Sacrifice is Essential to Spiritual Paths
And Surrender is Different
Sacrifice
Is an older word often associated with offerings to a deity as described below and has harsh tones arising from the Christian Bible’s Old Testament.
Online Etymological Dictionary sources sacrifice: sacrifice — origin (n.) “from Old French sacrifise “sacrifice, offering” (12c.), from Latin sacrificium, from sacrificus “performing priestly functions or sacrifices,” etymologically “a making sacred,” from sacra “sacred rites”,” and,
“Originally especially of Christ’s propitiatory offering of himself for the world. Latin sacrificium is glossed in Old English by ansegdniss. The general sense of “act of giving up a desirable thing for a higher object or to a more pressing claim”.”
sacrifice — origin (v.) “c1300, “to offer (something to a deity)as an expression of thanks, devotion, penitence, etc.,” [sic] from sacrifice (n.). The Meaning “surrender, give up, suffer the loss for the sake of something else” is from 1706.”
Surrender
Online Etymological Dictionary sources surrender as: surrender — origin (v.) “mid-15c., “to give(something)up,” from Old French surrendre “give-up, deliver over” (13c.) from sur- “over” + rendre “give back”
Surrender appears 100 years after sacrifice probably due to changes in written communication — invention of moveable type and a greater proliferation of fine art and fine art techniques. A softening of religious fervor and continued expansion of kings and empires away from the ideas of the wrath of God. Jesus and Christianity was spreading.
Esoteric Sacrifice
In the oral tradition of the Gurdijeff teachings or the Fourth Way (see Ouspensky’s book), sacrifice as connected to higher will is worked upon with students.
The flavor of sacrifice when executed through Higher Will by The Decision has great power. It is a kind of power that flows through oneself and is very different or alien to the self (or ego). It comes from a greater place. The power itself can only be felt and not owned.
The act of a decision comes from my “word” or vow to my essence. I will sacrifice a momentary whim that may pass before me. My body, emotions and thought are in a singular alignment with higher or divine will. Once the promise of the alignment has been set with laser intentionality, then the sacrifice of all else becomes clear.
The result is an exhilarating feeling of having been touched by God and a realization that one is god simultaneously.
Esoteric Sacrifice and Surrender
Sacrifice may be compared to a sword or knife cutting through something for its removal. It is swift and there is no regret, though there is loss. Loss is balanced with receptive gain.
Sacrifice is yang and has a sharp cutting edge.
Surrender is rarely connected to Will in the same way. With the act of surrender, come grace. This kind of grace is filled with compassion and can be accompanied by sorrow, loss, and grief. Surrender is an acquiescence into a oneness with loss and grief — the flip side love. Surrender includes loss with love. On a higher level, there is a danger of surrender falling into sentimentality. When this romantic notion overtakes me, I fall into the illusions of oneness and get stuck.
Surrender is yin and has a soft round feel.
Sacrifice and Higher Will are Often Shunned
Surrender feels nice, whereas sacrifice seems like lack and self-flagellation. Both are needed. Surrender may be an easier engaging act. Sacrifice is harder because of its swift cut and clean edges.
When I decided to breathe clean air during a Long Term Decision Exercise — of 15 days I faced lighting a cigarette and inhaling every day. Each time I held a cigarette in my fingers, allowed the sword of Higher Will to descend, I crushed the cancer stick beneath my shoe and discarded it. That was in 1983. I replaced breathing in fouled air with cleaner air and have been free of cigarettes since.
Do not shy away from this difficult challenge lest your Higher Self be divorced from your world and cast into fantasies of illusion. The previous sentence is part channeled and part me.