Surrender Meditation, trusting the universe hello and welcome to this guided meditation my name Jason Stephenson. Over the course of the next half hour or so we will begin transforming our fear and disappointment into trust and hope. We will let go of our need for complete control. Surrendering to the love and wisdom of the universe. Thank you for joining us in this process.
“Competence and perseverance are admirable qualities for so many aspects of our lives. From interpersonal relationships to goal setting, we pride ourselves on choosing our mark, aiming and hitting it dead center. We move through our lives with accuracy, diligence and compassion and yet even our best intentions and carefully laid plans can bring us stress, anxiety and depression sometimes.
When the unexpected happens our carefully built scaffolding trembles as the ground on which it is built begins to shift. If you have felt an earthquake or even just a tremor in your life lately, this meditation is for you.
Finding a comfortable place now.
Either sitting or laying down.
Closing your eyes gently and relax.
Taking a deep breath in and sending that breath all the way to the bottom of your diaphragm. Hold in that breath for a few seconds … and then releasing that breath. You may like to give that breath a color as it’s going in. A lighter color that you breath in and on the breath out, releasing tension it might be a darker color. So just over the course of this next minute, I’d like you just to focus now on your breathing.
Breathing In and holding and releasing any stress or tension.
As we journey a little further into this meditation.
Take a moment to name whatever has shifted in your life…it could be a happy occurrence like the beginning of a new relationship or the birth of a child. Perhaps it is a sad occurrence like the death of a family member or loss of a job. Maybe this part of your life is neutral. A new goal, a change in objective or some other unexpected twist. Whatever it is, it is out of your control.
This could be deeply freighting at times. In much of the western world, we are taught that control, objectives and contingency plans are what will keep us safe. You probably have a plan for any given area of your life. A back up plan in case that doesn’t work out and an absolutely worst case scenario and how you would cope with it.
There is nothing wrong with this and in fact thinking strategically usually reduces anxiety and results in excellent outcomes. But what this mindset doesn’t teach you is that you can’t control everything.
Even if you are a centered-compassionate being. This is deeply unsettling. Yet past this fear lies peace. A peace that is impossible to disrupt. Over the course of the next few minutes, we will journey into the all and compassing serenity.
As we go you may encounter painful or freighting memories, beliefs and possibilities. All I ask is that, as we walk through this soulful process you continue on. Myself and thousands of people who will listen to this exact meditation are with you as you confront the things that hold you back. No matter what happens you are safe.
So take a few deep breaths and allow your muscles to soften. You are safe. From the tips of your toes, your ankles, feet they are safe and relaxed. Your calf muscle-supple and relaxed. Your knees, thighs, hips, relaxed. Surrender. Let the bottom half of your body surrender. Your stomach, chest, back, neck- supple, relaxing and nurtured. Release your head, shoulders, arms, right down to your fingertips.
Trust in the process.
Feel the freedom. Release. Your face- softens. eyes, nose, mouth, ears, let go. Surender. Your mind opens, expands and is safe. It’s free, it’s letting go.
In all of the universe….in every galaxy, there exists only one thing that you can control. That thing, That magnificent loving being is you. You cannot control the weather. You cannot control another person’s actions. At best you can offer love and respect for each person’s freedom. At worst you can attempt to manipulate others to do your beating either through psychological tactics or force. You can only control you. Yet you are a universe within yourself.
A vast sea of emotional processes. A garden of biology, a creature capable of surviving at the bottom of the sea or on another planet, thanks to the contributions of other beings like you.
You are totally unique- a heady cocktail of experiences, memories and passions that will never ever be created the same way again. You have almost infinite choices in every moment. What to do, how to react, when to do it… and yet they are your choices. They are the only things that you can control. If this realization feels painful or foreign, embrace it. If it feels freeing, welcome it.
Something greater than us exists. It doesn’t matter if you follow a specific faith, tradition, a general spirituality or nothing at all.
However you understand the greater intelligence and purpose of the universe. You know that something created the world around you. Some greater order keeps it safe.
Breath-in this love.
Breath-in this safety.
Breath-in the greater intelligence that surrounds you and is within you.
