We can always surrender, in fact it can even be easy. Surrender, in each moment, to the things that you are able to let go of, and for those things to which you just cannot let go, surrender to the fact you are not yet ready to surrender to those things. It’s like surrender through the back door.
Good evening and welcome to Monday Group Meditation. We will be sitting from 7:30 to 10:00 PM EST. It is not necessary to sit for the entire extended time, which is set up to make it convenient for people in four North American Time Zones; sit for as long as you like and when it is most convenient for you. Monday Group Meditation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers, who are interested in gathering in silence. If you are new to meditation and would like to try it for yourself, Mindful Nature gave a good description of one way to meditate in an earlier diary, copied and pasted below:
"It is a matter of focusing attention mostly. In many traditions, the idea is to sit and focus on the rising and falling of the breath. Not controlling it, but sitting in a relaxed fashion and merely observing experiences of breathing, sounds, etc. Be aware of your thoughts, but don't engage in them. When your mind wanders (it will, often), then return to focus on breath and repeat."
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Practicing surrender softens us. In the beginning we may be a bit half-hearted about it, after all there are so many things that seem just plain wrong. However, after we begin the simple practice of surrender we see the results so we begin to have faith in the practice. As we deepen into the practice we find it brings ease to the places where we’ve become hardened and rigid.
When we move further into surrender we discover surrendering to those things that seem absolutely wrong doesn’t mean we condone them, it doesn’t mean that we welcome their eternal presence, it simply is an acceptance that those things exist now, in this moment. We are surrendering to things as they exist in each moment.
Surrendering to the contents of the current moment, helps us to bring our full attention to the present, it allows each moment to stretch out, reveal itself fully and completely, it allows each moment to fill us. So the real result of this practice is we make room for joy to manifest in our lives, and it becomes experiential knowing, not just a matter of belief. We learn that we do really have a choice in the matter of our personal suffering. We begin to see that while there are many things out there in the world that could be better, different, or more to our liking, we have the power to choose how we experience life, and right here in this moment it is still very sweet and precious.
When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world. ~ Jack Kornfield