What does the word ‘surrender’ mean and why is it important for our spiritual journey?
What is surrender? In military terms it is about giving up all forms of resistance to an enemy or opposing force and submitting to their authority. It is about giving up or handing over sovereignty, usually in situations where that is the last thing we want to do.
In spiritual terms the word surrender applies in the relationship between the ego and the Divine. It is about the ego giving up its resistance to divine grace. On the spiritual path everyone at some stage comes face to face with the concept of surrender.
To the ego, sometimes the Divine is perceived as an enemy. Too much light can frighten the ego. But the force to which we subject ourselves is our own higher soul, connected as it is to Infinite consciousness.
Surrender is at times the one thing that will put us in the Universal flow. When we surrender, we are handing over a situation, a person, a relationship, to our higher self, to the Divine. The ego feels that is a big mistake, but the ego cannot comprehend that the Divine is much wiser and capable of a great deal more awareness than it is! Thus, it is more likely to do what is right.
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Letting go can mean releasing the vice like grip of the ego, allowing more space for things to just evolve. This can feel painful. But it is good to remember that it is not surrender that is painful, rather it is the attachments that crop up on the way to effective surrender that are painful. When we feel that pain of attachment, we mistake the source of that pain and assume it comes from the act of surrender. In fact, surrender allows the pain of resistance, fear and stress to go away.
Year after year and time after time whatever I have had to surrender always feels horrible to go through, but it has always been the best thing and afterwards, there is a sense of lightness and even greater completeness as a human being. There is not always something obviously different in the external world, but inside things have changed.
Some Surrender Intentions:
Surrender takes us into the next part of our spiritual journey, and therefore is evolutionary. It is to be expected that we might find ourselves a bit outside our comfort zone. To the ego that hates change and dislikes evolution, the whole process is inherently feared as being unpleasant, unnecessary and more than a bit stupid!
Every time we go through another blob of surrender it always feels odd and at the very least uncomfortable. But at the other side it always feels better. Life often takes a significant turn for the better.
Here are a few good prayers you might want to use when you would like to get through this part of the path:
- Great Spirit, Divine goddess, please help me to release all attachment into a more aware version of self.
- Please help me to let that go so that the grace, freedom and lightness of surrender can pour through my whole being.
- Please help me to accept it for what it is, a stepping stone into the Divine and all of the beauty and harmony, balance and grace of Divine consciousness.
- Please empower me to be in the flow and have the strength for continued surrender of that which holds me back from Divine realisation.
- Divine Goddess, help me to surrender what doesn’t serve me, so as to make more room for what does
How do you feel about surrendering? Does it make you feel uncomfortable or are you able to just loosen your grip and let go easily? If you would like to learn more about surrendering and how to let go, tune in to one of our podcasts here or here.
