Your likes and dislikes are the very foundation of your karma.
- Sadhguru
Once upon a time, Dr. Joe Dispenza wrote a book called “Breaking the habit of being yourself”. What is “yourself”? That I like almond croissants, but I don’t like cherry pies. I like a deep tissue massage, but am not particularly partial to a seaweed wrap. I love to lie in my hammock, but don’t like curling up on the couch to a movie. I love the pindrop silences when I do my morning sadhana, but background noise when I write is simply delicious.
These are the things that make me me – for better, or for worse.
Because my gardener can’t trim the hedge in the morning during my practice, or during the good part of the day when I work, his daily routine needs to be carefully planned around mine. In short, my likes and dislikes have a knock-on effect. My existence in this world causes a ripple if you will – which, in turn, can cause other ripples or even waves.
When I flap my wings in Nairobi, a deluge in London may result.
And there is a resulting karma that ensues from that.
I like to think that everything I do has a good impact, but what if it doesn’t? Yes, I can be conscious in my actions, but even if I am, I simply can’t please everyone all the time.
So, what if, to prevent any potential karma accruing to me, I simply meet everything that the Universe presents to me, with a big YES. No matter what happens, I say yes to it. There is no question of whether or how much it annoys me. I am simply gracious and say yes.
So I started doing this in one area of my life. Three months later, the results were astounding. What was once a thorn in my side transformed magically to something I was completely neutral to, a bit like how you might be neutral to an extra chair at your table at a restaurant. It is there, but you don’t make any of the decisions in your life based on it. It was extremely liberating.
The more you are dependent on something, the more power it has over you, whether it’s your daily chai, a good night’s sleep or perfectly manicured nails.
What can you flow without? Can you manage if you don’t get your way?
The ability to flow around what’s going on in your life, allows you to create the harmony you want. You create your own misery by expecting everything to adapt to you. Change your perception and make it work for you. (Master Co)
And so, I, like Michael Singer before me, started my own surrender experiment. I say yes to every opportunity that comes my way, regardless of whether or not I want to do it (unless it hurts me in a very tangible way) (that means, not just my feelings).
In just two days, my trajectory has changed drastically. For one, in a few months time, I will be six thousand miles away from where I would have been had I gone with what I liked. And what will be in the effect of fluttering my wings there?
I have no idea.
And it also doesn’t matter.
Because now I am aligning with Divine will. Que sera sera.
Such is the power of surrender.
Watch this space.
