To surrender (in English – to surrender) as a way of life is the capacity to let go of control and to trust the hidden wisdom of life. Enlightenment is also described with the word “surrender,” pointing to that turning point when, after long years of struggle and effort, the spiritual seeker capitulates, and in that moment of despair a breakthrough occurs, divine grace pours down upon them.
Sometimes I think that the path to our spiritual roots is nothing other than a series of small steps of surrender. For some, this happens with the last step before falling into the abyss (as in the case of Eckhart Tolle); for others, it is a gradual letting go of control.
It is the growing realization that some force beyond ego-will and ego-mind moves our lives and that, despite the small “variations on the theme,” we can only follow it. Like Jesus Christ, who could not avert the bitter cup, so too we drink what life offers us, even when we have ordered other drinks. If we are fortunate, there comes a moment when we let ourselves go with trust into the current of life, realizing that this is precisely the experience we have been seeking all along.
The conscious practice of “surrender as a way of life” is one of the central messages of Pamela Kribbe’s book HEART CENTERED LIVING – Messages inspired by Christ consciousness. Here are selected quotes from it on this theme:
“The ego associates surrender with crisis. The ego lives in a constant alternation between control and crisis.
Often, in moments of true crisis in your life, you are invited to see the treasure that lies within it. There is always a positive element in crisis that invites you to move closer to your heart. In this way, life always moves you closer to yourself, to your inner knowing and wisdom, even when you live under the dictates of the ego. Therefore, there will always be situations in your life that will challenge you to surrender—sooner or later.
Life always gives you opportunities to choose surrender as a way of life…
Surrender and unpredictability instill fear in you. You associate surrender with giving up without knowing what to do, with being overtaken by emotional upheaval or crisis. But this is a very limited concept of surrender.
This is a concept born of fear, of ego-oriented consciousness. There is a much more positive view of surrender that emphasizes a way of life, a way of being, in which you live in trust without the need for control, force, or manipulation.
You know this. All of you know these precious moments of surrender after crisis, precious moments of clarity and awareness, in which you realize that you are being carried by the current of an invisible divine breath. You realize that this divine flow of life wants the best for you, and that you can rely on it, even if it does not bring you what you expect.
What all of you long for is to live constantly in alignment with this higher consciousness; to integrate it into your everyday life without being forcibly driven toward it by deep crisis or despair…
All of you are weary warriors. You have come from a long journey. Sometimes you feel very old and exhausted within yourselves, but more precisely it can be said that you are tired of the old… (therefore) you seek a way of being in which there is no effort—one that is inspiring and at the same time light and flowing. The key here is that you do not drain yourselves in your relationships, work, or other goals until you collapse or until some crisis forces you to surrender. Take one more step forward—or rather, one step back—and move toward a way of life that is always marked by letting go, trust, and surrender.
To surrender means: not to fight, not to resist, but to flow with the current of life, trusting that life will give you exactly what you need. Trust that your needs are known and will be met. Accept what is in your life right now and be present with it.
Part I – Surrendering to your soul’s passion, pp. 15–22
