Welcome to this meditation about radical acceptance.
Whenever you're ready,
Please take a moment to find a comfortable position.
I would recommend lying down,
Though of course you're welcome to sit if you prefer.
Once there,
You might wish to adjust your body by rotating your shoulders,
Aligning your spine or any other movements your body is calling for.
When you're ready,
Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Wherever you are,
Begin to bring your attention to your body.
Relax your toes,
Your palms,
Your knees and your thighs.
Relax your hips and feel them sinking into the ground beneath you.
Relax your belly,
Your chest,
Your shoulders,
Your fingers,
Your arms and your neck.
Your whole body is relaxed.
Now relax your jaw and allow your tongue to hang gently in your mouth.
Relax your cheeks,
Your eyebrows,
Your forehead and the top of your head.
Your face and your head and your body are fully relaxed.
Now begin to bring your attention to your breath.
Notice it coming in and out of your nose naturally.
Feel the flow of your breath and air as it enters and fills all layers of your being.
If your mind begins to wander at any point,
And it will,
Gently bring it back to your breath without any judgement.
Slowly begin to lengthen and deepen your breath.
Inhale from your belly to your chest and exhale fully.
Together let's inhale deeply for 4,
1,
2,
3,
4 and exhale for 4,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale deeply for 1,
2,
3,
4 and exhale for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale deeply for 1,
2,
3,
4 and hold.
Exhale for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale deeply for 1,
2,
3,
4 and hold.
Exhale for 4,
3,
2,
1 and hold.
Inhale deeply for 1,
2,
3,
4 and hold.
Exhale for 4,
3,
2,
1 and hold.
Return to your natural breathing.
Notice how light your body begins to feel with each breath.
Find yourself floating towards the sky.
Like a helium balloon you are now safely and comfortably floating in the sky on a beautiful night.
Notice the crescent moon and all the constellations of stars around you.
You are mesmerized by all this beauty and start to notice little details about your surroundings.
The seeming stillness of the moon,
The gracious movement of a shooting star.
Slowly floating towards you is someone you love and who loves you too.
Someone who makes you feel seen,
Heard and appreciated for exactly who you are.
Smile at them as they come closer into focus.
This person isn't perfect.
Like all humans,
They have light and darkness within.
Staring into their eyes,
Notice the body sensations,
Emotions and thoughts that come up within you and allow them to come and go without any judgment.
It might be your heartbeat,
It might be love,
Compassion.
You might be thinking of the last time you saw this person or the last thing they said to you.
With radical acceptance,
We meet each other where we are at in the present moment,
Mindfully,
Openly and without judgment.
It does not mean that we will not seek to improve,
Evolve or change in the next moment.
It simply invites us to anchor ourselves in the right here,
Right now.
It allows us to dissolve our expectations,
Let go of the illusion of control and embrace a willingness to notice and accept things and people just as they are.
Staring in your loved one's eyes,
Silently repeat after me.
I see you.
I hear you.
I accept you.
You are unique.
You are whole.
You are you.
On your safe and comfortable vantage points out there amongst the stars,
Begin to notice a planet in the distance.
As you squint slightly,
You recognize it.
Yes,
It's Earth.
Seeing it from such a distance makes it look both beautifully green and blue and also small and vulnerable.
This is the place you've been going home your whole life.
It's where you've taken your first steps,
Tasted your favorite food and made such wonderful memories.
This planet is not perfect.
It is home to both joy and sadness,
Playfulness and pain,
Bliss and suffering,
A round of opposites and paradoxes that make up both our collective and individual experiences.
Staring at Earth from a distance,
Notice the body sensations,
Emotions and thoughts that come up within you and allow them to come and go without any judgment.
This might be a tingling in your chest.
It might be all hope,
Guilt,
You might be thinking of a place that is familiar or that you wish to visit.
Radical acceptance is allowing reality to be how it is right now in the moment.
It means feeling sorrow and pain without resisting.
It means feeling desire or dislike without judging ourselves or being driven to act on it.
It means noticing and observing with curiosity and compassion.
It is fundamentally different to resignation which would be giving up and accepting the way things are as the way they will always and forever be.
If we accept this moment and at the same time notice what we would like to change about it,
Then we can choose how to respond and how we will create or recreate the world moving forward.
Staring at planet Earth,
Breathing deeply towards it,
Repeat silently after me.
I see you.
I hear you.
I accept you.
You are unique.
You are home.
You are home.
Gently turning your attention within,
Notice what you look and feel like up there in the sky amongst the stars.
Are you shaped as you are on Earth or have you taken on a different form or colour?
Gently bring to mind things that you wish were different about you.
Perhaps it's something to do with your appearance,
Your personality,
Your behaviours or your lifestyle.
Perhaps it's one very specific thing or perhaps it's a long list that your mind can't fully hold.
Notice the body sensations,
Emotions and thoughts that come up within you and allow them to come and go without any judgement.
It might be attention in that part of your body.
It might be shame or compassion.
Perhaps you're thinking about something that's been on your mind for a long time or something that recently started to come up.
Refrain from holding onto any specific answer.
Just notice what comes up,
Invite it in briefly and allow it to come and go without any judgement.
Radically accepting ourselves can be unbelievably difficult and yet so powerful.
It doesn't mean that we don't wish to change,
That we won't grow and evolve.
It simply means that we meet ourselves where we are right here,
Right now,
In the sky full of stars and lying down on Earth.
Radical acceptance is brave,
Daring and vulnerable.
It is not putting up with harmful behaviour,
Our own or another's.
It is being aware of what is in our control and letting go of what is outside of our control.
It is pausing the constant need to push and pull for what we believe we are owed or deserve.
It is surrendering to the here and now.
It is embracing our present selves and thanking them for walking us this far.
It is being aware of what is happening within our body and mind in this moment without trying to control,
Judge or pull away.
Radical acceptance is an inner process of accepting our actual present moment experience.
It allows us to dissolve our expectations and opens up spaces for our future selves to grow and thrive.
For without accepting where we are now,
We would not be able to create where we wish to be tomorrow.
Staring within the depth of your own body,
Mind and soul,
Repeat silently after me.
I see me.
I hear me.
I accept me.
I am unique.
I am whole.
I am me.
Empty,
Listening to your body,
Begin to bring your attention back to the here and now.
Slowly move your fingers and toes,
Perhaps roll your wrists and ankles.
Turn to your preferred side and wherever you are,
Take a moment to notice what came up for you during this practice.
When you're ready,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Join me in a sitting position.
Bring your hands to heart center,
Rub your palms together,
Gathering energy from within.
Put your hands on your eyes and blink them open.
Thank you so much for joining me for this practice about radical acceptance.
