100 Day Surrender Experiment and Book Giveaway

[forestofclarity]

Have you heard people talk about I Am That and wondered what they were on about? Did you want to buy Qigong Empowerment, but it's just too expensive? Are you waiting for Waking, Dreaming, Being to come out in paperback you just can't justify paying for the hardback? 

 

Well, put those thoughts aside. Here's your chance to win!

 

According to Michael Singer: 

 

The surrender experiment is a challenge I gave myself to try to allow life to unfold around me without struggling with it. We are all intelligent enough to realize that we are not in control of 99.9 percent of what goes on around us. Our hearts beat, our food digests, and our cells divide — all without any intervention of our own. Likewise, the planets stay in orbit, and the entire rest of the universe unfolds on its own. We are not controlling any of this, yet it has been unfolding in perfect harmony for billions of years. If the forces of creation can create and maintain the entire universe, every moment, are not the moments unfolding in front of me part of this same universal perfection?

 

I listened to most of his book, the Surrender Experiment, but it was so terrible I returned it. But the experiment is interesting. It describes fairly well a fundamental principle in all spiritual disciplines. 

 

The Bhagavad Gita says that one is entitled to labor, but not to the fruits. The karma yogi works, but dedicates his/her fruits to the cosmos. The idea is that the cosmos knows better than we do. Bodhidharma says that we should accept what happens on the basis of karma. 

 

From time to time, I acknowledge surrender, and I practice it every day. But what about on a larger scale? What about maximum surrender? 

 

I decided to give Singer's experiment a 100 day test. The basics are:

 

1. Open yourself up to what is unfolding before you. Pay special attention to the opportunities to help others or for spiritual practice. Say yes when you normally wouldn't. Pay attention to things that come up, or even better, the intentions that arise out of stillness. 

 

2. Don't listen to your thinking mind, especially when it says you can't or that you're not qualified, or that you're scared. Common sense is okay. Moderation is key to some practices, such as yoga and qigong.

 

3. When making a decision, try to understand that what you want may not come. Allow the result to manifest. Negative results may be burning off off your ego. 

 

So far (I cheated and started a month ago), the results have been overwhelmingly positive in my practices. Stress levels are down. Bliss is up. Family harmony is up. I discovered the benefits of facing the cold and taking cold showers. I rediscovered spontaneous qigong. I'm taking a reiki class--- yes, a REIKI CLASS. I can do also do more push-ups. 

 

It also occurred to me to offer THIS CHALLENGE. 

 

Anyone who wants to take the challenge, post here that you're taking the challenge, then let us know what happens. In about 100 days, I will let the small, still voice pick a poster to win his/her choice of a reasonably priced book ($20-30) from Amazon.com. You can join anytime. To be eligible for the book award, you must be able to receive shipping from Amazon worldwide. 

 

 

 

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

been taking on this challenge inconsistently for the last 18 years


I'm in. im already a vet  

[forestofclarity]

I've noticed I've often had a caveat on surrender. I'm often willing to surrender some, but not all. 

 

A good example is when I took the Buddhist precepts. I would take the precepts, BUT. I had to take them from a monk. That I respected. In a formal ceremony. I set conditions. In that case, even when the conditions were fulfilled in a spectacular fashion, I had resistance. Why do I need to take precepts? Why do I need to commit formally? 

 

In more recent times, it has been: what about kids? What about family? What about a comfortable life style? Heck, what about warm showers? 

 

So here's where the resistance sets in. The mind has a million reasons to NOT do something. 

[forestofclarity]

The Two Parts of Surrender

 

As a Buddhist, I learned a lot about the first part of surrender. The first part is letting go. When something arises, it will also pass. I've found that it will often pass more quickly if you let it go. This is often a part of the methods of monks and those who renounce the world. Form is emptiness. 

 

But I've also come to realize the second part of surrender. The second part is allowing things to come. Once we let go, it is easier for other things to manifest. One of the issues with clinging is that it kills. When we hold one to one thing, something else cannot arise. But by letting go, things end. Yet in the ending, there is arising. I've seen this a part of the methods of householders and those who live in the world. Emptiness is form. 

[forestofclarity]

Practicing with Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

 

I went to see Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche this weekend. This isn't something I would typically do. When I heard he was coming to my state, I thought "Oh well." When I heard he was coming within a few minutes of me, and giving a retreat by donation, I took notice and decided to surrender. 
 

I had attended a transmission from him before, but I didn't think it was for me. The first day, I thought there's so many practices, there's no way I will even be able to do one. Why am I even here?

Then he said, while looking at me (or at least in  my general direction), "The only practice you really need to do is Ati Guru yoga."

 

Even though I had the transmission for this, but I didn't really know how to do it. The instructions I had gotten were so complex and hard to follow. At the retreat, they happened to have the Guru Yoga books which explained it quite well. 

 

It turns out it was far simpler than I anticipated. Not only that, but doing the practice with the teacher was amazing. Guess what the key ingredient is? That's right. Surrender. 

 

The last day, I got in the long line to have a few moments with ChNN himself. While in line, I noticed that some people had these white scarves that ChNN was putting around their neck and giving a blessing. "Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those?" I thought. I looked around, but you had to BYOS--- bring your own scarf. 

 

Not a minute went by when someone standing ahead of me pulled a white scarf out of her bag and said, "Would you like one of these? I brought extras." 

 

Of course, of course. 

[forestofclarity]

One month down. I've noticed that the mind wants to re-assert itself, so time to remind myself of the challenge. I cannot believe it's only been one month. Many great things have happened. 

[hod]

I'd say I already focus on doing 1 and 3 everyday. But the 'surrendering of fear' part of 2 sounds like a good thing to add  to my daily personal development. I'll give it a go. 

[forestofclarity]

So this weekend I was out in nature helping cancer survivors and decided to see if I was up to cold immersion with the Wim Hof Method. The setting, about 11,000 feet. The air temperature was in the low forties (F). I don't know the temperature, but it was a mountain lake, and there was still snow around. 

 

I told the others I would try five minutes. To help, I said, "Well, this water gets warm with the sun, right?"

 

"A mountain lake? Ha, ha!" said the hunter fisherman. 

 

They were skeptical, and to be honest, so was I.

 

I ended up doing 10. I never thought I would ever be able to do anything like this before the surrender experiment.