Acceptance doesn't mean resignation.
It means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it.
Michael J.
Fox.
Imagine you're on a small boat,
Floating in the sea.
You're in complete surrender to where this boat will go.
The boat is carried by the waves.
You have dropped all your to-do lists.
You have dropped all your needs to control.
You are simply floating in the sea.
You are simply letting the waves carry you to wherever they want to take you.
You trust that your boat will be guided to a beautiful place.
But at the same time,
You are not concerned with the future.
You're only concerned with the here and now.
Acceptance.
I accept.
What is your reaction to this word?
Which part of you or which parts of you are in resistance to it?
What part of you wants to hold on?
What part of you wants to fight?
What part of you wants to continue to hate,
To judge or even to complain?
Notice that as you are floating through the sea with complete acceptance,
You can also flow through your life with this same acceptance.
Imagine if you try to resist any of these waves and you only want to be carried by certain waves and not by others.
That would not be very effective.
So why do we do that with our life?
Importantly,
Acceptance is not passive.
It's not endorsing anything and it's not giving into anything.
It is ending the battle.
It is stopping the conflict.
It is transforming things we perceive as negative so that we can start to return to inner peace and respond wisely.
Sometimes action is essential and then we have to act to resolve a situation.
But often,
Acceptance is essential.
Because what we resist persists and what we accept,
We can change.
We might be in resistance to many things,
The world around us,
Our circumstances,
Our body,
Our self,
Our thoughts and often our emotions.
As you are floating through the water here,
You can hear the waves carrying you and you in complete acceptance of wherever your boat will be taken.
Start scanning your body starting with your head and you bring complete acceptance to your mind and your thoughts.
Thoughts come and they go and you are in complete acceptance of that process.
You realize you are not your thoughts and you let them do their thing.
Start to sense the power and peace of bringing acceptance to your mind and your thoughts.
You no longer need to resist.
You just let it be there and you return to inner peace where you can respond to life wisely,
Blissfully and lovingly from your heart.
The resistance to your thoughts and your mind is what blocks you from accessing your heart.
With acceptance,
This opens up a space for your heart to come through and guide your life just as the waves are carrying you.
You get to express your true inner being.
Now start to scan down your body,
Down your neck,
Down your chest and there you find your heart.
Bring complete acceptance to your heart.
Surrender to your heart.
Don't feel guilty or strange or judged for following your heart.
Bring complete acceptance of it and know that it guides you and is always there for you.
Move down to your belly and be in acceptance of your beautiful breath.
Bring gratitude to your breathing that grounds you in every moment.
Come into your arms and your hands,
Left arm,
Right arm,
Bring awareness to them and breathe slowly.
Move down your body to your legs,
To your feet.
Now hold your whole body here in acceptance.
Breathing slowly,
Breathing acceptance into your body and breathing out conflict and resistance.
Breathing in acceptance and breathing out resistance.
Because you are holding your whole body in complete acceptance,
Accept your body,
Accept your mind.
Feel how it feels to accept your emotions fully.
You will always let them be there and not judge them.
You will bring awareness and acceptance to them and you free yourself of the inner conflict of trying to resist them.
Feel how much lighter you are.
Feel how much you've returned to inner peace with the power of acceptance.
Now that you've accepted yourself and you hold this acceptance,
Accept your circumstances.
Remember what you resist persists,
What you accept you can change.
And now extend this to the world as a whole.
Hold the intention to move through life with acceptance.
Knowing that it's not resignation but a returning to your power and a transmuting of negative energy back into peace and reconnecting with your true power and your heart.
Coming back to the image of you on the boat floating in the ocean.
Completely in acceptance and in surrender and in blissful presence.
Your heart is shining and gives you a glow.
This is always accessible to you,
Regardless of where you are,
Regardless of what you're going through.
Bring your attention back to this room and open your eyes when you are ready.
Have a beautiful day.
Perhaps Salve.
