SURRENDER DOROTHY!

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“If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again”

~Robin Wall Kimmerer

First of all let me apologize to any Dorothy’s out there for targeting you.  You were not meant to be singled out!

One of my very favorite movies of all time is The Wizard of Oz.  For whatever reason whenever I hear the word “surrender” I see the Wicked Witch of the West riding her broom in the sky with the words “Surrender Dorothy” miraculously spelled out of the cloud formations.

Little did this very naughty witch realize that “surrender” allows and precipitates all kinds of possibilities to come into our lives, as opportunities and allies that would never have emerged if we did not simply let go and find the hidden power in our own vulnerability.

These days the global pandemic affecting millions of people and economies, as well as planetary shifts, essentially demands that we surrender and acknowledge there is, at the deepest level, no control or certainty. For most this is a vulnerable place where our deepest primal fear of death resides.

We all have woven a tapestry of identity that is familiar, and for the most part comfortable for us.  During challenging times part of the tapestry comes apart and normally we simply “repair” it and go on with our lives.

However, at this time you may have felt that someone pulled hard on one of the threads of your tapestry identity and it all came undone at once.

Perhaps we could call this time on our planet “The Great Unraveling”.

Dorothy in the Oz story ended up being empowered by surrendering to her own innate wisdom, intuition, resiliency and power, and that of her loyal companions.  But it didn’t come without great disorientation and fear.

After all her entire identity and home space shifted all at once! She was forced to see her life from a different perspective and to join with other companions whom she grew to trust.

I see this happening now with so many doing acts of kindness, compassion and donating time and skills to others in need and to our planets health.  A global community becoming more consciously connected and innovative.

The power to transform is embedded in challenges such as we are currently experiencing. Even within the ordinary daily ups and downs on the roller coaster of “normal” life.  Where something seems to be taken away there is always a new possibility or opportunity for change that emerges  in right timing.

Opportunities to surrender and let go seem to be so numerous these days it is easy to be overwhelmed.  We are so intimately connected that a lot of what you may be experiencing is the global fear, grief and at times panic that is affecting us all at some time or another.

In other words, others emotions and energy.  It is important to know this and release what is not yours, as well as face your own simply by acknowledging and then letting go, instead of “something to be worked on”.   Allow this opening and release to transform your inner world and perspective.

Re-weave your tapestry to reflect your innate sense of  belonging and the embodied artistry you are here to express.

Three weeks ago within a 2-day period I experienced a lay off from my job, a necessary move during sheltering at home, and a dear friend hearing her cancer had progressed.

In those moments I realized clearly that I had choice.  Just a breath away was the potential for an active surrender – a dissolution of patterned boundaries and an emptying out.

This conscious decision, amidst all the inner voices directing to mobilize and attempt some control of the situations, allowed the unfolding of circumstances that could not have been planned for, or even seen the possibility of, if staying contracted in fear, doubt, worry, anxiety and re-action.

How does it feel to surrender control and certainty…..and trust the unfolding?

Spaciousness, freedom and release where alternate possibilities emerge with a shift in perspective….

and strength, knowing and resiliency reside.

A return to trusting the unfolding of life.

I now live on 20 wooded acres near to the South Yuba River in Nevada City, California, have been accepted for unemployment benefits, and my friend has heard more hopeful news since the day we talked about having a more intimate relationship with dying,

Yes, these are challenging times. Yes, they take all of who we are, and are becoming, to meet and navigate.  Yet our world is ripe for a consciousness shift on so many levels and in so many domains.  All within cooperative connection with others, and communing with the natural world through our senses.

With surrender comes opportunity partnered with vulnerability.  This has the potential to transparently unlock possibilities for change and increased well being.

With letting go comes a new found strength and resiliency that has been there all along.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

 

Are you ready to surrender?


Free Audio Surrender Guidance:  It is advised that you find a very comfortable space and position to listen to this guidance on surrender.  Either lying down with support for head/neck and low back or sitting in a comfortable reclining chair that feels safe and puts you at ease, or a sacred space in nature. If you have an eye mask or a soft piece of cloth you can place over your eyes to relax them and block out distraction, then do so.   Give yourself this gift of time devoted on behalf of your own well being, and that of others whose life you touch.

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Copyright by Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 4/22/20

 

fudFU5HITISbHxdruQsnEg copyGAYE ABBOTT lives and thrives in Northern California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains where she communes with hummingbirds, flowers, plants and wild things.  Communing with nature is her favored activity along with ecstatic dance, Wisdom Healing Qigong at sunrise and sunset, volunteering in her community, laughing out loud and enjoying her family and friends with great appreciation and gratitude!

She is available for guidance/energy sessions via phone, Zoom or Skype.  Contact via the “Contact” tab on this site. Two hands at my heart…..

