24th March 2015

By Lissa Rankin MD

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

We live in a culture that says that the only way to get what you want is to DO DO DO and then DO some more. Push. Struggle. Make it happen. Put your nose to the grindstone. Work your ass off. Try. And never ever give up.

I once believed this was true. Surrender was something I only did after everything else my ego knew how to do had failed. Once I had exhausted every available option, I would fall to my knees, usually in tears, and surrender to the Divine.

Now I know there’s a whole other way to live, where surrender isn’t a last ditch effort once you’ve given up. It’s a spiritual practice wherein you surrender first, not because there aren’t actions to be taken, but because you trust that living in alignment with Divine Will is more easeful, more gratifying, and ultimately more fulfilling on a deep soul level than constantly chasing after the ego’s ever-grasping, never satisfied desires.

This Is Not the Law of Attraction

Maybe you’ve already realized the insanity of trying to push, strive, and make things happen in the traditional way, and so now you’ve traded it all in by practicing “the law of attraction.” Instead of grinding away trying to get what you want, you’re now visualizing, vision boarding, and affirming that which your ego wants in order to “manifest” what you desires.

But isn’t that just another form of “doership?” Now, instead of pushing and striving, you’re pushing and striving in your efforts to manifest your desires. What if there’s a whole other way of living? What if, instead of attaching to what your ego desires, you’re willing to let the Divine take the lead, allowing whatever is in the highest good come into being, regardless of what your ego desires? What if you’re willing to offer all your desires up to the Divine and then be brave enough to follow the spiritual guidance that directs you to the highest, even if you’re lead away from what you think you want? Would you be willing to trust that something higher than your ego has your best interests at heart? Would you be willing to let your Inner Pilot Light take the lead in your life, instead of keeping your ego in control of your decision-making?

Outrageous Openness

SNIP