The Art of Surrender, by Louis Bourgeois, March 6, 2010
I have a very close friend who suffers from a very common problem. She lives in the future, or at least subjugates much of her energy to this phantom. She is forever in service to preparation, taking another class, reading another book, wanting some sort of certification or symbol of her readiness to step forward as a healer.
We all play this game until one day we don't. It is the domain of the ego, forever seeking, never finding. It is living in the future, a sure way to keep our power hidden.
Our power is in the NOW, this present moment, and mastering the art of surrender into this powerful present is the only "activity" worth devotion, in my opinion.
It is said that we cannot give up our concern about the future until we have let go/forgiven our past. The need for a future, in fact, is an expression of an unfulfilled past. It's an endless cycle, one feeding the other. In fact we will come to see one day that the past and future are truly simply mirror images of each other.
So we have a dilemma, a true paradox. How do we escape this merry-go-round? The mantra must be "Surrender, Dorothy!" "The Wizard of Oz" is a perfect parable, describing this arduous journey to try to find something that we come to realize we always had.
Your power, what perhaps has remained well hidden by your conditioned mind, has been waiting patiently for you to accept it. In fact it can wait infinitely for you as it arises from eternity. And it is only eternity that could wield such infinite patience, and in this is the secret.
Your power, of course, is not of you, not your human self. It has nothing to do with degrees, credentials, certifications, or what you think you know. In fact all of those things simply get in the way. For you to completely fulfill your spiritual inheritance and wield infinite power, all you need to do is wake up from the dream of littleness.
I know that I am the master of my universe, the king of my domain, and this has nothing to do with what my ego or your ego might determine with its insane measuring devices. This knowing inside of me comes simply from my willingness to follow the Voice that represents this Awakening Universal Mind, and surrender everything that I thought I ever knew.
I was one of the lucky ones in that my attempts to run my world, to create a future, was doomed from the start. Saddled with a wretched childhood, a nightmare of a teenage life, I was delighted at 21 to hear this Voice and agree....did I really think I had any business running my life? Way back then I had a very logical solid plan, my fiancee, my career as an academic, children, house, blah,blah, blah....
We will perpetuate our past, over and over and over again, until we surrender. Even with a powerful spiritual guidance, a deep devotion to as powerful a teaching this planet has ever seen, it still took several decades (not years, decades!) for me to see the sheer absurdity that I had any business interfering with "God's Plan for my salvation and the salvation of the world."
Whether we look upon our world, our lives, and see conquests or failures, or likely a mix of the two, we will come up feeling empty, disappointed. So many that I have spoken with over the years can identify this frustration, feeling stuck, perhaps anxious or depressed, speaking the words, "I don't know what do do with my life...."
That's the moment! If one could stop right there and say, "Perfect! That's the perfect place to be....can you learn to live in that place of not knowing and not needing to know?" If so, another realm begins to open. This powerful perfect present moment contains within it a whole universe. You can live here, very happily! This is the secret garden, the oasis....this is the "place!"
The art of surrender brings with it a recognition of what is real. Eternity is real. Truth and beauty are real. Love is real. These are the divine attributes, what we come into exquisite contact with when we go within. The kingdom of heaven is what we are talking about, dear ones...nothing less than this!
You have heard this expression I am sure a thousand times..."the kingdom is within." Can you trust that this is true and give up entirely any further attempts to find this kingdom, this authority, this knowing outside of you...someplace in space and time (meaning the future)?
To be able to live and truly have no need to control or understand the future is a beautiful thing. It is "walking empty" which is the most masterful thing any of us could ever achieve. And isn't it the perfect paradox that our highest achievement requires nothing but our total surrender.
I love it!!!!!
