"Unless we cultivate letting go, unless we can stop accepting heart-patterns as unbiased truth and ‘my self’, the issues of the past will be the basis for further kamma. The difficulty is that letting go requires the presence of an awareness that can receive contemplate and release these impressions. This takes a lot of grounded goodwill, clarity and spaciousness – qualities that can remind the citta of ‘safe and comfortable’.
In life-scenarios of chronic abuse, or performance-driven stress, the heart-pattern of ‘safe and comfortable’ may be rare. So when we go to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha for Refuge, this isn’t just a catch-phrase; it’s a practice of sensing the felt meaning of the Triple Gem, attuning one’s heart to it, and opening one’s embodied presence to the quality of Refuge. A true Refuge is that which remains when your world goes upside down; this is why people with great faith can survive disasters and tyrannies."
-- Ajahn Sucitto