Lesson 11 The Power of Self Acceptance
One of the most important keys to remember in you Personal Journey is that you will need to develop or re-develop your Inner Being. I found that this was not easy but helpful in order for me to look at myself differently. I needed to accept myself Mind, Body and Spirit. That meant that I had to admit to myself that I truly wanted change in my life. I did, I was ready! So, the first thing that I had to do was define what acceptance meant to me. For me, Acceptance meant that I had to act the part of receiving something willingly. Acceptance is the state of being approved or welcomed, or it could be acknowledging reality without resistance, involving favorable reception, agreement, or inclusion. Why do we need acceptance as humans? Well, it is not possible to change anything that happens in our lifetime. If we resist that fact, we can easily become stressed with anxiety, in a pit of daily misery. If we can learn to accept what happens, we may find ourselves empowered and experiencing much less suffering. So, what is the meaning of acceptance? The best meaning of acceptance to me, is acceptance provides approval or favorable reception by our social society. It tends to provide a sense of belonging, fitting in. It is a non-judgmental acknowledgment of the true reality, oneself, or difficult situations, essential for mental well-being and recovery. Research has shown that one of the top actions we can take to help increase our levels of acceptance and happiness is daily gratitude. Also, high social acceptance matches with better mental health; as low acceptance can lead to isolation. When we accept life as it was, we have the ability to accept “yes” to life as it is, and include past memories, as mere markers of our life experience. Through acceptance, we are able to integrate the past as a “wounded child” experience that is no longer useful to our being. What we are able to gain is strength and vitality in our being. Let me explain the Inner Child. The inner child is that subconscious part of the mind representing one's younger self. It tends to hold early memories, emotions, and beliefs that, when unhealed from trauma, neglect, or unmet needs, cause adult insecure behaviors, emotional triggers, and relationship struggles.