Chapter 2, The Clenched Fist Effect by Chrys Withrow, A pastor once instructed his congregation to open their hands. Now ask yourself metaphorically what are you holding onto? This simple demonstration is designed to teach that if you're holding onto anything tightly in your clenched hand, you can't do anything with that hand or perhaps both hands. The point is that holding onto things outside of our control particularly if it causes us anger or other negative feelings, is only hurting ourselves. Chrys uses this teaching to share her experiences with letting go and release.