Self Acceptance

Our experience of life is what we believe within. It is an out-picturing of our internal unspoken thoughts/hang-ups reflected in the world around us. So for instance, if we are constantly being presented with friends who take advantage of us or significant others that let us down - it means, that is exactly what we are feeling towards ourselves, deep within.  Many a time this feeling of unworthiness or not being good enough shows up unconsciously or subconsciously by way of making harmful choices, self-sabotage, codependency, avoiding or numbing painful feelings, procrastinating or striving for perfection, keeping busy, distracted or detaching from reality.

The first step on the path of self acceptance is increased awareness. Eckhart Tolle in his book "The Power of Now" calls the world within us the PRIMARY REALITY and the world outside of us the SECONDARY REALITY.  What the world around us reflects back to us via friends, family, significant others, health issues, triggers is the PRIMARY REALITY:

1. Who we ARE.
2. What we FEEL/BELIEVE about ourselves.
3. How we JUDGE.
4. Our PROGRAMS & CHARACTER TRAITS - inherited via genes or learned behavior.

We just observe not engage.  Embrace the positive with the negative observations.  We are worthy of any positives and the negatives are just that.  They are not you. Feel loving compassion for our struggles, our flaws, our strengths, our successes and what we have not yet accomplished. This does not mean seeking praise from others or tooting our own horn.  It is a deep knowing that being the authentic me is enough to be loved.  

Compassion and kindness for ourselves in it's own time will translate to compassion, love, forgiveness, trust and respect for all whom we interact with in a kind of inter-conectedness. Instead of fear we will have faith that lest we make a mistake, we will learn from it and grow. In time, we will learn the simple law of projection. Simply by changing what we overtly express or secretly repress; we can change our experience of the external world.  We are the co-creators of the life we truly desire to live.

Till the next post! Cheryl.

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