Sweet Surrender {Mini-Pilrimage Day 5}
All things desire to be like God, all things desire to love. - St. Thomas Aquinas
The ups and downs of life have taught me that there are realms of happiness we can only access when we just let go. Joy waits for those who allow themselves to simply sink into the sands beneath their feet, to bury their heels into quartz and feldspar crystals made up of a trillion, billion tiny moments of delight and kindness, generosity and love.
I used to think these realms of happiness were high above me, something I had to climb with a pickaxe in order to reach. The more I learn about true romance and meaningful adventure though, the more I realize happiness is not a lofty place we need to claw our way up to, but rather, it's the very ground we are already standing on.
Joy is actually on the ground floor.
When I lead retreats and teach yoga I often remind my students that they are safe.
"Let the ground beneath you hold you up," I say, "Surrender a little more to gravity. Gravity can be trusted, it's very good at its job. It will hold you here reliably, you don't have it help it out."
Love is a certain kind of gravity: There is nothing to do but surrender to it.
All of us- married, single, divorced, dating, with kids, without kids, with pets without pets, living the dream, finding the dream- all of us are held together by a physical and cosmic power. We are safe here on this beautiful and tiny earth, we are held.
None of us wastes one once of energy worrying about floating away. Why not? Because we intimately trust in gravity. We go to sleep and just lie there, no need to tie ourselves down to our beds. This easy surrender to gravity is so natural it's silly to imagine behaving anyway else.
Surrender to love can be this way too. Why do we worry about being alone? We are no less alone than we are in danger of drifting away from planet Earth. We are here, we are safe, we are loved.
Each moment we surrender a little deeper to this truth is a moment of victory. Here we are again, being reconciled back to the Romance that holds the whole universe together.
“Romance is the deepest thing in life. It is deeper than reality.” - G.K. Chesterton
TODAY'S PRACTICE
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Take off your shoes. Lay down flat on the ground. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and sigh it all out through your mouth. Sink deeper into the soft earth and do it again. Lay here in stillness, and in surrender, for 5 minutes. Keep your jaw soft. Scan your body for any tension and invite that place in your body to relax a little more. Reason with your overactive mind when it protests, "I know you value productivity and it may seem like not much is getting done here, but a trustworthy lady in Portland, Oregon, claims this is good for us, so for just these 5 minutes, we are going to take her word for it. It's just 5 little minutes. We can handle 5 little minutes, can't we?" (The mind does well with a little coddling.)
Mind quiet again, close your eyes and offer up a smile of relief, knowing that you aren’t the Judge, the Creator, the Genie of Anybody’s Lamp. You are you, a diamond on this tiny a planet, shining without the need to think about how to shine.
In this postures of surrender, let gravity hold you up and let love hold you together. Remind yourself that you are safe, that it is okay to have this desire to love and be loved. Feel how good it feels when you can stop trying to control the who/what/when/why/how of it all. Feel how freeing it is to just get on with loving regardless of the who/what/when/why/how.
When you get up off the floor, bring that easy surrender to love into the rest of your day and all of your encounters. Start by being especially kind and supportive to that mysterious creature who bares your likeness, in whom there is so much more to appreciate and admire.
Every moment can open into a deeper romance. The only thing to do with that holy desire within you to love and be loved is to sweetly SURRENDER to it, and see what happens next.
Grace & Peace,
Morgan
p.s. What encourages you to surrender? Share a pic on Instagram or facebook and tag @morgandaycecil @romanceandadventure#RApilgrimage.
CORE TRUTH: You are made for romance.
Meet Your Guide
Hi! I'm Morgan. I wanted to share a little about me for those who are new here! (Welcome!)
I come from a personal and family history of anxiety and depression. That dark world almost swallowed me whole, but it didn't; I found the path of romance, adventure and feminine wholeness instead.
By way of yoga and meditation and overcoming my own struggles with womanhood- from sex and food, relationships and to self-worth, motherhood and career-- I found my way into my current work as an Integrated Feminine Wholeness Coach specializing in Sex, Love & Relationships.
I am so in love with this job where I get to partner with incredible woman (like you!) to help them FEEL in their bodies and soul what they are made to feel. I hope this Mini-Pilgrimage gives you a taste of what's possible when you come home to yourself.
My all time favorite quote is "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." That sums up the message of Jesus to me, perfectly. It's always and forever about Love.
Fun facts: My husband and I sometimes do a podcast called Sexy Tuxedo Jesus. I've held many fun jobs including flight attendant and pole-dancing instructor. I'm a mom of two. We live in Portland, Or. But I escape to warm places as often as possible. My favorite place is Italy and I'll be there with 9 of you in July for the Sophia Embodied Retreat! That one is sold out but I'll be opening up a September Sophia Retreat in Palm Springs soon.
I'm so happy you are here. And I'm always just on the other side of these emails, so don't hesitate to hit "reply" and say hello! I look forward to it!