One of the most useful concepts to grow spiritually and becoming happier is the method of acceptance or surrender.

I have personally found this method to be perhaps the most workable and useful in retaining my poise and staying happier as I go through life. Partly because of my upbringing no doubt, I have had a life-long habit of being very self critical and judgmental. I have the habit of criticizing and feeling bad about myself for every little thing that happened to me - internally or externally. I tried to reason my way out of this habit but it did not work - the habit is still with me. I also feel guilty many times during the day when I am caught up with my memories of times when I behaved badly.

For anybody in this situation, or anybody who feel negatively about himself or the situation in which he finds himself the proper attitude is that of acceptance and surrender. Surrender to the thoughts and feelings which arise in you. If you are feeling bad about yourself, or your relationships, or your work or anything about your life-situation welcome and accept that feeling. Surrender to it, perhaps it was what was meant to happen at this time. Watch the feeling with as much detachment as you can. It will pass as it must; all things in this world are impermanent.

In the classic spiritual bestseller - The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle advises us to treat whatever negative feeling that arises in your mind as a message saying, "Attention - Here and Now. Wake up - Get out of your mind - be present".

Surrender does not mean resignation to your life situation. If you are stuck in the mud you don't say "I resign myself to being stuck in the mud" and do nothing about it. If you have lost your job, if you find yourself trapped in a bad relationship or in any situation that you find intolerable then obviously you must do something about it. We all need to plan and work to change certain aspects of our lives. I am not telling you to blame your fate or destiny for everything that happens and do nothing about it.

What I am asking you to do is to surrender to everything, which is happening to you - internally and externally at this instant in your life. If you are trapped in the morning rush during your daily long commute to work, then accept whatever is happening - inside and outside - at that instant. Surrender to your feelings of freedom, irritation and frustration. Don't repress those feelings - accept them, surrender to them.

Surrender to the long life of cars or the crowd in the bus or local train. Accept your present situation - at that instant - fully and without reservation. This should not prevent you from changing what can and needs to be changed. Perhaps you can get another job, or shift to another branch of your company closer to your home. Perhaps you can take the bus to your office instead of driving yourself. You can make use or your daily commute by reading a newspaper or a book or doing some work. Change what can be changed, surrender to what is happening at this instant - the one thing that you cannot change.

For a more detailed discussion on the concept of acceptance and surrender please refer the classic bestseller. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, available at Amazon. Here is the link to the site:- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1577314808/ref=nosim/easte rnphilos-20

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it will be useful to you.

If you have any comments or questions, please visit the Eastern Philosophy Blog and post them. I visit the blog daily and promise to reply as quickly as I can. http://eastern-philosophy-and-meditation.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned for more articles in this continuing series.



About the author

Transform yourself through Eastern Philosophy. For a completely new way of looking at life please visit the Eastern Philosophy website at http://www.eastern-philosophy-and-meditation.com/index.html and sign up for the Free newsletter



About the author:

Nikhil Gangoli is a keen student of Eastern Philosophies and meditation practices. For a concise and insightful description of the above please visit http://www.eastern-philosophy-and-meditation.com/ The techniques and concepts here will transform you life.