letting life lead

practicing the art of surrender

personal note • listen, trust, follow, repeat

if you’re like me, you struggle with the concept of surrender.

it’s often explained as a total disengagement, a shrug of the shoulders, a “oh well”.

i for one believe in human agency & in our creative power.

so how does that work?

can we lead AND be led?

can we step up AND step back?

the way it makes sense for me, is when seen in the following 4 steps:

1. listen

2. trust

3. follow

4. repeat

by listen, i mean:

• getting SO close to yourself, you can hear your truth

• becoming able to feel the whisper of your heart (contraction vs expansion)

by trust, i mean:

• faith - feeling supported by something bigger (reality, universe, god, life)

• selfholding - knowing that whatever happens, you got yourself

by follow, i mean:

• taking every neccessary step to make it happen

• committing to the process, no matter how hard, difficult or painful

by repeat, i mean:

• keep checking in, is it still true? has it changed?

• if it’s still true, continue. if not, change.

as you notice, this type of surrender is not about sitting back -

it’s about active engagement, continuous tuning in, following the signposts.

i truly believe, that this is what leads us to our best life.

image by anne laout

wisdom weavings • loving what is

master of presence, Eckhart Toll, says –

“the power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment: you create a good future by creating a good present.”

there’s no arguing with Eckhart here.

but the question is: how do we create this ‘good present’ for ourselves?

it might seem like there is something for us to do to here.

that we need to be involved, fixing, managing, orchestrating.

this can perpetuate a feeling that if life isn’t going ‘to plan’ — if all the boxes aren’t yet ticked, if we haven’t met ‘the one’ or achieved ‘the thing’ — then we are somehow failing, and therefore less worthy.

in classic westerner style, we fall into an illusion of control over the extraordinary mystery of life.

forgetting that we are human beings, not human doings.

that it is our nature to simply be.

in his book The Surrender Experiment, author Michael A. Singer explains how our attachment to certain outcomes is what blocks us from being open and receptive to what is truly available to us. he writes –

“since most of us only feel good when things are going our way, we are constantly attempting to control everything in our lives. the question is, does it have to be this way? there is so much evidence that life does quite well on its own.”

this approach teaches us that the potential for true happiness in life can be found when we stop resisting.

to, as Michael continues, ‘willingly participate in life's dance with a quiet mind and an open heart.’¹

in Tantra, we are taught that we can only experience the fullness of life by surrendering to it. as Osho explains —

“Tantra is the natural way; the loose and the natural is the goal. you need not fight with the current; simply move with it, float with it. the river is going to the sea so why fight? move with the river, become one with the river: surrender.”

that is not to say we do not have personal power to discern what we tolerate, or shouldn’t take steps towards our dreams and desires.

the key is in learning how our experience of life can become more pleasurable if we learn to lean back into the unfolding moment of what is here now.

it is then, almost as if life is a loving partner, smiling in response to our deepened sense of trust, we find ourselves more magnetic to our desires.

it is a loving embrace of our beingness that opens us to receiving more.

author Marianne Williamson explains –

“something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. we melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. the world changes when we change. the world softens when we soften. the world loves us when we choose to love the world.”

how would it feel to let go of control and allow yourself to become enchanted with life?

of seeing your ever unfolding experience of reality as a work of art in progress.

every brush stroke, every hue and detail is painted not by force, but by the essence of life that is moving through your every breath, every heartbeat.

when you allow it, what does the canvas of your life want to reveal?

image by ella iris

remembrance ritual • body brilliance

it’s a cliché, but for good reason;

your heart knows the answers.

the problem is, that many of us lost connection with her voice.

in the “body brilliance” meditation, you are guided to hear it again;

listen to it for free on the temple meditation app.

[click here to download on iOS & here on android.]

may this practice help you hear the whisper again.

may these whispers be the signposts

that guide you to where you are supposed to be.

-

let me know how that was for you with a reply or comment!

sending you soft love

xx

jess

1. this can be appreciated through the teaching of the eternal dance of Shakti and Shiva. Shakti (feminine life energy) trusts that she is safe and held in the divine embrace of Shiva (masculine cosmic presence).