Are you ready to dive in?

A beautiful way to surrender is to do so by choosing the path of unconditional happiness.  Michael Singer talks about this on his CD "The Journey Within: Love is inside...Go find it."  This path is about letting go of how we think things should be or how we want things to be, accepting what is, and choosing to be happy (no matter what is showing up in our lives).  We can either spend lots of energy and effort trying to get the world to be what we want it to be so that we can be happy, or, we can simply choose to be happy since we know that our source of joy is from within.  (In some moments choosing joy is too difficult, in which case you  can choose gratitude since there is something to be grateful about in any situation).

Michael suggests that when something shows up that you don't like start with saying "I can handle this" and then play with your thoughts about it.  It is all a matter of attitude and perception...(e.g., if someone is driving really slowly in front of you ask yourself "They're going 10 mph, I wonder if they could go 5 mph?")

I have focused on this during the past week.  Lots of irritants have come up.  Instead of putting energy into what was irritating me I found that choosing joy no matter what brings a lighter attitude and a healing energy to my life. 

The ego will never be happy.  Even if we were to get everything that we wanted, at some point the ego would become dissatisfied and start to complain.  We can let all of that go and choose to be happy no matter what.

There is an ocean of joy (and a mountain of love) inside of each of us.  All that we need to do is dive in. 

intimacy

I find it challenging to surrender to the unknown in certain areas of my life, such as in relationships. There is a mountain of love inside of me that wants to be expressed, that is demanding to be expressed, yet there is a dam in front of the love holding it back.  The dam is made of fear, ego-concerns...blah, blah, blah.   This week I have practiced being vulnerable with others.  I do this by reminding myself before dealing with another person that "I am safe" and that I choose to be present and intimate/vulnerable.  Adya talks about intimacy as a willingness to be vulnerable with others, even with strangers.  That doesn't mean telling others our life story, it means showing up in relationships/conversations without needing to defend oneself.

I choose to practice surrendering to the unknown by showing up in relationships with an open heart and an open mind, letting my walls down, trusting that it is safe to express myself, and allowing Love to pour through me, in me, and as me.

surrendering to the unknown

I heard it said recently that 'It is all about surrender.'  The idea of surrendering to God the Source of Everything resonates with me very strongly both logically, emotionally, and intuitively.  However, in the moment, the ego feels the need to act and "take care of things" so to speak and the idea of surrendering to God can be forgotten.  

But surrender doesn't mean that one has to sit there and do nothing.  One can surrender to one's Higher Self in each and every moment and find a guidance to act that is infused with love, creativity, wisdom and power.

I had an example come up this week with my kids.  Instead of responding to a situation from my usual bag of parenting skills, I decided to take a relaxing breath, let go of my thoughts about what I should say and do, and ask my Higher Self for guidance.  What came to me was a creative solution that provided an opportunity for growth for both of my teenage children and myself.  There is a reason that this Self is called the Higher Self!

Adyashanti talks about surrender this way:    

"In order to see through the mind and the deeply ingrained sense of separation that continues to generate so much confusion and suffering in our lives, we must take a chance; we must leave what we know and enter that mysterious reality of the unknown…It’s the most humbling thing in the world to admit that we don’t know, to surrender to the fact that we can’t know the nature of reality with our minds.  This realization opens the way for us: the way to the greatest knowing is through not knowing…"   (Falling into Grace, p. 88-89)

We really don't know what needs to be said or done in each moment.  And as long as we are operating from ego, we will respond from the limited understanding of who we think we are and our limited view of others.    

Adya says that surrendering to this unknowing "is a state of great availability and openness, and it's from this willingness to realize how little we really know, that our consciousness begins to shift.  It begins to shift from the mind and ego into its natural state...that doesn't fight against our inner or outer environment."  (falling into grace, p. 89)  He describes this as a state of openness and ease.  

"Dive fully into this openness and avail yourself of the intimacy found there, in not knowing."  (falling into grace, p. 90)     

to suffer or not to suffer...that is the question

"If we want to stop suffering, if we really want to bring an end to suffering, we've got to wake up.  'Waking up' means awakening to the truth of our being, and it also means waking up from a whole host of illusions...The truth is that waking up can be a disturbing process...Who really wants to find out that we're all addicted to qualities like approval, recognition, control, and power, and that none of these things actually brings an end to suffering.  In fact, they're the cause of suffering!"

Adya goes on to say that ending suffering has to do with seeing reality and truth instead of what is imagined.   It is looking at ourselves in the mirror- not "the way we usually do-with regret, judgment, blame" but seeing that "we are the ones who are causing our own suffering, and it's we alone who can find the way out." (falling into grace, p. 162).

Adya says that there is something deep within us (something unconscious) that wants us to suffer, that way we can maintain the belief that we are separate.  

"We continue to hold onto our ideas, thoughts, and beliefs as if our lives depended on them."  The life of our ego depends on these beliefs.  "That part of ourself that wants to see itself as separate doesn't really want to merge back with the source, but would rather pay the price and stand up as a separate being, no matter what the cost, and assert its view upon the world." (p. 164)

I've read this chapter before but I think this time I am getting it a little more deeply.  I've had several situations arise in the last couple of days which have triggered my need for approval and recognition.  I've watched the feelings of hurt arise and I have chosen to relax (really relax my belly) and let the feelings, thoughts and situations pass through me.  I do not want to feed the illusion of separation. I do not want to suffer.

I am causing my own suffering by being addicted to approval, recognition, control, power, being right, looking competent, having opinions...  I let these things go and I bring my awareness back to Truth...that there is no separation, that I am one with God, that I can be free should I choose to let go of my need to assert my views upon the world!