When Corey Firnstahl, my friend, co-worker and affectionately called “work husband” suddenly passed away last May, I was caught totally off-guard and have since been dealing with a tsunami of changes around our spiritual center. His untimely passing has not only necessitated a grieving process of losing someone who was a vital part of our Unity Community, but is also compelling us to go back to the drawing board for a total re-fit in most of our center’s operations. At times, it has felt like the universe was adding insult to injury. Yet, even in the midst of this upheaval, I have been aware that there is perfection at the core of this radical change that is continually seeking to rise up.

 Our willingness to let go of control and being gently present is making all the difference in the rapid change we are facing.  New ways of serving and being present are coming alive in this ministry. Yes, there is still a feeling of loss and sadness, but throughout this evolutionary stage, there is also a deepening commitment for our community to let go, surrender, and allow the greater a good to be birthed even in the midst of the sense of loss many of us feel. This is what I call being fully present to our whole experience while trusting that something greater is being born.

Daily, I am learning as I engage what it means to surrender outcome while being fully awake and aware of circumstances as they present themselves. Each of us, who select the option of living as close to the crest of the wave of creative consciousness, know that there is a dynamic synergy at work in, around, through each one of us.  It is the same creative intelligence present before the Big Bang which initiated the ever-evolving universe as we know it today. 

There is a common false assumption that disappointment, fear, failure and suffering are a necessary part of our earthly assignment. Yes, these conditions happen, but I question their necessity for conscious evolution. Even in the midst of the upheaval that we experienced at Unity of Sarasota, there has not been an instance where many of us have not felt that something greater is now being formed.  It is to this “something greater” that we say, “Yes, bring it on!”

Michael A. Singer, author of The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment invites us to be present and surrendered as we journey consciously forward on our sacred quest into the perfect of life. This is astounding to many of us, even prompting us to wonder, “What do you mean a ‘perfect’ life?  Have you taken a look at our world situation lately?”  

Yet, throughout the course of history, this very invitation has been issued countless times in various ways by many spiritual way-showers.  It has been said under the banner of “Follow Me, I will make you fishers of men,” “Know thyself,” “I am awake,” “My religion is compassion,” “Do small things with great love” and “We shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” 

Truth, love, and order find their way into our lives and we facilitate a quicker passage by letting go of the need to micromanage the universe while, at the same time, deliberately paying attention to this multi layered question.  What is mine to be, know and do in this moment?  We are signaling to the same intelligence which created the cosmos and evolves itself through us that we are now ready to be responsive to our innate good.  

Surrender is not about relinquishing power. Quite the contrary, it is centering in knowing that we are one with Divine Source that set forth both the galaxies and the subatomic particles in their natural order. By letting go of being in control, we are lining up our faculties to grow and thrive.  

 

Declare: I am willing to know what is mine to know, be what is mine to be, and do what is mine to do in this moment.  

 

Wait: Do nothing, be still and know.  

 

Act: Take the simplest action which follows.

 

This is the pathway to our essential self.  This is how to align with the synergy of life’s perfection. Individually, we are on a quest perfectly designed to bring us into a direct experience of our innate wholeness, beauty and fulfillment. You are invited to join with me as we explore our own surrender into the sacred journey of perfect life, even in the midst of uncertainty and disappointment.

This class will be held at Unity of Sarasota and will begin August 11. The sessions will run for three weeks, each taking place on Tuesday at 7 p.m., in Fellowship Hall. The classes will also be repeated on Wednesdays at 10 a.m., in the Sanctuary. 

 

Location: 3302 Proctor Rd., Sarasota. For more information, call 941-955-3301 or visit UnityOfSarasota.com.