Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: surrender

Showing posts with label surrender. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Surrender

At the beginning of 2022, I chose a word— dare. I attempted to live into it. Then a funny thing happened midway through the year. A word slipped into the cracks of my soul whispering into my core. Surrender spoke to me.

Surrender. It took me a bit to really understand what the word meant to me. I thought, “Doesn’t surrender mean giving up?” Not really. Surrender is an act deeper than letting go. It is an openness to what is unfolding — no more struggling to make things work. To surrender is to be in a state of heightened awareness. By surrendering, we move through life’s tangles with an awareness that the tangle has roots.

This surrender is not about giving up — it is about living in anticipation. What do we do with this anticipation? We use it as a spring board to leap into personal transformation. In transforming our self, we become change agents in this messy, uncertain world. In essence, we become detanglers of life’s messy knots.

I realize that surrendering is one of the most difficult stances we will ever take. Surrender calls us to withdraw from action. Surrender is living nonattached to our fears or expectations. We live without clinging to the what-ifs or pushing away this things with which we are averse. We actively notice our triggers and choose to be in ways that will neutralize them. Surrender is a way of being not doing.

In surrendering, we clear the path. We see with clarity our purpose. As we walk the path we anticipate — not expect. We look forward; we open to what is happening instead of putting limits to the unfolding. On this trek into soul purpose, we soften, evolve. We become who we are meant to be as we look past our imperfections.

Surrender says, “Stop fighting. Breathe. Be in the tangle. Learn from the discord. Listen to the quiet of my voice as it leads you through.” When we listen to surrender, we aren’t complacent. Rather, we listen with heightened awareness and act upon our intuition.

My word as I move into 2023 remains surrender. It will be with that word until another word comes whispering through the cracks of my soul and blows on the ember of my being.

Are you ready to surrender into this brave, scary, new world? I hope so, because I am ready to change the world with you.

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. She uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. The result of time with Van? An evolving blueprint for your life that sustains a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Van is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Autumn is Peaking… Time to Let Go & Live!

The leaves are falling and the sky has taken on that decidedly November hue. I realize that Autumn is peaking! As I breathe in the crispness and pile on the layers, I feel the cold nipping at my being. Soon the trees will be bare, and the naked truth revealed.

With the unveiling comes a sense of urgency that ruffles my complacency. It nudges me to wake up. With a groan I shake myself awake and peer into this new, increasingly barren world. What does the March into Autumn have to tell me? I discover the message by listening with my being.

“The time is now,” I hear whispered through the crinkling leaves. “The time is now,” shines through the blustery clouds. “The time is now, do not forget,” Autumn twines into my being.

The time is now for what I ponder? To peer into the changing season with all of my senses. To breathe in the possibility that is already twining through my being. These possibilities nudge me awake. The time is now to joyfully, gratefully walk down my life path. To celebrate my harvest.

Deep within my soul a spark flares. It connects me to the daring, the curiosity, the courage that edges me on. I know that my path doesn’t stop at the harvest. In many ways, my work is just beginning. Now I enter into a time of deep reflection.

As I peer outside my window, I see the reflection of my soul in the changing season. Nature speaks, and, within my soul, is an echo of this beauty. I cannot help but listen to the invitation to reveal who I am.

With all my being, I look at the increasingly barren trees. My sight does not stop there. I peer just beyond them into the mystery of what is coming. Where before the growth prohibited me to look clearly into this place, I can see clearly now.

My dreams once hidden by the glorious growth of summer, are now revealed. All that is left is for me to shuffle through the crinkling leaves and walk toward the horizon of my dreams.

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. The result of time with Van? Being the change you want to see in the world by creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Growing Newness from Mystery

At the end of June I went on a two-day retreat. The cabin in the woods was in the middle of Nowhere, Kentucky. It was a wondrous two days — the ticks even stayed away! To be by myself in the silence was spaciously peace evoking.

I came home and within 7-10 days I knew that something was just not right in my life. Through the cracks of my being something was seeping. As I peered into those cracks, Mystery said, “Look at your life. What needs letting go” I looked. I let go.

I discovered that my schedule was just too busy. A fair amount of the busy was not life giving. In fact, it was life draining. What I actually needed to do wasn’t getting done. I didn’t have the time or energy. So, I decided to put myself on a diet — not the food kind — a diet from the stuff that added to my fatigue and feelings of malaise.

For the rest of the summer I am fasting from nonessential meetings, learning to be okay with saying no, unsubscribing from email lists, and making better decisions — I hope.

After two weeks, I have noticed a change. I am better at slowing the swing of my moods. Last week I actually had two nights during which I slept 7+ hours! I am feeling calmer and can more easily recognize my triggers. Sometimes I even avoid tripping them!

Something mysterious is shooting up through the cracks of my being letting me know that I am on the right track. In those openings I see the magical newness of growth amid the destruction of old. The old is crumbling into compost to nourish the new!

How did I get to this place? By listening to my body/mind/spirit/heart. Discovered what was not feeding me. Then I left go of those things that were draining me. Things are changing because I shifted. I made room for the magical newness to grow from the brokenness, the destruction of the old.

Want to begin? Here are my suggestions: Discover what is taking your energy. Ask yourself before an activity, “What is the level of my energy?" (High energy, mid energy, low energy, or no energy.) Then after the activity, ask yourself again where your energy is. This will give you a clue what to keep and what to let go.

Suggested check-ins:

before & after a conversation or text thread with a friend
before & after talking to your boss
before & after exercising
before & after grocery and/or other shopping
before & after ??????

