You are your life, and your life is you. Your life is not what you think about it, or what you want it to be. This is a vital understanding: You are your life, and your life is you - as you are now. There is no separation. Once you begin to realize this, you have stepped into the powerful arena of potential. We have to accept what we are, as we are. By accepting the way we are right now, with every thought, emotion, habit, and action that comes with it, we set ourselves up to move forward in our quest for healing.

When we react with a charged emotion, it isn't something outside of us that is experiencing that emotion: upset, angry, aggressive, sad, joy, empathy, elation. That experiencer is us. A person, thing, or event may be a trigger, but the emotion or reaction is internal. To cast the responsibility for how we react to something outside of ourselves means we remain fully unaccepting of the feelings, the thoughts, the actions that exist only within us. Thus, healing cannot occur because we are disowning our most powerful emotions. These are the emotions that need the most change. It will not be until we take full responsibility of all of our feelings, thoughts, and actions that we start to see what we hadn't seen before - the greatest potential for healing and change happens through our areas of greatest distress.

Acceptance of all of you is not only a gift to you, but a gift to everyone around you. Your heart begins to open, a loving neutrality begins to develop, judgement drops, and understanding and compassion grow. These high level attributes are the gateway to healing at the core of your being.

Practices

Acceptance Exercise, Feeling is Healing Exercise, Overwhelming Emotions Exercise