“Your Daily Dose” is a quick two minute read packed with bite-sized wisdom from all the great teachers. But you could also choose to turn it into something more… a powerful daily practice for personal growth. Give it a try!
A message from today’s meditation:
Surrender is always a bit of a tricky subject to get one’s head around, and most often the ideas of “surrender”, “being present” and even “meditation” elicit the image of floating around in a state of bliss, removed from life’s problems.
Matt Kahn does a great job describing the difference between resisting life and surrendering to life when he says, “meditation is what happens when negotiation dissolves…” this applies equally to “surrender” and “being present” as well.
“In order to become a willing participant, you have to know what it means to be an unwilling participant. An unwilling participant is one who is attempting to avoid the gravity of surrender, who is negotiating with life instead of opening to it. In the old spiritual paradigm, it would be seen as a form of contemplation. But in order for true insight to dawn, we must ask how our lives are only changing us for the better with no further negotiations in mind. Within this Golden Rule is the opportunity to discover meditation from a different perspective. Oftentimes, when we try to meditate, we likely find a quiet space, close our eyes, and begin negotiating for more preferable circumstances. Meditation is not negotiation. Meditation is what happens when negotiation dissolves. Negotiating with life is to assume that what’s happening is a mistake. Remember the Golden Rule, “the Universe always has a plan”? If the Universe always has a plan, then any form of negotiating could only veer you off your highest path. When you are embodying this Golden Rule, you are cultivating the soul’s attribute of stillness. The ego lives to negotiate, but the ego isn’t capable of being still. This is why if your ego is attempting to meditate, it’s likely an internal negotiation with the beauty of empty space.” – Matt Kahn
This teaching from Matt can directly be applied to the way in which we pray too. How often does a prayer sound something like, “God please help me to avoid the things that I’m struggling to deal with…” and so even during a very sincere prayer we’re shrinking away from our fears and asking to be kept small and weak.
My wish for you is not that your struggles magically disappear, but that you find yourself opening up fully to your life, becoming a willing participant and letting all negotiating and bargaining with life dissolve. Asking in every moment, “what does this moment ask me to step up and do… what does this moment make available to me…?”
May your prayer be, “God give me the strength to lean in, to open up and to grow. Please show me where to take action and where to let go…”
As you embark on your journey of personal growth, remember these guiding mantras for self-reflection:
- “I release my need to control every outcome and trust life’s unfolding.”
- “I meet each challenge as an opportunity for my highest growth.”
- “I choose presence over resistance in every moment.”
- “I participate willingly in my own transformation.”
You’re invited to join us in today’s silent meditation. May you find your way to surrender, and discover just how powerful your actions become as a willing participant in life.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Finding silence.
Today’s LIVE meditation
https://youtu.be/7dEtvOdytd0 2023
Practice the “Daily Dose”
Let’s put it into practice! Choose what works for you – daily, once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. Putting pen to paper wires the neural pathways that will create your new habits.
1 – Affirmation
Write down your favourite affirmation on a sticky note and place it somewhere that you’ll be able to see it the whole day.
- “I release my need to control every outcome and trust life’s unfolding.”
- “I meet each challenge as an opportunity for my highest growth.”
- “I choose presence over resistance in every moment.”
- “I participate willingly in my own transformation.”
2 – A moment of reflection
Use today’s question as a journal prompt. If you don’t have the time to sit down and write, just take a moment to reflect on your response.
The Wisdom in Your Struggles: Think about a past difficulty that you initially resisted but that ultimately led to positive change or growth in your life. What did this experience teach you that you couldn’t have learned any other way? How did becoming a “willing participant” in that challenge transform you? What parallels can you draw to your current situations?
3 – Quotes to share
Send a quote to someone who needs it, or share them all on social media to spread the good vibes!
4 – Q&A for deeper learning
Read through the questions and answers and write down at least one “aha moment” that clicked for you.
1. What’s the difference between surrender and giving up?
Surrender is an active choice to engage fully with reality as it is, while giving up is passive resignation. When you surrender, you’re not abandoning your power—you’re redirecting it from fighting what is toward working skillfully with what’s present. Giving up says “I can’t handle this,” while surrender says “I’m strong enough to meet this fully.”
2. How do I know if I’m negotiating with life versus truly accepting it?
Notice your internal dialogue. Negotiating sounds like: “If I meditate/pray enough, maybe this will go away,” or “I’ll accept this IF it leads to what I want.” True acceptance asks: “What is this moment asking of me?” and “How can I respond with wisdom and strength?” If you’re trying to make deals with the universe, you’re likely negotiating.
3. Doesn’t accepting difficult circumstances mean I become passive and stop taking action?
Absolutely not. Willing participation often requires more action, not less—but it’s aligned action rather than resistance-based action. When you stop fighting reality, you can see clearly what response is actually needed. You move from reactive scrambling to purposeful engagement.
4. What if I have real problems that need solving? Isn’t it irresponsible to just “surrender”?
Surrender doesn’t mean ignoring practical needs or avoiding responsibility. It means approaching your problems from a place of clarity rather than panic, wisdom rather than resistance. You still take necessary actions—you just do so without the exhausting internal battle against the fact that the problem exists.
5. How can I practice this when I’m in the middle of intense emotional pain?
Start small. In moments of pain, instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?” try asking “What is this pain teaching me?” or “How can I be gentle with myself while still showing up?” You don’t have to embrace suffering, but you can stop adding the extra layer of resistance to it.
6. What does it mean that “the ego isn’t capable of being still”?
The ego is the part of us that constantly seeks to control, compare, and negotiate for better circumstances. It can’t truly be still because its nature is to be in constant motion—thinking, planning, worrying, wanting. True stillness comes from the deeper part of ourselves that can simply be present with what is, without needing to change it.
7. How do I shift from prayers of avoidance to prayers of empowerment?
Transform your language from asking to be protected from life to asking to be strengthened for life. Instead of “Please take this problem away,” try “Please give me wisdom to handle this skillfully.” Rather than “Help me avoid suffering,” ask “Help me find meaning and growth in this experience.” This shifts you from victim to participant in your own spiritual development.