How to Surrender

How to Surrender

We have a lot of ways to describe it; letting go, surrendering, relinquishing control. Doing it can be really challenging, over and over.

But, boy, is it worth the effort.

How do I choose to change? Why do I evolve? What makes me open up to life?

When we start letting go, a whole lot of nice stuff starts happening. We cease to worry when we let go. When we surrender to the flow of life, we stop being afraid. Without worry or fear we have room to find resources. With more resources, life gets easier, sometimes even simpler.

Why do I choose to let go? How do I learn from my past? What makes me grateful?

As I choose to let go, I accept my past. I cease to hide from it, I own it, and find the value of who I have become within it. I integrate those experiences. When I find myself dwelling on my past, or my loss, or what could have been, I stop myself, and find something else to think about. If I can make a positive change, I do that. If I can’t, I practice letting those thoughts flow through me. Sometimes, I am stuck in a bad situation, then I have to leave it to make my life better. When I am always in emotional pain, I cannot realize my gifts, I cannot fully experience what I can do, what I can give.

Why am I free? How do I know I am evolving? What makes me grow?

Now, I feel like I have some breathing room inside, to breathe in deeply, to exhale fully. Letting go gives me room to find my peaceful, joyful center. Relinquishing control gives me room to slow down, at least inside. Surrendering to the flow of life gives me time to respond to life rather than reacting all the time. I don’t feel like I’m always behind.

I start to feel like time is moving at a normal pace again, like a week takes a week, a month takes a month, and a year takes a year. I feel like I can appreciate moments every single day. It is easy for me to notice my gratitude. It is easy for me to value you when I have slowed down. I can see you more clearly for you, I can see past your behavior, if we are having a thing, to the you inside, the you I can now love unconditionally. I like that, especially since it helps me remember that I am also not my behavior.

Now I want to take better care of me, and it’s way easier.

Now I feel respect for who I am, and for where I’ve come from. I am proud of my growth, my evolution. I can see how I have changed for the better, and on my off days, that gives me strength, it helps me remember that this, too, shall pass.

Now I have more energy, now I want to help you, too. I want to help you find your peaceful center, too. I want to help you let go. I want to be a good example of how to live your natural life of bliss and joy, relaxation and peace, satisfaction, creativity, engagement, intimacy and contentment. I want to be present in my life, and live it fully.

How have I changed from clutching tightly to letting go and feeling free?

(c) 2014 Pam Guthrie all rights reserved 01/30/2014

Being As Soaring Water

Being As Soaring Water

Here is a fundamental rule of the world: I cannot change you. Here is another fundamental rule of the world: I can change me. Here is a curious thing about those rules: When I change me, you often will change, too.

Hilarious! Sneaky! Effective!

How do I choose to change? Why do I surrender? How am I like water?

Water. When it comes to change, I would much rather be like water than a bulldozer. Water can seep. Water can flow. Water goes around, or under, or even drip through. When I am as water, nothing is much of an obstacle. I flow over broken glass, I flow around boulders, I flow through mountains.

If I don’t like the way my life, or my month, or my day, or my morning, is going, I can change it. I am powerful. So are you. Humans are powerful. We have amazingly creative minds. We can make ourselves crazy with worry by imagining horrible scenarios, or we can take the time to come up with solutions. We can create mental prisons for ourselves, or we can liberate our thoughts from the restraint of habit. We can focus on the discomfort in our lives, or we can choose to soar.

Me, I like soaring.

How do I choose to change? What makes me decide to change? Why do I surrender?

I am subject to bad moods, anxious times, feeling really blue; all the normal stuff, like anyone else.. The trick for me is to notice that I’m going there before I get all settled in and cozied up to whatever emo-crap I’ve got going on. Feeling bad isn’t Truth, it’s the result of crappy thoughts running over and over in our heads.

As soon as I catch myself going there, I do what I can to identify the thoughts, so I can change them efficiently and effectively.

The fastest, easiest way I’ve found to do that is with Creative Questions.

Sometimes, I can catch the thought easily, and go from the loop, “why do I suck?”, to “how do I know I’m okay?” Sometimes, I have to find the thought, and that can take a little more effort, “Why do I feel light and peaceful?” “NO!” “Why would I feel light and peaceful?” “I can’t.” “Why could I feel light and peaceful.” “I’m a screw-up.” “How have I changed from feeling like a screw-up to feeling light and peaceful?” “Um..” “How do I feel when I feel light and peaceful?”

Believing that I suck is a delusion. My circumstances may suck. My behavior may suck, but I am not my behavior or my circumstances.

Believing that I’m not good enough, or that I’m wrong, or that I’m bad, or or or, is delusional. At my core, I am perfection. I have goozh layered on top of my perfect self, from years of delusional thinking, abuse, trauma, betrayals, and so on. As I let those things go, I let go the delusion. And then I need to keep an eye on the old habit stuff, to catch it when it comes up, and choose to change.

How have I changed from feeling trapped in my bad thoughts to feeling free?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 11212013