Wednesday 3 September 2008

Surrender

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Ever since I decided to not go ahead with surgery I've been chewing over the fact that choosing to not act is as much a choice as any other, maybe even more difficult than choosing action. Recently Hayden added a comment that connected to what I had begun thinking myself:


I understand your comment "everything altered by not being altered," - choosing to live in the present and accepting what "IS" without the constant quest for change is a huge shift for most people. In these circumstances it must feel incredibly profound.

Accepting what "IS"... not something our modern world is fond of. I think modern society is into quick fixes. Getting old? - face lift. Don't like your face/body? - plastic surgery. Don't like your spouse? - divorce. We're not geared to accepting and making the best of things. We want solutions and cures. Not that that's a bad thing in itself, but sometimes it leads to us being dissatisfied with what we do have, because we keep thinking there's got to be something better.So we overlook the fact that sometimes what we already have is pretty darn good in itself!

This whole idea has been running through my head since a friend sent me a link to a Mayan astrology/birth day calculator. The ancient Maya believed that every person had a destiny and "job to do" from birth, so I was very keen to find out what mine was. It's complex and many-layered, but the main theme of my life turns out to be...


surrender

In this life-time you are being asked to release and surrender. Surrender is the opposite of giving up. It is freeing yourself from the desire to be in control, letting go of how you think things should be. Surrender is freedom. You are being invited to release yourself from the bondage of preconceived action, to let everything be all right as it is, so that you can live a more inspired life in the moment!


Surrender?

I was not impressed! What kind of a life destiny was that supposed to be??How can someone who surrenders hold power? Isn't surrender just another way of saying giving up - not trying hard enough?

and yet... when I started thinking about it I realised how much it has always been there within me. In high school I was the kid who drifted a lot. I had no grand plans or dreams as to where I was going in my life. I wanted to be surprised. I wanted to let go of the shore and see where life/God took me. In other words I surrendered. I wanted to read the book of my life as it was written rather than write it ahead of living it.

The result has been a story that was nothing I expected and everything I could have hoped for. Lots of adventure and surprising twists in my book! ;-) What's even more surprising is I can now see how the only times I have suffered is when I stopped surrendering and tried to take control through force. The moment I fight life I whack my head against walls, my health shoots downhill and my emotional health implodes. In other words - I fall apart. Can I relearn to simply let go of the shore, to trust? Can there really be strength and courage in surrender? The Maya think so and I'm realising that they are a lot wiser than I realised!

NOTE: Anyone wanting to discover their Mayan life destiny can find it by calculating their day here and then reading the full write up here


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18 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful post, M! I believe in the beauty of surrendering to God. There's a thin line between surrendering to God and still doing our parts well (the things we're supposed to do and can do) and "surrendering to God" and doing nothing.

    I think that the real "surrender" means letting go of control and letting God, esp. in situations where we can't control.

    I believe that miracles happen in time of surrender...it feels liberating and you don't feel the pressure anymore...and you'll be able to do the things you can do even better.

    Now I'm rambling...but I'm curious about the Mayan life destiny thingie he he he...I'll try it soon! ;-D

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  2. Hey, I've got the same destiny as you are HA HA HA HA HA...

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  3. There is a difference in going through a door opened by God, and forcing a door open and saying the consequences were God's will.

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  4. Wow, that's HUGE! Surrender - under the circumstances, incredibly poignant.

    a signpost impossible to ignore.

    now I'm off to check our my destiny!

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  5. Hi Amel

    That was a beautiful reply.

    And you are a surrender person too? That's nice and it really does fit you - in a way leaving your home to move to Finland was a big surrender and leap of faith... which maybe are similar things? ;-)

    Cliff
    Very wise words indeed! Thank you for sharing them.

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  6. I'm looking forward to hearing your destiny, Hayden. :-)

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  7. Yeah, in a way it was a leap of faith. I had always been someone who dared not take risks, but that one time I thought, "Why not take a HUGE risk once in your lifetime and see how it will be like? Try putting your faith in one basket and see God's provision."

    It was SCARY and at first bumpy, but it's WORTH IT he he he he he...

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  8. The Mayan calendar and the way it affects our personality and life is really interesting. I read my signs and part of it made sense. It's certainly different reading that than say the Zodiac or the Chinese Years.

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  9. Ah, not sure. Which of the many sub-headings is considered "destiny?" I'm a Blue Planetary Eagle and surrender is flying around in there in my chart, but in the position of sub-conscious self (White World- bridger). I do recognize the Red Serpent role as "challenge", unfortunately, in para 4! ;-)

    (sigh) as I age I'm gaining control there.

    I guess destiny would be the Blue Planetary Eagle bit, in which case I guess in the last couple of years I'm finally getting up off of my arse and getting on the proper road.

    Good timing on the workshop, ehh?

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  10. Interesting. When you surrender, you stop beating yourself up and struggling with choices. You then accept the situation for the way it is and work around it. Maybe that's better.

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  11. Vince

    It is fascinating, isn't it?

    Ting
    Good point! :-)

    Hayden

    LOL @ your description of yourself.

    The first one that gives you your main name was what I took as my main destiny - I'm White World-Bridger. Can't remember what my challenge was now - the result of having flu and having sneezed/coughed my brains into a numbed state. ;-) I'll have to go back and read again.

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  12. Hello my Mayan Friends!! :-)
    My challenge is Red Skywalker... I guess that says it all.

    As far as my destiny is concerned, I'm a dream, dream, dreamer.... J.J.

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  13. Thanks Michelle - these readings are really thought provoking, I get the idea that in fact our "destiny" is the combination of all of these 'aspects' of our 'selves' - all the 'shields' in our oracle.

    According to the readings:
    (my interpretation in brackets)

    *The Middle Shield is your Conscious Self - who you are and who you are becoming. (Your "centre" - real/cosmic personality)

    *The Left Shield is your Challenge This is what you desire to learn in this lifetime. With maturity and awareness this challenge will turn into a Focus.
    ("The dragons you have to slay in your lifetime" - J.)

    *The Right Shield is your Compliment - something that comes naturally to you. (A prominent skill or talent you don't really think about, its just part of who you naturally are -J.)

    * The Bottom Shield is your Subconscious Self and Hidden Helper. (The part of yourself which is hidden - getting to know this part of yourself brings you closer to yourself/helps you to understand yourself better. J.

    * The Top Shield is your Higher Self & Guide. (Your own higher consciousness /spirituality and your spiritual guide - working with this brings you closer to the universal centre/god -J.)

    So, we are a combination of all of the above, right? What's interesting to me is the challenge aspect - if this is what we are meant to focus on - to learn or accomplish in our lifetime - does our challenge not eventually become our destiny?

    Any thoughts?

    J.J.

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  14. Michelle, Surrender is the most empowered way of "being". Just ask Eckart Tolle. Wonderful post.

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  15. Powerful post, Michelle. I liked reading this. Surrender the way you are speaking of it, to me means acceptance. Life goes much easier if you accept what is given to you and take each moment as it comes.

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  16. "cada beso bautizado
    crea nuevas primaveras..."...for you...sweet girl...kiss.

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  17. Michelle, you said: "..choosing to not act is as much a choice as any other, maybe even more difficult than choosing action."

    I think this is a profound truth - it takes immense courage to not act, especially when our whole being screams out to ACT under the circumstances.

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  18. Rosa, Piff and Daisy

    Thank you :-)

    JJ
    I want to write more on what you've said, but will make it into a new blog post. I have some work to finish first, but should be back to post later today... hopefully! :-)

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Hi,

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