There are many paths to enlightenment, some are long and windy, some are steep uphill slopes, and some are breezy downhill runs. Surrender is the like a downhill run, and if you cho(o)se this path you may transcend the world of polarity (right and wrong, good and bad, happy and sad) that you have today, and exchange it for never ending bliss. Surrender is a deep state of being that is a natural quality (it is endless) once discovered. It can be discovered by the process of detachment and equanimity, which are traits that can be nurtured and amplified in many different ways.
Detachment is a spiritual state of being that allows us to exist without worry about our actions or inactions. When we are spiritually detached, we act without concern or worry because we are not attached to the results of our actions. There are many forms of attachment that we live by, and each must be identified and weeded out slowly but surely until we attain the lush green pastures of joy and bliss. It is only possible to be detached from our actions and the results of them by dedication each and every action we make to the divine. We declare ourselves to be an instrument and a tool, and when we are surrendered we can be used as a channel for the divine to do her work.
Attachment to Results
We are so attached to the results of our actions that we put great pressure on them. This pressure manifests as expectations, and is a great and unnecessary burden that we place on ourselves. When we attach too much importance to the results of our actions, we limit ourselves and also effect the nature and quality of our actions. We all know how much harder it is to do something under pressure, and often times we fail where we would otherwise have not thought twice about it, just because there is some kind of pressure on us to succeed. Attachment and the expectation of your desired results causes stress and is very dis-empowering, especially if you are unable to do anything about a situation.
When we release our expectations and attachments to the results of our actions, we can discover a deep state of inner peace and acceptance. We no longer need to understand the reasons why things happen, and we no longer need to try to control or direct life. Instead we are part of the flow of life, and know what is the right thing to do and when. We can accept even the worst situations and experiences from a deep seat of trust and faith. When I look back on some of my greatest life disasters, i can see how most of them have very clearly led to GREAT things! It is usually our limited perspective and expectations that cause us the most misery and pain.
Equanimity
"Equanimity is the radical acceptance with the natural flow of life's experience."
Equanimity comes when you have mastered detachment. Equanimity is a state of being when we are not moved by our situation or experiences. We are able to stay centered and grounded without any fear or concern, or hope and desires because when we are here in the moment we have all that we really need. Having expectations, desires, hopes and dreams can keep us distracted and oblivious to the real jewels of life that are ready for picking right here and right now. We just have to learn to let go of our attachments and trust that all is perfectly perfect just as it is. Equanimity is your greatest ally when times are tough and will allow you to act and react appropriately when faced with challenges or conflict.
In Buddhism, equanimity is one of the four sublime attitudes and is considered neither a thought nor an emotion. It is rather the steady conscious realization of reality's transience. It is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love.
Boundless compassion, which is distinct from being overwhelmed by emotion, is the wish that everyone everywhere be free of pain and its causes. It banishes desire.
Equanimity describes a complete openness to experience, without being lost in reactions of love and hate. Without equanimity we might demand that happiness occur in the ways that we think it should, rather than stay connected and loving with things as they are. Equanimity endows compassion with courage, so that we have the courage to face the pain in life and to face the cruelty in the world.
"Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame"
Mindfulness practice naturally develops equanimity because when we're mindful, we're experiencing things without judgment or distortion. Concentration practice also develops equanimity because when our minds are concentrated, we develop a calm presence with things as they change. In a concentrated mind, thoughts, feelings, and experiences may arise, but they just roll off. We don't become engaged in a movement of desire or aversion, for and against, favoring and opposing.
What is Equanimity? ~ Shinzen Young
Surrender
To be truly surrendered is a rare and holy state of being and is probably the fastest and easiest route to enlightenment. It means that we dedicate all our actions to God, and make ourselves an instrument for Divine Will to play-out through us. We are no longer responsible or attached to the details of our lives, and no longer judge the things that happen because we have dedicated our actions to God.
Someone Who Is Truly Surrendered Has Transcended Karma, And Has Found The Exit Door To The Game Of Life.
Karma is not what happens to you! This is a great misconception. How can you say that someone who was in prison for 10 years has bad Karma, if during that time they learned to meditate and found enlightenment?! The point is that Karma is not what happens to you, but how you choose to react to what happens to you. If you are surrendered and dedicate all actions to God, you are no longer a part of the game of right and wrong. This doesn't mean that people who are surrendered never get excited or joyful, but that the things they find joy in are quite different and not concerned with self. Surrender is a blissful state where one is merged with the unity of all that is. There is no you and me when you are surrendered, there is just the real Self that shines and lives in each blissful moment.
In the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, spiritual surrender means self-offering of one's will to God. It is not passive. It is an active surrender to the will of God. ...
We must actively give up our ego self in order to surrender. To do this we need to know who we really are.
Something short and special to watch
Something short and special to try
Finding Your Inner Voice : This is your real reality.
Sit with your eyes closed and concentrate all of your attention on your heart. Please repeat to yourself as you have in other exercises "I am not my body, I am not my ego - I am my soul"
This is the real nature of you. Your inner voice. Your conscience that has spoken to you since the beginning - this is the real you. For a moment, reflect upon the possibility that the thinking, physically feeling being that we think of as ourselves is not the real us, but that tiny, silent little voice within is the real us. That tiny little voice that tries to prompt us, tries to guide us and we ignore, is actually our highest reality.
Is that possible?
That tiny voice that we ignore day in and day out is what we are trying to grow into. That is our highest self? Is that possible?
Listen very quietly and hear what your inner voice has to say - hear the answer it has for you.
Is that the voice of your soul? Focus all of your attention on it and let everything else go. Let everything else go.
Sit still and silent and focus your entire life past, present and future on your soul and listen. Listen with all your heart.. It is your own eternal and infinite voice.
Love All - Serve All
SOURCES
https://tricycle.org/magazine/four-immeasurables/
https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/practice-detachment
https://www.expandinglight.org/blog/superconscious-living/what-is-spiritual-surrender/
http://meditation.org.au/class16.asp
https://essenceofbuddhism.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/do-not-get-caught-up-in-the-words-of-others-whether-its-praise-or-blame/
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