The Art of Surrender: Healing Without Effort
It’s transformation time.
“How Nature and Dreams Guide Me to Healing”
Often, it’s the quiet moments in nature that lead me to the deepest insights about myself. Recently, a recurring dream and an encounter with butterflies reminded me that healing doesn’t require effort — it comes through surrender and acceptance. In reflecting on these moments, I realized how much of my identity had been built to protect myself from pain, and how turning gently toward those wounds instead ignites a natural healing process. I’ll share how I learned to trust that healing is already happening within us, when we let go and open ourselves to it.
Reading time: 5 minutes
In the past week, I’ve had the same, nearly identical dream. This dream isn’t unfamiliar to me; I’ve had it twice before in other phases of my life. It always revolves around an "aha" moment – something suddenly clicks – an understanding that leads to a deep relaxation in my body. A state of complete peace. My mind is free, and the tight fascia in my body becomes soft and pliable. My heart is open, and my senses are curious. In the dream, I briefly wake up and think: "Now I get it. Now I’m healed. I don’t need to return to the self-made prison of my false beliefs — I’m free now.“
But when I wake up in the morning, my perception of the world and my body isn’t as light and peaceful anymore. And on top of that, I can’t put into words what had freed me during my dream.
What remains is a vague memory of the liberating state I experienced during the dream. Until nature reminds me once again ….
Here in the fields between the mountains, I’ve discovered many caterpillars – large, small, and in a variety of colors. By the puddles along the paths, hundreds of butterflies rest. When you get too close, they scatter, creating a whirlwind of butterflies around you. As kitschy as it may sound, that’s exactly how I experience it.
( To get a glimpse of that check out this IG Post later)
Embracing the Present: A Dance of Curiosity, Clarity, and Healing
Today, as I stood among the startled butterflies, watching them dance around me. That same feeling of clarity, calm, lightness, and peace washed over me. A floating consciousness, a sense of lightness. Completely present in the moment, open to whatever comes. Detached from yesterday and tomorrow, fully in the here and now, as if time would stand still – with the butterflies around me.
“Full of curiosity about what surrounds me, I have no urge to change anything. I breathe deeply, naturally. In contrast to when I’m stressed and consciously try to calm myself with long, deep breaths, this time is different. My body instinctively knows what it needs and allows me to breathe deeply on its own, without effort. My entire system is open – ready to see, feel, hear, smell, and perceive everything around me. My ears are alert like a lynx’s – not out of fear, like when I was a child, frozen in bed while my parents fought, throwing objects at each other. Back then, I would listen with heightened alertness, making sure I heard them as a sign they were still alive. But today, I listen intently, alert out of curiosity, not fear. My eyes are wide open, eager to take in everything around me. Curiosity takes over. Everything I perceive through my senses is absorbed directly into my body, fully integrating. A living, vital state, a quiet ecstasy. Although "ecstasy" might not be as fitting. It’s not an exhilarating ecstasy like riding a roller coaster – it’s more like the awe of a child, watching the world while sitting safely in your mother’s lap. I feel a natural healing process unfolding within me, one I don’t need to control with my mind. Even though I still can’t find the words to describe exactly what’s happening, I feel that I’m sitting safely in the loving embrace of a mother’s lap, and from there, I’m finally realizing that I’m a part of this majestic world. My entire system is open – ready to see, feel, hear, smell, and perceive everything around me. My ears are alert like a lynx’s – not out of fear, like when I was a child, frozen in bed while my parents fought, throwing objects at each other. Back then, I would listen with heightened alertness, making sure I heard them as a sign they were still alive. But today, I listen intently, alert out of curiosity, not fear. My eyes are wide open, eager to take in everything around me. Curiosity takes over. Everything I perceive through my senses is absorbed directly into my body, fully integrating. A living, vital state, a quiet ecstasy. Although "ecstasy" might not be as fitting. It’s not an exhilarating ecstasy like riding a roller coaster – it’s more like the awe of a child, watching the world while sitting safely in your mother’s lap. I feel a natural healing process unfolding within me, one I don’t need to control with my mind. Even though I still can’t find the words to describe exactly what’s happening, I feel that I’m sitting safely in the loving embrace of a mother’s lap, and from there, I’m finally realizing that I’m a part of this majestic world.”
Why Surrendering is Key to the Healing Process:
“I realize that healing doesn’t require conscious effort but is instead surrender.”
A crucial turning point that allowed this realization to bloom was when I began to open up to myself unconditionally earlier this year. When I somatically remembered what had happened to me, I understood that I had built my life around ensuring that nothing like it would ever happen again. So I created an identity that believed it could be invincible by controlling everything – but in reality, this kept me from allowing my own natural healing process to take place.
Only when I began to curiously turn toward myself, and I compassionately said, "I feel how deep the wounds are,“ "I remember the pain by feeling it now,“ "I’m here to witness unconditionally,“ "I’m here to give them space,“ "They are valid." Through this recognition, they begin to heal. This is the mother’s lap, which I had sought for so long. From here, I can be in awe of the world.
Letting Go: There Are No Steps to Healing
Finally, the butterflies reminded me of my dream. They showed me that there’s nothing to understand — no words, no instructions are needed to be free. It’s all about surrendering to the truth of who you are. Everything I’ve been searching for, trying to accomplish, is already here. All it takes is deep trust that healing is already happening when I turn compassionately toward what’s within me.
As I write this conclusion, my mind jumps in, of course: "Okay, Lisa, what are the steps to surrender more easily, more often — or even always? What do I need to do now to fully integrate this epiphany?" But that’s exactly where the contradiction lies. The mind loves to control, to grasp at healing as if it’s something that can be achieved through effort. But surrender isn’t something to be controlled; it’s the opposite. Surrender happens when we release the need to control, to "figure it out."
I’ve come to understand that Letting go often feels impossible — until it isn’t. You can read more about this struggle and breakthrough in my post on surrendering to the process.
So, no, there are no steps to how to surrender, because there’s nothing to do, no instructions to follow, nothing to become. Life will continue to bring situations that challenge us, sometimes causing deep suffering if we approach them solely with our minds instead of our hearts. And if we haven’t fully surrendered into ourselves yet, that’s okay. There’s no need to rush the process — surrender unfolds when we’re ready, in its own time. Each of us has a unique path, with epiphanies at different stages of life. There’s no need to force anything.
So today, I remind myself with these gentle words:
You’re fine, just as you are. There’s nothing you need to change or do. Everything is good. Trust that healing is already taking place.
And if you can — enjoy the ride. 😉
All Photos from this post are shot by Tillmann Lewien.
“This is a space for exploration, for feeling, for raw honesty. I invite you to join me as I move through life’s cycles. Take what resonates, and leave the rest. We grow together, in unique ways.”
