Well, hello friend!
It’s been a few months since a last wrote a HeartFelt Musing. I’ve had a few topic ideas that I started to write about, but they all felt forced. I’m not the type of person who will force something that doesn’t feel right. This is really because I try to lead from my heart as I move through my life; which just happens to be the subject of this Musing!
Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction. ~Rumi
I received an email from my teacher this morning. Every week, his newsletter offers a contemplation or practice for the week. This weeks practice is to surrender- to surrender to what is, to surrender to the right here and now, to surrender to the teachings of the heart. The practice of surrender is not a simple one. As was explained in this newsletter, the number one obstacle to living in this surrendered way is the ego.
Over the last few weeks I have been teaching a beginners meditation class and in last weeks discussion we dove deep into the roles that the ego likes to play. Now, maybe you have heard about the ego, but sometimes we don’t really understand how the ego works or what it does. First of all, the ego does not want us to lead from the heart. The ego is at it’s strongest when the walls around our heart are tall and solid!
The small self or the ego thrives in craving and aversion. It’s very decisive when it comes to what it likes and it doesn’t like. It will say “I like this food and I don’t like that food” or “I like this pair of pants and I don’t like that pair of pants” or “I like this person and I don’t like that person”. Most of the time, we make these statements out of the conditioning we have recieved. Our ego conditioning will come from our environment- our family structure, the communities we grow up in and the country we live in.
Now, if you are still reading this Musing, there is a good chance you have already begun to question this small self. Perhaps you have made a statement, maybe out loud or maybe just to yourself, and afterwards you questioned yourself on the truthfulness of this statement. Maybe you are beginning to question where these feelings of craving and aversion come from.
The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist. ~Eckhart Tolle
Once that conditioned pattern is out of the way, then living life in a surrendered way becomes a little easier. As my teacher says “When you surrender, a space opens up within you and the possibility of a new perspective and deeper understanding can arise.”
As I said earlier, I have been working to live in this surrendered way for most of my adult life, long before I could even put a name to it. I have always felt like there was a hand on my back guiding me one direction or another. A part of me always trusted this guiding force, because I always felt in my heart that it was leading me towards what I needed for my personal growth. I have tripped up, I have fallen over, I have made mistakes…or in other words, I have lived my life. My ego conditioning is strong, just as it is in all of us!
The Bhagavad Gita, one of spiritual texts in the yoga tradition, offers this perspective on surrender
The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and is focused on action alone.
This, in my opinion, is surrender! To live my life with full acceptance of what is happening- maybe it’s what I think I want or maybe it’s the exact opposite, either way- I surrender! My teacher goes on to say that once we surrender “peace enters your heart. Joy is experienced. Love fills your being.” Wow! Living my life filled with peace, joy & love…what more could I ask for!!
Not everyone is interested in living this way and that is perfectly okay. That’s the beauty of this life, we can choose to live the way we want to live! Personally, my heart has told me loud and clear, to live a life that is of service. Yoga has filled my life with so much and all I want to do is share these gifts of yoga with anyone who is interested! Me listening to this calling is me listening to my heart!
What do you think? Do you think you could surrender your life? To live a life where you accept all possibilities? Are you ready to listen to the whispers of your heart and let them lead the way?
Until next time,
Sandra