What it means to live in a state of surrender

Energetically, surrender is a place of acceptance, open-mindedness and intuition. If you begin here, any action you take will be more aligned.

Today, I’m reflecting on what it means to live in a state of surrender.

To clarify first and foremost, surrender is NOT giving up. Surrender is letting go, going with the flow, releasing.

There is that classic image of the soldier putting down their weapon and throwing their hands in the air, saying ‘I surrender’. To run with this image, the action of surrender shows a willingness to put down one’s weapons and give up the fight. Maybe it’s to pass victory to a more powerful force, or to welcome the possibility of a new way of going about the fight. Nonetheless, giving up the fight is exactly what I’m getting at.

When we are fighting, we are in the hustle. We are working and doing, using our productivity and power of force to make things happen. The idea here is: If I work hard enough, (if I put in enough time and muscle) I will get to where I want to be going. Energetically, this is the epitome of the masculine.

To give up the fight is to embrace BEING rather than DOING. It is to honour the flow, and the cyclical nature of life. It is to trust in the guidance of a higher power; to know that you’re not going this alone. It is to give up control, in realising that control is an illusion to begin with. Energetically, this is the epitome of the feminine.

The key, I believe, is to finely balance both, but to always start with surrender. Energetically, surrender is a place of acceptance, open-mindedness and intuition. If you begin here, any action you take will be more aligned and purposeful.

Here are three ways you can practice surrender:

1. Begin each day with surrender

The idea is to find that place (emotionally) of ease and acceptance right off the bat. You set the tone for the day first thing in the morning. How you achieve this is up to you. Perhaps it’s making a cup of tea and enjoying it with a book. Maybe it’s going for a walk. For me, it’s journalling and meditation.

2. When you find yourself in the fight, put down your weapon

This takes mindfulness as you go about your day. Literally, this may mean walking away when you find yourself in conflict with somebody. Stopping to grab some water or fresh air when you’re overworking and tying yourself in knots. Noticing when you’re stressed and pausing to breathe. It may even mean taking the day off to rest and release.

3. Pause regularly to appreciate

Appreciation is vibrationally the best and quickest way you can practice the energy of acceptance. Appreciation can be practiced by simply acknowledging the things that you love about your life right now, and looking for things in your immediate environment that please you.

If it feels easy, it probably is. If it feels hard, you’re likely overthinking it.

Surrender is a feeling process. It is matter of learning to lean on your emotional guidance and intuition over force and action.

Meditation is one of the best ways of practicing surrender. Follow this link to download my free 7 minute ‘happy place’ meditation for freedom and calm.