Acceptance sounds peaceful.
It sounds like something you do once you’ve worked everything out, taken a deep breath, and "become very easeful about the whole thing."
But real acceptance? Well, that kind is no joke of a practice.
What Acceptance Asks of Us
Acceptance asks us to accept what is and stop arguing with that in our head.
We tend to spend a lot of time doing that.
Yapping in our head wishing we had acceptance on an issue, but often feeling like we don’t.
Internally, we argue with what happened.
We think about what someone said.
We argue with some choices we’ve made.
We battle with our bodies, our age, our circumstances, we lament any of our limitations.
We struggle internally about the fact that something we wanted didn’t come to pass.
Or that something we never wanted, did.
The mind says:
This shouldn’t be happening.
They shouldn’t have done that.
I should be further along by now.
This wasn’t supposed to be my life.
What Acceptance Actually Is
Here's a thought...Maybe
acceptance is not approval
One of the reasons acceptance can feel difficult is that we confuse it with approval.
We think that accepting something means saying:
That it's okay.
It doesn’t mean that.
Acceptance doesn’t mean you to like or condone what happened.
It doesn’t mean that you approve of someone’s poor behavior.
You can wish that something had been different and still experience acceptance.
Acceptance is the willingness to acknowledge what is.
This thing happened.
I feel this way about it.
This person is who they are.
This is where I am.
What I have to work with now is this.
The Power in Acceptance
You must understand there’s tremendous power in acceptance, in acknowledging that something is.
Because the moment you stop spending your energy fighting reality, that energy becomes available to you for something else.
The Relationship Between Acceptance and Satya
In Sanskrit, Satya means truth.
It is connected with the Sanskrit word Sat, which means, that which is real.
Acceptance as deeply connected to the practice of Satya.
Before I can decide what to do about something, I have to be willing to see what is actually here.
Not what I wish were here.
Not what used to be here.
Not what I think should be here or should've been here.
But
What is actually here.
That can be a fierce question, no doubt and a freeing one.
Sometimes the truth is beautiful.
Sometimes it sucks.
Sometimes the truth shows us that we’ve outgrown something we desperately wanted to hold or have.
Sometimes the truth may be that the person in front of us cannot give us what we keep asking them to give.
Sometimes, in truth, we recognize that we’ve made a mistake.
Sometimes we perceive that life has changed.
Acceptance happens the moment we stop demanding reality to become something other than what it is.
Acceptance Doesn't Mean Staying Stuck
You can accept something as it is and change.
You can acknowledge if you feel unhappy with something in your life and begin again.
You can perceive your limitations, accept them and still work to expand them.
You can accept that you're afraid and still take the next step.
Acceptance isn't the end of growth or action.
Acceptance is the base from which clear action evolves.
Without acceptance, our tendency is to resist.
To scramble.
To force.
To bargain.
To keep trying to make reality conform to what we desperately want in our mind.
Acceptance offers another possibility:
This is the situation. This is where I am.
Now what?
Living from this place is different.
We can’t force acceptance, but we can support it.
Acceptance comes from the willingness to be with what has been and what is.
Luminous Soul Practice
Sit quietly
Notice if there is something inside that your fighting against something that has already happened, or something that is simply true right now, ask:
What am I resisting?
If I accept that this is true, what becomes possible?
Don't rush, stay with it.
Don’t go digging for a lesson.
Be with it.
Don't pretend you weren’t disappointed, angry, hurt, or afraid.
Simply stay with what is.
Then say
This is where I am.
When your mind resists repeat gently:
This is where I am.
Acceptance happens when you stop fighting reality.
And
That's no joke of a practice.
_______________
Svāhā (स्वाहा) is the sacred utterance you make as you offer the oblation into the sacred fire.
At some point, we start to see what is true, we recognize what we can do, and the rest is not ours to carry any more.
So
We offer it to the sacred fire.
and
We let go.
We place it in the hands of the divine.
***
The Svāhā Ring acts as a daily reminder to practice being with what is.
It reminds us to offer whatever is up to the divine.
Hold a situation that's in your mind and say it with me:
Svāhā
I offer this up to the divine forces through the sacred fire,
Get 15% OFF enter 'svaha15' at checkout
Offer good til Fri, Sept 25, 11:30 pm ET