You are born of the universe and you are treasured by it. This higher consciousness whether you call it love or god or any number of other names, is caring for you every moment of everyday. It is responsible for the shift, the delicate earthquake that has disrupted your life. Whether you realize it or not this gentle rumbling is happening for a reason.
Take a moment now to let go, drift off, float free into the stars of the universe knowing all the while you are 100% safe and nurtured.
There is an old celtic legend that says, just before each person is born they are allowed to choose all the hardships they will experience during their lifetime. In this tradition, everyone selects the challenges that they will be able to overcome. The situations and conditions that will push them to learn and grow. But that would not defeat them.
What if your toughest moments have been selected because someone or something knew you could not fail at them. How would you feel? Would you act differently than you have been up until now?
Trust.
Trust is a word we use often, although at times it means different things.
Do you trust that there is meaning in what you are experiencing right now?
Do you trust that you will learn from this change?
Do you trust that the universe is watching out for you? Even in your darkest moment, nurturing you into an even more beautiful being. For many of us we cannot trust without loosening our hold on control. We cling to beliefs, habits and people that feel safe.
Hanging on to rotting logs instead of letting the benevolent waters of life carry us into worlds more beautiful than we can ever imagine. This is a logical instinct. One developed through millennia of striving and surviving as human beings. Holding on to something ugly at least means knowing what you have.
Letting go, opening yourself to possibilities and releasing the need to manage everything, is both terrifying and deeply freeing. Could you surrender your need for control?
Letting yourself float into the paradise the universe wants to share with you. Breath-in peace, let go of control. Breath-in new possibilities, let go of any stagnant ways on your breath out. Breath-in a new paradise. Float within it.
Let go and surrender to this.
Many times for many of us we grasp at things or events because we know what we want. A particular romantic partner, A job at a certain company, a body that looks a certain way. Understanding exactly what we desire helps direct our action and attention toward a particular goal.
But what we often overlook are the things outside our control. You could be the most charming, attractive person in the entire world and that special someone still might not be interested. You could have the best interview in the history of interviews and still might not be selected for that job. You could be an olympian and still not achieve that physical goal.
Some things aren’t possible and we don’t know which they are. If this seems disheartening, all you need to do is shift your perspective a little bit. On your breath-In.
Breath-In compassion for yourself, for others. On your breath-out. Let go of control…of fear. If you knew everything that was going to happen or if you got exactly what you wanted all of the time, you wouldn’t grow much as a person. You wouldn’t have as much fun.
Today’s terrible first date is tomorrow’s bedtime story for your grandchildren. Losing your job today might pave the way for a career so fulfilling you can’t imagine it right now. The universe is trying to give, what you want but it may not look the way you expect it to.
If we orchestrate our lives down to the finest detail, we leave no room for pleasant surprises, exhilarating adventure and the deep wisdom that comes only from failure. Would you rather have a life full of bland safe experiences? Or spend each day in writers laughter, earth shaking love, meaningful companionship and the tears that come from seeking and achieving it.
Letting go of control, allowing our lives’ careful architecture to shift with the changes we experience requires intense vulnerability. Like surrender-vulnerability is often marked in contemporary wisdom culture and yet vulnerability is not weakness.
Instead it is the willingness to drop your facade to experience your feelings and life’s happenings with every part of your being. It is the willingness to trust your intuition, the universe and even the web of people. 7billion people, who are seeking the same things as you. You are a small ship on a vast and majestic river. The current will carry you, where you want to go. If only you stop trying to row upstream.
In a day or a week or perhaps even a year you will look back on this difficult time with fondness. No matter what happens at this very moment you are learning and changing, being carried into beautiful new awareness by a kind loving presence.
You can only control yourself. But you are enough to enact big changes on the world. Love, compassion, Trust and vulnerability are your tools and with them you can do everything.
I and your fellow companions on this journey through life, know you will not only succeed but thrive.
You are a masterpiece in progress. Believe and anything is possible.
Namaste.”
I Decided to do a scrip of my favorite guided meditation. I will use this meditation when I am at a crossroads in life and it always has an answer for me. Thank you Jason for this masterpiece. Check it out his other work at www.jasonstephenson.net – You won’t be disappointed.
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