More About Living in the Moment.......

From The Power of Now, “In surrender, you no longer need ego defenses and false masks. You become very simple, very real. 'That’s dangerous,' says the ego. 'You’ll get hurt. You’ll become vulnerable.' What the ego doesn’t know, of course, is that only through the letting go of resistance, through becoming 'vulnerable,' can you discover your true and essential invulnerability.”  

The definition of "ego" includes how we view ourselves in the world: our confidence and self-esteem.  I previously wondered what people with low self-esteem and little confidence needed to "surrender".  Now, I interpret the passage as releasing how we view and compare ourselves in the world, while knowing we all must have positive self-esteem and confidence to live our best lives.

We can't judge anyone else's decisions because we haven't walked in their shoes.  However, letting go of our egos is really about unravelling the reasons why feel compelled to do things based on what we believe about ourselves.  Then (easier said that done, BTW), we can start over from a place of personal truth:  we all have potential that has not been uncovered.

If you can improve your life circumstances but have chosen to pass up positive possibilities, that is when you need to let go, regroup and choose differently next time.  Holding onto self-loathing and self-judgment (and/or feeling like a martyr) is the opposite of what letting go is all about.  The reasons why we cannot move forward (our negative self-talk) become our own limiting prisons.

When we say "I should have done that already", it's detrimental to the power of the present moment.  The ability to minimize our "shoulda/woulda/coulda" reflex releases the power of the past and future.  If you believe you are too old/young/fat/thin/tall/short/smart/lame to move toward your highest potential, that is when your ego has power over you.  

Fully accepting ourselves allows us the space to change for the better.  It sounds counter intuitive, doesn't it?  We are actually creating the SPACE for positive change.  We begin with the mantra:  "I am acceptable, exactly as I am in this moment".  

Have a great day!

xo
Conni