5 Ways To Cultivate Acceptance

Embracing the Presentr
When everything is flowing according to our idea of how things should be, it’s easy to feel in harmony with the rhythms of the universe. When there is a lack of alignment between what we want and how our life is unfolding, we’re more likely to feel disharmony, stress, or frustration. Yet it is our resistance to what is happening in the present moment that intensifies our distress. Whether we’re getting a root canal or finding out that we’ve lost our job, our fear and the frightening stories we tell ourselves about our situation magnify our pain.
The present moment is not always easy to accept, but learning to listen to the sensations in our body and the message they are sending will calm our emotional turbulence and ultimately will enable us to benefit from the experience. The following process can help you let go of resistance and constriction and open to higher states of harmony, creativity, and joy in the present moment:
1. Accept the present. Begin by tuning into your body and your environment. Listen to the sounds around you, becoming aware of the hum of a fan, birds singing outside your window, and the sound of your own breath. Become aware of the sensations in your body – the way your feet feel in your shoes, the chair supporting your back, the clothing touching your skin. Bring your attention to the inflow and outflow of air through your nose. Continue observing your breath, allowing it to bring you into the present moment.

2. Accept the signals of your body. Now put your attention on the internal sensations in your body. You may feel tightness in your shoulders, aching in your back, or constriction in your throat. Conversely, perhaps you’re feeling lightness in your heart or a sense of connectedness to the earth. Whether the sensations are pleasant or uncomfortable, feel them without resistance. If sadness comes up, welcome it. If anger rises up, allow it to move through your body and release it with the exhalations of your breath.

3. Accept responsibility. While sometimes we find ourselves in situations over which we have no apparent control, most of our daily struggles are the consequences of previous choices we have made. Accepting our contribution to the challenge we face can help us see that we are free to make new choices that lead to new possibilities.

4. Accept change. Accepting the inevitability of change doesn’t mean that we relinquish our desires or wallow in situations that we can change. Instead, it’s focusing on the present while discovering the freedom to respond creatively.

5. Commit. With deepened awareness, we can make new choices, let go of habits that no longer serve us, and commit to doing something different. Remember, we have control over our choices, but not over the results of our choices. We do our best and watch with curiosity and composure as life unfolds.
Connect to your body, accept this moment, know that change is inevitable, and become clear on what you would like to see manifest. Your ability to co-create the next moment requires acceptance of the present.