Be Easy on Yourself

SOUL SOOTHER:

Be easy on yourself.

We all say and do things that are not in alignment with who we truly are. We are human. We forget ourselves. We blindly react, instead of lovingly considering our actions. Being who we truly are takes practice. It takes awareness. It takes a willingness. It's a work in progress.

Be easy on yourself.

Forgive yourself. Love yourself. 

Give yourself a big hug and say, "I am forgivable and I am lovable."


www.soullightcoach.com

Acceptance with Compassion

In a meditation the other day, I got a message for a dear friend; she needed to learn acceptance with compassion. Though meant for her, I thought, "Who doesn't need to learn this very profound lesson?" I know it certainly rang true for me. Accepting 'what is', with the gentleness of a compassionate heart, has been the number one theme in my growth. Releasing the conflict within myself of what was happening and what I wanted to happen. Getting to the point were I gave up the fight, and saw the fact of the matter. Acceptance was the first step I took toward positive change and healing. 

The article below sums up the power of acceptance quite nicely. Perhaps you will find it a valuable tool to add to your Spiritual toolbox.

The Spiritual Power of Acceptance  

by Matt Zavadil

Acceptance is important to living a life of abundance. This is the way to inner peace. The world teaches you that you must always be stressed out and worried about things in your life that you can't control. The "ego" part of you loves getting you all worked up over what's not fair. Your ego tries to convince you that it's important to prove yourself over and over. It tells you that you're not worth anything unless you're constantly striving to validate that worth.

This isn't true. One of the first aspects of acceptance is to know that you are fine just the way you are right at this moment in time. You have no need to prove anything. By living your life with this type of attitude, you begin to remove fear and doubt. These emotions impede your inner peace.

Your higher self has no need for them, as you already know deep inside that abundance is yours. Allow yourself to tap into this knowledge. Now, this isn't to say that you just accept things as they are and then become lazy. It's a way of thinking. A thought process. A knowing.

As you work toward making your physical goals reality, you exist in a state of mind of acceptance. This state of mind frees you from inner anxiety and anguish when things don't go as planned. You understand that some things you can change and influence and some you cannot. There is a feeling of inner peace that will come to you when you can live with that which you can't change. It is what it is.

When you live your life from this perspective, it opens you up more to that which you can influence. When this happens, you're able to be more productive than you ever could or would be when you listen to your ego and make yourself miserable over the unfairness of life.

Another aspect of acceptance that will lead you to abundance and inner peace is that it helps you eliminate judgement from your life. There's no need for you to pre-judge. This is one of the ego's best weapons against your inner peace. In this world, we are brought up with many stereotypes and thoughts on what others should or shouldn't be doing. Pre-judging others is prevalent. It's not your place to decide what is right for others. Notice how you feel inside when you pre-judge or judge another person.

Are you filled with inner peace and contentment? Most likely, you feel inner stress. Your body tightens up. Your ego is loving it! But, your higher self knows that an acceptance state of mind is much healthier for your spirituality. The next time you start this judgement process, be aware of it. Replace it with the thought that you don't want this poison inside of you.

See that other person as an extension of yourself. Understand that you are both of the same spiritual energy. Know that you are no better than this other soul; they are not beneath you to be judged by you.

Acceptance can be summed up with the old Zen saying,

"If you understand, things are just as they are.

If you do not understand, things are just as they are." 

Meditation on Jack Kornfield's, The Wise Heart

Why do we fear letting go of pain, our grievances, our stolen innocence? Being vulnerable is not a weakness; it takes courage and faith to open our hearts. As we release what has crushed our spirit, we breathe life into it once again. This meditation on Jack Kornfield's The Wise Heart gives hope to humanities healing heart. May we be the catalyst to the peace that is our only truth.

In loving light,

Mags

Meditation on Jack Kornfield's, The Wise Heart, Chapter 9

via Sanctuaries, Dreams and Shadows by noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) on 9/24/09

Albert Camus said, "We all carry within us our places of exile; our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others."

Open your mind and heart
Ask why you are stuck in this place
Be brave, name the fear
Name the resistance.
Understand what it is, then
Step back, allow it the space it needs.
Breathe.

Little by little, feel it soften and dissolve.
Be courageous, greet your emotions
Each by name. Again
Step back, allow each the space
It requires to do what it will;
To expand, to intensify, or dissolve
To rise and fall again, and again.
Breathe.

Tears flow, honor them.
Pain comes in  waves,
Fear and resistance reappear
Swirling one into another, be brave.
Listen to your stories of sorrow and shame.
Hold them gently.
Hold your fragile self gently.
Breathe.

Be open to the waves, the tears.
Acknowledge your confusion and the grief.
Be fearless, do not lose your way.
Let go, accept your life,
Understand it is what it is.
Respect the history that is you.
Make peace with your life.
Breathe.

Posted via email from magsjoy's posterous

Ever-Present PEACE

“Make Peace with where you are.”

This is one of the most important things we can do says Abraham-Hicks, a teacher of co-creating the life you desire. One of the key points she makes is that the Universe is like an ever-flowing river and everything we ever want is downstream.

When you make Peace with where you are—even when you are in debt, in anger, in a bad relationship, in an unfulfilling job, in an unpleasant situation—you disarm yourself from what is happening and engage in the power of the stream of potential in that moment.

Making Peace with where you are means simply to let go of the struggle. You don’t need to control anything. You just need to trust in the current. It is not necessary to do all the work. It is not necessary to paddle upstream. For one, nothing you really want is upstream, everything is downstream. Two, you feel better when pull in the oars and simply float to a better feeling place.

Making Peace with where you are is to recognize what is happening without judgment on anyone or anything. You ride the storm; let the wind and rain blow through like you are a lighthouse. By embracing the sunshine and the rain, the blue skies and the fierce winds, you allow life to unfold in a natural, effortless way.

When you make Peace with where you are your perception shifts. You expand your awareness and experience life authentically. Something wonderful happens to you. A light goes on inside you that cannot be turned off. Healing occurs. Growth takes place. Like a Lotus flower, something beautiful emerges from deep within you. A glimpse of joy, compassion and forgiveness appear. Standing beside the worry, the fear, the angst, the powerlessness is a feeling of calm, a pillar of stillness.

Peace is not a destination; it is a state of being.

When you find yourself out of the moment, stressed out, in a bad spot, saddened, frightened, worried, lost…stop yourself. Breathe in and out with awareness. Accept what is happening. Become an observer of yourself. Feel the emotion, but don’t become the emotion. Make Peace with where you are. Say to your self, “Here I am. I am here.” Acknowledge your position. “Okay, I am angry.” “I am worried about the future.” “I am afraid of the outcome.” " I am overwhelmed in the situation."

You will be surprised to find that although the circumstance is the same, your perception will dramatically change. By purposefully acknowledging your position and your state of being, you get unstuck, you allow an opening so that you can now take appropriate action.

One of the greatest perks to practicing this powerful exercise of making Peace with where you are—and it does take practice—is that once you experience this new state of being, this profound insight; once your heart and mind are opened to the ever-present Peace, you can never go back.

Oh, you might slip into the abyss; you might spiral down to misery, you might jump onto the bandwagon of doom and gloom, you might get sucked into negative patterns, you might get all caught up into the demise of a situation. But I guarantee that the new found Peace in you, like a Gorilla in the room, cannot be ignored for long.

You may not be able to avoid challenges or unpleasant circumstances, but by making Peace with where you are, you will find that instead of dwelling in your despair, you recover more quickly.

For me, everyday I get better at making Peace with where I am.

I am here. Here I am. And you know what, the Joy is always there!

Keeping the light on,

Mags