Meditation For Acceptance

This meditation for acceptance guides you through an exploration of what it means to truly accept each moment as it is, without judgment or resistance. By cultivating mindful awareness of your breath, body, thoughts, and feelings, you’ll learn to welcome the breadth of human experience with openness and ease. Through a gentle body scan, breath awareness, and a heart-centred reflection, this practice invites you to experience acceptance as an empowering act of self-compassion that opens the door to freedom and inner peace.
Music 'A Soothing Caress' by Christopher Lloyd Clarke. Licensed by Enlightened Audio.

Transcript

Hello my friend,

Welcome to this meditation for acceptance,

A practice that for many of us can feel so much more challenging than empowering.

We cultivate acceptance by taking each moment as it comes,

Without imposing our ideas about what we should be feeling or thinking or seeing even in our experience.

Acceptance means we let ourselves be,

Just as we are,

In the moment,

Just as it is.

But what if the present moment brings something unwelcome?

Disappointment,

Hurt,

Discomfort?

Does it make sense to be accepting in those circumstances?

We shouldn't confuse acceptance with resignation or surrender.

Acceptance offers perspective rather than passivity.

It's about being able to perceive things clearly without reacting to them.

And to accept something is not an endorsement or an opinion,

It's simply to recognize or notice.

We might even be able to see acceptance as freedom.

Think for a moment about the emotional energy it takes to fight against reality.

The time and energy we waste wishing things were different in that moment and feeling wretched because they're not.

Tara Brach wrote in her book Radical Acceptance that acceptance opens the door to our cage and allows us to move freely in the world.

And this freedom doesn't only apply when we accept what's going on around us or what's happening to us,

It's also applicable to who we are.

The psychologist Carl Rogers wrote about the curious paradox that when you accept yourself just as you are,

Then you can change.

In his eyes,

Self-acceptance is a powerful catalyst for positive change.

When we embrace ourselves with unconditional positive regard,

We create a nurturing environment for self-discovery,

Authenticity,

Resilience and well-being.

Acceptance in our meditation practice invites us to keep a beginner's mind,

To practice without an agenda or a set of expectations about how the meditation might unfold or how we might feel during or after it.

It also means being kind to ourselves as we practice,

Accepting that we're likely to feel distracted at times.

You'll catch yourself daydreaming or thinking and that's okay.

Embrace these moments without judgment,

Recognizing them as part of the process and evidence that you are fully engaged in the present moment.

So let us begin.

Sit comfortably,

Nice and upright.

Let the shoulders drop.

Feel your body supported by the chair or the floor or maybe the wall behind you.

Find a connection with the restful side of your nervous system by taking three long slow deep breaths in and out through your nose.

Make these breaths as deep and slow as you possibly can.

Enjoy the sensation of filling the body with breath and then emptying the body of breath.

After these three controlled breaths,

Allow the body to settle back into its natural pattern of breathing.

Keep your attention on your body as it responds to each inhale and exhale.

You may notice your belly rise,

Your ribs expand and your chest lift as you breathe in and your belly sink,

Ribs contract and chest soften as you breathe out.

As you're sitting here with your attention on the breath,

You may notice thoughts going through your mind.

Can you see if it's possible to allow them to pass through the mind one by one,

Letting go of any need to label them as positive or negative,

Finding a neutral way to be with them,

Aware of them being there without grasping or clinging on to them,

But also without rejecting or denying any particular thought.

Shift your attention now to any feelings that may be present in this moment.

Acknowledging that feeling just as it is.

Sometimes we have feelings about our feelings.

We may feel that one is okay,

Acceptable,

While another is not.

In the present moment,

All feelings are acceptable,

So welcome them with spaciousness.

Let them be just as they are.

I will guide you through a body scan and invite you to bring your gentle,

Loving acceptance to each part of your body as I name it.

You can also feel the body as it is,

As I name it.

You can have quite strong opinions about our body,

And today we are going to practice complete acceptance,

And not just complete acceptance,

But loving and kind acceptance.

Allow your attention to move to the top of your head.

Let it travel over your scalp and down the sides and the back of your head.

And then moving to your face,

Sensing your forehead,

The area around your eyes,

Your ears and cheeks,

Your nose,

Mouth and chin,

Meeting your face with acceptance.

