PRACTICE #5

This meditation originally aired June 8, 2020

• ACCEPTANCE • 

I often joke that the benefits of meditation are a little like the "Horse of Many Colors" from The Wizard of OZ -- you might show up because you want a green horse, but along the way you also find out that it's also an orange horse, and a purple horse and a red horse.

Similarly -- there are so many auxiliary benefits to a consistent meditation practice, that you might show up for better sleep and find that you've also become more patient. Surprise! 
One of the greatest benefits to practice that I've found personally is that it grants a real sense of choice. Which makes sense…
When we're not so tangled up in habitual reactivity, we're open to choosing our response. 
Which reminds me of something clinical psychologist and meditation researcher Chris Germer, once said about Acceptance, which is that "Acceptance is the conscious choice to experience our sensations feelings and thoughts just as they are, moment to moment."

Cheers to that. And cheers to today’s meditation practice, which we're going to keep pretty open and spacious. Our only responsibility here is to stay open enough to be on the receiving end of the present moment… so that we might experience what arises. Just as it is.  

Practice begins at the 30-second mark. Just find a comfortable seat, and perhaps a pen + paper to capture your own insights after meditation, and then click the video above. Onward, dear one.