A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. Sept. Theme: "Sexuality" Volume 1 Issue 6 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Debra Brancato Gay Penguins Cristina Cardoze Love IS: Ordinary as Rain Jennifer Monaghan Surrender to Light Tira Brandon-Evans The Ritual of Sexuality David Reber A Blessingway Grace Tran A Leap of Faith Chelsa Roy The Envelope, Please... A Profile Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Tales of a Country Vet Dr. Bruce Burton DVM Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Technically Tarot Jeannette Roth Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Magik'ly Speaking… Elizabeth Abernathy Aunty Nasty Nasturtium Blackwitt Poetic License Featured Poets Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson The Art of Belly Dance IAMED Tantric Orgasm for Women Diana Richardson Magical Tattwa Cards John Mumford Cosmic Tribe Tarot Stevee Postman Ogam: The Celtic Oracle of the Trees Paul Rhys Mountfort Astrological Datebook 2004 Llewellyn's Sisters of the Dark Moon - 13 Rituals of the Dark Goddess Gail Wood

I was considering surrender this morning, and thinking I should write something about the importance of surrender.

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to surrender, to let go.

We think of surrender as being a defeat; but for shamans surrender is triumph. It is the triumph of spirit over the ego will.

To become one with all we must surrender.

"Quick now, here, now -- always a condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)"
      -- Little Gidding, T.S. Eliot

There are very few situations in our lives in which surrender is necessary. One of these is orgasm. To experience complete union with our partner we must surrender all thought, all control, we must let go. This is why so many people seek white light in the arms of a lover. Entering into the Great Dance with a partner is a wonderful way to participate in the oneness of all that is.

The orgasmic door between the worlds opens for us because we surrender. Somehow, for some folks, it seems easier to surrender with a partner.

On the other hand, sexual highs can become addictive. Some of us may become dependant on the sexual experience to achieve our spiritual highs. This requires being dependant on another, and is probably not a good idea in the long run.

To completely surrender, to be completely unmade and reborn - we do need to be alone. The feeling I get is rather like the moment of orgasm but without the element of intense physical pleasure. It is a purely spiritual pleasure, but frightening for all of that.

Many years ago, when I was in middle school, I read the Bible cover to cover for a whole year. (Well, I must confess, after the first reading I left out the 'begats' and the laws and read only the narratives.)

After the third reading I started to see certain patterns emerging in the stories, and one of these was that whenever an angel appears to someone the first words the angel speaks are: "Fear not."

Now, you would think meeting an angel, a being of pure light and love, a completely surrendered creature, would be so wonderful and amazing and fulfilling, one would simply be overcome with joy and wonderment. But, in fact, meeting angels, devas, the Shining Ones, and our own immense greater selves is terrifying.

For one thing there is nothing we can recognize as human - or controllable - in these folk. Pure love has not a single smidgeon of sentimentality. It is a tremendous force of pure energy - being in that current is rather like being naked in a hurricane. Exhilarating, but humbling and frightening all at once.

So, this is one reason I stress we must leave fear behind when we walk the shamans' way. And also why I so frequently remind us to 'allow all'.

We cannot encounter angels, faerys, or devas unless we are willing to allow them to be who they are. We cannot encounter our greater selves unless we allow ourselves to be who we truly are.

Our mantra must be: Fear not, allow all, surrender to the light.

Tira Brandon-Evans is the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans, an editor of "Earthsongs: Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans", and is, herself, a Faery Shaman.

Her books, "The Green and Burning Tree: A Faery Shaman's Handbook",
"Portals of the Seasons: A Celtic Wheel of the Year",
"Through the Unremembered Gate: Journeys of Initiation",
"The Labyrinthine Way: Walking Ancient Paths in a Modern World",
and "Healing Waters", are all published by Elder Grove Press. She is presently writing a book about the Ogham. You may contact Tira by email.

Surrender to Light, copyright (c) 2004 by Tira Brandon-Evans, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Copyright (c) 2004 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

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