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Ancient
Philosophy
Acceptance (Surrender)
Mental silence, as we have seen previously, can be a means of accessing supersensible experiences that can lead us to an understanding of the set of forces acting in the field of our sensitive experience. In particular cases, it is said, to entirely belonging experiences in thin superior worlds where, the causes of what is manifested in different ways in our soul and material world, are resided.
Not for everyone, however, it is easy to achieve and/or maintain the condition of mental silence. For many, indeed it is almost impossible immersed as we are in the stream of everyday life and the corresponding river of thoughts that flow incessantly in the mind.
If we take into account of what is indicated in my article "Another possibility" (giving for good the fact that we as people are simply "training profiles"), we could charge on the shoulders of the "player" the responsibility to indicate as a path the events coming to us in our life.
We do "accept" everything that comes to meet us as facts of life, reacting accordingly not with our egoistic judgment, but through unconditional acceptance, in other words, the surrender to life with its events, since we attribute them to the "player" that others would not be but, our super-sensitive counterpart, our Ego or Self.
Normally we do not follow this path, indeed, we tend to oppose it with our personal trial forces and the consequent actions that lead us to move away from the "road" that comes to meet us as a destiny, taking branches that absorb our energies. They mostly put us in contrast with life by fueling a sense of frustration and dissatisfaction that often amounted to a refusal of life itself.
Through "acceptance”, we exceed the contrast and we are reported by the facts on the road indicated by the Ego, causing a tension fall that will increasingly resemble the happiness of feeling in some way guided and comforted by the Self presence. This may not involve the "knowledge" of the Ego and its path a priori but to its pursuit, which, they say, necessarily leads to the union of the Soul with the Spirit, of the profile with the player.
I CHING HEXAGRAM 25 ACCEPTANCE
The model of the moment: Those who expect nothing are often better prepared than those who live their every moment in anticipation. The unexpected is by definition beyond our ability to grasp beforehand. Those who construct their own projections of what the future will bring, and invest heavily in related preparations, may find themselves knocked off balance by the subsequent course of events. On the other hand, those of more modest practices and minimal expectations may adapt more easily and quickly to changing circumstances…. Full acceptance of what is, and what will be, can give us the power to act without error, and the strength to endure well whatever the future may bring. The course usually recommended for such times: Though we often see ourselves and the outside world as two different things, this is not so. We are one and the same…..
Stoic acceptance is about accepting what is outside of what is under one’s control. Human minds are prone towards agonizing over the future or the past. We can spend hours ruminating over completely fictional events. Seneca reminds us to stay in the present. What is out of our hands we can accept:
True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing.
When we’re agitated by what is out of our control we’re robbing time from ourselves. We’re distracting ourselves from living according to our values.
Yet it is too easy to desire things that are impossible. How do you handle this? Marcus reminds us:
When you run up against someone else’s shamelessness, ask yourself this: Is a world without shamelessness possible? No. Then don’t ask the impossible.
Importantly, this doesn’t mean suppressing negative emotions. When we fight negative emotions, they may arise with a vengeance. Instead, we can accept that we will experience negative emotions and move our attention to what matters.
In the external and internal world, we can expect that things will go wrong. It will be hard. The Stoic is able to accept hardship and move forward.
SELF-SURRENDER IN CATHOLIC MYSTICISM
The term Gelassenheit (“self-surrender, resignation”) first appears in German mysticism (III, 3.b; Meister Eckhart, J. Tauler, H. Suso) in the context of mystical experience. It refers to an attitude resulting from an action: the individual must surrender (lassen) in order to become serene (gelassen). The word has a second meaning, too: “letting go” (loslassen) everything that binds the individual, everything he is fixated on; it is associated also with abandoning (überlassen) oneself to God.
MEISTER ECKHART'S SERMONS AND TALKS OF INSTRUCTION
Meister Eckhart’s Sermons and Talks of Instruction are discourses on the unity of God. Eckhart distinguishes between the unity of God’s will and the individuality of the human will. Eckhart argues that the human will is contingent to selfish interests and is imperfect, but that divine will is necessary and perfect. The only perfect will is one that has been merged with the will of God.
According to Eckhart, it is God’s will that we surrender our own self-will. To be righteous and just, we must want only what God wants. To be one with God, we must surrender all self-will. If we surrender all self-will, then our actions will be guided by God’s will.
Surrender literally means to stop fighting. Stop fighting with yourself. Stop fighting the universe and the natural flow of things. Stop resisting and pushing against reality.
Surrender = Complete acceptance of what is + Faith that all is well, even without my input.
It’s not about inaction. It’s about taking action from that place of surrender energy.
If letting go of control and surrendering not only feel better, but actually produce better results, then how do we do that?
Sometimes it’s as easy as noticing that you’re in control mode and choosing to let go—consciously and deliberately shifting into surrender energy.
For example, when I become aware that I’m in control mode, I imagine that I’m in a small boat paddling upstream, against the current. It’s hard. It’s a fight. That’s what control mode feels like to me.
When I choose to let go and surrender, I visualize the boat turning around, me dropping the oars, and floating downstream.
I’m being gently pulled, no effort necessary on my part. Simply breathing and saying, “Let go of the oars” is usually enough to get me there……
SEVEN WAYS TO PRACTICE SURRENDER TODAY
In my own life, I have discovered that surrender can offer an invitation to embrace life more fully by deepening our trust and awakening our sense of acceptance.
I would venture that for most of us the term ‘surrender’ is synonymous with giving up or conceding defeat. Surrender is often viewed as the last option; the place we land when there is simply no other choice. But in my own life, I have discovered that surrender can offer an invitation to embrace life more fully by deepening our trust and awakening our sense of acceptance.
Surrender means different things to each of us, at different times in our lives. Depending on our definition and our circumstances, surrender might mean an invitation to embrace what is, or to let go of resistance, or it might mean to stay open to the unknown and stop grasping at potential outcomes. Also, at times, surrender might simply be calling us to relax more into the moment.
We let grace infuse us, and learn to take small steps as we begin to shift our orientation towards surrender.
Surrender can become a path into more lightness, joy and gratitude in our hearts and in our daily lives. But how do we learn to live the way of surrender? We let grace infuse us, and learn to take small steps as we begin to shift our orientation towards surrender……