Surrendering to What Is
Times of uncertainty, a dramatic change in expectations, or when we find ourselves experiencing suffering are opportunities for us to master the art of surrender. Surrender to what is happening, an allowing, because we find that resistance both prolongs and creates suffering. Allowing, or surrendering into the flow of life - though it may be heading in a direction that we didn’t expect, or for which we don’t have a preference, is the path of least resistance, and the most frictionless flow.
But what is surrender and what are we surrendering to? Surrender is a softening, a letting go of mental resistance which fights against what is. We find ourselves complaining, feeling upset or angry, thinking things are going ‘wrong’, or it’s ‘unfair’ -we’re resisting in some way. We may not like the circumstances, but we can find acceptance, and in acceptance there is peace. There is space. The space to see what opportunities there may be for growth, space for creative and adaptive responses which switch us from suffering and into creation.
Cancer taught me surrender in a deep way and I’m forever grateful for that experience. I spent some time grieving the situation, speculating on future outcomes, complaining and trying to find a ‘why’, or what I had done to cause it, which was a waste of my time and energy, and prolonged the cycle of suffering. Ultimately I came to accept, and surrender into what was happening, knowing that in the larger scheme of things, life is always organising for us to have the highest experience possible in favour of maximum growth. During that time I grew immensely, the shift in consciousness was huge and it proved to be the perfect vehicle for accelerated growth and mastery over my experience, coming to a deep trust of life’s innate power to organise in the highest way, though that may not be the preference of the individual intellect/mind at the time.
When we surrender, we are surrendering individual resistance to our own evolution. The overarching law of nature is that always, only evolution is happening. Constant evolution - moving all things towards increased unity and sophistication, to a deeper, truer understanding and experience of all things. Sometimes the vehicle through which that evolution occurs is extreme, or highly challenging, but it is these which trigger the most growth. Like an annual exam rather than an end of class test - you’re pushed harder, galvanised into change and learning at a higher level.
We are not surrendering to anything outside of ourselves. There is only one, indivisible whole conscious field, totality, Brahman, which is also you - you in your highest, most expanded, most sophisticated form. Big Self. It is to that greater organising power which you surrender, the unbounded consciousness field which permeates and pervades all things, from which all of the relative world of forms and phenomena, the billions of nervous systems spring forth. You are not giving anything away, or surrendering ‘with defeat’, you’re offering your awareness to that greater part of you, surrendering ‘to the feet’, softening and letting go into your own higher Self. Often, once we do this, we then know how best to proceed. Perhaps acceptance is what’s called for, perhaps there is some action required to adjust our way of living to meet new circumstances. Perhaps a creative idea occurs to you about new ways of operating.
Gradually over time, we learn that surrender is all there really is, ever increasing levels of surrender. But surrender gets easier, and becomes a joy, until we find that we are so surrendered we very rarely experience any resistance at all. A life in surrender, is a life of bliss and harmony, in flow with life.
Much love
Georgia x
