe that, to achieve something meaningful, we must control it completely. Letting go sounds like a feel-good idea; like something buddha did after being born in royalty. Something that we may start learning as soon as we retire or are near to death.

In truth, it is much more essential than ought to be.

Think about it—every time you cling to a particular result, what happens? Anxiety kicks in, stress builds, and suddenly, there’s resistance.

Why resistance?

Because you are outcome oriented. And if that outcome does not materialize, you’re disappointed. Every expectation we attach to comes with invisible weights. As we add more expectations, we weigh ourselves down.

Today, we will explore letting go.

It's not a passive surrender. It's a powerful release. It will help you find ease, clarity, and alignment.

No, you’re not giving up your goals and going into the woods for good.

The goal of this episode is to help you understand that letting go is an active choice. It's a choice to let go of attachment.

• Letting go of emotions.
• Let go of power control dynamics.
• Let go of outcome orientation.

Find freedom in flexibility. To open new paths for growth, creativity, and true success.

Letting Go of Emotions: The Nature of Attachment and Why We Hold On

So why do we hold onto these emotions so tightly? Most attachments stem from fear. It's the fear of losing what we value, of rejection, and of failure. Emotions like anger and frustration build up. They create stress that clouds our clarity. Instead of flowing through life, we end up resisting it, caught in a loop of internal conflict.

In Letting Go, Dr. David Hawkins offers a new view. He turns the our so used to ways on its head. He encourages us to observe our emotions, without judgment.

Don't cling to or repress them.
Letting go, according to Hawkins, isn’t about forcing yourself to feel nothing.
It's about letting emotions rise and fall, and acknowledging them without attachment.

Our emotions no longer control us.
By letting emotions move through us without judgment, we lessen their grip on our lives. This approach clears away the emotional "baggage" that builds up over time. It also creates space in your mind; mental freedom. Because our mind is always occupied with our emotional state. In this space, clarity and resilience take root. It’s a state of mind where we’re no longer controlled by the push and pull of emotional highs and lows.

Unburdened by unfulfilled hopes, we embrace life's uncertainties.

Anchored and receptive, we are ready for any fate. We are free from the chains of anticipation.

Reality Transurfing: Letting Go of Power and Control

The Illusion of Control

Control is often our way of trying to dictate outcomes. We want to shape our circumstances exactly as we wish.

Micromanaging details promises safety from letdowns and fiascos. But this illusion of control often backfires. It makes us more vulnerable to the pitfalls we sought to escape. But in reality, excessive control becomes a trap. The more we try to steer every aspect of life, the more we set ourselves up for frustration.

Why? — The world is dynamic and unpredictable.
It rarely follows our rigid plans.

This need for control takes a heavy toll. Life becomes a draining battle.

Our minds exhaust themselves with endless choices. We grow weary, fighting against the current rather than riding its waves.

We feel drained and, ironically, less in control.

Transurfing’s Approach to Power and Control

In Reality Transurfing, Vadim Zeland offers a fresh perspective on power and control. He introduces the concepts of pendulums and importance. These ideas show how external forces tap into our emotions, especially our need to be in control.

These "pendulums" are energy structures. More about pendulums in my newsletter episode "Wrestling with Invisible Dragons”.

They grow stronger when we react to them emotionally, with fear, desire, or frustration. By valuing specific outcomes too much, we empower these forces. This creates resistance and complicates our lives.

Zeland suggests that we can reduce this resistance by letting go of importance. When we stop assigning such weight to our desires and fears, we allow life’s natural balancing forces to step in. The idea of balancing forces is that life flows best when we don't interfere. It’s natural law present in nature as well as humanly constructed life. By loosening our grip, we create the space for things to unfold with less friction.

A key concept in Transurfing is the shift from inner intention to outer intention. Inner intention is our attempt to force outcomes, to bend circumstances to our will. Outer intention is about aligning with life's flow. It's about harmonizing our actions with the opportunities and situations around us. This shift lets us focus on our actions. We will let go of a rigid attachment to specific results. Instead of pushing life in a direction, we feel we're moving with it.

