Acceptance As A Practice

Acceptance is quite easy when it is something we want to accept, but how do we practice compassion when we have a situation in front of us that is a bit more challenging? This practice is designed to help with exploring the concepts around acceptance in a gentle way. We want to invite ourselves to be kind when working with acceptance around challenging topics. Find a comfortable seat and allow this meditation to offer some insights around how acceptance is showing up in your present circumstances

Music: Meditation Music (without Nature Sound) by DanaMusic

Transcript

Hi, This is Stephanie Boxerbaum. Thank you so much for meditating with me today. For today's practice, We're going to be doing an acceptance as a practice practice. So mindful acceptance isn't about forcing or pushing yourself to accept something where you're just not ready to accept it. It's more about giving yourself space. One thing I've realized is that I think the coat that acceptance has to always be wearing is ease and kindness. Oftentimes, It's really easy to accept something that we want to accept. But when it's something that we have no interest in accepting, It's a bit more challenging. So for this practice, We're just going to be exploring some mindful acceptance. Pick a situation that you're comfortable with and that's maybe not that challenging, But just something maybe where there's a little bit of resistance. And beginning to practice, What does it feel like to allow in some acceptance? You know, Oftentimes, People will say that if they accept a situation that they're giving in or they are caving in or they're being weak, And it's really not so much about that perspective in kind of the mindfulness space. It's really, What can we do to ease our suffering? Because often, When we are not in acceptance of what is, There's some kind of discord, If you will, Right? Maybe a little bit of feeling upset or anger or any feeling that's kind of one of the more difficult emotions. And so when we can kind of turn toward acceptance in this gentle, Mindful way, It doesn't mean that you have to accept anything. I mean, Sharon Salzberg likes to often say, You know, When we're offering self-compassion phrases to a challenging person in our life, It's not so much that you have to like invite them to dinner. It's more about allowing ourselves to have some ease. So we'll do a little bit of a practice. Greeting ourselves with kindness and care and allowing ourselves to be exactly as we need to be. So coming to a comfortable seat or maybe laying down, If that feels better today, Just finding a place that feels really comfortable. And taking in a deep, Gentle breath in and a deep exhale out. Taking in another deep inhale in and a gentle exhale out, Allowing the mind to settle. And maybe you're having a day where settling the mind is a bit challenging. And that's okay. There is no perfect meditation. Every time we come to this practice, It's going to be different. And that's really a first place of acceptance. There is no need to change who you are, How you are, Whatever is happening right now. We come to this space just exactly as we are with love, With kindness, And with just a gentle space to be. So for these next few breaths, Just picking an anchor that works for you. So that could be your breath. That could be sound. Could be a place on the body. Where you're using this as that place to come back to, This continuity of attention. So we know just by our nature that thoughts will arise and that's okay. What we're doing in our mindfulness practice is we are using the anchor. Let's say it's the breath or perhaps the sound of the air conditioning. Whatever feels good today. When the thoughts start to veer off, We come back to the anchor. And we're just simply placing our attention there without judgment. You may need that gentle reminder every single breath and that's okay. So I'll watch our time here. And like a rock that's being dropped into a river where the ripples are going out and out, Just gently finding that deep calm when the rock hits the bottom. Gentle breath in, Gentle breath out. Gentle breath in, Gentle breath out. Coming back to your anchor. Knowing that you don't have to do anything. We're just simply letting the breath in. And just noticing. Noticing the current landscape of the mind and bringing ourselves back to whatever anchor we chose. And for these next few breaths, We're gonna practice a little bit of slower breathing. So what that looks like is breathing in for the count of four and then exhaling for the count of four. Now there is no certain speed or pacing that this has to happen in. It could just be something like it's breathing in one, Two, Three, Four. Exhaling, One, Two, Three, Four. At your own pace, At your own speed, If you feel that you wanna do six breaths in and six breaths out, That's fine too. We're really just allowing the body and the mind to settle and allowing some ease and kindness around the heart. Sometimes we may think we don't need kindness around the heart. And we can notice that without judgment. However you are today, Doesn't need to change. We are just in acceptance of what is and noticing what is there. Staying with the four count breath. Keeping a steady mindset. So gently returning the breath to normal, Just your gentle inhale and exhale. I invite you to think of a situation in your current life right now where you may be resisting your current experience. And because of that resistance, It's perhaps causing a bit more suffering. Now you can pick a somewhat benign situation, Doesn't have to be anything too deep. Just something where you're noticing a little bit of resistance. And asking yourself quietly in the mind, What is this resistance showing me? Without judgment, Just the simple question, What is this resistance showing me? And on this next inhale in, Exploring the question, How is this resistance not serving me? How is this resistance not serving me? And your next inhale in, And gentle exhale out, Exploring this question, What would it look like for me to be more in acceptance of this situation? What would it look like and feel like for me to be more in acceptance of this? What would it look like for me to be in more acceptance of this situation? It's really this question of, What support do I need during this time? And when we can look really deeply in the heart space and simply ask, What support do I need? There is no wrong or right answer. It's just simply allowing yourself to get quiet and really ask, What do I need to be in more acceptance of this? As I mentioned before, The coat that acceptance must always wear is ease and kindness. We can baby step our way into acceptance no matter how slow the baby steps happen. We can be careful with our hearts and our minds and being like the mountain where we can accept what we feel is right and what is, But also be unwavering. We can take good care with this situation and all the rest. Taking another gentle inhale in and a deep exhale out. Maybe gently wiggling your toes and fingers, Kind of coming back into the space around you and sharing that reminder that you are always enough as is. And when you're ready, Gently opening your eyes. Thank you so much for meditating with me today and I hope to be meditating again with you soon.