An important ingredient in loving and accepting yourself is vulnerability. While it’s not always comfortable to share yourself; especially things you don’t like, it’s helpful for personal growth. In this podcast, Rick and Keith do a few rounds of Q&A. Since they don’t know what questions will be asked, it’s a great opportunity for both to practice vulnerability.
Some people believe that acceptance means being passive to injustices or situations that are unfair. For years, I held this belief. It doesn’t mean that. Instead, it means accepting the situation as it is in this moment, while working in a positive and loving way to make it better. Oftentimes when we try to right a wrong or improve things, our mind or ego leads the charge which can result in obsessive thinking, ruminating, complaining, judging, and withholding love and kindness. This is what we mean when we say “the fight within yourself”. This behavior, often unconscious, creates suffering for you and others. While this is certainly one way to interact with the situation, there is a different way. The latter involves consciously choosing to be grateful, loving, and kind as you intelligently work to make situations better. And if there is no action that can be taken, practice acceptance here too. When acceptance is practiced it brings peace.
We often change try to change people. This was certainly true for Keith. For many years, he was constantly trying to improve people. This was a classic case of the ego at work. Despite good intentions, trying change people is a recipe for suffering. To be clear, this is different from wanting the best for people. Trying to change them often involves acting to improve them without their consent or partnership. This behavior has adversely affected Keith and Rick personally and in their relationships with others. Listen as they share that the key to changing people is with them. Understanding this, Rick and Keith choose to accept people just as they are, while trying to stay on their own path of being kind, peaceful, and loving.
In this episode, Rick and Keith share how to be peaceful in your relationships. Close connections can be rewarding and also challenging; especially to the ego. They also provide opportunities for growth. As we’ve shared before, the ego is not a fan of this kind of growth. As you continue of the path of being present, kind, and serving, the ego will resist creating internal suffering for you. Rick and Keith discuss how to experience the growth process in a peaceful way.
Consider Daily Journaling
“An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person’s main task in life — becoming a better person.” — Leo Tolstoy.
To become a better person, more relaxed and in control, reflective, self-monitoring and more compassionate of others, consider journaling. This simple daily habit will likely make you more aware and conscious, as well as a more accurate witness to the reality that is your life.
Brain scientists suggests that the average lifespan of an emotion to move through the nervous system is one and a half minutes. This releases the burden of clinging to our emotional attachments longer than required. Daily journaling helps us make peace with toxic emotions and transform them into healthy ones. Otherwise, they remain ‘stuck’ in our nervous system instead of moving through us. The simple act of writing in our journal on a daily basis helps us to be mindful of the present moment, instead of being caught up in the past or future.
Mindfulness is the way to attain clarity as to what really matters. We become attuned to our emotions instead of allowing them to control us. Eckhart Tolle says that anytime we are emotionally agitated for no reason, we are recollecting unresolved memories and creating a Pain body experience. Journaling brings clarity and resolution.
In this episode, we talk to Joyce Laszloffy about how she kicked sugar and optimized her physical, mental and emotional health. Whether it’s an addiction to sugar or other unhealthy behaviors, we often seek something external to appease “the voice” in the head that says, “I am not good enough. I am not enough.” Listen as Joyce and Keith discuss how they overcame that voice and unhealthy behavior to live a peaceful, healthy life.
The Practice is a way of clearing mental and emotional space so you can root yourself in the present moment, experience gratitude and serve with loving kindness along the way. No matter how life shows up, a Practice that does this for you, can free you from suffering and create an opening for you to experience joy and peace while you serve others.
