I've been playing with these hard to practically use terms in the context of helping the healing on my back, and would like to share some insight.

Have you ever been in a situation where say two of you are having a lively discussion on how best to do something? It's friendly, but each has some ego invested in having their solution accepted.
Then a third person drops by, and makes a suggestion which renders both of your positions irrelevant, and the problem non existent by looking at the situation in a different way.

For example - you're arguing over how to operate within what looks like a tight budget, and he points out that you have the wrong document - that there's loads of cash.

The point is not the particular example. But think of the way that when you've got a bit fired up that it's so hard to drop the argument, to accept that it's a non issue. There's a bit of you deep down that was enjoying and feeling good about trying to force it's will on the other guy, that's disappointed the opportunity is lost.

That's the ego at work.

Forgiveness, surrender and so on as above are a bit like that. Our every instinct is to consciously or unconsciously argue with ourselves or others in favour of one or other solution on all sort of topics. That's the urge that has to fade, or be transcended.

Yet the space the terms describe are nothing to do with any argument, or any position. They are actually about letting go - about just dropping the ego led internal dialogue, judging and position taking (actually a babble most of the time) to allow space to develop in our mind.

Any attempt to engage intellectually with this issue only stokes the babble.

It's hard for these reasons - the ego hates it. Hard too because the beliefs that underpin our behaviours probably extend right up to archetypes laid down over millenia, and because at our normal levels of consciousness we just can't free ourselves from these.

But it's in this space (that opens when the babble stops) that intuition, insight, creativity and all sorts of higher knowing arise. It's maybe a bit like like relating to music as the pattern of spaces between the individual notes.

The babble becomes a major issue in matters like healing where we'd like Spirit to act. Because as long as we judge situations and events we can't help expressing a preference, and as long as we do this Spirit won't act against our (often unconscious) wishes - no matter how wacky they are. That's free will in action.

So the problem in a sense is that if we can just drop the babble and let the mind rest easy (without always being compelled by ego to blurt out our own opinion first) Spirit can act as it sees fit.

But Spirit acts out of love and is not in the business of causing suffering, that's our own creation. And so it delivers optimal solutions.

This is why meditation is such an important part if the spiritual path - it's the way we practice creating space and stillness in our minds. You can't do it as an act of will, because it's actually 'not doing'.

This too is why (if I have it right) the term forgiveness as used in ACIM can be so elusive. And so different in meaning to how its used in mainstream religion. It has no meaning that we can conceptualise. It's just saying that if we can just stop the babble then forgiveness happens - Spirit steps in with a miracle to put right the consequences of our fear driven and delusional thinking so that it's as if it never happened...

Yes Vajra, I think that's all true what you said.

And Bets' example of the bed with soft cushions is very good.
  It's this soft falling sensation. Often, when I go to bed at night to sleep, this laying-myself-onto-the-bed-action is a magic moment, I feel very relieved, breathing out "ahhhh", but then, after some moments of letting it all fall off, bang! the babbler comes back, and I'm tensioned again.

I'm plagued with my inner talking and have a hard time to stop it. To achieve a blank mind is very difficult, so I sometimes allow visuals, sounds etc. to enter my mind, but not thinking in words and sentences. That works not too bad.
   As well I noticed, when I have this inner talking and I fall asleep, the talk will endure, but now outer persons will take it over; then it's easier to ignore it.
   I've heard frequently that people in dreams, mind-journeys and OBEs are not able to read. Me too. Putting this together with the fact that extensive inner talking is counteracting the awareness of nonphysical senses, it seems that for many people the active use of verbal language is a disturbing factor in meditation and mind journeys.

Spooky