Surrendering to Our Inner Reality

I believe that as human beings we each come into the world to do something wonderful with our lives. We each have a potential that demands to be fulfilled and when we fail to do so, we are constantly reminded from within that we are falling short of the best that we can be. In short, our lives demand personal excellence. Our lack of fulfilment creates an internal yearning to want to do more with our lives, although we may not be exactly sure what we should be doing. Our failure to live out our divine potential can result in deep frustration and inner turbulence, thus generating a state of unhappiness even when we are surrounded by an abundance of the material things of life. Sadly, we often go to great lengths to pretend that all is well, although we are greatly tortured on the inside. Our internal frustrations tend to play out in our external behaviours by our over-indulgence in the sensual pleasures we get from alcohol, drugs, sex and insatiable greed. It is also expressed in the anger, anti-social behaviours, aggression and violence that permeate our homes, institutions and communities.

 

In my workshops I am always amazed by the number of people who are bogged down in the midst of life, bored, frustrated, angry with themselves, tired and questioning the purpose of life. They often speak of a deep sense of internal emptiness, often in sharp contrast to their external posturing.

What about you? Are you questioning your life? Can you trust yourself? Are your behaviours falling short of your own expectations? Are you confused, unsure of yourself and failing to make the progress that you really want to make? Are you marking time, feeling at a loss and highly stressed for extended periods or perhaps you are even depressed? Do you find yourself waiting on others to determine what you should be doing with your life? If so, you are externally dependent and lack the personal strength to propel your life to- wards fulfilment. You may wait forever if you fail to recognise that you have the power to think and to action your life towards greater fulfilment. When you are powerless you lack the awareness of your inner power of self-control and you keep groping for power outside of yourself. It means that you do not know your inner power and you are asleep to your true strengths—you are trapped in your outer reality. 

 

As a human being you have two choices. You can surrender to the outer world—your outer reality—or you can surrender to the inner self—your inner reality.The first choice is the path of least resistance and easy. It is surrendering to the material world and the pursuit of a life of satisfying the sensual pleasures. It will certainly bring you some short-term happiness but, unfortunately, it is a sure route to most of the misery that you may be now experiencing or will experience in your life. Interestingly, most people understand this but lack the inner power and self-discipline to do otherwise. And this is how many people get trapped in a permanent state of unhappiness and its associated miseries. The second choice is surrendering to your inner self towards achieving greater self-awareness and inner power. In order to do so, you must first be able to trust yourself. You must know that your inner self is your inner guide to help you bring out the best of yourself and that it will never lead you astray. It is only through your inner self that you can be guided to discover your true mission in life. It is your inner self that provides you with your moral anchor and leads you to experience feelings of guilt when you have done something wrong. When you discover and surrender to your inner self you become more aware of what my good friend and acclaimed South African poet, Don Mattera, calls “the human epicentre.” This is your source of power to propel you towards a fulfilled life. This is the positive energy that we can all access. In July 2006 I wrote the following missive to myself: 

 

Surrender!

Let the energy flow

Give way to the spirit

Let it speak

Let it speak the truth

Let it guide your actions

Let it be you

No pretense

No gimmicks

Give it the freedom it needs

Let it express itself

As a positive emotion

A positive state of mind

Loaded with energy

Driven by a desire to serve

Free it from the self-imposed blockages

Surrender! 

Surrender to the spirit

Surrender to the higher cause

Be carried away

Do not be afraid

Trust the process

Trust God

It is purpose

It is God’s will

Give it the freedom to grow

It is the only way

It is the only way!

It is not transactional

It is spiritual

It is spiritually driven

It is all energy

Let it flow

Let it lead you

Remove your fears

Believe that all will be well

With the spirit there are no rules

There are no boundaries

It calls for faith

It calls for trust in self

It demands honesty

It demands authenticity

You have to give it the space to roam

No self-imposed barriers

No self-imposed cages

No self-imposed obstacles

It is energy

Energy to overcome the obstacles of 

others

It demands to be free

To be free to serve

Always in the interest of others

It must be free to embrace others

It must be free to embrace all

The spirit is love

It is compassion

It is forgiveness

It is courage

It is generosity

It is inner strength

It is optimism

The spirit is passion

It is all energy

Energising life

Energising humanity

Touching all

Let the spirit flow

Surrender!

Let the energy flow!

Our programme, Leading From Above The Line, is about growing our inner selves such that we are better able to make the right choice by surrendering to our inner reality and thus expressing more of our inner power. Surrendering to our inner self puts us on a path of more positive and passionate living towards the attainment of greater fulfilment, inner peace and the greater happiness that we are all seeking.