What if you truly surrendered and committed to the truth that longs to reveal itself through your body? In complete obedience—without holding back or censoring—reveal and embody the strange pull toward what you know is real, even if you have no idea where it will lead?
Most of us associate empowerment with an assertive, independent attitude: taking space, letting your voice be heard, and manifesting your dreams. Surrender, on the other hand, is often linked to submissiveness, dependence, and disempowerment—giving up and giving in, losing autonomy, and eroding individuality.
But is it possible to find empowerment through surrender? Not by forcing anything to happen, but by melting into what is already here?
The honest and unfiltered revealing of our inner world is revolutionary—it has the power to alter our life choices and transform our relationships. By relentlessly expressing and embodying what is alive within us—without holding back, censoring, or being ashamed—this path becomes a naturally unfolding empowerment rather than a forceful colonization.
Don’t mistake this for gentleness or softness. Radical honesty is not for pussies. Being completely available to our inner life confronts us with traumas, fears, anger, lost dreams, and more. To unveil these truths will open wounds and conflicts you spent a life time ignoring. A crazy carnival breaks loose, all dams burst, all masks dissolve, and we wake up in a life that never really felt as our own. You’ll be burning in the immediacy of unfiltered truth—and you’ll love it. Perhaps you’ll be horrified first. But there is no going back. Your first shot of realness beckons addiction. Life is only beginning.
Complete ownership without taking ownership.
At House of the Beloved, we emphasise taking ownership of your experience—accepting full responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. This practice helps stop blaming: you can see that others are not responsible for your reactions to the constructs of your mind.
Yet to surrender into empowerment, another step is necessary: abdicating responsibility, because you are not your mind. You have no conscious control over the wild and neurotic acrobatics of your thoughts. This becomes most apparent during silent meditation. Even if you choose to stay focused on the meditation object, your mind will wander—belly dancing in the Middle East, blowing up your boss’s car, or juicing up your body with secret fantasies. The mind has a life of its own, like a recalcitrant toddler. You can offer it good parenting—unconditional warmth and structure (parallel to a kind attitude toward yourself and consistent practice in your meditation)—but your darling mind remains a free radical. Trying to force an outcome often makes things worse.
After fully owning your experience as nothing more than a construction of your mind, letting go of the arrogance of control opens a broader window of observation. Through this perspective, you can witness a beautiful life unfolding through your body and mind. When you stop identifying with thoughts, feelings, or your body, there’s no need for censorship or shame—it was never "you" to begin with.
So here’s a revolutionary proposal: What if you truly surrendered and committed to the truth that longs to reveal itself through your body? In complete obedience—without holding back or censoring—reveal and embody the strange pull toward what you know is real, even if you have no idea where it will lead?
This surrender transgresses patriarchal, neoliberal, and religious conventions, enabling you to become absolutely free to express your own way of being human. Truly your (non)self, intimately connected with the fabric of life.
It is time to make a vow that will kill you to break.
ALL THE TRUE VOWS (by David Whyte)
All the True Vows
are secret vows,
the ones we speak out loud
are the ones we break.
There is only one life
you can call your own
and a thousand others
you can call by any name you want.
Hold to the truth you make
every day with your own body,
don’t turn your face away.
Hold to the truth
at the center of the image
you were born with,
don’t turn your face away.
…Remember,
in this place
no one can hear you
and out of the silence
you can make a new promise
it will kill you to break,
that way you’ll find out
what it is real and what is not.
I know what I am saying.
Time almost forsook me
and I looked again.
Seeing my reflection
I broke a promise
and spoke
for the first time
after all these years
in my own voice,
before it was too late
to turn my face again.
____________________
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Feedback from Jolanda Scherpenzeel made this blog better.
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