Welcome,
Welcome.
Thank you for being here with me today.
So I've been thinking about this idea of surrender lately.
And I've noticed how my ideas of it has has changed as I continue to go deeper on this path.
There was a time in my life when I thought surrendering was something I had to do.
A choice I had to make.
You know,
I would surrender to the flat tire,
Or to the dog who started to bark just as I sat down to record,
Or to the delay,
Or the loss,
Or the hard conversation I had to have.
And it definitely brought me some peace,
But there was still a subtle I doing it.
An identity underneath that was letting go of something in order to get something.
Peace,
Or relief,
Or a sense of moving forward.
But over time I've come to see that true surrender isn't about handing control over from one part of the ego to another.
It's not about surrendering to something.
It's a surrendering of the very idea of the separate self.
It's resting in what's already here,
In what I am.
So it's not about doing or achieving something new,
But resting as just being.
So there's no seeking or becoming in true surrender.
Just resting in what we already are.
That changeless,
Formless,
Pure presence.
Just a gentle being.
Because whatever is arising is arising in awareness,
As awareness.
So let's settle into that together in today's session.
And just taking a moment to just be here.
Letting your shoulders drop.
Let your jaw soften.
And just let your breath be unforced.
Just feeling the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Just notice the breath.
Notice the stillness around you.
The stillness within you.
Just let everything slow down.
Thoughts may be arising.
Sensations of the body appearing.
Stories playing out.
Just let them be.
Just allow them to rise and fall.
True surrender isn't about stopping the waves of the personal mind.
It's in the seeing.
The witness.
Without the stories.
Without identification to the character.
The personal self.
Just witnessing.
Without labeling.
Or memory.
What's aware right now?
What's aware of the thoughts?
Or the sensations?
So this isn't about surrendering to the noise.
Or the diagnosis.
Or to the people not behaving how you would like them to.
This is a surrendering of the body.
Of the one who wants it all to be different.
A surrendering of the personal self.
So any need for control is never really you.
Any grasping is simply a pattern.
A pattern arising in awareness.
So just notice any clinging or grasping that may be appearing to thoughts or sensations.
You're just seeing it.
Noticing it.
Letting it be.
Feel what's already here.
The stillness.
The pure presence that doesn't change.
No matter what appears.
You are that which is already free.
Already whole.
Already perfect.
As we begin to close this session,
Just gently come back to the room.
Gently noticing the sensations of the body.
Perhaps wiggling the fingers or toes.
And as you slowly open your eyes,
Notice that you are the wide open field in which all things come and go.
What you've touched is always here.
Whether the eyes are opened or closed.
Or whether we're sitting in stillness or we're moving visibly through our day.
It's always here.
Thank you for joining me today.
Namaste.
