Acceptance - A Course in Happiness

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

I got this from another group and just wanted to share.

In light and love,

=====================

Acceptance - A Course in Happiness

From: A Course in Happiness - SDTR Library #2, first file

A Course in Happiness

By

ACCEPTANCE

Self acceptance.

It's more important to be the right person rather than to find the

right person. You are perfectly okay just the way you are. The world

has a place for you and that perfect place is exactly where you are

right now. You are the equal of everyone and everyone is the equal

of you.

Inner peace.

We can never really be at peace until we learn to enjoy our own

company. After all, we are the person to whom we are the closest. We

are with ourselves every second of every minute. If we can't enjoy,

value and accept that person, how can we possibly experience inner

peace?

Compassionate acceptance of others.

As we grow beyond the demands of our own ego self, we learn to

emotionally accept people exactly as they are, complete with their

foibles and perceived shortcomings.

I'm OK, they're OK.

As we come to appreciate ourselves more, and thereby become more

loving and tolerant, we will also develop a deeper appreciation of

other people and a greater tolerance and acceptance of them.

Non interference.

There are few actions that bring greater joy and happiness to

other people than to honor and respect them by leaving them alone

and let them be whatever they wish to be.

Live and learn.

You always have a choice. You can accept events which have

happened as simply over and worth learning from, or you can let your

ego-self become upset about them. Remember, the world itself doesn't

assess and evaluate events, it simply has them.

How great is your acceptance?

Can you love and accept others even knowing their non-acceptance

of you? Can you love them regardless of how they feel about you? It

is a measure of our growth if we love for the sake of loving,

whether that love is returned or not.

Most problems are in the mind, not out in the world.

If you think you have a problem, accept that your belief systems

(thoughts) are giving you trouble, not the world. For example, if

you're unemployed and believe immigration contributes to

unemployment, the problem is in your attitudes, not the immigration

policy.

Embracing the extended Self.

You cannot accept and embrace something and expect it to instantly

go away. It doesn't work that way. Whatever you have created as a

problem outside of yourself becomes part of you by extension. By

accepting and embracing the situation, you're accepting and

embracing yourself.

This way you're not striving for external changes " out there, " but

change through acceptance and acknowledgment inside.

Zen acceptance.

" If you understand, things are just as they are.

If you do not understand, things are just as they are. "

This is the essence of acceptance and the way of arriving rather

than striving.

Letting things just BE.

People are the way they are, and your need to dominate or change

them in any way is a demand of the lower mind — the ego-mind.

Tolerance.

One of the first steps along your path to higher understanding is

learning tolerance —tolerance in allowing things to just be. This

means seeing and accepting the world as it is, rather than how you

demand it to be.

Your ego will argue that tolerance must mean permitting criminal

behavior and social problems, but a higher awareness knows that

letting go of intolerance does not imply an endorsement of evil.

The " evils " that exist in the world are independent of your opinions

about them.

Honoring others.

Each person is at a different stage of development, but no single

person is of greater value than another. The ego may wish to judge,

but it's wise to allow and honor others their place in the evolving

drama simply by letting them be.

Preferences.

In the world of truth and true perception, there are no winners,

no losers, only participants in life acting out their chosen role on

the world stage.

A silver coin has two sides — opposites. The two sides are

essential parts of the whole. I might prefer the coin displayed two

heads, but my judgment-free preference and choice does not affect

the monetary value of the coin in any way. To prefer one situation

in life over another is an acceptable choice as long as I don't

allow the ego to judge and devalue the less preferred choice.

Using your willpower.

You tap into your own willpower when you can observe yourself

getting angry or frustrated — and with a knowing smile, you're able

to let go of the emotion, because you see the futility in owning it.