Sunday, November 14, 2010

One of the transforming moments of my meditation practice happened when I was lost for several days in recurring feelings of intense fear. I tried being aware of them as they arose, noting “fear, fear,” but I still felt caught in the intensity of the emotion. Then, at a certain point, something shifted in my mind and I said to myself, "If this fear is here for the rest of my life, it's O.K." That was the first moment of genuine acceptance, and it entirely changed my relationship to fear. Although it would still arise, I was no longer locking it in with my resistance. Genuine mindful acceptance allowed the fear to just wash through.

Joseph Goldstein, "Mindfulness, Compassion, & Wisdom, Three Means To Peace".

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It was rather a long time that I knew “accepting” is an important skill in dealing with difficult emotions, but I had no clear idea what accepting really means.

“Accept the uncertainty in life.”

“Accept that you are angry.”

I had some personal idea about it, but I couldn't define it clearly.

At last, I think, I came to a more concrete understanding of “accepting”:

Accepting a situation means appreciating we are in that situation and not being in a haste to change anything about it.

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