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One of my favorite authors is Michael Singer, writer of the NY Times Bestseller The Untethered Soul. In a lecture I attended, Michael discussed the idea of “living a life of surrender.” He explained—the Universe has been unfolding for 13.8 billion years and will continue to unfold whether we like it or not, so why not like it! Since trying to control the world is pointless, why not focus our efforts on something we can control—like how we react to life as it unfolds.
YES, we all have free will! We get to accept the natural flow of life or resist it. I will attempt to explain this often-misunderstood concept of surrender. During our lifetime, we all accumulate a long list of preferences—our likes and dislikes. This is simply a part of being human. We use these preferences as a means to control the world around us, an attempt to feel safe and secure. On rare occasions we get lucky and it actually works! Yes, all the stars align and for a brief moment, we feel like we are in the zone. Unfortunately, these temporary moments of flow are surrounded by days filled with anxiety, fear, and worry. The truth is, when we resist life’s natural flow, the end result will always be suffering and dis-ease.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could live in the flow fulltime? I have great news—you can!
When you begin to AWAKEN, you will discover that this protective bubble you’ve created has become your prison, limiting you from living life to its fullest expression. Although this discovery was a huge aha moment for me, fear of the unknown kept me in this prison for many years.
Okay, this all sounds great, but how do I awaken? What does this mean?? That’s a good question. In a nutshell, awakening requires a simple shift in awareness.
I believe we are all born into this world as Body and Soul, both equally important for life’s journey. During our early development we create a Bodyguard. This mind-made self was conceived to protect us through the School of Life. As a matter of fact, we become so accustomed to taking orders from our loyal Bodyguard that we completely forget about our Soul. Have no shame. This is all part of a Master Plan. The Soul will go into hibernation for now. You see, man cannot serve two masters and we have much to learn about human nature. Our survival depends on it!
The School of Life can be a long and often painful process. It is designed to strengthen us (body and mind) for the amazing adventure that lies ahead. We will graduate from ‘school’ when we finally grow tired of life’s pain, suffering, and struggles—when we have the courage to look within for answers. This isn’t some hocus-pocus concept. I mean this literally. We will all eventually close our eyes, shift our focus inward, and ask the question—Is there more to life than this? In a mystical way, pain is good, leading us all to this moment of surrender. In this quiet time of reflection (contemplation/meditation), we will rediscover the Soul.
Yes, the Sleeping Giant will begin to ‘awaken’. I’ve written a book describing this process called AWAKEN the Sleeping Giant.
Anyway, when you begin to awaken, becoming aware of your Divine Nature, your fear will dissipate. You will no longer feel alone. Once again, man cannot serve two masters—but now it’s time to return control to your Higher Self. Our loyal Bodyguard has done the best he or she could, but it’s time now to shift from surviving to thriving. YOU ARE NOW READY to explore what Michael Singer calls ‘a life of surrender’. To live in a non-resistant state of being is not a new concept. This can actually be traced back thousands of years to Buddhism. One of the primary tenets of Buddhism says all of life is suffering caused by our desires. This noble truth was confusing to me until I heard the Dalai Lama explain it this way—Desires are not necessarily bad. All humans have desires. It might be easier to understand if we use the word “dissatisfaction.”
All of life is suffering caused by our dissatisfaction. We are dissatisfied with what is and desire things to be different. WOW! This is perfectly clear to me now. These so called “desires” are the same as the “preferences” I mentioned earlier. We are not happy with the way life is naturally unfolding. Since the word “surrender” carries such a negative connotation, I prefer to call this philosophy, Living a Surprise Party Life. To be in the flow, we must live every day with a childlike joy, excitement, and wonder for what’s next!
My wife and I decided years ago to embrace this way of life. It’s like we have an inside joke. When unexpected or challenging events pop-up, we race to see who will be the first to shout SURPRISE!
Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean life becomes all rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes we are laughing and sometimes we are crying—but we are no longer fighting (resisting) the natural flow of life.
Again, this concept is often misunderstood. For example, I recently did a radio interview for my book. When I spoke about my Surprise Party life philosophy, the host asked, doesn’t this mean you are being complacent or passive? I quickly made clear that the opposite was true! I used my wife’s experience as a karate instructor to help me explain. She told me they would teach their students to stand in a “neutral position”—weight evenly balanced on both feet. When you are not leaning in one direction or another, it’s very difficult to get knocked down. This is a great analogy. ‘Leaning’ obviously refers to having preferences. When I have all my weight on one foot, life will constantly be knocking me on my butt.
Craig Kolavo - Author
This is my prayer 🙏🏿 for you throughout November….
“I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my daily prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of your calling, and what the riches of the glory of your inheritance is, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power is to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power that is within us.
