"Once surrender takes place, this is the beginning point for Love to enter our heart and expand it."
After writing about the Law of Brokenness, I reflected a bit on why I perceived this to be a law as well as what other factors influenced it. The more I thought about it (and a friend's comments made me introspect more on this), the more I came to the conclusion that there was a deeper law at work, which I will call the Law of Surrender.
Brokenness is a vehicle that brings us to surrender. But surrender is really where the Power lies. We can be broken and not surrender to a Higher Power, in which case we have cut ourselves off from this Power transforming us. Also, we can be unbroken and surrender to a Higher Power and be transformed from the inside out. The point is that ultimate goal is a shrinking of the ego through a surrendering of it to a Power greater than ourselves.
If someone already is not self-identified with the ego and surrenders the totality of themselves to this Power, then transformation occurs. What exactly are we surrendering? We are surrendering the control of our lives.
You see, as I have explored in a previous post called Illusion of Control, we really are not in control of our lives anyways. If we deeply reflect on this point, we will see that the only practical conclusion is to give this control away. To whom are we surrendering? The easiest way to understand this is that we are surrendering to Reality. We accept life on life's terms, the reality of our situation and how we can operate within the context of reality or the "flow of life."
Once surrender takes place, this is the beginning point for Love to enter our heart and expand it. This expansion of the heart continues with no end as long as we are on this path. We find the truth in the concept that one must lose her life in order to find it.
Showing posts with label surrender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surrender. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Brokenness and Joy
"There is joy in all things because we see the blessings in hardship."
A friend of mine watched the video of my blog post on "The Law of Brokenness" and had a very interesting comment that I wanted to explore. The place I want to always be in life (and in my writings) is open to new ideas and changes to any idea. I do not take ownership of these thoughts, as most of them are based off of teachings elsewhere anyways. An important truth that I am realizing is the importance of being open. Our Western training teaches us that truth is absolute and either right or wrong, however truth is relative and inclusive. I like the idea of resonating. Some truths resonate with some people and not with others.
The point was that one can surrender to joy and not only when you are destitute. That is a great point and one that I will explore a bit. My intention in referring exclusively to brokenness was to identify a trend that I noticed, which seems to contradict it being a law. However, the trend is so strong that I thought it warranted being considered a law. My immediate response was renaming the law to "The Law of Surrender." Before I address that directly, I also wanted to point out that brokenness on the spiritual path needs to be approached from a higher perspective. From this perspective, there is joy in being broken. There is joy in all things because we see the blessings in hardship. This is one point that maybe should have been more fully developed.
At the time of brokenness, I doubt many are joyful, however, so I completely agree that it is important to focus more on the end result which is surrender. To say that the Power of the Universe only works through a certain class of people is limiting this Power. So, in this law of surrender, I acknowledge that the path to surrender usually involves a brokenness of some kind. However, surrender can readily occur through joy as well.
A friend of mine watched the video of my blog post on "The Law of Brokenness" and had a very interesting comment that I wanted to explore. The place I want to always be in life (and in my writings) is open to new ideas and changes to any idea. I do not take ownership of these thoughts, as most of them are based off of teachings elsewhere anyways. An important truth that I am realizing is the importance of being open. Our Western training teaches us that truth is absolute and either right or wrong, however truth is relative and inclusive. I like the idea of resonating. Some truths resonate with some people and not with others.
The point was that one can surrender to joy and not only when you are destitute. That is a great point and one that I will explore a bit. My intention in referring exclusively to brokenness was to identify a trend that I noticed, which seems to contradict it being a law. However, the trend is so strong that I thought it warranted being considered a law. My immediate response was renaming the law to "The Law of Surrender." Before I address that directly, I also wanted to point out that brokenness on the spiritual path needs to be approached from a higher perspective. From this perspective, there is joy in being broken. There is joy in all things because we see the blessings in hardship. This is one point that maybe should have been more fully developed.
At the time of brokenness, I doubt many are joyful, however, so I completely agree that it is important to focus more on the end result which is surrender. To say that the Power of the Universe only works through a certain class of people is limiting this Power. So, in this law of surrender, I acknowledge that the path to surrender usually involves a brokenness of some kind. However, surrender can readily occur through joy as well.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Law of Brokenness
"The Law of Brokenness is that the Power of the Universe works through the broken, through the destitute, downtrodden, and outcasts."
