by Linda Goodman
 
Making conscious decisions and holding ourselves accountable is what makes us responsible adults, yet this need for always being in control (the ego) doesn’t allow for what may happen in our lives when bad things happen to good people.   Of course there are techniques for problem solving, but when the issues are far more complex, our overthinking may keep the noise of the mind so busy that there’s no time to receive quiet clarity.  Trusting the gut or intuition may be a new tool necessary to overcome the ego’s control and, in essence, redefine who we are.
 
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve known people who seem to have always lived in a state of Trust.  It was second nature with no external work required.  Some have lived in a strong faith, but others haven’t; some were of service to humanity, others weren’t.  Perhaps they masked more than could have been noticed, but I’ve often wondered how could they trust so easily when others have been battered and bruised and are now coming to terms with relearning it?  To know self is more important than to analyze another.
 
Just as computer language is written in a basic step-by-step description, there are wisdom traditions that offer a way for each of us within our specific belief system. There is work involved in growing ourselves with the building blocks of each faith.  Here I will refer to God, or The Higher Self, etc. as LOVE, for that is what I believe is our commonality.  I think we all wish to belong and our choice of a companion on this path of trust and surrender is pure, unconditional LOVE.
 
There is sacrifice involved in complete surrender and taking the ego out of the equations.  It’s an ongoing awareness and expansion of our unique (and possibly unknown) capabilities away from our former education.  In Kabbalah, I’ve been taught three Hebrew words (Chokhmah, Binah, Daat) which translate to Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge.  Wisdom is the ability to receive and transmit the spark of new insight as we are able to perceive it.  Understanding is our nourishing and allowing a thought to develop and relate to other thoughts.  But the active function of internalization—connecting the mind and emotions deeply within—is Knowledge:  Daat is the soul’s connection to a subject.  In my opinion, it’s what causes me to grab my chest and say, “This resonates within my soul.”
 
As one embarks on doing any transformational work, having a community of safe people for feeling through the emotions is essential. Find like-minded professionals, a study, and/or a meditation group.  Surrendering to LOVE begins with fully knowing and trusting ourselves and surrendering to loving ourselves.  Accessing the essential core of who we are enables us to find joy in life and peace even in the most difficult times.
 
Below are some powerful messages and books of surrender and hope in moving through the darkness or uncertainty that may be a part of the journey.     

• A Course in Miracles’ Manual for Teachers has a significant outline for working on the awareness of the presence of LOVE, along with the process of forgiveness and allowing trust to return.
• 12 Step program’s The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.
• Psalms 71, 1-3, Prayer of Surrender by King David: “In Thee, O Lord, have I taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed.  Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and rescue me; Incline Thine ear upon me, and save me.  Be Thou to me a sheltering rock, whereunto I may continually resort, Which Thou has appointed to save me; For Thou art my rock and my fortress.”
• Pema Choddron’s The Places That Scare You: Point Three – Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Path of Enlightenment.

 
In Eckhart Tolle’s words, “When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak, and act differently.”  May your Trust and Surrender take you to the greatest place of LOVE you could have ever imagined.

​Linda Goodman, a Mediator, Reiki Master, and Consultant/Coach, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

​Poem by Azizi Blissett 

​breathe In 
breathe Out 
breathe Once 
breathe Twice 
breathe Deep 
breathe Slow 

Surrender to the rhythm 

push Once 
pull Twice 

Surrender to the rhythm 

tense In 
tense Out 

Surrender to the rhythm 

exhale 
inhale 

Surrender to the rhythm 

grip Hard 
grip Tight 

Surrender to the rhythm 

thrust Up 
thrust Down 

Surrender to the rhythm 

move In 
move Out 

press Back 
press Forward 
stand Firm 
stand Still 

Surrender to the rhythm 
open Wide 
close Shut 

Surrender to the rhythm 
Experience the rhythm 
my rhythm 
of letting go

Azizi Blissett, Law of Attraction Life Coach and Founder and Executive Director of zFusion, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

by Terry Crump

Always say yes to the present moment . . . Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life—and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you. –Eckhart Tolle

When I reflect on this concept of surrender, a number of images and phrases come to mind. What emerges is a visualization of people standing in a place of worship, singing with fervor, “I surrender all,” or hearing the hook to a neosoul artist, “Surrender to love, ’cause love is the only way.” I even have flashes of some individual being arrested by the police, with their hands up in the “universal” signal of surrender.  These depictions, however, never connote peace or anything remotely appealing to me. Perhaps it’s because surrender is a place that’s all too familiar.  Digging deeper, I must acknowledge that the need for surrender has frequently disrupted my world, creating loss, precipitating the onslaught of tears, inciting the rise of anger, and an overwhelming desire to scream because once again a goal or dream has been shattered. Things suddenly went left.  

Here are the aspects of surrendering that personally create the most dissonance:
•   The expectation is that I must relinquish control rather than fighting against some typically undesirable outcome.  
•   I’ve constructed a picture of how things are “supposed to be” which is now a mismatch with how they are. This is not what my visualization looked like.
•   There’s a tension between assuming a defeatist stance (i.e., surrendering) versus accepting that things are unfolding in a manner that differs from my expectations.
•   I am not a quitter!
•   I’m really being driven by the fear that my needs will not be met.  Therefore, I must fight harder!
•   I’m being asked to trust and believe that there is some greater good that will come of this, and I just don’t know if I can do that.