Softening the muscles around the eyes,

Around the mouth and the jaw.

Let your attention travel down your neck and throat,

Sensing your shoulders,

Your upper arms,

Elbows,

Forearms,

Your wrists and hands and fingers,

Accepting your arms just as they are.

Move your awareness to your back,

Accepting whatever sensations you feel here as your awareness travels from your upper back,

To your mid-back and down to your lower back.

Allow your attention to move to the front of the body,

To your chest,

Your ribs,

Your heart space,

Your stomach,

Internal organs and digestive system.

Acceptance,

Spaciousness.

What's present for you right here and now?

Welcome it.

Give it space.

Give it freedom.

Let your awareness move past your pelvis and your hips,

Down the legs,

Past the knees and ankles,

Into the feet and toes.

Aware of what's arising in your body and your mind,

Remaining still and focused.

Aware of what's arising in your body and your mind,

Remaining still and spacious in that awareness,

As you accept whatever it is that's arising.

Rest here for a few moments in a gentle,

Loving awareness of your whole body.

Guide your attention back to your breath,

Accepting the inhale without trying to change or control it.

Releasing the exhale without effort.

Staying present with the movement of your body as it breathes.

Allow your attention to move to the front of the body,

To your mid-back and down to your lower back.

Allow your attention to rest wherever it's drawn to.

Acceptance is about allowing things to be just as they are without resistance.

And so for the next few minutes,

Simply be with each breath,

Just as it is.

Accept the inhale,

Release the exhale.

You could use these words as a mantra to keep you present with your breath.

Inhale,

Accept.

Exhale,

Release.

Inhale,

Accept.

Exhale,

Release.

Keep a track of the time,

So just spend the next few minutes with your breath.

So just spend the next few minutes with your breath,

Accepting each inhale,

Releasing each exhale.

Be accepting of any fluctuations in the mind as it responds to this time of quiet.

You could ask yourself,

What thoughts are asking for my attention?

What's asking for acceptance?

We'll finish with a short contemplation on acceptance.

To bring your awareness to your heart center.

And invite into it the acknowledgement that there might be certain aspects of your life,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Situations that are difficult to accept at this time.

And as you do,

Allow yourself to experience what resistance might feel like in your body.

Is it a tightness in your chest?

A heaviness in your shoulders?

A tension in your jaw?

Breathe into the sensation gently.

Acknowledge it.

Allow it to be present.

Acceptance doesn't mean you have to like or agree with what's happening.

It simply means letting go of the struggle against reality.

You might wish to silently repeat the mantra,

I accept this moment just as it is.

I accept this moment just as it is.

I accept this moment just as it is.

Notice any subtle shifts in your body or in your mind as you replace resistance with acceptance.

Whether this moment feels pleasant,

Challenging or neutral,

It is yours to experience.

This is how things are right here,

Right now.

Notice.

Welcome.

Accept.

Sense the whole body,

The breath,

The mind,

Opening into the freedom of acceptance.

Nothing needs to be different right now.

This is how it is.

You don't need to change anything or make this moment better.

Just be here with it in its fullness.

As you go forward,

Remember that acceptance is not about being passive or indifferent.

It's an act of self-compassion,

An opening to the present moment,

An invitation to experience life as it is rather than how we wish it to be.

I hope this practice of acceptance brings peace and ease into your life.

Before you open your eyes,

I'd like to finish with a poem by the great poet Rumi.

The poem is called The Guesthouse.

This being human is a guesthouse.

Every morning a new arrival,

A joy,

A depression,

A meanness,

Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all.

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,

Still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought,

The shame,

The malice,

Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

Thank you for taking this time for yourself today.

When you're ready,

You can return fully to the present knowing that you carry the wisdom of acceptance with you.

Until next time,

Goodbye.

Reviews

This was exactly what I needed. Thank you.

Thank you for this wonderful and kind meditation on acceptance. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

Lovely 💐

Such great reminders! Thank you for this beautiful and soothing meditation.

Namaste 🙏

💖💖💖💖💖

Beautiful and loving! Thank you for your guidance. It really resonated with me today. ✨✨

Very nice thank you ❤️❤️🙏

May I accept this moment just as it is. Thank you for this gentle reminder. 💜🙏

The best! Exactly what I needed, thank you so much!!! 💗💗💗

This was great start to my morning