Understandably, millions of people on the planet this year experienced fear and uncertainty around physical health—their own and that of friends and loved ones. It is an unprecedented time, and it is still extremely important to remain as conscious as possible. The ego—on both the individual and the collective level—loves “the drama” that times like this can create. Our challenge is to remain alert and present so that we don’t fall into egoic reactivity, adding to the suffering so many are already facing.

As we all know, nobody is totally immune from physical illness, and an illness can have many different causes. It is easy to fall into the error of misinterpreting the arising of illness as some kind of malfunction in your body, or as something that you have done or failed to do. In New Age parlance, people sometimes ask themselves, “Why did I manifest this illness?” You then compound the situation by adding a narrative that may have nothing to do with the reality of the present moment. That can become very problematic.

The physical body is always susceptible to all kinds of influences. If something goes wrong with the body, then it becomes doubly important not to judge yourself or to say that you created it. If you are ill, whatever illness it may be, the most effective thing you can do is to surrender to what is, which does not mean surrender to what you call the illness. Surrender means acceptance. Acceptance initiates healing. The foundation for healing is to accept this moment as it is. In this moment, the so-called illness may manifest either as pain, discomfort, or some kind of disability. This is what you surrender to.

You never surrender to the idea of illness. You don’t say, “I must surrender to the fact that I have this incurable condition.” All you surrender to is the present moment, whatever the bodymanifests in the present moment. That is what is; that is what you accept. With that kind of surrender, a doorway opens into the transcendent dimension, and that’s where the power of manifestation really comes through.

So, if you are diagnosed with an illness, you don’t deny the illness, but you also don’t dwell on the concept of illness and build an identity around it. The ego will use anything for an enhanced sense of identity, and it will happily (or unhappily) use the idea of illness. It can then become incorporated into your sense of self, especially if it is a prolonged illness.

The body is as it is right now. That’s fine. The physical body is not who you are. Your true essence is timeless and without form.