| It's not unreasonable to think that surrendering would not be that difficult if all it is is not doing. But it could easily be one of the most difficult aspects of becoming truly spiritually focused. The act of surrender first of all requires a conscious choice or decision to let go of any resistance and blocks in allowing the flow of energy freely through your body. This implies some consciousness and awareness of the fact that you are holding on and that there is a way to let go of this holding on. We are often so unaware of our holding as this has become an unconscious pattern from childhood. One of the easiest ways to become aware of what we are holding is to practice deep breathing. Our breathing is a good indicator of where and how much we are holding. Many spiritual disciplines focus on the breathing, teaching deep breathing methods for the purpose of releasing blocks and integrating the mind and body. For now, you can try this process and see what you become aware of. Lie on your back, having your knees up or down, with most likely some degree of bend in the knees. Start concentrating on the breathing. Notice how your body moves when you breathe. Does your stomach expand or contract when you breathe in? Does it move at all? Does your chest move? Does it contract or expand? Just notice what is natural for you. Perhaps you go long periods without breathing at all. Many people are not aware that they stop breathing for periods of time. Now, once you are familiar with what is your normal breathing pattern, try this. Breathe in, thinking of the breath as going down your back towards your lower back, causing your stomach to expand. As your stomach becomes expanded, your chest begins to expand until your lungs are full. Then breathe out. Continue to take long, deep breaths in this fashion for a while. It may be difficult for you to do this and your chest may not move much or your stomach may want to move in the opposite direction, but concentrate and work at it. After a while you may begin to feel certain sensations in your body. You may feel light-headed or dizzy. You may feel a pain in your neck or face or maybe your back. What is happening is that as you breathe in higher amounts of oxygen, you charge your body with energy and as this energy hits blocks it causes pain. So now you will be becoming aware of where you may be blocking energy flow. This block will be related to an emotional issue, perhaps a fear of being hurt, or a fear of one's overwhelming emotions. To begin the art of surrendering you will need to free these blocks. This is not always easy to do by yourself but, becoming aware of them is a big step in freeing them. Just the intention of freeing them begins the journey. You can do things like yoga and stretching to focus on the blocks. Some martial arts are useful. Just spending time breathing and meditating into them can bring up memories or feelings that can be released. But if the fear is too strong you will probably need to work with somebody to help you through it. The act of letting go or releasing these blocks is similar to what it would feel like if you had been holding on tightly to something in your hand for a long period of time with a clenched fist, so long that you couldn't even feel yourself holding it anymore and you had forgotten it was there. It is difficult at that stage to let go. It takes an active conscious decision to relax your hand. This is the same with the blocks we are talking about. When you can relax these blocks, that is a big step in the act of surrender. |
