C C C:
Spiritual progress seems to require skill in being able to surrender. To me, "surrender" means letting go of control, struggle, strain, needing to know, needing to understand, needing to feel safe and secure, needing to analyze and interpret.
Progress in business requires also this skill of letting go. There's two broad styles of progress in business. There's the Steve Jobs or Richard Branson style of progress, which is high-risk, easy, light, struggle-free and wildly successful. And there's the china sweat shop style of progress which is full of struggle, control, strain and corruption. Both create lots of wealth, but only the first style allows progress in the long term.
Progress in relationships definitely requires surrender. There's nothing more unattractive than a forceful and willful approach to dating and mating. On the other hand, being vulnerable and flowing with the moment allows you to have fun and connect... and this is very attractive. In established relationships, the work is to surrender to the other person, if you want to develop real love.
This is why I say - if you haven't succeeded in the ordinary world of work and relationships, then there's no way of working towards enlightenment. It won't happen unless you have learned how to surrender with basic ordinary desires. It's the very same skill that is required.
Proof? Examples? Or just another 'belief' conditioning the way you interact with and how you relate to the people who post here and everywhere? What do 'you' gain by convincing someone of this theory? Do 'you' have anything, and I mean anything at stake by posting this thread and convincing someone of your ideas? Be honest.
How is your own practice going, CCC? What are you doing in your practice? Do you get pleasant sensations when 'you' post your opinions here? What do 'you' feel when you post stuff like this? Be achingly honest. Have you ever investigated exactly why you post here? Serious questions, seriously interested.
I'd like to see your own practice thread with details of what you are trying to do to be a happier human being. I'm seriously interested in what you are doing.