Music Hello and welcome.
I'm Rod Jans,
A trained spiritual director,
Retreat leader,
And meditation teacher.
Today I want to provide you with a practice that will help you cultivate acceptance.
Compassionate acceptance is one of the keys to freedom and transformation.
Before we start this mindfulness meditation,
The well-known Franciscan priest,
Author,
And speaker Richard Rohr says,
When we accept what is,
Letting go of our hope for a different or better past,
We are led into a much greater freedom.
And as long as there is accountability and forgiveness as part of the process,
Healing will almost inevitably follow.
Another quote that is at the heart of this meditation is from page 417 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
It says,
And acceptance is the answer to all of my problems today.
When I am disturbed it is because I find some person,
Place,
Thing,
Or situation,
Some fact of my life,
Unacceptable to me.
And I can find no serenity until I accept that person,
Place,
Thing,
Or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Unless I accept life completely on life's terms,
I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me.
To accept doesn't mean that you have to agree with what is.
Acceptance is conscious consent to allow what is.
Also it is to be with your thoughts and feelings.
Acceptance is the willingness to be with whatever comes to mind instead of resisting,
Rejecting,
Pushing away,
Or judging.
This meditation is primarily intended to help you accept and allow what is.
It has been said,
That which we resist persists.
Acceptance on the other hand,
Causes our triggers to lose their power.
During this meditation I'll make some statements that will make you aware of some things that you might not be accepting.
In some cases I will encourage you to let go of those things,
Like waves hitting the shore.
Accept and let go.
Cling to nothing.
I might name some things that you may or may not resonate with,
Or may be difficult for you to accept.
Whether I name something that resonates with you or not,
I invite you to be with each statement and give it your own compassionate presence.
Finally we're going to cover a lot of ground.
I invite you to get your journal out and make a note of the things that resonate with you and then revisit them later.
Or stop the recording and repeat the pattern I'm about to tell you about until you sense a shift has taken place.
The basic pattern that we're going to follow is awareness,
Acceptance,
And letting go.
In order to truly let go,
You may have to do hundreds of rounds of this process mixed with forgiveness,
Compassion,
And a vulnerable conversation with a trusted friend.
Again I'm recognizing that this is a process and that you may have to do many,
Many rounds in order to experience the freedom,
The peace,
And the joy that you are seeking.
Okay get comfortable and let's begin by practicing with the breath now.
Finally accept and receive your next few in-breaths and then consciously release and let go of the out-breath.
Breathing naturally,
Accept the in-breath and let go of the out-breath.
Accept the in-breath and let go of the out-breath.
Accept the in-breath and let go of the out-breath.
And now I'm going to begin to make some statements.
Accept and welcome what is.
In doing so you make peace with the present moment.
Take a moment to be conscious of what is for you right now.
Be aware of your surroundings.
What do you see?
What do you hear?
What do you feel?
Accept all things as they enter your awareness.
Accepting and welcoming what is is the heart of this exercise.
Use your awareness to accept and welcome what is.
To be accepted you don't have to go anywhere or do anything.
You don't have to be like anyone else.
You don't have to look outside yourself for acceptance.
You can accept you right here,
Right now.
You are accepted.
Accept yourself.
Be aware of your ya-buts.
For example,
I can accept myself as I am,
But I find blank,
Fill in the blank,
About myself unacceptable to me.
Whatever you find unacceptable is one of the sources of your suffering.
Breathing naturally,
Breathe in acceptance and let go of your suffering and pain and the crud on the out-breath.
Recognizing that this is a process,
I want to invite you to compassionately accept all things about yourself,
Even as difficult as that may be.
In this present moment,
Accept yourself just as you are and let go of whatever story may arise about yourself.
What surfaces for you when I say accept yourself just as you are?
What thoughts and feelings surface?
Can you locate the feeling in your body?
I invite you to go to the feeling now with your presence.
Don't resist the feeling,
Don't push it away.
With compassion,
Gently allow and accept it.
And now,
If you're ready,
On an out-breath,
Let go.
Accept that you are human and have a body and physical needs.
You need to eat.
You need to sleep.
You need clean water and fresh air.
Don't deny your humanity or that of others.
You have feelings and emotions that are often beyond your control.
With compassion,
I invite you to gently accept your humanity.
Sometimes you make mistakes.
You don't do everything perfectly.
Think of a mistake you made recently.
With compassion,
Gently accept your mistake.
And on an out-breath,
Let go of any suffering or pain that might be associated with it.
What surfaces for you when I say accept your mistakes and imperfections?
Let thoughts and feelings surface.
Can you locate the feeling in your body?
I invite you to go to the feeling now with your presence.
Don't resist the feeling,
Don't push it away.
Gently accept it.
And now if you're ready,
On an out-breath,
Let it go.
Accept that you are worthy.
Worthy of life,
Abundance,
Love,
And forgiveness.
If it helps,
Gently say to yourself three times,
I am worthy.
Worthiness is caught and taught to us in our conditioning as we grow up and then we reinforce it with our thoughts and actions.
I just want to say to you,
You are worthy.
You were born worthy.
It's not just a cliché.
It's not something that you have to believe.
You are worthy.
Worthiness and acceptance are in your DNA.
