The Power of Surrendering - Navigate Stressful Situations with Ease
The topic for this evening was heavily inspired by a book that we read and read again in 2024. It’s called “It’s Not Your Money” by Tosha Silver. The premise of the book was about so much more than money. It was about strengthening our connection to the universe, to God, to creator, to mother earth…whoever you see as the higher power. The title you give her actually doesn’t matter.
And to be honest that’s what I originally thought the book was about but as I reflect on it, I think it’s not so much about strengthening our connection rather uncovering it, remembering it. It is always there. God never lets us go or never turns a blind eye. It is us that usually forgets to nurture the relationship.
I want to read you the main prayer in the book. It’s called the:
Full Abundance Change Me Prayer
Divine Beloved, allow me to give with complete ease and abundance.
Knowing that you are the unlimited source of all.
Let me be an easy open conduit for your prosperity.
Let me trust that all my own needs are always met in amazing ways. And that it’s safe to give freely as my heart guides.
And equally, let me feel wildly open to receiving.
May I know my own value, beauty, and worthiness without question.
Let me allow others the supreme pleasure of giving to me. May I feel worthy to receive in every possible way.
Change me into one who can fully love, forgive and accept myself so I may carry your light without restriction.
Let everything that needs to go, go.
Let everything that needs to come, come.
I am utterly your own.
You are me. I am you. We are one.
***
It’s funny because every time I reflect on this prayer, it hits me in a different way. I read something different I guess depending on what I am experiencing in my life and what I need. When I was writing this content, what stuck out for me was the part about knowing my own value, of feeling worthy of receiving. And especially…
“Change me into one who can fully love, forgive and accept myself so I may carry your light without restriction.”
It occurred to me for the first time that in all of my self abuse over the years, you know the hateful ego voice in the head…I’m not good enough, I’m too broke, too short, too chubby, I’m not successful enough…whatever the self loathing of the day may have been, I wasn’t just hurting myself, I wasn’t standing in my purpose. I wasn’t carrying Creator’s light without restriction.
I was so distracted by “my” stuff, I didn’t notice that I was disconnected from all of you…(because we are all universally connected) aND I was disconnected from Creator. And what does this disconnection lead to?
Stress
Isolation
Loneliness
Anxiety
A sense of hopelessness
Even more self loathing
Fear
And if we are all universally connected, and if I’m feeling all of those negative things, then that is what I was putting out to the universe … making that my offering. And that just won’t do.
CONTROL
When we feel like we are all alone in this life experience, and that feeling generally comes up when we are feeling stress, the first thing we always try to do is control everything. Right? Does that sound familiar?
For example, if I am feeling financial stress (which a lot of people do over christmas), I’m going to control my finances by micro-managing everything. I’m going to go into a 24/7 work mode and try to think my way through it. I’m going to create tons of content and programs, I’m going to do a ton of social media stuff which I loath. I’m going to be pretty miserable and how good will that content be? Probably not great…because the energy I’m putting into it is stressful and fear based. And who wants to buy that?
What if I surrendered?
What if I let go of control?
What if I set down the false belief that I am doing this earth/life thing all on my own?
What if I trusted that Creator hadn’t forgotten me. That I wasn’t alone. That my connection to you and you and you was stronger than ever and I could rely on the universal web of strong supportive women (and men) to show me the way to carry creator’s light without restriction.
Then what?
I surrender my fears and worries to creator. I ask her to carry them for me. I ask her to walk beside me on this journey. And how do I do that? Prayer. (christianity doesn’t have the patent on that.) And then I trust that the universe has my back and I let go of my worries or in other words I surrender. My mindset shifts and suddenly…the big ball of black tar in my gut known as worry dissipates and my mind clears…
And I create programs from a place of love and creator’s light and it feels wonderful and people buy my stuff because it feels wonderful for them too. And all is well. And just like that I am carrying creators light without restriction. But I couldn’t have done it alone. And it took the awareness that I am never alone to be here now…with you.
And that is the POWER OF SURRENDERING.
Now, as we know the universe is in a constant state of ebb and flow. And our faith is no different. Sometimes it’s easy to stand in faith and sometimes fear wins and we are sure that we are doing it all alone. But just remember you’re not. How do we shake that feeling? Go for a walk in nature, have a hot bath, go out for a tea with friends. Have a nap and trust that this too shall pass.
Now the power of surrendering doesn’t mean that we just sit around and do nothing and hope that our world will get better on its own. We surrender the thoughts and the fears and the worries and when we let go of those, it’s like a path is cleared in the clutter of our minds and we can see the next right actions. With surrender comes clarity. And that will look different for all of us.
It might mean leaving a relationship or a job.
It might be letting go of a toxic friendship.
It might mean saying yes to some things that you have been saying no to for reasons unknown.
It might mean speaking your truth.
It might mean allowing people the supreme pleasure of giving to you.
It might mean letting down your walls and welcoming love back into your heart.
Clarity has many different masks…be open to them all and invite them in.
Questions for Reflection:
How does the idea of surrendering make you feel?
What do you think about the idea of being all universally connected?
The Eastern theory of non-duality says we are all connected. We are connected with everything that exists—everything is connected. When you think about it, that means there is no “we.” There is no “everything.” All is one.
Another way to look at it….
The concept of universal connection. Nothing in the world stands by itself. Every object is a link in an endless chain and is thus connected with all the other links. And this chain of the universe has never been broken; it unites all objects and processes in a single whole and thus has a universal character.
3. Do you have a recurring stressor?
So I promised you that after this session, you would be able to navigate stressful situations with ease… so let’s make a plan.
Identify your stressful situation.
Name it. What is the monster in your closet right now?
Decide if this really is a stressful situation or is it just a thought that you are dramatizing for daytime television. (Hormones can do that.)
So be really honest with yourself. Is this stressful situation real?
Name the feelings that are coming up for you surrounding this stressful situation. Write them down.
Surrender these emotions to the Universe or God or Creator.
Your prayer might look like this; Dear God, I am literally exhausted. I don’t want to carry these worries about XYZ anymore. Please take them and carry them for me so that I may be free from the burden they put upon me.
Visualize releasing these to the higher power of your understanding.
When you feel calmer about the situation, notice if you can see a resolution or solution or more positive outcome coming into focus.
Now don’t force this. It can’t come from your ego or thinking mind. It will come from your connection to source. Your job is to clear the clutter in your mind and you can only do that by letting go and relaxing.
Stop telling the story about your stress
Dwelling in the negative will keep you in the negative.
Let it go.