4/26/2007

In Love with the Mystery

Surrender: 1 a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand <surrendered the fort> b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another; 2 a : to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner b : to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence) intransitive verb : to give oneself up into the power of another: yield. Synonym: relinquish.

No wonder we avoid it. Surrender has some pretty negative connotations. To give up completely…into the power of another…especially as a prisoner…isn’t very appealing. I have spent the day searching for another word to use instead of ‘surrender’ because its meaning does not do us justice. We hear the word surrender and immediately a red flag goes up—way up.

For the past months I have been dancing with surrender. A few nights ago it got the best of me. Enough already! Let go. No…you can’t keep anything. Let it all go. Sit and be still…silence…long, spacious silence. Out of nowhere, words of prayer began to slip from my lips. My mind had swung around slyly and cut back in. Father, teach me…show me…heal me.

Laughter, oh what a blessing it is! At once I saw the brilliant resourcefulness of this mind. Who says we aren’t creative. I was awed by its determination and fortitude, in love with the mystery of the dance. I sat back in wonder at its myriad shapes and guises, constantly, effortlessly shifting and adjusting and remembered Aja’s words, “Just this.”

Surrender to ‘just this’, to what is present in this moment—that is true surrender. When it comes it is a lover’s embrace, taking your breath and all that we believed ourselves to be. It leaves no trace of who we thought we were. It is free fall into Love with the Whole. It is the ‘Yes’ that hasn’t a ‘No,’ no opposite. Our ‘no’ tells the divine that we are still on our own, that we still want to play this silly game, that we still know what is best, what is right, what should be, that we still need to be taught, shown, healed, that who we are is still not enough.

When we know love matters more than anything, and we know that nothing else REALLY matters, we move into the state of surrender. Surrender does not diminish our power, it enhances it.
Sara Paddison author of "Hidden Power of the Heart"

There is another word for surrender. It is freedom. It comes with a wild, heartfelt belly laugh, and feels as light as an angel’s kiss. With my full Yes, it instantly turns my world inside out. My heart rather than my mind is the access. As I surrender to Love, surrender all that I believe to be true, I see that I was never separate. It was merely imagination— creative and audacious—but imagination none-the-less.

I shall use the word ‘freedom’ in place of surrender. It is the perfect substitute. I was right to revere freedom, to fight for it and cry for its loss. Let your quest for freedom drive you relentlessly. At our core, we know its importance; we just don’t understand what it is.

The following is a prayer from Spiritual Teacher
Chris Celine, available at
lhttp://www.chrisceline.com/chris.html

Intention

Mother-Father God,
Creator of All Life ~~
I am ready and willing to embrace new life.
I ask to see a different world.
I am ready to be transformed in every way.
The perfection, the beauty, the holiness,
Of who I really am
Is known to You, Dear God,
But not yet to me.
I say yes,
I want revealed to me
The depth and power of my true self.
I am willing to experience the wondrous Creation of All Life.
I am Your magnificent creation.
Help me to embrace my true and beautiful self –
Alive, undefended, compassionate, the power of Love Itself.
I embrace the truth of myself and all beloveds.
I surrender completely into total reliance on You.
I give up.
I give up everything.
I say yes to new Life,
New Joy, new Love, new Peace.
Amen