Audio Podcast

From Striving to Surrender

In this episode, Bernhard and Laura explore the relationship between personal will and Divine Will.

Aligning the personal will with the higher will is one of the most important transitions on the spiritual path. It changes how we act, how we choose, how we respond to life, how we meet challenges, and how we begin to sense a higher force that guides us beyond our personal desires and preferences.

In Part 1, we look at personal will: what it is, how it operates, and why it eventually reaches its limits. We also explore the crisis of personal will, the different aspects of will, why free will at the level of the personal ego is only relatively real and mostly an illusion, how the attention economy, technology, and social media weaken our will, and what to do about it.

In Part 2, we go deeper into spiritual will, surrender, and Divine Will. We explore why psycho-spiritual work requires engaging the spiritual will, what true surrender actually means, why it requires active participation rather than passivity, how the personal will can become an instrument of Divine Will, and why alignment with the Divine does not mean that life becomes free of challenges, interference, or resistance.

Wir glauben, dass wir frei Entscheidungen treffen und nach unserem ‚freien Willen‘ handeln.

In Wirklichkeit reagieren wir auf alle möglichen Impulse, Suggestionen, Wünsche, Ängste und Kräfte, deren wir uns noch nicht einmal bewusst sind. Das Ganze ist sehr mechanisch.
Deshalb sprach Gurdjieff davon, dass Menschen, die sich nicht wirklich auf diese tiefere Arbeit einlassen und die nicht selbstbewusster geworden sind, wie Maschinen sind.
Das ist in Wahrheit die Illusion des freien Willens auf der Ebene des gewöhnlichen Egos, mit dem sich die Persönlichkeit identifiziert, weil das Ego sich selbst als den Handelnden erlebt.
Es glaubt, ich wähle, ich entscheide, ich will, aber vieles von dem, was wir diesen persönlichen Willen nennen, ist diese Mischung aus allen möglichen Konditionierungen, kollektiven Einflüssen, niederen Impulsen, Kräften, Wesen und Energien, die durch uns wirken.
Deshalb besteht einer der wichtigsten Teile des psychospirituellen Weges des Erwachens darin, unterscheiden zu können, was in uns was ist. Welcher Teil ist meine wahre Natur? Was muss ich integrieren, und was muss ich ablehnen?
Das ist der springende Punkt von „Erkenne dich selbst“, der Praxis der Selbstbeobachtung: in der Lage zu sein, zu unterscheiden. Dies ist nicht nur eine intellektuelle Unterscheidung; es ist die Notwendigkeit, eine gewisse spirituelle Sensibilität sowie psychische und spirituelle Organe zu entwickeln, die Teil dieses Prozesses der inneren Arbeit sind.
– Bernhard Günther

Podcast Show Notes Part 1:

The relationship between personal will, spiritual will, and Divine Will
Why the will matters on the spiritual path
The two distortions of will: forceful control and passive “going with the flow”
What personal will is and how it operates through desire, preference, ambition, and self-protection
How personal will is shaped by upbringing, culture, trauma, and social programming
The illusion of “my own will” and “free will” at the level of the ordinary ego
How unseen forces, collective influences, and egregores can be mistaken for “my will”
Why self-observation and inner differentiation are essential for discernment
The importance of knowing what to accept, integrate, or reject within ourselves
Why the personal will must be purified before it can become an instrument of Divine Will
The crisis of personal will and the limits of outer achievement
Why getting what we want can still leave us feeling empty or unfulfilled
How disillusionment can become a turning point for soul growth
The four aspects of will according to Roberto Assagioli
Strong will, skillful will, goodwill, and transpersonal will
How the attention economy and social media weaken focus, attention, and will

In Part 2 (only for members), we go deeper into:

Why psycho-spiritual work requires spiritual will
Why many people fall off the path when the work becomes uncomfortable
The difference between inspiration and real inner work
How spiritual language can be used to justify avoidance
Why “going with the flow” can become a spiritual bypass
The role of discomfort, resistance, and disillusionment in the Work
Why the ego does not give itself up easily
The importance of emotional maturity and true ego strength
What spiritual will is and how it differs from egoic willpower
How spiritual will awakens through devotion, humility, and aspiration
Why spiritual will cannot be forced onto others
How spiritual will opens us to Grace and the higher Force
The paradox of surrender
Why true surrender is not passivity or non-action
What it means to become an instrument of Divine Will
Signs of being aligned with Divine Will
Why Divine alignment does not guarantee an easy life free of challenges

Go HERE to listen to Part 2 if you’re a member or REGISTER to become a member to have access to the membership section (including the membership forum.)