The Two Stages of Surrender
Over a decade ago, in my very popular book What My Soul Told Me,
I described the five steps of soul activation —
a pathway to living a life of greater meaning, purpose, and connection.
The final step in that journey was surrendering to the soul:
releasing the ego’s tight grip and allowing the deeper intelligence within you to guide your life.
Today, I want to share something that has emerged in my work since then —
a further stage of surrender beyond even the soul.
It is about moving from surrendering to the soul to surrendering to the One Mind,
the field of pure unity that underlies all existence.
This teaching completes the circle.
It shows us not only how to live a soul-aligned life,
but how to ultimately dissolve even the identity of being “a soul.”
Surrendering to Your Soul — The Inner Alignment
When you surrender to your soul, you let go of the personality’s control.
You stop living only from the conditioned self —
the part shaped by family, culture, and fear —
and you begin to listen to the deeper intelligence within you.
It is like turning inward and saying:
“I trust the truest part of me to guide my life.”
This stage is deeply personal.
You still experience yourself as “me,”
but it is a more expansive, soulful me —
one aligned with love rather than fear, purpose rather than ego.
The experience of this surrender often includes:
Clarity about your calling.
A sense of flow and synchronicity.
Living from values and intuition rather than external expectations.
It is at this stage that service arises naturally,
as you begin to see that your soul’s desires and the world’s needs are deeply connected.
In What My Soul Told Me,
this was the culmination of the journey:
the movement from survival and ego
to a life of meaning, contribution, and soul alignment.
Surrendering to the One Mind — The Final Dissolution
Beyond the soul lies something vaster:
the field of unity itself — the One Mind.
When you surrender here, you release even the identity of being “a soul.”
At this level, there is no longer “my path” or “my purpose.”
There is only life living through life, the great current moving as all things.
It is like a wave realising it is the ocean:
The wave still rises and falls,
But it no longer clings to being separate.
The experience of this surrender brings:
Profound peace and spaciousness.
An end to striving — simply being.
The recognition that every breath, every act, every thought is the universe moving as you.
Here, sacrifice reaches its ultimate meaning:
The surrender of the illusion of separation itself.
Prayer becomes silent being.
Blessing becomes natural radiance.
Nothing is “done” — it simply is.
Two Stages of Letting Go
You can think of these as two stages of surrender — one inward and one outward.
The first stage, surrendering to the soul, is about aligning your life with your deepest inner truth and purpose.
It is a turning inward that says, “I am a soul on a journey. I choose to live in harmony with my calling.”
The second stage, surrendering to the One Mind, goes further.
Here, even the sense of being a soul dissolves.
There is no longer a separate “I” to guide or to be guided.
There is only consciousness itself, flowing through you as life.
Action no longer arises from personal effort or plan — it simply happens through you,
as naturally as breathing.
In the first surrender, you let go of the ego’s control.
In the second, you let go of the self entirely.
Why Both Are Essential
You cannot skip directly to surrendering to the One Mind without first surrendering to the soul.
If you try to dissolve into unity too soon, you risk spiritual bypassing —
using the idea of oneness to avoid the very real inner work of healing and integration that the soul requires.
Surrendering to the soul brings you into integrity with your unique expression, ensuring that what dissolves into the One Mind is whole and mature.
Surrendering to the One Mind then completes the journey by releasing even the “you” into the vastness of life itself.
First surrender inward → become fully you.
Then surrender outward → release even the “you” into the infinite.
Closing Reflection
Surrendering to your soul is the beginning of true freedom.
Surrendering to the One Mind is the end of separation itself.
One draws you inward to discover your sacred essence.
The other dissolves you outward into infinite wholeness.


As I read this I experienced a deep sigh, something that seems to happen a lot when reading Richard’s writings. I am so grateful to have found these and am really enjoying the journey of unfolding & becoming. Both uncomfortable & inspiring as it can be.
Love this!