LifeMasteryBlog

I was recently asked to be a guest speaker on The Hour of Power blog talk radio show. The topic to be covered was The Power of Self Acceptance. I felt the information was so valuable I wanted to share it with all of you.
This will be the first of two articles on this subject.
I was asked the following questions to clarify what self acceptance is and why it is important.

What is the difference between self awareness and self acceptance?

Self awareness is similar to a mirror that is reporting what is in front of it, it has no opinion about it, it isn’t right or wrong or good and bad, or ugly or pretty it just IS. This is nonjudgmental self awareness, which we all need to have.
Self acceptance is learning to practice being with myself without negatively judging myself, but accepting this is what I feel right now, this is how I look right now, this is what I think right now, this is my hope right now, this is my vision right now.
It is an active practice in which I shine the light of awareness on my hidden places to see what is there and experience what my resistance is to accepting where I am at.
If you discover you are resistant to accept a characteristic you have, a feeling you are experiencing, or a thought or belief you have, ask yourself the following questions. Remember to stay with the first answer you give yourself.
1)What are the beliefs I have about this that make me not accept myself?
2)What are the ideals I have that cause me to reject myself for not living up to this ideal?
3) What are the life experiences that are the foundation of my self rejection?
4)What do I hope to gain from not accepting this characteristic (i.e. selfishness)?
5)åß What am I afraid will happen if I accept my selfishness?

Why is it important to accept myself just as I am?

Until we accept our selves exactly where we are, we are stuck; we can not change, we can not create the life we desire, we can not transform our understanding.
Why is this?
When I am not accepting myself I am in denial about where I am, from the place of denial there can be no movement, no awareness and no real action. Denial blocks truth, and makes us unconscious to what we are saying, feeling, thinking and doing. It is as if we put on a blind fold so we no longer can see where we are, or where we are going. We have fallen asleep to our predicament, in this state we are more likely to become victimized by others, replicate toxic relationships, and become depressed and anxious. Why? Because there is no where to go from self rejection. Once we put ourselves down for what we are feeling or thinking we shut down and turn off and become cynical and negative and judgmental. We are stuck in a defensive posture believing the inner judge and its judgments of us.

If you discover you are not accepting where you are, ask the questions that I gave you earlier and you will understand who is running your life and why you are unhappy with yourself.

I wish you a life filled with self acceptance and love, Sheila Radha

www.lifemasteryskills.com
http://lifemasteryskills.com/blog/wordpress/