There are many spiritual laws that govern our universe. These laws are similar to the law of gravity in that they always are in effect. A law that has recently become very apparent to me, I will call the "Law of Brokenness." To effectively introduce this law as well as describe how and why it works, I will need to start from the beginning.
We are eternal beings in a human incarnation. This world is our playground or school to learn lessons and evolve spiritually. The greatest tool we have at our disposal is our will power. With it, we can literally choose living a life in heaven or hell right here and now. We can accept or deny God with it. This law has been designed so that it takes a force of our will to accept God, which we formally define as a Power greater than ourselves. If God came in flashing lights and physically appeared in human form to each of us, working all sorts of miracles, that lessens the faith required to believe in this power. Of course, this occurs from time to time but cannot happen for every person. If this were to occur, this, in essence, weakens our will and defeats the purpose of us having a will in the first place.
For the pundits who exclaim, "there is no God because I am calling on her to levitate this table 3 feet in the air", this will not occur because of the lessening of the will. This Power is much more subtle than that.
The Law of Brokenness is that the Power of the Universe works through the broken, through the destitute, downtrodden, and outcasts. The reason for this is that the embodiment of Love requires absolute surrender to our identification with any part of this world, call this the ego. If there is but one strand of connection to this world, we block the totality of Love from entering us. This really is an all or nothing proposition. A broken person more readily admits and knows that clinging on to Form spells ultimate disaster and is more willing to surrender the totality of themselves to this Power.
This law also calls to light that true spirituality does not necessarily lurk in a monastery, church, convent, temple, or other gathering place but in groups of people that have acknowledged their brokenness. This is also the paradox that keeps God out of the lime-light, presenting stumbling blocks for the prideful, arrogant and conceited. To find the Answer, we must do the seeking not have it pre-processed and hand-delivered to us.
The next time you feel yourself putting up a wall of arrogance, remember that Power is with the broken. Admit your brokenness to others and use it as a fuel to deepen your faith.
I posted a video version of this blog post here:
http://youtu.be/mJBPmz3qkHM
There are many spiritual laws that govern our universe. These laws are similar to the law of gravity in that they always are in effect. A law that has recently become very apparent to me, I will call the "Law of Brokenness." To effectively introduce this law as well as describe how and why it works, I will need to start from the beginning.
We are eternal beings in a human incarnation. This world is our playground or school to learn lessons and evolve spiritually. The greatest tool we have at our disposal is our will power. With it, we can literally choose living a life in heaven or hell right here and now. We can accept or deny God with it. This law has been designed so that it takes a force of our will to accept God, which we formally define as a Power greater than ourselves. If God came in flashing lights and physically appeared in human form to each of us, working all sorts of miracles, that lessens the faith required to believe in this power. Of course, this occurs from time to time but cannot happen for every person. If this were to occur, this, in essence, weakens our will and defeats the purpose of us having a will in the first place.
For the pundits who exclaim, "there is no God because I am calling on her to levitate this table 3 feet in the air", this will not occur because of the lessening of the will. This Power is much more subtle than that.
The Law of Brokenness is that the Power of the Universe works through the broken, through the destitute, downtrodden, and outcasts. The reason for this is that the embodiment of Love requires absolute surrender to our identification with any part of this world, call this the ego. If there is but one strand of connection to this world, we block the totality of Love from entering us. This really is an all or nothing proposition. A broken person more readily admits and knows that clinging on to Form spells ultimate disaster and is more willing to surrender the totality of themselves to this Power.
This law also calls to light that true spirituality does not necessarily lurk in a monastery, church, convent, temple, or other gathering place but in groups of people that have acknowledged their brokenness. This is also the paradox that keeps God out of the lime-light, presenting stumbling blocks for the prideful, arrogant and conceited. To find the Answer, we must do the seeking not have it pre-processed and hand-delivered to us.
The next time you feel yourself putting up a wall of arrogance, remember that Power is with the broken. Admit your brokenness to others and use it as a fuel to deepen your faith.
