The term Mindful Acceptance has the term Mindful, which  means giving attention, observing and watching. It is being the participant observer of the struggle. The acceptance goes along with the observing aspect without judging the experience. Through acceptance, you are experiencing the pain without being caught and drowning in endless thoughts and negative emotions. Instead, you are honoring the hurt without becoming it.

Mindful Acceptance is not a feeling or an attitude. Mindful Acceptance is an ability that we already possess and just need to cultivate and exercise so that it occurs naturally in time. Worry, anxiety, fears, depression, a sense of inadequacy, not feeling good enough and other painful struggles can illicit thoughts and attitudes that may make you think:

  • These are terrible feelings to have that feel awful.
  • I can’t make decisions.
  • These feelings are crippling, too intense, overwhelming, and painful.
  • These feelings are a burden to carry. Please make them go away.

These thoughts and attitudes color the quality of the relationship you have with these worries and anxieties. By not seeing and experiencing these human struggles and suffering as they are, we then add more suffering to them.

Now, if your worries and the other experiences noted above were met with qualities of SOFTNESS like, gentleness, kindness, openness, compassion, love, patience, humor, caring and curiosity, there would be a change in the quality of your relationship to your anxiety and worries.

Mindfulness Acceptance offers you this softness and wears away at the hardness and solidity of our experience. These qualities let go of the very need to do anything about these experiences. Mindful Acceptance, softens the need to struggle and fight with the worry and the emotional or physical painful experiences. Mindful Acceptance is an active, fully conscious, softer stance towards your mind and body and your life experiences.

Mindfulness acceptance simply involves noticing what you feel and think and allowing those thoughts and feelings to be there whether they are pleasant or unpleasant. In this process, healing can occur and you will improve your life in many ways.

You can refer to my previous blog entries for more details about mindfulness and you can also visit my web site.  In the “media and resource” section, you can find recommended books and articles on this subject.