 

The Open Palm

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Life as it really is dictates that we will go through periods of discomfort. Sometimes minor and at other times incredibly challenging like death of a loved one or serious illness. This very discomfort reminds us that we are alive, as do the moments of pure joy and happiness. There is no good or bad here. It is ALL life unfolding – creatively being brought forth and then falling away.

Surfing the waves of change requires a presence of complete attention and devotion to what I will call here surrender. Without this practice the personal conversations take us on side trips where we can get lost and, at times, unable to find our way out for a very long period of time. If we were on a surf board we may be dumped upside down under the water!

That is until we realize that everything falls away, and new spaces open up. All we have to do is trust.

This past two weeks I have been bombarded by what I could construe as “loss” in the domain of money. As my personal conversations gathered together in anxious and survival based actions to storm the castle walls of change, my body was breached as defenses went down and the immune system sank. Strategic planning around how to avoid worst case scenarios was part of the battle plan.

Now, if you read the above paragraph again you will see language that speaks to the “all out war” approach of tackling a situation that is perceived to be threatening survival. The thoughts and conversations were literally and figuratively creating havoc with peace of mind and well being, and at the same time diminishing the possibility for actions that would get the required results – that in turn would open even more possibility.

Shifting attention inwardly immediately brought the ego/personal conversations to a screaming halt (sometimes it does scream in frustration when either not listened to or attention is deflected away)! What was being called for here?

Certainly not a grasping of actions to take – a “battle plan” if you will…..but instead an “open palm approach” where deep surrender was called for. A shift into operating from a place of simply Being. The personal thoughts and conversations were actually roadblocks, and at times insurgents against life lived in peaceful flow and trust.

As each situation encountered or personal thought of how things “should be” done, one truth kept coming forward. The necessity for absolute trust in the creative force of life unfolding the exact possibilities to take effective action on with heart and soul – that would then create the results required to bring more life and dignity.

Letting go of the grasping of how things should be we find the possibilities and absolute freedom that we have been seeking and yearning for all along.

How did this show up in my life as I surrendered to this unfolding of life? Full breath reinstated in the body and physical well being returned; a loan was funded to assist with the present circumstances; other sources of income started showing up; a new book release, The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer, supported and assisted the shift (see review below); saying YES to opportunities presenting themselves, without resistance or “background conversations”, was more often the answer given; and even a shower drain in the house that had been slow and often blocked for an entire year opened up without any assistance.

Trusting the flow of the living systems of how life operates from the deepest reservoirs of Source demands the open palm of surrender…..and full life giving breath.  The butterfly can then be free to fly away…..

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surrender-smallcover2The Surrender Experiment: My Journey Into Life’s Perfection by Michael Singer

When I first saw on the IONS website that Michael Singer had a new book out, The Surrender Experiment, My Journey Into Life’s Perfection—something within me knew that this was to be a perfect catalyst to complete the transition I was presently deeply in process with. That indeed proved to be correct as I journeyed with the author from the 1970’s to present time.

This is not a “how to”, technique, or even spiritual practice manual – but instead a clear and relevant declaration on how life really operates, absolutely supporting the embodiment of peaceful well being, while stimulating effective action taken from the depths of heart and soul.

The author has transparently presented his unique journey, which of course is fascinating in and of itself. However, what opened me was his devoted practice of “witnessing” ever constant thoughts, and clearly “leaning back” from them – surrendering – into a place of simple Being, where the creative Source of all life elegantly evolves and unfolds.

What struck me through each situation he encountered, or each personal thought of how things “should be”, was the absolute trust in the force of life unfolding that over time, was developed and practiced even in the most challenging circumstances. This is what I call the practice of trusting the unfolding of our lives. For it is when we simply open our palms and let go of the grasping of how things should be that we find the possibilities and freedom that we have been seeking and yearning for all along.

Thank you Michael Singer for an elegant and soul Sourced reminder of the possibilities inherent in being human and to being of service in the world.

Reviewed by Gaye Abbott, author of Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath: Weekly Breathing Spaces to Delight, Rest and Reflect In

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NATURAL PASSAGES CONSULTING

Inspiring New Possibilities, Living From the Heart of Life While Co-creating Well Being of Body, Being, Heart and Planet….One Breath At A Time

http://www.GayeAbbott.com

Gaye Abbott, RYT assists individuals to dissolve the layers that block well being and reveal, through a combination of the energy medicine of Jin Shin Jyutsu, yoga therapy and breath re-patterning, and as spiritual mentor/guide/coach, the larger purpose and co-creative expression that we are here for.

For those interested in receiving private sessions please contact Gaye at: JoyfulGaye@NaturalPassages.com.  Travel to your location in the U.S. or globally is available as is Skype mentoring/coaching.  Please inquire. 

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Language is fundamental to who we are as biological beings and is the primary vehicle for taking effective action in our lives. It inherently carries within it our identity in the world and the potential for connection and collaboration.

As an advanced practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu I am able to see and work with the connection between the body’s energy system and that of language. Conversations actually live in our bodies. Words hold energy that stimulate our biology in various ways.

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