I posted a video version of this blog post here:
http://youtu.be/mJBPmz3qkHM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Weight of the World
"The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature."
I have noticed that, in my daily life, my mind is constantly spinning, trying to plan for this or figure that out. In a literal sense, if I let it, my mind carries the weight of the world. This constant thinking happens on its own. If I allow it to happen, it continues. My point is that I do not have to "try" to map out my life before it happens in my mind, it is a part of past conditioning and is the background noise that clouds my life.
It really all comes down to confusion about the world in which I live. If my assumption is that my life is what I make it and that I, alone, determine my destiny, then it makes sense that I need to be using my intellect to control my life. It does imply a sense of lack of faith but more confusion. This is because I can have faith but can let the fog of confusion in this world seep into my life. The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature. I am not separate yet inseparably joined with others and this planet.
Another truth is that the universe is a safe, good place that is nurturing me, caring for me and providing for me. With these truths in hand, I can see that my mind working is just spinning my wheels. What freedom there is in realizing I do not need to be constantly scheming and analyzing as the Universe has this all taken care of.
I surrender to the Universe and relax my mind as it does not need to control me anymore. I have faith that things will work out as they should and my role is to accept life as it presents itself to me. I see how I fit into the grand scheme of things, follow my dreams, and rest in the comfort that I am exactly where I need to be and have everything I need right now.
I have noticed that, in my daily life, my mind is constantly spinning, trying to plan for this or figure that out. In a literal sense, if I let it, my mind carries the weight of the world. This constant thinking happens on its own. If I allow it to happen, it continues. My point is that I do not have to "try" to map out my life before it happens in my mind, it is a part of past conditioning and is the background noise that clouds my life.
It really all comes down to confusion about the world in which I live. If my assumption is that my life is what I make it and that I, alone, determine my destiny, then it makes sense that I need to be using my intellect to control my life. It does imply a sense of lack of faith but more confusion. This is because I can have faith but can let the fog of confusion in this world seep into my life. The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature. I am not separate yet inseparably joined with others and this planet.
Another truth is that the universe is a safe, good place that is nurturing me, caring for me and providing for me. With these truths in hand, I can see that my mind working is just spinning my wheels. What freedom there is in realizing I do not need to be constantly scheming and analyzing as the Universe has this all taken care of.
I surrender to the Universe and relax my mind as it does not need to control me anymore. I have faith that things will work out as they should and my role is to accept life as it presents itself to me. I see how I fit into the grand scheme of things, follow my dreams, and rest in the comfort that I am exactly where I need to be and have everything I need right now.
Monday, October 31, 2011
God Wants All of Us
"God does not see the good or bad in us but has everlasting Love for each of us."
The ultimate goal of life is union with the Supreme Power of the Universe. This Power wants all parts of us, what we label good and the bad, for these things are all part of being human. It is easy to give the good parts of us to God, our devotion, good works, and service. It is much harder to surrender the things in our life that we are embarrassed about or feel ashamed of. Yet, these very things are the barriers that separate us from God.
God does not see the good or bad in us but has everlasting Love for each of us. She sees these things as simply a part of our nature, and it is us who put labels on our thoughts or actions. The irony of this is our shame and guilt arise from not turning these things over to a Higher Power yet this action is what will free us from these feelings. We are neither good nor bad yet perfect in the sight of God. The sooner that we realize this, the sooner this veil of separation is lifted.
The ultimate goal of life is union with the Supreme Power of the Universe. This Power wants all parts of us, what we label good and the bad, for these things are all part of being human. It is easy to give the good parts of us to God, our devotion, good works, and service. It is much harder to surrender the things in our life that we are embarrassed about or feel ashamed of. Yet, these very things are the barriers that separate us from God.
God does not see the good or bad in us but has everlasting Love for each of us. She sees these things as simply a part of our nature, and it is us who put labels on our thoughts or actions. The irony of this is our shame and guilt arise from not turning these things over to a Higher Power yet this action is what will free us from these feelings. We are neither good nor bad yet perfect in the sight of God. The sooner that we realize this, the sooner this veil of separation is lifted.
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