The Art Of Total Self Acceptance

The art of self-acceptance is an ever-evolving practice that unfolds if we allow the space for all of ourselves to just be.

Here I share my practice for working towards a healthy, loving self-acceptance that doesn't force or push and respects all of my parts without shame or judgment.

Inspired by my dear teachers Lorin Roche and Camille Maurine of Instinctive Meditation.

Transcript

Here is a warm,

Tender,

And patient practice for self-acceptance.

I'll be honest,

I wasn't quite sure if I was going to make this class because I felt that self-acceptance wasn't something that I had total mastery of and so I wasn't sure if I had the ability to lead a practice in self-acceptance but this is the process.

The process I'll be sharing here in this practice is what has helped me accept more of myself and welcome more of myself and even celebrate aspects of myself in a way that I couldn't before.

Hopefully this will get you started on this process of accepting yourself more,

Of self-love,

Of being able to hold yourself and see yourself in a more loving way.

So a full-bodied acceptance of ourselves can only come through first allowing space,

Lots of space for all of ourselves to come up to the surface and be witnessed.

We tend to hide and push away aspects of ourselves that we're not really proud of or we're ashamed of or we don't accept and when we create a welcoming and loving space within us to just be,

We send out a message to all of our parts that it's safe to show up and simply be and be witnessed.

So this meditation will be a practice of first constructing that space within us to allow ourselves to show up and hang out in freedom and then a practice of us witnessing,

Accepting,

And then welcoming everything that shows up.

Bring yourself into a comfortable position,

Trusting your body knows how it needs to sit or lie down right now and begin to draw in some slower,

Deeper breaths.

Perhaps savoring the pleasure of breathing and delighting in the way it relaxes and softens your face,

Your body.

And as we bring in more breath into our bodies,

We're gently starting the process of expanding our inner space to just be.

Every breath just a little deeper,

Every breath feeling more spacious.

Feel into the physical space that you're creating in your abdomen just by breathing deeper.

Notice if this deeper breath wants to travel beyond your abdomen,

Perhaps to your back,

Your head,

Maybe your arms or your legs.

With every deep breath,

Feeling it travel wherever it wants to go in your body and opening up awareness and space.

What do you want to do?

With this newfound spaciousness in your body,

Maybe you want to stretch,

Move around,

Sway,

Or my favorite,

Roll around on the ground,

Stretching,

Just literally taking up space.

Remember,

We're constructing a space to be whole,

To be our whole selves and to be totally free.

We feel nice and free and spacious in our physical bodies.

And now,

How about emotionally or mentally?

Start to invite in qualities of expansion and space into those areas.

Freedom to feel whatever comes up,

Freedom to think whenever thoughts arise.

Space for all of our feelings and our thoughts to just be.

It may at first be uncomfortable or scary to begin to feel into what more space to just be you feels like.

This is totally understandable.

We're often more self-critical than self-accepting and self-criticism thrives when we only allow ourselves to traverse the path of life via narrow,

Calcified ways of being.

And these paths have been worn into us in an attempt to protect or survive.

So to allow ourselves to be and to exist outside of this narrow scope that we're so used to is definitely uncomfortable at first.

Know that you are safe now.

Know that you can trust your instinctive ability to rise up and meet whatever challenges come through as we explore widening the space within us to just be ourselves.

What does it feel like to relax into a state of being with no need to judge,

Police,

Or censor ourselves?

And it may feel good to sigh right now.

We no longer need to uphold our standards of judgment and policing on ourselves anymore.

We can relax.

We can let that what happens when you relax and let go into a state of being where you don't need to do anything,

Be anyone,

Or work towards anything.

This is allowing space.

Breathe and stretch into this space.

Feel how your body,

Your emotions,

And your thoughts relax and reconfigure.

Lots of space to just be ourselves.

What kind of movements convey this feeling of space or this feeling of just being yourself?

What kind of breathing?

Are there any sounds that want to come through in this space?

Any facial expressions?

Let it all play out in this vast expansive space we've constructed within us.

There is more than enough room for it all to come up and play out.

This is a space to accept,

Welcome,

And celebrate all aspects of our being.

And the whole spectrum of our body,

Mind,

And spirit.

Release any responsibility or the need to act on any of what is coming up.

Our only task right now is to simply witness ourselves.

In witnessing ourselves,

It's natural to feel positively about what comes up and also natural to feel cringe,

Shame,

And judgment at other parts that come up.

This is normal.

Let that happen.

It is so healing to allow the whole process to play out instead of cringing and then shutting it out.

Maybe when you let it play out and allow yourself to feel the full force of that cringe or shame,

There's a message on the other side.

Or maybe there's no message,

But simply relief.

Relief at finally allowing something you've repressed for so long to come up and be free.

Now I will pose some questions to you that allow you to explore different elements of yourself.

Witness all that comes up with tender compassion.

What are all the archetypes or parts that live within you?

Let them come up.

The lover,

The child,

The king,

The queen,

The explorer,

The caregiver.

What are all these parts that you play out and rely on every day?

What are all these parts that are unknown or not used as much?

Welcome all your parts and all your archetypes.

What are all the experiences that live within you?

Experiences that have shaped you profoundly and imparted wisdom.

Experiences you look back on with love and perhaps experiences still holding a difficult charge to them.

Welcome all your experiences.

What are the instincts that live within you?

Instincts like exploring,

Bonding,

Resting,

Hunting.

Let all those automatic or primal instincts that run through us all as living beings of this world to come up.

Welcome all your instincts.

What are all the senses that live within you?

Seeing,

Hearing,

Feeling,

Touching,

Moving.

Let these senses come up,

These senses that color and enliven our daily existence.

Welcome all your senses.

What are all the emotions that live within you?

Love,

Anger,

Fear,

Joy.

Let the full spectrum of all your emotions come up.

Emotions that dance through our being and animate all that we do.

Welcome all your emotions.

What are all the desires that live within you?

The desire for freedom,

Power,

Independence.

Desires for safety,

Stability,

Peace.

Yearnings for adventure and expression.

Let all your desires come up,

All of that which shapes and moves our life.

Welcome all your desires.

And now,

Finally,

What is the life force that pulses within you?

The rhythm of breath,

The beat of heart.

Let that come up,

That flow from wakefulness to resting,

The adaptability and spontaneity of how you rise to meet the world.

Let your life force come up to be witnessed and felt.

And welcome your life force.

Welcome this life that flows through you and expresses through you as you.

Now allow yourself even more space to flow freely with all that has come up,

All your natural rhythms,

Your parts,

Your instincts,

Your senses,

Your desires,

All of it.

Welcome the mystery and wonder of life as it continually unfolds.

Witness the totality of yourself playing in this space you've constructed to allow you to just be you.

Welcome it all,

Celebrate it all.

This is self-acceptance.

Savor this feeling.

As our practice comes to a close,

Think all these parts for showing up.

Honor all these elements that make you who you are.

Perhaps placing a hand on your heart,

Acknowledge yourself for going through this tender,

Artful process of being intimate with the full spectrum of your being.

Reviews

Thank you. Beautiful acceptance.

This was truly lovely. The pace, your voice and the message. I’ve bookmarked and will listen again. Thank you.

I loved the sound of the teachers boys and the subject, and it just all put me at ease. I fell asleep quite quickly! I will save this and follow her!

This was absolutely stellar Eden, thank you! Would you consider uploading versions of your tracks without background music (in addition to versions with)? I'd love to share your tracks with my meditation friends, some of whom are sensitive to background sounds.