We may be holding on to the soul parts or energy of others even though they are no longer a part of our lives. This can happen, for instance, when a love affair ends: even though our lover has gone, it can still feel as if he or she is present and “haunting” our thoughts. We continue to behave in a way that would please (or hurt) our lover, even though we have nothing to prove anymore. It can also happen when someone we have been close to dies.

Here’s how to release others’ energy with the help of a plant spirit using this visualization exercise:

Relax and see yourself standing on the threshold of a great forest. When you step into it, you will find yourself in a passageway of trees, at the end of which is a source of light. This is the natural daylight of the otherworld. Walk toward it and enter the realm of nature.

Look around in your environment for a river, a stream, or other body of fresh, running water. Follow this back to its source, and there you will find your plant ally in the form of a spirit teacher.

Ask your spirit ally to show you the energy of others that is still a part of you. This may appear as an image of the person, and you may be surprised at the soul parts that are revealed as you meet this person again who, consciously, you thought you had long let go of.

Now that you see this energy, speak with your ally and ask to be shown the circumstances in which you feel drawn to take power from another person or to let them into your soul. What is the need in you that causes this? And how best can you control this tendency so you draw more beneficial energies from other sources?

When you are ready to return, gather these soul parts and come back to ordinary reality.

To return this energy that you have been holding on to, write down the name of the person this energy belongs to. Put as much concentration and intention as you can into the writing, so that energy as well as ink flows from your pen to the paper. When you are done, fold the paper with their name inward and write across it, “I release you,” then wrap it in flowers, tie it with ribbon, and take it into nature, where you can leave it at the base of a tree or cast it into flowing water. Once this is done, turn around and walk away without looking back.