Life is intent on stretching us infinitely, and our inner grower knows just the situations that will open us up to potential we have no idea we possess.

Our inner grower solicits from us an expansion of our entire sense of who we are.

It does this by juxtaposing the oceanic pull of oneness from which we have emerged, and to which we are drawn, with the pull toward separateness, individuality, and uniqueness.

The pull from without, coupled with a push from within, drive us toward a realization of the limitless magnificence of our inherent being. These two forces act both upon us and within us continuously, though with a different emphasis from time to time—sometimes stressing the need to be unique, at other times the need to connect, be a part of, and belong.

The tension created by the oceanic oneness and our increasing awareness of our uniqueness is how change begins. This tension has the ability to tease out of us what isn't yet realized in us.

Through the progressive unfolding of our separateness and uniqueness, we are drawn beyond the simple undifferentiated oneness from which we originated.

Through the uniting influence of the oceanic, we are asked to manifest our increasing uniqueness not individualistically but in union with all other differentiated expressions of our Source.

This push from our inner grower, working with the pull of the oceanic, doesn't let up on us our whole life long. At every moment we are being stretched toward infinity in a process that will never end.

Each fresh expression of our essential being requires of us a reorientation of our life. It's impossible to remain the same under the impact of the infinite mystery of being, which is never static but vibrantly alive.

Usually the call to reorder our life—whether some aspect of our external circumstances or an element of our personality or character—triggers a growth crisis.

There is a breaking down of our world the way it's presently arranged, whether internally or externally—and often both!—before reconstruction can get underway.

Whether this is a painful episode or a pleasant experience that invokes our curiosity and sense of adventure depends on whether we have moved out of our usual state of resistance and into a heartfelt cooperation.

We are talking about the need for surrender.

Having said this, it's necessary to clarify what we mean by surrender. It isn't about forcing ourselves to submit to something we don't want, something that's against our wishes.

Rather, surrender involves yielding to our essential being, which unlike the ego is by its very nature open to growth. Indeed growth is as natural for us as it is for a blade of grass, a daffodil, or a giant oak. It requires no "efforting" on our part.

Our difficulty is with the ego, which tends to cling to each particular stage of our growth as if that were already the end product.

The demolishing of our present state of development might be likened to the cracking of an eggshell as the chick inside pecks its way into a larger life. If the shell is thick, it can be difficult, even painful.

We determine the thickness of our egoic shell by the degree of our resistance. Hence we get to decide whether growth is going to be painful or a delightful unveiling of greater Presence.

The desire for a full life is inherent in being. But when we fossilize a particular stage of being, it can take a crisis to free us up for the growth for which we are intended.

Such a crisis can be bewildering, for we have no idea where we are being taken. However, our confusion comes only from our resistance, not from the new direction our life is taking in itself, which unfolds quite spontaneously, one step at a time, once we relinquish our egoic opposition.

Surrender, then, isn't something we have to do. It is rather our intrinsic state, into which we can simply relax. In the surrendered state of the blade of grass, the flower, the tree, growth happens all-but-effortlessly.

Expect to be stretched in your life. Get used to it so you can relax into it. When you do, to become more than you have so far known yourself to be turns into a thrilling adventure.

Opportunity for Self-inquiry and Sharing:

A.  Recall a time when life began stretching you and what it felt like as you resisted. How much pain did you cause yourself before you realized that the growth was what you really wanted after all?

B.  Where in your life right now are you experiencing the tension between the oceanic oneness and the fresh expressions of uniqueness that are seeking to be birthed in you?

C.  Do you still find yourself resisting the kind of change involved when your inner grower is reshaping you? Or have you learned to relax into—surrender to—the thrilling exploration of the infinite mystery that is seeking to realize itself as you, in all your uniqueness?

This ends part 3

Section 1 of part 4 will be posted on Monday, August 16