You can check in before and after any thing that you do. If the activity is taking your energy, ask yourself, “How can I either let go of the activity or modify it to make it more life giving? If you cannot do either, what can you do to better protect yourself?

It is a lifelong process this letting go and gathering in. But, each time you make the decision to take care of you the mystery shoots up through the cracks of your brokenness giving birth to magical newness.

I am a work in progress. So are you.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Don’t

Don’t feel resentment. Don’t be angry. Don’t be afraid. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Have you ever heard the don’ts? I have. In fact, earlier this week, I had someone tell be don’t be resentful…turn it into gratitude. Yeah, right. Like that has worked when you ignore resentment and instead force yourself to feel grateful?

I am the kind of person who follows the rules. It has taken me decades to give myself permission to follow my heart and not some arbitrary rules. This is why the word “don’t” impacts me so much. When someone who I admire talks about not being resentful, instead to find gratitude, I twine into despair. What is wrong with me if I cannot make that leap?

The pit of my stomach falls. Those sticky emotions — resentment, anger, and fear — have me feeling like I am doing something wrong again. Then I return to the comment about turning resentment into gratitude? Is that really true? Should we turn the those sticky feelings into gratitude? It feels like a couple of steps are missing in the process.

Let’s begin with the tendrils of resentment as they tangle around us. When ignored, they cut off our breath. How are we supposed to shift the energy of those feelings? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a wand to wave to make them magically become gratitude.

What do we do? Wallow in what we feel? Of course not. That would be about as productive as shifting 180 into gratitude. How about if we name it, feel it, surrender into it, thank it, and let it go?

Name It

Life has a way of going sideways during time of high emotions. Sometimes we just can’t get paste the feeling into what is at its roots. In those moments, get quiet, breathe, listen to what the emotions is saying. Have a conversation with it. Then name it.

Feel It

We’ve named the emotion. Now feel it. Letting it settle into our being. Just notice without attachment or judgement. We become an objective observer or someone who is witnessing without getting caught in the unfolding emotion.

Surrender Into It

Just be with the emotion. Release any feelings that cling to the emotion. Maybe the feeling is self-righteousness or maybe shame. We don’t hold on to any of that. We acknowledge it, allow the root emotion and the emotion stems to flow over us without us getting caught in its tangle. The emotion runs through its life span. We gain a greater clarity about the root emotion and its tendrils.

Let It Go

Unlike surrender, letting go has an active component. We consciously and intentionally release the emotion. In this stage we discover what the tangle of emotions need to teach us. We may even feel gratitude for the lessons, the challenges that it presents.

Being able to move from resentment or anger or fear is a process. At the end, we may feel gratitude or we may just feel the relief of understanding. It may take moments or days to move through this process. Our emotions are our emotions…they are what the are. As long as we do not use their force to hurt our self or another, then they are ours to engage and release in our own time.

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. The result of time with Van? Creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

what makes all the difference

surrender to what is

acknowledge the fear

kindle the embers of courage

trust in your ability to move through

The world is covered in a dusting of snow. Everything is more beautiful with this thin winter veneer. In the quiet, the world whispers: surrender to what is, acknowledge the fear, kindle the embers of courage, trust in the ability to move through.

That seems like a tall order, doesn’t it? If you attempt to master all the suggestions at once, yes. But, begin with surrender, and moving on to acknowledging, kindling, and trusting become more doable. You know, put one foot in front of another or the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Surrender to what is

Surrender doesn’t begin with the actual letting go. It starts with recognizing and naming what is holding you in stasis. Surrender is possible only when you recognize how you are attached — what you cling to or what you push away. It is about understanding that you cannot have an objective perspective until you surrender to what is.

Surrender doesn’t meant giving up; it is about gaining a new perspective. When you surrender, you begin the untangling process. Knots loosened, you are able to fully breathe into the moment by focusing on what truly is.

Acknowledge the fear

Once you surrender, uncomfortable things happen. All of these ignored or hidden emotions rise to the surface. If you haven’t quite surrendered into the moment, this onslaught may overwhelm you. But once you surrender, you can dive deep into whatever emotion is lurking in the deep. Surrender-swim through the emotion to the root. Connect objectively to what is causing consternation.

More often than not, my uncomfortable emotions are rooted in fear. Acknowledging the fear no matter how uncomfortable brings a new awareness — the awareness of the embers of our courage.

Kindle the embers of courage

To acknowledge our fear is to kindle the embers of our courage. This kindling is only the beginning. Courage sparks deep into the recesses of our being shedding light onto our illusions. With courage we see the reality of fear — maybe life becomes less scary with this new perspective or maybe through the scariness we devise a way through the illusions.

Trust in your ability to move through

If these past few years have thought me nothing else, they have shown me that life is uncertain, chaotic, and disconcerting. I don’t know about you, but I often navigate through this challenging time imperfectly. I’ve learned that perfect or imperfect, however I show up in the moment, is really okay.

An amazing thing happens when I trust in my ability to move through a given situation. I realize that no matter how I navigate through the moment, I am doing exactly what I need as long as I am aware. Sometimes I need to feel the evenness of getting it right — being as perfect as I can be. Other times, I need to own my imperfections and learn from my missteps. That learning and owning require that I trust in my courageous ability to surrender to the uncertainty.

This journey that we take? It is about me…it’s about you…it’s about how each of us navigates through this life. In the end our abilities to surrender, acknowledge, kindle, and trust are what makes all the difference in our world.

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating those places may scare us. The result of time with Van? Creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.