This week's blog is on the opposite polarity of Faith, Hope, Belief, Trust which is Hopelessness and Resignation.

Resignation, withdrawal and abandoning Hope may be a manifestation of indifference or apathy, laziness or passivity and desperation or hopelessness, all of which lead to inaction. Fear, and judgment - which is often fear based - arising out of an appreciation for the statistics of the situation and the prognosis of the illness play their part here. Resignation may be a way of looking at the Truth in a negative way and arriving at a decision that all is hopeless. However, that appreciation of the truth may be limited; the truth of the power of that individual’s immune system or inner healer, the truth of that patient’s connection with the Field, the truth of the healer-patient relationship, the truth of that person’s ability to love, forgive and open their heart, the truth of positive social support, the truth of one’s capacity to be in joy and so on. All of these factors can favorably affect the immune system.

 Twenty Four Hours a Day suggests a remedy.

“Never yield to weariness of spirit. At times the world's cares and distractions will intrude and the spirit will become weak. At times like this, carry on and soon the spirit will become strong again. God's spirit is always with you to replenish and renew.”

When you are overcome by temporary conditions which you cannot control, keep quiet and wait for the power of spirit to flow back.”

"Surrender is a giving in, resignation is a giving up"

The Ancestors

         Hopelessness and Resignation are not the same as Surrender.  Surrender implies  Trust, letting go and allowing a higher force to take over which is a quality of expansiveness and flexibility which opens up the potential for health giving possibilities even if one cannot be cured. Surrender is the ultimate expression of unconditional Faith, Trust, Hope, and Belief -- a Job-like attitude – that trusts that whatever happens is for the best. The patient feels gratitude and acceptance and is content to just be. Eastern philosophies affirm the power of not doing, of not grasping, of going with the flow, of being in the Tao. The Buddhist appreciation of the balance that arises from not being attached to things or outcomes requires a different kind of motivation and sustained dedication that is difficult to attain. By going into the silence of not grasping, we communicate more directly with the Field. Surrender and Trust connects us to the Field, while Resignation, and Hopelessness separate us from it. Surrender "fears-less" and does not exclude the use of medical or other beneficial attentions. Resignation implies desperation or depression that is known to suppress the immune system. Resignation is about detachment, surrender, non-attachment which has a different quality. Surrender leads to an openness and receptivity to all possibilities. There can be a measure of comfort in resignation. A friend of mine once said; "ever since I gave up hope I feel better." 

Accepting ones disease as part of oneself may be considered a form of Surrender. By not recognizing it as “other” or “bad,” no duality is created and it may be easier to attain the equanimity sometimes necessary for healing or cure. This may be a helpful way of coping with the Truth of the diagnosis. Visualizations that project the disease as a hideous enemy or ogre may be unsuitable for certain individuals and create Fear and the associated emotions that inhibit the immune system.
Furthermore with a friendlier even humorous  attitude to the challenge, less effort is required to learn the lessons the illness provides. The disease may even appear to be a gift that has lead to an essential transformational change. The metamorphosis may not have happened without it. The patient becomes more open and flexible rather than rigid, aggressive and confrontational about his or her predicament. Surrender leads to a greater Receptivity to the available options that can be an advantage.

Surrender does not mean inaction!

“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.”

Emily Dickinson 

"Zidele amathamba" = Give yourself up, bones as well

Ndebele saying (South Africa)

Passive Resignation with an underlying hopelessness is not the same as the active and joyous acceptance of Surrender. Surrender arises from a deep connection with the Field, an acknowledgment of a Higher Power working through it, and an appreciation of the Life Force and the strength of the Inner Healer. This comes from the Will to be well and an understanding that whatever happens, the disease can be regarded as a teacher from which gifts and healing benefits come even if a cure does not result. Our most powerful inner experiences often occur in the space of severe pain and suffering from which flow our most heartfelt prayers. This gift is sometimes proportional to the degree of misery inflicted. For many of us it is only through a dark night of the soul that we acquire the grail, and the illness may assume the archetype of a hero/ine’s journey. We could not have attained the blessing any other way. All healers have seen special people with terrible diseases where the condition has resulted in a greater inner peace and wholeness and an incomparable zest for life rather than the other way around – Surrender rather than Resignation. This profound form of spirituality needs to arise from within in order to be authentic. It cannot be contrived or just superficially stated.

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts”.

Richard Bach

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the butterfly calls the beginning.”  Zen saying

We are all in the process of dying and it helps to embrace the Buddhist concept of impermanence. We may pass on to a new address but our consciousness will live again in future life times and incarnations. The challenge is to live and die “well.” 

Surrender usually invokes a certain humility and subordination of the ego.  Therefore the boon that arises from Surrender is affiliation with the higher Self. Yoga and Buddhism teach that desirous attachment and self cherishing (part of ego) are one of the greatest obstacles on the enlightenment path. When we reach the Crown Chakra or Keter on the Tree of Life we experience the Divine within and without, and we detach from the goal of health or anything else for that matter. We just are, we attain pure being. If we lose the fear or the attachment we have to being cured, we can be healed and possibly even experience remission or be cured.