I listened to his difficult situation with compassion. Then I said to my client, "John, I suggest that you lie down with your feet apart and palms facing the ceiling in an open, surrender position. Then say from your heart, I surrender to my spirit, to my higher self. Thank you for the perfect job and money to pay my rent. I am grateful!" John expressed some doubts if this would work, but in his state he was ready to try anything.

The next day, John called and said in an excited voice, "It worked, Helene! Last night I did what you suggested, and this morning I received a job offer. Based on the employment opportunity, my landlord was willing to let me stay in my apartment. Thank you so much!!! I never realized that surrender is so powerful!"

How can surrender be related to power? We often view surrender as a weakness. Most people would imagine a picture of a defeated person or an army walking forward with heads down, waving a white flag toward the enemy, and hoping that they will live and not be too severely punished for their actions. It means, in these scenarios, hopelessness, a giving up of their stand-their desires of having things the way they wanted them to be.

Surrender is usually associated with feeling powerless and very sad for losing or giving up. It also brings up fears of the unknown and of not being in control of our destiny, as it may be subject to the whims of the winners. This is a grim picture to burn away from your mind, so that you can clear the slate and be open to a new image-to new possibilities.

The surrender we are now going to explore comes from a humble mind that realizes it cannot figure out, plan, know, or do everything. Our human part is also called our personality. It consists of our mind, body, and emotions. It is fear and love-based. Our fourth part is our higher self. This spiritual part is unlimited and only comes from love, wisdom, trust, and faith. One way we connect with this all-knowing, all-powerful part is by listening to our intuition. (By the way, men also have intuition even though it is considered a feminine skill. It comes with the human package.)

After our personality has tried everything logical to find a job, housing, relationship, etc., we can surrender to our higher self and go beyond the mind. Or, we can surrender to that powerful part of us to begin with. I found the latter to be much easier and more fun.

For example, when I want to find a place to live, I lie down in surrender position and I say from my higher self, which comes from trust and faith, "Thank you for finding me the perfect place to live. I am grateful!" Then I follow my intuition to know what my mind, body, and emotions can do to help me locate my perfect home. For example, I intuitively know when to buy the newspaper, which ad to respond to, or where to post my ad. Or, I will get the message to go to a party and meet someone who is renting his or her home.

As you can see, to truly surrender is to replace fears and doubts with trust and faith. It means expressing what you desire and having a knowing that the universe supports you, that you are truly powerful, and you have all the answers inside of you. It means becoming very still, focusing inward, and listening to your inner voice either through a gut feeling, softly spoken words, or a vision.

As John said, "I never realized that surrender is so powerful." I never did either until I tried it myself. It has worked for me many times, and the power of surrendering to my higher self has been amazing. It can be for you too!