We speak often of letting go of control, trusting in a greater power, placing our faith in a greater power. We speak of an infinite intelligence that guides all evolution and creation. What picture do you hold of this kind of surrender? How does it look to you? How does the idea of completely giving up control feel – the idea of living and acting only on that which arises spontaneously from within?
What happens to that which we think of as us – that which we are so accustomed to identifying with? What happens to that which believes that if we do not make up our minds to act, nothing will happen? What happens to that which forces us to do things we probably do not want to do, that which believes it must be in control and in charge?
Most of us have come to live our lives by will and force; we make ourselves do things. We were forced to do things that we had no interest in when we were young. We have lived by force and will for so long that we cannot believe there is another way. Even when the truth is plainly laid out before us and we hear and know it is true because it aligns with the truth in us, we will rationalize, argue, be reasonable and say that it is impossible to live like that.
This is the real world, we say, and we must accept struggles, suffering and difficulties we encounter. Nothing happens by magic or miracle; it’s all by hard work.
The culture, the race consciousness, will have us reminded constantly that the material world is the real world and is the world we have to live in. We have learned that there are compromises and sacrifices we have to make and things we have to force ourselves to do. And yet, at the deepest level of our soul we know this isn’t true. We know, because the destiny of our evolution is to know the truth of ourselves and the truth of life and creation.
And yet the idea of giving up the identity strikes fear at the very core of our being. Our compromise is to choose what we see as safety over freedom. The rationalization is that a long life of suffering and struggle is better than a short life of freedom. That is the unconscious choice – not the conscious choice. The conscious choice is that: if I only work harder on myself I will be free and still be able to be me. I can perfect this identity if I make an effort and try harder and do things I do not really want to do. I believe I can perfect myself at least in the eyes of others.
Soon, we will run out of energy from all this effort, force and use of will. Soon we will tire of it all and find it brings no lasting reward, satisfaction or fulfillment – just the emptiness of having to keep on trying. We keep on trying to overcome our bad, weak and wrong nature.
That is not our destiny. We will be free – each of us in our own time and in our own way will finally perceive the truth, embrace it, welcome it, release the world of duality and identity. It can happen in an instant and it will. In the meantime we must choose where to place our faith, what to trust, what is real. We must make room for the truth. We cannot force our transformation; we can only accept and allow it. We cannot force ourselves to surrender; we cannot make ourselves to let go. Effort is the opposite of allowing.
Our greatest challenge is to accept and allow this moment just as it is without judgment, without analysis, without expectation or preconceived ideas. Our challenge is to just be open to the moment as it is, knowing that it is perfect, knowing the unescapable truth that this moment is the product of the divine, knowing this moment is consciousness expressing its infinite intelligence, love and wisdom.
To fully trust and know there is nothing wrong in this moment is our pathway to transformation. To insist and proclaim in this moment, despite any appearance or circumstance, that there is a divine perfection to all and to accept and allow exactly ‘what is’ is the path that we must follow – not just in meditation but in life. This is our first priority. This is the only fulfillment of our deepest desire: to know and experience ourselves as who we truly are as consciousness in form, as love in action, as life creating. This is our transformation: to give up our small ideas of who we are and what we are, to allow the magnificence of truth to enter our awareness, to become the experience of oneness.
Don’t stop to think about it; just allow what is in you to be. When your mind becomes quiet you experience yourself at a deeper level. Then the mind is not needed. Then the soul is free to call us deeper into ourselves, deeper into the truth. Now is the moment.