You know that feeling of letting go just as you’re falling asleep? That’s the right sort of Surrender. Not giving up, but giving over, like Winter bows to the arrival of Spring. Surrender is one of the 36 Laws on the Wisdom Wheel, and because it marks the calendar between February 19 and March 20th as this issue goes out, I’m focusing on it. Time to wish Happy Birthday to all our Pisces friends who have this as their Birth Law.

You’d think we’d understand Surrender better in our waking lives because we do it every night, but most of the stories we hear about Surrender are negative. In the US anyway, this principle has gotten a bad reputation: “Remember the Alamo, never Surrender.” Because we have a hard time knowing how and when to “let go or get dragged,” many of us hang on too long to jobs, relationships, and ways of thinking or feeling when it is past time to change.

I want to share two recent experiences with this Law. Read below.

The Wisdom Wheel

A friend invited me to present the Wisdom Wheel at a Ladies Night Out here in our town last Friday. Having never been to such an event at this place, I didn’t know what to expect or how to prepare. So I found myself resisting and in my head I was starting to make excuses about a busy week and being too tired. But instead of Surrendering the opportunity, I decided to Surrender the need to know and to be in control. Those are ego needs and it is usually our egos that get in the way when we could try something new but don’t want to leave our comfort zones. The evening turned out to be a lot of fun. It felt like exactly the right people showed up!

Ceremonies

A similar Surrender moment came this month via a request for a private sweat lodge ceremony. I was asked to hold one for the friend of a friend, visiting from out West. Her family was dealing with the stress caused by one member’s relapse into addiction. While seeking guidance about this ceremony, something odd occurred. The message came through, very clearly, that I should Surrender my leadership duties on this occasion — let the visitor conduct the Lodge. This is very unusual for Lodge Keepers and I had not yet met the other person. When she arrived, her presence confirmed my certainty. She shared that only one other person had ever been allowed to conduct this ceremony back home in her Lodge. She poured and I did the FireKeeper duties. It was a powerful ceremony for each person who attended. Surrender made that possible.

The upcoming Bear Fast next month is a humbling experience of Surrender. It begins on Wednesday evening March 20th.

Those who commit to it must give up all their creature comforts. No phones, no indoor plumbing, no beds, no meals, no TV…just tending the Sacred Fire and sleeping outside in their tents for four days. By giving up everything, and relying upon Mother Nature, Creator, and Creation, you make time and space for dreams, visions, and healing to come in. On March 24th we celebrate their return and teachings with the Spring Equinox Community Lodge. Contact me if you have questions about being a faster or a supporter of a faster. Supporters eat, drink and pray for those fasting and some attend the Lodge.

Until next time,
Cynthia F. Davidson