Higher Love
Ishvara Pranidhana - Surrender, Devotion, Dedication
When I did my 200hr yoga teacher training, part of our final assessment was to demonstrate an understanding of the yoga sutras. To do this we had to blindly choose a piece of paper from a jar that contained the 8 limbs of yoga written down, including individual yamas and niyamas. I'll never forget picking out Ishvara Pranidhana and having to give a 3-minute talk on what it means and how it can be applied to life.
I sh@t myself.
Because ''surrendering to a higher power'' isn't exactly easy to grasp, let alone explain how you've lived experience of it. Even now; almost 6 years later can I say I have this one nailed? Not quite.
Eckhart Tolle says “Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.” I like that; I like the notion of giving up trying to change things and instead just let go in full trust that it will all work out.
And, also. How fricking scary!!!
This week a number of things happened which make me think about the different stages of life and what the messages we are continuously exposed to may mean. After much soul searching over the panini (I no longer give the pandemic space in my heart; it's now known and will forever be known as the panini to me 🙂 ), a dear friend advised they were moving overseas. From someone who did the typical school-uni-work-settle thing throughout their 20's and early 30's; they decided life was for living and were making tracks to grasp with both hands. Another dear friend's family member was diagnosed with cancer; a running theme in their family that brings to light all sorts of questions regarding pre-cancerous screening. I did a thing which I will talk a bit more about when I know more about it* but that will perhaps commit me to something for a number of years *I KNOWWWWWWW, I too eye roll when people do this but it could all turn to custard in the next few weeks so let’s see what happens. I'll talk about it regardless cos #BlatantHonesty I promise
Anyway; I digress. All of this got me thinking about was life. How really, we have no idea if we have a day left or 100 years left. And while I don't fear death; I am petrified of not living.
Ishvara Pranidhana tells us that in order to surrender to the divine, we have to tap into what we already know. Before we let our insecurities take over, before we formed negative beliefs about ourselves, before the world hardened us. In essence, we are all born with a soft heart full of love. We are love. But, as we grow the world had its way with us and through our expereinces our perspective changes. Ishvara Pranidhana asks us to surrender the overarching ego in favour of the quiet of the soul. It calls on us to notice the paths we are forcing ourselves down, while ignoring the avenues carved especially for us. It reminds us that beneath it all, we still possess soft hearts full of love. We are love.
Leonie, stop with the woohoo sh!t and tell us how what happened this week relates?!
We can't control the world. Good things happen, and bad things do too. We can try to fight it and get upset and angry. We can get frustrated.
Or, we can trust in whatever-it-is-you-see-as-Divine-or-Higher-Power and just see what happens.
The dearheart moving overseas is doing so with the confidence that it's all going to work out. If it works out, great. If not, it's no reflection of them - they tried and it wasn't meant to be.
My friend's loved one's diagnosis brings uncertainty and grief and anxiety. And at the same time, they're not resisting the diagnosis nor the subsequent treatments. Instead, they're approaching the situation with a ''what will be will be'' mindset, based on love. They have a positive mindset coupled with an overarching surrender.
In my own situation that I so cruelly barely described; I let fear and uncertainty hold me back on this decision for years. The world has given me message after message, which I’ve ignored. I did a million things except for the thing that’s been calling my name. I ignored and fought and listened to others instead of myself. Now I'm deciding to lean into the uncertainty with trust that it will all unfold as it's supposed to. Sure, it could come crashing down.. But what if it works out perfect? Instead of being frozen by the worst-case scenario, what's the best that could happen?
Surrendering isn't a sign of weakness or defeat, it's a sign of strength. Separation and disconnection are taking over our world right now. What if, we trusted it's all as it's supposed to be. And, we are on the right path as we are. The road is already carved; we just need to know which one is for us and which is against us.
Deborah Adele uses savasana as one of her examples of ishvara pradisthana in a yoga setting. I've witnessed many times in classes when people leave for savasana; even though it's questionably it's the best part! I wonder why. What it is they fear? What happens when their guard is let down and they have a chance to be still? What’s beneath the surface waiting to come up that they’re so desperately trying to silence?
I can't sit here and tell you I have this one nailed. But, I do know from my own lived experience that when I try and control a situation, an outcome or a feeling it usually turns out poorly. But when I surrender to controlling the outcome and trust what will be will be; it is.
In philosophy class, we ponder what a wise person is. If wisdom is innate? Is wisdom granted as you age? I proposed a wise person is one who acts from a place of peace, not emotion. I see a wise person as one who shines in the light of life while appreciating the depth of the shadows. I see wisdom as innate, the realisation that we are all perfect as we are. We always were, we always will be.
With love. Always.
Leonie Xx