You have worked so hard and you aren’t worried about results; that’s living a life of surrender. You give love and haven’t received it back; That’s living a life of surrender.
Surrender is not instant gratification; it is a never-ending trust in the Universe. It is giving from the place of abundance granted directly from the source, call it God, Universe, Vibration/Attraction, or Higher Energy.
Surrendering isn’t possible when we try to reach there through efforts. It is much easier when deeply understanding it. There is no way we can learn how to surrender. It comes with an open mind and heart.
Below are the five ways to live from a place of surrender:
1. Being okay with not-knowing
Are you always worried about what might happen tomorrow? What might go wrong? What would happen if I ended up alone tomorrow? What would happen if I had no money tomorrow? That means that the present moment is escaping from you because your present is only a door to the future. It is not a place to rest but a go-to place for tomorrow, just like a bus stop.
But if you are okay with whatever happens without worrying about the future, for you know that the Universe had profoundly managed all the affairs even before you were born and it will work well even after you are gone, then you are living a life of surrender. The Universe knows how to take care of every moment, everywhere, even where you couldn’t reach. It has always done that beautifully.
So, drop the need to be in control and come to a point where all the problems and questions evaporate on their own. Where you become okay with not knowing because you know it’s all good in the end.
2. No Particular Preferences
To live a life of surrender is to have no particular preferences. It is to say that I’m okay with life and whatever it may bring. This surrender finds its place when the ego dies. After trying all other ways and nothing working out our way or from the place of devotion to God. By this, I mean, when you trust that God is my father/mother/angel, and whatever he decides, it will be great for me, just as he had decided to put me in a perfect womb and a perfect family.
The Great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind. - Seng stan
3. Flowing with the flow
While going with the flow shows effort, flowing with the flow shows ease, with the true understanding that flowing is the nature of life. We were born, and we would die; we can’t stop that. Can you say I don’t want to grow old and hold on to youth?
You accepted days and nights. You accepted all seasons. You accepted getting born into a certain kind of setup, being a particular caste and color. You had no problems with those things when you were born, but why are we not okay accepting our reality now? Why are we continuously hating our reality?
Why are we scared to live a life of surrender? Wouldn’t we all surrender to how we are destined to die? We have to, we won’t be there to justify our end, we would accept it. There is no other way.
If we put a handful of pebbles in the river, it can’t change the current of the water in the opposite direction. Those pebbles are like our limited minds trying to make sense of reality. But when hurricanes come or when earthquakes come, they come. We try hard to understand why it is happening but, in the end, we merge in the sea of surrender.
Our limited mind doesn’t approve of a life of surrender. It can’t take rejection. It loves controlling situations, making decisions, and making judgments. We think a life of surrender is not for us. We think we know what’s best for us. But everything would turn out the best if we are tuned in and tapped in with the energy of the Universe i.e. living a life of surrender.
4. Don’t Mind What Happens
When J. Krishnamurti was on his deathbed, he told his followers a secret about his life – He said, “I don’t mind whatever happens.” Most of the humans’ energy goes into fighting what is, like fighting anger, obesity, bad habits, poverty; they keep on fighting their entire life, or even if they get over one thing, they start to fight with another. While the conscious way to heal is by accepting, allowing and observing, and then reflecting on that habit or thing; it soon begins to dissipate.
As Eckhart Tolle says, “Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.”
You don’t need any spiritual practice, no meditation routine, no chanting, or daily visit to temples or religious places; if you are okay with whatever is happening, you are enlightened. What’s the point mediating two hours, shifting into a quiet hub, and yet suffering in your head?
Why surrender when we have the courage to make things happen?
Because nobody said I want to make this one single change and post that I’m good to go. They might say but then they need more changes, and it never ends. Also, it brings fleeting satisfaction. The only difference about a surrendered act is the satisfaction, when you are okay both ways either getting it or not getting it, doing it or not doing it, and that doesn’t change your inner state then that’s a conscious change. Suppose if the change you are trying to make comes from a place of validation of others, to reach a step up, to get rid of something or someone, from an ego place, in short, it will soon collapse or lose its meaning.
Personal Story
When I was trying to control my life and my surrounding, whatever I wanted started to happen sooner or later but one, it took so much effort, second it was excruciating, third, it never brought any lasting happiness. At last, I felt there was no point, I must do it consciously next time.
Controlling our life is like an Ant deciding to be serious about his daily affairs. Alma
There was this famous football player who had achieved a lot in life, he was a blessed man with everything at the door for him; neither health could kill him nor hunger. He had a wonderful and loving wife and three amazing kids. Though he died in a plane crash. It’s good that we are super passionate but if we forget that we may die this very next moment and we don’t realize who we are at the core, we are living in a false dream.
5. Bathing in Gratitude
A life of surrender is loving what we have, being grateful for what’s present, and not craving for the future to bring any state other than you have now while understanding that happiness is our true nature, it doesn’t depend outside. Being okay not being okay is true surrender.
As Michael Singer says, “This moment that we are witnessing right now took 13.8 billion years to come as it is” Why do we let go of it so quickly? Why don’t we take the entire juice out of this moment? What stops us? What crazy stories do our minds love to buy to let go of this very moment?
Surrender is not helplessness but a great act of courage of defeating the fear within and trusting the Universe the way you trusted your mom when you were an infant. When you are okay in the traffic, okay being alone, okay in the city, okay in the hills, then life will bring you many surprises. It will grant you better than you wished for, that’s the secret of existence.
As Buddha coined, “Grass is green, roses are red, and the sky is blue.”
Thank you for giving your time. I would like to share more. Last year I joined this course, and it was life-changing for me. I will highly recommend this course. – https://directory.themindbodyspiritnetwork.com/online-courses/spiritual-growth-development/michal-singer-8-week-online-course-learn-how-to-live-from-a-place-of-surrender/
Comments