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The Ecstasy Of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life (2014)

by Judith Orloff(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0307338207 (ISBN13: 9780307338204)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Harmony

review 1: ** Surrendering as a pre-requisite to receiving **Here’s another one of those counterintuitive truths --> To bring in you have to let go. In this case, bringing in ecstasy entails surrendering to life’s inherent joys and sufferings. As author and psychiatrist Judith Orloff summarizes: “The tremendous challenge and promise of this book, from accepting death to succeeding in business to falling in love, is letting yourself be catapulted beyond the ordinary to view all of existence in extraordinary terms…Every experience you go through—good, bad, or indifferent—can offer a teaching that enriches the sacred path of letting go. The artfulness of life, the clumsiness, the grace, the messiness, the faltering, and the clarity are integral to this dance. Breathe deeply ... morewith it all. Keeping surrendering through the pleasure and the pain…Let go to the passionate perfection and imperfection of everything.” (pp. 378-379)The book presents twelve ways to surrender in the domains of power, money, people, communication, relationships, love, sensuality, mortality, and immortality, including:• Redefining true success, power, and happiness• Four vital insights into power and letting go• Manifesting the heart of money: Seeing beyond material seduction and fear• Learning the art of reading people• Cultivating impeccable communication • Honoring soul mates, soul friends, and animal companions• Exploring the divinity of your body and sexuality• Igniting your sexual power• Discovering the essence of the natural world• Harmonizing with illness and pain• Experiencing radiant aging: The secret of slowing down time• Making peace with death and the afterlifeOverall, I found the book to be quite interesting and helpful. At times it does feel like the author has written the book to work through and reflect on her own issues and personal journey—but, that’s also what helps make the material real and accessible. Interestingly, once I surrendered to that realization, I was able to enjoy the book.
review 2: Unfortunately, I didn’t find this book particularly readable at first, which is why I didn’t manage to get it finished before I had to return it to the library.However its theme/message is of utmost importance. We all need to let go, to surrender our personal will to the Divine Will, and to be in the moment.Life becomes easier when you learn to let go. “Burdens will lift or lessen.” Surrendering “involves reprogramming old habits and being willing to let go of the drama.”Dr. Orloff has seen the transformative effects of surrender on her patients’ health as well as on her own. She asserts that surrender is a secret to health and beauty. We need to practice both intellectual, emotional, physical/sensual and spiritual surrender.The author divides the book into 13 parts, the 13 surrenders.The 1st surrender deals with redefining true success, power and happiness. Stop comparing yourself to others and build self-esteem. The chapter on the 2nd surrender comprises four vital insights into power and letting go. 1) We need to break the trance of the reptilian brain and surrender old behaviours and ineffective communication styles. 2) We need to surrender to our spiritual power, using soft power instead of hard power, i.e. activating endorphins, the feel-good hormones, oxytocin, the love or cuddle hormone and serotonin, the happiness hormone, instead of adrenalin, the fight-or-flight hormone, testosterone, the sex and power hormone and dopamine, the pleasure hormone. We must get out of our mind and into our heart. 3) We need to wield light powers, not shadow powers. 4) We must learn when to practice power versus powerlessness.The 3rd surrender consists of manifesting the heart of money: seeing beyond material seduction and fear. We are given three strategies to transform our relationship with money. With regard to money, we are divided into three types. The Warrior, the Procrastinator and the Spending Addict.The 4th surrender is learning the art of reading people. Here we surrender to new forms of knowing. The 5th surrender is cultivating impeccable communication. This is a surrender because you learn to know when to be assertive and when to let go. This chapter includes a useful section on how to communicate with anger addicts, passive aggressive people, narcissists, guilt trippers and gossips.The 6th surrender is about honouring soul mates, soul friends and animal companions. Intimate relationships challenge us to open our heart and become a more confident and more giving person.The 7th surrender relates to exploring the divinity of your body and sexuality. This chapter includes keys to a positive body image and weight.Igniting your sexual power is the 8th surrender. It comprises basic strategies of sexual surrender, one section about claiming your sexual power and one about surrendering to the ecstasy of orgasms and exploring “sacred play”.The 9th surrender deals with discovering the sensual essence of the natural world and includes a section about surrender to the Earth and meeting your power animals and messengers.The 10th surrender is about harmonizing with illness and pain. Surrender doesn’t mean giving in or giving up. Illness can wake you up physically, emotionally and spiritually. ”Surrender means knowing you are not just your diagnosis, your genes, your pain, your addiction or even your body. You are a radiant soul.” The surrender the author suggests is to harmonize with illness and pain, not to resist them. “Resistance can amplify suffering whereas flowing with symptoms diminishes them.”The 11th surrender is experiencing radiant aging: the secret of slowing down time, while the 12th surrender is making peace with death and the afterlife.Much of this is fascinating, invaluable. The author asks the question: “What is your perfect death?” No, 6 is “Having an orgasm”. No. 7 is “Death by chocolate”. Ha, ha! Each chapter contains useful exercises, various tests and a surrender affirmation.Finally, she offers us this prayer of love for the planet:“Bless all of the earth’s creatures, light, dark, or struggling. Bless all the twinkling beings in and around us. Love is large enough to hold us all. Joy is expansive without limit, leaving no one out. May our surrender, or bliss, come from loving ourselves, each other and the earth.”This is a valuable, well-written book, and I would absolutely recommend that you read it. You may need to read it a couple of times in order to integrate its content. The book will help you lead your life easily and effortlessly. less

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