Worthiness just is.
Accept that you are worthy.
Right now,
Accept your feelings.
Take a look inside your body.
What are you feeling right now?
Doesn't have to be a bad thing,
It could be a good thing.
Maybe you're feeling quite good right now,
Peaceful and rested.
Maybe you're a little bit annoyed or anxious or feeling a little bit driven and thinking about the things that you could be doing instead of this meditation.
Be with that feeling.
Feelings are never wrong,
They just are.
Don't judge your feelings.
Accept whatever you're feeling.
At this moment,
Accept what is.
Accept your thoughts,
Become aware of your thoughts.
Listen to the noise going on in your mind.
Watch how thoughts come and go when you remain the observer of them.
Choosing to watch and listen to your thoughts without judgment or analysis is acceptance.
Accept your thoughts and on an out-breath,
Let go.
Accept your resistance.
Observe and welcome any feelings of resistance you might be experiencing right now in your body.
And on an out-breath,
Let resistance go.
Accept your enneagram number.
I kind of said that as a joke,
But seriously,
Accept your personality and your enneagram number or any other kind of personality test that has labeled you as this or that.
Do you ever get the feeling or the thought that you're not getting anywhere in your spiritual journey?
Accept that feeling.
Accept that thought.
You are where you are and that condemning voice does not come from who you truly are.
You are exactly where you are meant to be in your journey and you are accepted as you are.
Accept yourself as you are.
Accept the ordinary,
The simple,
And mundane.
What are some of the simple tasks that you have to do each day?
Accept the ordinary,
The simple,
And the mundane.
Accept mystery and the fact that there are things you don't understand or have the answers to.
And breathe out any frustration or crud that surfaces with that.
Accept your genius.
What is your superpower?
What were you put on earth to do?
What are your strengths?
Big questions I know.
Accept them.
Delight in them.
Delight your gifts.
Accept your ability to listen and to be compassionate.
These are everyone's superpowers.
In them and in so doing,
You are accepting others.
Accept your quirkiness.
Your seemingly weird,
Not normal you,
Whatever normal is.
Accept your quirkiness.
Accept your finances.
Don't label them good or bad.
Offer compassion to where you are at financially and how it makes you feel.
Be aware of your thoughts and feelings around your finances and accept them.
Doing this is one of the keys to abundance.
But don't do this practice to be more abundant or achieve success.
Just accept your thoughts and feelings about your finances.
You may have to breathe with this one.
Breathe in acceptance and on an out-breath release whatever feelings you might be having around your finances.
Accept the things out there in the world and in the news that you think need changing,
But you have little or no control over.
Again,
We may need to breathe with this one.
Take a few breaths.
Breathe in acceptance and on the out-breath let go of the desire to change and control whatever comes to mind when I say accept the things out there in the world and in the news that you think need changing and have little or no control over.
One more time,
Breathe in acceptance and on the out-breath let go of your desire to change the world.
This is one of the ways to be in the world but none of it.
This might be a good place to interject that acceptance doesn't mean inaction.
When you act out of acceptance,
You listen to your body and to wisdom and leave the result up to the universe.
For example,
You vote but you're not attached to the result of your vote.
As Rabbi Rami says,
You take non-coercive action.
Accept the help and abundance available to you by the universe.
Be open to your unlimited potential for abundance and joy.
Listen for invitations to any sort of action or ideas that surface.
If nothing surfaces,
Accept that too.
Accept and appreciate the work that has been given to you.
If you are continually in a state of struggle,
Accept the struggle.
Pause and locate the struggle in your body.
Welcome and accept the feeling that is there.
Accept the struggle and the feeling it produces.
And in the future when the struggle appears again,
Greet it with a compassionate presence.
Literally love it to death.
You can do that with all of the things we're mentioning during this meditation.
What does the universe want to give you?
What gift is awaiting you?
Accept your doubt.
Accept the doubt that you can heal or be happy.
Accept the doubt that you can live according to your whole self more often than not.
Accept that the care and presence of the God of your understanding is available to you 24-7 without conditions.
Accept your doubt.
And now on an out-breath,
Let it go.
Accept your okayness.
You can do nothing and be nothing and be okay because who you truly are is okay.
You don't need to go anywhere.
You don't need to be anything.
You are okay right where you are and just as you are.
You were born okay and you are still okay.
You are perfectly okay in the present moment and you will be okay in the future.
If it helps and as silly as it may sound,
Say to yourself,
I am okay and I am going to be okay.
Accept your okayness.
Accept the delight of the universe.
Choose something to be delighted in right now.
Are you taking the time to do this meditation?
Accept the delight of the universe.
Imagine a smile.
Accept a smile and let it permeate your mind and your body.
From the top of your head down to the tips of your toes,
Accept a smile.
Accept others just the way they are.
This is a beautiful way to pray for others.
A divine gift you can give to others without them even knowing it.
Accepting others the way they are creates space and unconditional love.
Bring a loved one to mind and accept them just the way they are.
Bring someone to mind who is difficult to love and if you are willing to do so,
Accept them just the way they are.
Accept others just the way they are.
Now as we wrap up,
Open your eyes if they've been closed and begin to come back into the room that you're in.
Move your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
Shake your head a little bit.
Take good care.
