The Power Of Surrendering
Why surrendering to the Universe is so integral to attracting your desired life.
I’m a self-proclaimed control freak. I’ve been this way since I was in grade school. My Western socialization has taught me that if one is not in control all the time, or not doing something to control the situation, the desired outcome will not come. Last year, I realized how wrong this had been.
Having one hundred percent control all the time is impossible. There are parts of our Universe where we simply can’t exert control; or we must release control, in order to achieve our desired outcome. Unfortunately, having cognizance of that, without also having the ability, or influence, to control my reality; has caused me nearly a lifetime of anxiety. I have suffered years from dealing with external circumstances I have no control over. I have triggered my sympathetic nervous system many times because people, places and things didn’t act or go the way I wanted them to. I was left triggered, stuck, scared, and helpless in my own body.
Fortunately, I learned a valuable lesson in my spiritual journey and I’m slowly starting to integrate that lesson into my daily life. It has greatly helped me in lessening my overall anxiety. And, it has actually made it easier to get into a state of flow, where I am naturally aligning to my desired reality.
That lesson being: there is so much power in surrendering to the Universe.
What does surrendering really mean?
Surrendering means accepting what is.
Surrendering means letting go of what you have no control over and honoring where you are at now.
Surrendering means to stop resisting reality and your current circumstances.
Surrendering means allowing the Universe to show up for you beyond what you can do for yourself.
Surrendering means flowing with the current that is the present moment.
I often think and plan so much for the future; and I’m a mindfulness coach! I know that may seem a little bit hypocritical, but I have noticed in my Western socialization, that we are taught, from an early age, to consistently live in, and for, the future.
The practice of mindfulness did not originate in the West; but in fact, in ancient Hinduism and Buddhism practices.
Therefore, old habits die hard. But this way of socialization is very damaging; because we are wasting so much time overconsuming ourselves with the future. We fail to deal with our actual realities, making shifting towards our desired outcomes even more challenging.
Surrendering allows us to flow in the present. It allows us to see things for what they actually are. Our purpose is not to change things we have no control over; or even to waste time pontificating on these limitations of our control. It is for us to honor our current circumstances. The more we surrender to them, the more we open ourselves to the answers we need; in order to navigate our lives towards what we really want. We can be more open to aligning and honoring our intuition in these moments. This leads us to taking inspired action towards our goals. Eventually, we learn to grow and move in more aligned ways.
It may sound counterintuitive because what I’m essentially saying is: by not concentrating on controlling our futures, we can actually control them even more. But hear me out.
What we do, see, sense, and embody now, matters more than worrying about what hasn’t happened yet. By bringing awareness for the moment, and allowing our reality to be what it is, we exert less energy in the worrying and the fear of what could be. And, we spend more time coming up with solutions that, deep down inside, we feel most guided to take.
When we surrender, we give more control over to ourselves and to our tangible reality (our thoughts, actions, words, and ideas), rather than giving control to our intangible reality (our worries, fears, and what-ifs). We learn to trust ourselves in the moment and open up to so many more possibilities.
Where does the Universe fit into all of this?
As humans, we are born with free will. Every adult human can do what they want to do within the confines of human law. Unfortunately, that limits us to only being able to control our own actions, words, senses, feelings, and being. We cannot be in every place, at every time, in our Universe. Nor, do we have the ability to control how others may act or feel towards us, or towards external situations that we may be involved in. Therefore, we must, essentially surrender to this Universal law.
This has little to do with “surrendering” to a higher power; and more to do with surrendering to our limitations, as humans, in this Universe. We must come from a place of acceptance and allow beings and energies outside of ourselves to do what they are going to do. We can’t control them anyways!
Furthermore…
There is universal life force energy, prana, that flows through our Universe. In Ancient Indian culture, 3,000 years ago, prana is said to be the flow of energy that flows through all things (Chandogya Upanishad). If we are simply flowing in alignment with our truest desires and trusting that our energy will match the frequency of other people, places, and things that we desire; then surrendering is the only action we can take. The Universe will deliver the rest.
By surrendering to the Universe, we have accepted our fate and we are ready to receive it. At this point, nothing else can be done.
How Can We Surrender?
Meditation
I find, practicing some form of daily meditation where you are sitting in silence, or with a YouTube video, to allow your stream of consciousness to just flow, is one of the best ways to surrender. Meditation has little do with controlling your thoughts, and more about having awareness for your thoughts; but not allowing them to take control over you. It takes practice to eventually quiet the mind and tap into the body and the spirit. But, for a surrendering practice, it is a great way to challenge yourself to connecting to the present moment.
Detach from the what-ifs
Let go of the future. Don’t pay it any more mind. The present moment is the only thing you can control. Ask yourself what you can do, see, think, hear, and be today, in order to improve your current circumstances.
Do something you love
Start a hobby or activity that brings you regular joy. When you are enjoying the moment, the state of the future falls away and surrendering becomes more natural.
Yoga
Create a daily yoga practice. Once you connect breath, pranayama, to movement; it creates a state of oneness. You may find you can greatly release and surrender to the present moment, especially when practiced regularly.
Breathing Exercises
Bring awareness to your breath for a set period of time. Breath deeply and intentionally to bring calmness and a sense of awareness to your present moment. These exercises allow the body to do what it does, naturally. It is a great surrendering practice because you are no longer in a state of resistance or restriction. You are simply allowing and surrendering to the natural flow of energy that is so innate within all of us.
