How to Surrender to the Universe: 10 Powerful Ways to Release Control

Last year, I attended one of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s retreats.

I had done the work, booked the trip, showed up with my journal and my intentions, my heart wide open, buzzing with excitement.

The time, the energy, the investment . . . ah, I was ready, really ready, for the Universe to hand me my next big upgrade in the most magical way.

As people began settling into their seats, the energy in the room was electric. I smiled impatiently, my entire being humming with anticipation as the facilitator handed me a large black velvet bag. This is it. The sign. The message. The word meant to change everything. 

I slipped my hand inside, brushing against a stack of cards, each one waiting to choose me as much as I chose it. 

When I finally drew my card, I turned it over slowly.

Surrender.

My stomach tightened.

I looked at the card again.

The word stared at me.

S.U.R.R.E.N.D.E.R.

Really? 

That was my word? 

I hadn’t come all this way to let go. I came to break through. To push. To make something happen.

But the word followed me everywhere that week. During meditation, it whispered in the spaces between my breaths. In conversations, it echoed back through the pauses. Even in my body, it pulsed like a quiet drum: surrender. Surrender. S-u-r-r-e-n-d-e-r.

At first, I resisted. Oh, how I resisted. I thought surrender meant giving up, being passive, doing nothing. 

But as the days continued, I started to see differently. 

Each time I exhaled . . . long, slow, deliberate . . . something in me softened. The grip loosened. A little more space opened.

And in that space, magic began to slip in. 

Unexpected synchronicities. Peace I hadn’t felt in years. Answers I had been chasing started landing without effort. Even money magically appeared right in front of me in the most surprising ways.

That was the moment I realized that surrender isn’t about losing control. It’s about leaning into trust and allowing life to love you back.

If you’ve been holding on tightly, trying to control and figure it all out on your own, I see you. I know how exhausting that feels, especially the fear of letting go. That’s why today, I want to share with you 10 powerful ways to practice surrender in your own life.

1. Start with your breath

Your breath is the bridge between control and release. When you catch yourself gripping, pause. Yes, just pause. Take three slow, intentional breaths. Inhale deeply through your nose, letting your belly rise. Then exhale as if you’re handing your worries to the Universe, one by one. 

2. Create a surrender box

Sometimes the mind needs a ritual to feel safe to let go. Find a small box or jar and call it your surrender box. Whenever fears or what ifs pile up, write them on a piece of paper. Place them inside the box and close the lid. This simple act tells your nervous system that you don’t have to carry this alone. 

Over time, the weight begins to lift because you’ve given your mind a safe place to put what it can’t control.

3. Practice daily stillness

Five minutes of quiet can change the tone of your whole day. Each morning, sit in stillness just for a few minutes. Close your eyes and relax your body. Put your phone away. Listen to your breath. Become aware of the sounds around you. This tells your nervous system that you’re safe now. Stillness is where your soul catches up to your body.

4. Speak a surrender mantra

As you already know, words carry energy. Create a simple mantra that reminds you to let go. It doesn’t have to be long. Sometimes the simplest words carry the most power.

I don’t need to know the how. Show me the way.

Speak it out loud so your body hears the vibration of your own trust. 

5. Release through movement

The body often holds what the mind cannot release. Choose one song, turn it up, and let your body move however it wants. Shake, sway, stretch, dance, whatever feels good in that moment. Movement helps your nervous system discharge tension and creates the opening your mind has been resisting. You'll see that by the end of the song, you’ll feel lighter and more in flow.

6. Trust the delays

Life doesn’t always move on your schedule. So, when things seem stagnant and not moving, instead of panicking or pushing harder, pause and know that the Universe is rearranging things in your favor. Imagine the pieces being shifted behind the scenes, even if you can’t see them yet. Delay is not denial. It’s alignment. 

7. Go outside

Nature is the original teacher of surrender. Go sit with the trees, walk by the water, or let the wind move through your hair. You'll soon notice that everything has its own rhythm. Nothing is rushed, and yet everything gets done. 

8. Set intentions

Speak your desires clearly and write them down. Then release the how and the when. 

9. Nighttime surrender ritual

While in bed, before you fall asleep, place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Close your eyes and say: Anything too heavy for me to carry, I give back to the Universe tonight. And then, imagine the weight leaving your body, as if you’re laying down a heavy suitcase onto the conveyor belt at airport check-in, trusting it will be taken care of.  Soon you'll start waking up renewed and restored, because you’re no longer carrying tomorrow’s worries into the night.

10. Celebrate what’s here now

Gratitude is one of the purest forms of surrender. When you appreciate what's already yours, you release the constant grasping for more. Each night before you fall asleep and every morning when you wake up, name three things you’re grateful for.

Gratitude tells the Universe that you trust what the Universe has already given you and what's still to come. And soon enough, more will come to you.

I want to leave you with what I learned at that magical retreat: surrender is a practice, not a one-time event. 

Each breath, each pause, each release makes space for life to show you what’s possible.

Keep practicing. The best is yet to come.