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I'm having a difficult time distinguishing between "letting go" and avoidance. For example, in the Simpson's clip above where Homer has borrowed his neighbor's things without returning them--if I tell myself, "it's only "stuff" and not important enough to risk ruining a friendship over, or even destroying my peace of mind over", is that letting go of attachment to material objects or is it avoiding conflict? Have I come up with a spiritual sounding way to rationalize my avoidance? Is the difference in how authentic my letting go or non-attachment truly is?

I have developed a practice of noticing when my peace of mind is disrupted, feeling the sensations in my body, acknowledging the emotions, but then moving my focus to something outside myself that helps me return to a state of peace. Otherwise, my thoughts can keep regenerating the uncomfortable, non-peaceful state. Now I'm concerned that this is a pattern of avoidance. Do we stay with the uncomfortable state of mind, body sensations, emotions until we are able to achieve a state of calm acceptance? If our thoughts keep regenerating the uncomfortable state, do we just watch and acknowledge them?

And thanks, Alan, for sharing these teachings with us. They are making me re-evaluate my understanding of TMS, and that is a good thing. You are very generous with your time and expertise. Much gratitude for your gift.