A picture of complete surrender?

I'm going through a phase right now where a lot of my core 'patterns' are being triggered. Particularly those around abandonment and rejection. It's like many of the people that I care about or have a deep connection with are either leaving my life, going travelling or leaving the locality and becoming less accessible to me. Or at least it feels like it. And the tendency at this time would be to 'tighten' around the issue - and around the emotions that have been stirred up; to go into 'victim' or 'vulnerable child' or 'poor me'.I notice also a sudden desire to travel, to go on adventures... which I may still do. But I know there's something deeper at work here: travel would give me a means to escape the feelings that have been activated. Maybe there's an invitation to approach this situation differently - and grow (cue drumroll).When a lot of core patterns are being triggered at once, author and spiritual catalyst (not his chosen title, but it's how I see him) Chris Bourne would say that we may be approaching what he would call a 'gateway' on our personal journey of spiritual evolution. It's like the soul sets up challenging situations in our life to mirror back to us where we're not healed - and kind of 'force us' to deal with the issue - and progress. I'd say the planet is approaching a gateway of its own perhaps, at the moment... but I digress!Now many of us, when we approach a 'gateway', because we're not aware of what's going on, will fail to take the opportunity being presented to walk through - and into a new, expanded state of awareness. Instead, we will find ourselves repeating the same patterns ad infinitum - going round in circles and never really evolving. We can see this for instance in the 'workshop junkie': continually going to workshops and seminars to see the next charismatic speaker or 'spiritual teacher' - but perhaps always looking outside for solutions, never turning within to find the answers and resources inside - and never actually doing the inner work which will enable them to progress.So the invitation being presented is to see our triggered patterns as an opportunity; to 'soften' rather than 'tighten' around the issue. To 'allow in' the uncomfortable emotion, fully experience it; all the time kind of 'watching it' from afar. And then, at the appropriate moment, to 'dive through' it, in complete surrender. This gives the soul an opportunity to 'unwind' from the issue - and this frees it to expand in consciousness as a result. And that, my friends, is what it's all about.One of the examples Chris uses to illustrate this process is the kingfisher. Because light refracts when it hits the surface of the water, when she dives, she never really knows the exact location of the fish. She kinda dives into the unknown, hoping she'll catch the fish, but really she's just abandoning herself to her felt sense... surrendering into the dive.But enough about that, already... anyone know the cheapest way to Morocco?Chris Bourne is giving a seminar in Guildford on the evening of Tuesday November 13th. NB: This is a date change! Please contact me for further information or to book your place.