Clearly recognizing what is happening inside us, and regarding what we see with an open, kind and loving heart, is what I call Radical Acceptance. If we are holding back from any part of our experience, if our heart shuts out any part of who we are and what we feel, we are fuelling the fears and feelings of separation that sustain the trance of unworthiness. Since non-acceptance is the very nature of the trance, we might wonder how, when we feel most stuck, we take the first step out of it. The very nature of our awareness is to know what is happening. Like a boundless sea, we have the capacity to embrace the waves of life as they move through us. Even when the sea is stirred up by the winds of self-doubt, we can find our way home. We can discover in the midst of the waves, our spacious and wakeful awareness.

Tara Brach

With thanks to Ellen van Kalmthout for sending me the beautiful photo of Lac Leman for use on the blog.