Bodhisattva Guanyin, 16th century. Chinese, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Ivory, 9 ¾ × 10 ¼ × 2 in. (24.8 × 26 × 5.1 cm). Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1913 (12.219.1)
The Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Love and Compassion, it is said Guanyin answers the cries and pleas of all sentient beings to help liberate them from their own karmic woes. The patron saint of the unfortunate, millions of mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children revere her throughout the world. Devotees pray to her to conceive children, ask for compassion and receive assistance in their endeavors. She holds the feminine aspect of unconditional love for humanity in the East in a similar way Mother Mary does in the West. Guanyin and Mother Mary represent the divine feminine throughout the world and are masters of surrender. Both of their prospectives will be covered in this two part series about The Nature of Surrender. The link to Mother Mary’s…The Nature of Surrender (Part 2) is at the bottom of the page.
The Nature of Surrender
Surrender is a quality of the soul, grace personified in human form. The process of allowing one’s soul, as well as the divine, free rein to make significant decisions in our life requires intellectual surrender for the greater good of our personality. Spiritual surrender is supple, nimble, and always on the move. It is yielding and simple, yet profound at the deepest levels. People on their spiritual path dance the dance of surrender because there is no other way to be once our soul merges with our body.
The inherent wisdom behind surrender draws from the immortal knowledge that every sentient being is an aspect of divinity and oneness within the universe. Nothing is left for chance and mistakes are not possible when we spiritually surrender. If we intellectually don’t know what’s going on, surrender becomes the wisest thing we can do, because our soul understands wisdom, opportunity, and mystery are at play. We just need to discover what we can learn from the new situation.
Since the intellect babbles and raddles on like a jackhammer and our soul whispers like a hummingbird, meditation and mindfulness are useful because they allow the subtle voice of our soul to be heard. Surrender clears the room and meditation creates the psychological space to let our soul’s fresh ideas and unique possibilities arrive without fighting through our intellect’s defenses and barriers, which are frequently designed to prevent their entry.
Since it blends and mixes with everything, water is one of the purest examples of surrender in the physical world. Strong and forceful beyond measure…water is very powerful, yet its basic nature is to yield and seek the lowest levels. Water melts into other structures and gives life to everything it touches. Embrace every quality in your life, which is fluid in nature. Like water, let your basic nature yield to world events. Embrace life’s low places and be present in every moment. Become one with everything and everyone you meet. If required, mingle with all of life at the deepest soul level without any fear of losing yourself.
Water yields in nature but never loses its constitutional integrity. It moves from one location to the next knowing that whatever happens…it will be perfect, because water will always remain water in the next location. Gather with other water beings, for the fluid nature of water people allows us to flow into the loving stream of like-minded beings. Splash and have fun with your nature, for there are infinite possibilities to enjoy water.
The fluid nature of surrender sustains life, just like water does. Water moves through the body’s membranes freely, without obstruction for the most part, allowing life to enter the darkest places that need it the most. People die without water. We die a death of our spirit without surrender. The very act of being one with the divine and creation is surrendering aloneness for oneness.
The following poem is a conversation between our heart and soul and the divine.
Surrender your soul to me, so I might know love’s purest form
Lend me your toes so I can experience when spirit touches earth
Walk with me so I might experience the peace of which angels sing
Let me listen to the music that makes your heart soar spontaneously
Give me your generous heart so I can create love in my world instantly
Let me soar in your dreams so I might know the source of all possibility
I want to awaken in your arms having known the bliss of true equanimity
How can I experience this?
I can surrender to love
I can surrender to unity
Dancing together in oneness
Manifests all my dreams