BP40 - Radical Acceptance, a Meditation

 

Accept, choose, and embrace what is and whatever arises with enlightened wisdom—that is, without judgment, without resistance, without attachment. Welcome it with unconditional friendliness.

Forgive eagerly, completely, and freely all those who’ve hurt you in your life, and, in as much as it’s up to you, make your peace... with God, with everything, and with everyone—including yourself.

Cause no harm.

Deescalate your hostile aggressions, especially toward yourself and toward those you love and care about, and let go of all defensiveness.

Pay attention to your efforts to preserve who it is you think you are as well as your efforts to hold on to that which you think is yours.

Recognize, also, when you’re beginning to engage in abusive or discursive self-talk, and, in those moments, be kind to yourself, engage your wisdom mind, surround and rise above your thoughts, and make peace in and with the present moment by keeping an open heart [bodhicitta—awakened heart/awakened mind] and by not shutting down.

Breathe in the sufferings of others, and die again and again and again with each out breath.

Be an open and ventilating conduit of God’s healing, and of His perfect lovingkindness, joy, compassion, equanimity, wholeness, and freedom.

Slow down, pay attention to your surroundings, acknowledge what’s happening and what’s being “put out there;” and, with uplifted head and shoulders, be who you are, and be mindful in every act.

Side-step attacks (if at all possible); absorb direct blows like water; and, when the storms come (and they will come), be like the willow, and bend with the breeze, looking to God and remembering that, as with everything, “this, too, shall pass.”

Practice. Practice everything... practice all the time... even when you’re distracted, discouraged, tired, or just don’t feel like it.

Discover the wisdom of “no escape”—that is, of staying on the spot, leaning into the sharp things, and making friends with your hopes and your fears.

Go to the times, spaces, and places that scare you, relax into your own groundlessness, hold nothing back, and sing for joy and be glad, Dave, all your days—prayerful and thankful, too—even when you’re feeling sad, tired, or broken.

—YT

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A Note from YT (Yours Truly): I first compiled and memorized this arrangement of Radical Acceptance in 2007. Even though some of the words, as well as its overall organization, are mine, this piece draws from the collective thoughts and wisdom of hundreds of people: Some of whom are still alive, some who aren’t, some who’ve been published, and some who haven’t. Given this, it would be nearly impossible for me to credit specifically all who’ve contributed to the thinking behind these words, especially when multiple people have said or written the exact same things. Some as if what they said or wrote were completely new creations from their own abstract essences (which, except where Jesus is concerned, is entirely ridiculous); and some who recognized that, in their writing, they were only repackaging that which had been spoken of or written by countless souls long before them. In all humility, I find myself among the latter in all my writing. Given that all truth ultimately proceeds from the Mind and Heart of God, I wish to specifically acknowledge Him as The Originating Author of the truths contained in the above piece. Peace to you...