Merging into the Ocean

Sit back and surrender yourself to this inspirational article by Barbara Ann Briggs. Her words, augmented by quotes from the masters, throw light on the joy and true nature of surrender.

- Barbara Ann Briggs

On the spiritual path, one often hears the term ‘surrender’ referred to as a requirement for living life in harmony with a higher power. It is as if one is required to let go of certain limitations or restrictions in one’s thinking and behaviour in order to make progress on the spiritual path. Surrender implies giving up those impediments which bind one to a narrow, circumscribed vision of oneself as a particular race, caste, religion, culture, and profession. Of course, all these labels are relevant, but they do not express the highest truth of who one is. Surrender implies expansion and openness—a willingness to embrace a wider paradigm of who one is.

How does surrender happen? Surrender begins with acceptance and adaptability. But surrender isn’t an intellectual exercise. It is a spontaneous letting-go, a willingness to trust, a heartfelt faith in the inherent order in the cosmic design of life. It is only when one accepts what is, that one can surrender to what is to come. To flow with the current of life, one must be like a fluid wave in the ocean. Waves move without any effort carried by the surging magnitude of the ocean. When one surrenders, one feels the mighty force of Nature guiding one’s movement forward; one feels as if one is being carried towards one’s destination by a power greater than one’s individual will. The joy of surrender is that it gives one the ability to live more fully in the Now, to let go of some of the burden of memories of the past and expectations for the future. One can just be present and live simply, more naturally, with greater freedom. Traditionally, in the East, surrender came naturally because people lived more in harmony with the laws of nature, and they could heed the messages of their inner being.