I surrender, once more with more imagination

I introduced the function ‘ I surrender...’ yesterday, describing how it works, under the bonnet, combining all your (recent) search queries and meta-information gathered in your actions.

The ‘ relaxing your body and mind’ part is the hardest part, so I understand from people talking about this method. Apparently the desire to ‘ do’ something and ‘ think’ something is very strong.

Now, there is a way to accommodate for this, without interfering with the process under the bonnet by starting new search queries and being too active on your system.

You can use your imagination to produce a scene in front of your inner eye that matches the process of ‘ surrendering’. Like a little waiting-movie, that keeps you occupied ( in the right frame of mind) while the surrender-process is allowed the time it needs.

Any scene that fits this description will do:
You release all tension in it and (then) open your awareness to gathering information on where you are and how to proceed next (from standing still).

I particularly like the image of a sailing boat.

Picture yourself as the solo sailor on your trip, all sails tight, catching lots of wind, having the boat tilt sharply to one side, the splashes of water are hitting you whilst you are leaning overboard to act as a counterweight. Your holding simultaneously the rudder in place and the ends of various ropes..
It has been great fun for a couple of hours, but now tiredness is kicking in, your losing strength, confidence and focus. It is all mixing in with some confusion and insecurity, losing track of the navigational points around you. What to do, where to go, how to handle this situation well?

The sailor knows that when he let’s go of all the tension on the rudder and the ropes, the boat will turn back to a steady horizontal position,  slow down to stop and turn its nose into the wind.

Picturing really feeling how all the forces on the ship calm down when you let go of all the steering devices and how your senses shift from being fully absorbed in the activity to feeling the air, the now gentle movements, the scenery around you becoming more clear.......

You may not be going anywhere, but all the reasons to ‘ panic’ ( fear of falling overboard, capsizing, getting lost or losing time going in the wrong direction, hitting rocks....) have disappeared. Doing this gives you time to gather valuable information and start anew from there.

Having taken your mind of the immediate handling of the ship, its sails and rudder, has freed up mind space to allow all relevant information to be received and processed, in a calm state.
You know the exact direction of the wind, its speed, its relation to the point on the horizon you were aiming for to reach, the waves, the traffic around you, buoys and obstacles on your way.
And if you need to confirm things on a chart, you’ve got your hands and attention free now.

This is the information that is available in your vessel.
From there, based on your experience, you will most likely feel the confidence and the know-how building up again, when you’ve got the whole picture clear.
Maybe with less speed and less ‘ hanging overboard’, you’ll resume your journey.

If you really feel lost and need help and guidance, if you and your boat are really not up for making it back for whatever reason, you ask for support at traffic control through the VHF and surrender to their suggestions.

Even if your original quest had nothing to do with sailing ( but with raising children, mortgages, health issues, car reparations, budget issues.... you name it)... you’ll find that while you were watching this little waiting movie in your mind, the surrender-function has meanwhile dealt with the real issues on your mind.

Key is, not to ‘ force’ the sailing story’ in a certain speed or direction, but to feel and relax into when it is time to pull the sails again and steer the rudder again into a certain direction.

Surrender to the story to tell itself, allow the story to guide you, trusting that it works as fast as it can ( which is fast... a couple of minutes is usually enough, in my experience).