“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”
Following my lunar cycle card reading blog on the theme “EXPLORE” and the key message of surrendering (check out my blog here if you haven’t read it yet), in today’s blog I want to share with my top 3 tips that can help you surrender better to the flow of the Universe.
1.Pray and Listen
In my lunar cycle card reading I have already explained a bit about engaging in a prayer practice.
To pray doesn’t mean that you need to be affiliated with any religion. It is your unique way of communicating to the bigger presence that surrounds us all. In my blogs I like to use the term “Divine”, “Universe”, “Spirit”, “Light” or “Mother Nature” interchangeably but feel free to change the word if the ones I use do not resonate with you.
To pray is also to ask. It’s like you are confiding in your best friend/parent who supports you and loves you unconditionally no matter what.
I personally love to pray at night before I fall asleep, and I’ve been doing this since I was eight.
I feel like a prayer practice helps to strengthen my faith in the Universe and my trust in my soul’s guidance too. When I have doubts and questions, I ask the Universe to help and show me how I can resolve these challenges.
Then the second part of the “equation” is to listen and pay attention. Maybe the Universe answers when I’m meditating, taking a shower, watching a movie or chatting with a friend.
Of course if we look too hard or analyze everything that is happening in our lives, then that is our mind taking over and trying to evaluate if the Universe really has answers. In a sense, that is doubting the power of prayer.
Surrendering is all about letting go (see my second tip below). When a sign is coming from the Universe, there is a deep sense of knowing, or a heightened sense of awareness, like synchronicities and coincidences happening and there is a sense of awe and magic in it. We may not understand what the sign mean, but that’s okay. A seed is planted in the subconscious, and when the time is right, the seed will germinate and there comes the ‘a-ha’ moment.
And honestly, what is there to lose if you start praying? What is the worst that can happen, right?
So go on and give it a go. If you have never prayed before and you don’t know where to begin, you can always start with the famous “Serenity Prayer” by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr as below:
“God, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
Gabrielle Bernstein also writes in her blog on “How to Pray” that the secret to prayer is to forget what we think we need. She suggests that instead of praying for a specific outcome to happen, pray for the highest good for all. For example she suggests that you can use the following prayer:
“Universe, thank you for supporting me. I surrender my desires and expectations, and I pray for the highest good for all.”
Feel free to check out her blog here to learn more.
2. Let Go of Control
There is always a fine balance between control and letting go.
Know that the only thing we can really control is ourselves. Anything that is outside of us we can hardly control.
For example, the global pandemic is a big example of how we have no control on the outside world, nor on other people’s actions. The only thing we can control is ourselves – and I don’t just mean physically. I also mean mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For example, how we can devote our time to spiritual practices, observe our thoughts, words and actions throughout the day, and make subtle shifts in our lives in order to grow and evolve.
Life often happens the way we least expect to (which leads to my third tip below). Forget about trying to control everything that is happening outside of you; you will only drive yourself to exhaustion. Letting go of control is also a sign of having faith in the Universe.
3. Say Okay to Change
When changes happen, most of the time we resist because changes push us outside of our comfort zone.
But imagine a river flowing. When the water meets a rock, it shifts course and continues its flow.
Okay, maybe life didn’t happen the way you wanted to. But trust that the Universe always has a better plan for you and instead of spending so much energy to resist (I’m talking about physical, mental and emotional energy), why not just say “okay” and go with it and see where it takes you?
There is always another way, a better option waiting for us to discover. Everything happens for a reason, and in fact on the soul level, our soul agrees to this change to happen so then we can evolve and grow and do what we are here to do.
For example, recently there is a surge of COVID-19 cases arising in Thailand again. Sure, that’s not what I want to happen, especially near the Thai new year. But instead of spending my time and energy in worrying and being anxious on how this may impact my life and business, I just say “okay”.
I shrug my shoulders, and life goes on. I change my plans and wait and see what happens. Surely there is a reason why, and I just need to focus on doing what I’ve come here to do – to spread and serve the Light.
Everything else will be taken care of.
I know it will.