There is a nuanced dance wherein we are effective agents of change who persist in actions to chart our own life course, but we also have wisdom in recognizing when surrender is what’s indicated.  To facilitate such recognition, we must reign in the ego, especially those notions that we are always in control.
Surrender requires great strength, though it may appear that we have succumbed to failure. 

I’ve wondered why and how the term “sweet surrender” came to exist when we more often associate this concept with a bitter taste. The term “sweet surrender” is typically used to refer to sudden, unexpected, but pleasant changes, often in the specific context of love. But can it be generalized to other areas of our lives? 

We can’t experience “sweetness” until we identify the need to relinquish control. Bitterness and resentment appear only when we insist on holding on to old ideas that no longer serve us or our reality.

​Terry Crump, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist, board certified clinical hypnotherapist, and owner of Crump Wellness Services, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. - Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To order your copy of the book, click here.

by Barbara J Hopkinson

Do our spirits really continue?

How do we trust that?

Can we surrender to that belief?
 
When my 21-year-old son Brent died suddenly in a motorcycle accident, it sent me on a multi-year journey to figure out if he was okay and if his spirit really did continue.  At that point, I had gotten away from my Catholic religion and had been working in the international corporate world for years where we were too “busy” to think or talk about such things. 

I didn’t trust any of it, but after that tragedy, I had to find out.

As parents, our #1 job is to protect our children.  I not only needed   hope that my son continued in some form, I needed to confirm his condition, his existence—in any form.  And if I found out there was nothing “after” life here, then at least I’d know.  

I did traditional things like prayer, therapy, and seeking support from family and friends, but I also journaled, learned to meditate, did several kinds of energy healing, went to spiritual development classes, read tons of books, and watched for signs, writing them down.  Two months after Brent’s death, a friend of the family gave me a book written about after-death communications in a very credible way.  Then a couple months later, one of my close friends gave me another book that opened my mid to reincarnation (which I did not then believe in). 

Around that time, I reached out to a medium through a mutual friend, something I had never done before.  I didn’t know what to expect, but was amazed at how “normal” she was and what she knew about my son, mother, and father—things my friend did not know.  I started to hope, to trust . . . but I needed more evidence.  I went to more mediums (referred to me, the best way) and received more and better evidence.

I was also blessed with friends that my son could communicate through to give me messages.  These were people I trusted and did not pay.  After one group meditation, that friend described the flowers Brent gave me for Mother’s Day the year he died, and something I’d put in his casket before closing it, which I told no one about.   She didn’t even know what it was that she was describing, but I knew immediately!  I also saw another friend channel a song from Brent in my living room!  I had a huge emotional reaction and we didn’t know where it came from.  Then she figured it out and he realized she could understand him.  Subsequently, Brent sent her many more messages for me.

One was particularly evident.  I moved into a summer place for a few weeks, where this friend had never been.  I decided to take a walk before unpacking, and on the way back, I got a text from her: “Brent said ‘Be careful going up your front steps, Mom.’”  I smiled, texted “Thanks,” and kept going.  When I got back though, I was amazed!  There was a large crack the length of the front wooden step.  If I’d put my weight on the outside edge, I’d have fallen and hurt myself.  Thank you, Brent!

There are many other signs and examples, and I have started work to chronicle the most credible ones from myself and other families I support in my next book.  I will have these, other books, and many types of resources in my nonprofit’s new web site, coming soon.

These signs bring us hope about our loved ones, and they help us to surrender to the belief that all of our spirits continue and that we can honestly trust that they do!  I hope you can SURRENDER and TRUST.

Barbara J Hopkinson, President and Executive Director of A Butterfly’s Journey nonprofit, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

by Nanette Littlestone

Do you trust other people? 

That question can seem full of contradictions and complications. Perhaps you trust your parents and your best friend, but you resent authority so not your teachers and government officials. Or you’ve been hurt repeatedly by men in the past, so you only trust women. And so on.

What about trusting yourself? That may seem like an obvious, easy yes, but examine this more closely. Have you ever let yourself down? Broken your word? Failed at something so miserably you could never believe in yourself again?

Circumstances and limiting beliefs create patterns of distrust. We come into this world as loving, caring, compassionate beings ready to express all of ourselves. And slowly we learn that all is not joy and bliss. Kids tease and hurt each other. Friends let you down. Your parents can’t or choose not to give you everything you want. That belief that “everything will be okay” gets tarnished and pretty soon you stop trusting. And when you stop trusting, you constrict your energy. You get in the way of the flow of life. You start telling the universe that your world is not well, and the universe responds accordingly.

With everything going on around you – job, relationship, finances, health – it’s easy to get sidetracked and feel out of sync. Especially with the energy upheavals we’re experiencing now. With all the stuff you’re being asked to let go of, it’s a wonder you can get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes all you can do is breathe. Just take a deep breath, put your foot forward, and move. I’ve been stuck in resistance and old beliefs for several months now with health issues. It is so not fun. But I continue to envision my goal of radiant health and my mantra right now is “I look forward to moving forward.”

This October, when the glory of fall blooms in spectacular bursts of color, we take a look at Trust and Surrender. I look forward to moving forward and exploring this with you as our authors share their insights.

Happy fall! Remember to breathe!

​Nanette Littlestone, author, editor, writing coach, and publisher, is a frequent blogger and visionary leader behind F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volumes I and II. To find out more about these books, click here.