The biggest act of self-kindness we can offer ourselves is surrender. I know, I know, the word surrender has gotten a bad rap. I used to think of surrender as giving up and becoming a door mat. I was half right. Surrender is about “giving up.” It is not about being a doormat. Surrender is about giving up my need to find the answer on my own. It’s about giving up the need to figure it all out by myself. The true meaning of surrender is divesting myself of what has weighed me down, handing that energy, those thoughts, or that situation over to Spirit and then allowing Spirit to guide me It’s about surrendering “Lorri’s way” to the Divine. It’s about stopping whatever it is Lorri is doing and just listening. It’s about surrendering the need to control the situation, listening for guidance, and looking for signs on how to move forward.
Right now, it feels like I’m being led to shed a lot of old beliefs and patterns that no longer serve me. I say that because emotionally I’m feeling A LOT. This morning I cried as I was petting my dog because I was thinking that he got stuck with me as a mom. Whew! I was deep in my victim mentality, and it has been coming up more frequently lately. That’s how I know that something has got to give! When I use my Spiritual tools, it does help.
Lately it has been particularly dense, and I have renewed compassion for anyone out there that is or has experienced this heaviness. The thought that was repeating itself in my mind was, “Why bother?” I’ve learned that shifting into curiosity and practicing surrender is the fastest way through what I’m feeling. Surrender does not mean that I just let myself be engulfed by my feelings and let that run the show. It means that I accept that I’m having those feelings and give them over to Spirit to help me out.
I often have what I call an honest chat with Spirit when I ask for help. Sometimes swear words are involved. LOL. I allow myself to express what I’m feeling, surrender my need to figure it out, and ask to be shown the way out. I call it my STOP. DROP. And ROLL Method:
STOP trying to figure it out on my own.
DROP all my feelings and concerns by handing them over to Spirit.
and
ROLL with whatever Divine guidance is sent my way.
One morning, last week, I was practicing this and went for a walk. While walking, I found a painted rock. It was sitting in the dirt near the sidewalk. It said, “keep smiling” and it had a star on it. As I picked it up, I felt it get really warm in my hand. It was the perfect reminder from Spirit to allow more joy into my life. Because of my willingness to surrender the heaviness over to Spirit and less than an hour later, I was sent reassurance. It’s amazing what happens when I stop trying to do it all on my own and simply surrender and listen.
Whenever things get to be too much for me in my life, I remember to STOP. DROP. And ROLL.