More on the manifestation method of inner vs outer intention in the Loveletter "What Is Your Dream, What Is Your Truth?"

In the end, letting go of control doesn’t mean we lose power. On the contrary, it empowers us to respond to life’s twists and turns with flexibility and a calm state of mind. We no longer react impulsively or in frustration.

We act intentionally, from a place of calm. This shift leads to better, more authentic choices. They are rooted in reality, not just in an illusion of control. Release brings a freedom and power that rigid control can't.

Unbound Play: The Power of Learning Through Detachment from the Outcome

The Concept of Unbound Play

Unbound play is about engaging with life. I incorporated this concept of mine here to emphasize how important it is to let go of outcome orientation when learning something. Unbound play is free of rigid expectations and the pressure for specific results. It means to move through experiences with curiosity and openness. The goal isn't success or failure, but the experience itself. This approach frees us to experiment and try new things. We can enjoy the process without worrying about where it will lead. Unbound play shifts our focus to being present with what unfolds. It moves us away from trying to achieve a specific result.

Detaching from specific outcomes opens a space for growth and creativity. We’re no longer bogged down by fears of failure or the stress of needing things to turn out in a certain way. We create a fertile space where ideas can flow. New perspectives can emerge, and insights can be gathered.

More insight on the concept of unbound play here:

When A Kitten Attacks Your Leg...

Are we allowed to be a bit evil for a good intent? Here we learn about the sheer necessity of a certain level of evil in play, in order to keep the ball rolling. Unbound play is the language of existence jumping at the edge between “good” and “evil”.

Tarkan TuranTarkan

We do this by not obsessing over the end result.

Learning as a Process, Not a Destination

When we approach life with this playful, open mindset, learning happens naturally. Each experience becomes a chance to gather insights rather than a rigid pass/fail test. Letting go of the pressure to "get it right" frees up mental energy. This lets us engage more deeply with the challenges and opportunities before us. This detachment from the outcome reduces stress. It makes learning more joyful, as we’re no longer caught up in judgments of success or failure.

Seeing learning as a process, not a destination, is beautiful. It opens us to limitless growth. We’re able to immerse ourselves fully in whatever we’re doing, learning from each step along the way. We see the value in the journey itself, rather than focusing solely on the final destination.

This mindset invites a deeper engagement with life. It allows for unexpected insights and richer personal growth.

Applying Unbound Play to Life

Incorporating unbound play into daily life doesn’t require grand gestures. Start small. Take risks in low-stakes situations. Practice letting go of specific outcomes. For example, try a new hobby without worrying about being good at it. Or, approach a project with a "beginner's mind." Be free of the pressure of past experience or expectations. Start painting and observe when your mind starts to judge it as “good” or “bad”. By taking these small steps, you’ll begin to see how freeing it is to let go of performance pressure.

With this mindset shift, even setbacks transform into valuable learning experiences.

Unbound play nurtures resilience, creativity, and self-confidence.

It lets you embrace the unknown without fear. Unbound play is a powerful tool. It expands your potential and invites new possibilities. It makes life more joyful and dynamic.

The Path Begins with Letting Go

Everything you thought you needed drifts away.

The things you clung to—the bits of control, pride, the carefully laid plans—they’re gone, like butter melting in heat.

You feel lighter, the weight of worry and endless battles lifts from your shoulders. You realize then: letting go isn’t weakness; it’s salvation my friend. The kind you can’t buy or win. The kind that surfaces only when you’re down to what matters.

Here’s the hard truth: life won’t give you everything you planned. But it will give you a choice. You can cling tight, fight the current, and end up weary—or you can release your grip. The tension eases. Your pulse slows. In that quiet, something stronger than control appears.

Take the first step. Let go of the need to steer every turn. Turn to strength that brings you closer to life’s raw, real pulse.

kiss kiss,

Tarkan