Skip to main content

Accepting Grace



On this coming Thursday, in the U.S. we will be celebrating Thanksgiving Holiday. A special day in the year that is set aside to appreciate our blessings.

Receiving all the myriads of blessings in our lives with joy and gratitude is a powerful and uplifting spiritual practice that can be easily done on a daily basis.

It is easy to be grateful when things are going our way but what about when the events in our life are not to our liking? Accepting our "fate" may feel like defeat and where's the glory in that?

Here are some tips to help you to feel good (and grateful) about your life, even when things are not going well:
  • Take the time to find something in your life that is going well. I found that when I pay attention to the beauty, the peace, the harmony, the quietness, the gentleness, the ease, the spaciousness, the safety, and the love that IS around, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
  • It is so helpful to remember that we are all worthy to receive grace by virtue of who we truly are: spiritual beings in human form and beloved children of the universe.
  • Think of some of the blessings that other people have brought into your life. Perhaps a stranger offered a kind word of support or comfort during a difficult time, or maybe a friend offered a word of guidance or inspiration that helped take you to a new vantage point. Focus on your heart and visualize a gentle glow in your chest. Feel your heart swell with gratitude as you reflect that all these blessings were offered to you in the spirit of love.
  • Contemplate this possibility: even those whom you have difficulty loving are offering you their love. Maybe it is not the kind of love you want, but it is love the best way they could give you. When you begin to see that all that has ever been offered to you is love, whether or not you like the particular flavor, you will find it easier to accept grace.
  • Use EFT or TAT (or whatever other energy therapy tools that you prefer) to shift your limiting beliefs involving love and worthiness, such as: "Nothing can change for me, I will never be loveable enough, worthy enough or good enough," or "There is nothing in this world that I truly love," or "There is nothing worth loving in this world," etc. You will find yourself in a better-feeling place where you can be open to new perspectives about your situation.
I believe that is the power of grace -- seeing what is already present with new recognition and appreciation. It is a practice of trusting in the abundance of the world around us, and remembering our own true worthiness.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home-Coming

(This article was first published in December 2008 Metta Center email newsletter.) In a recent personal EFT session, I connected to a deep part of me that was so anguished because she couldn't find what she has been looking for on Earth. This part connected me to a felt-sense memory of sweet and total abiding love, a place where I felt like I had melted into the gentle bosom of the Universe. It was a glorious and wonderful feeling. My conscious and adult self recognized it as Home to me, even though this was not how my childhood home felt. Somehow, I remembered that this is the blissful place I came from, and I realized that this is where I go to when I find my alignment with Source. But strangely to me, it seemed that this deep part of me wasn't aware that I had learned to find my way Home quite often. It was as if she had not been connected to me as I grew up spiritually. This part showed me that she was tired of looking. She trusted my soul, and was expecting to find H...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conscious Communication

"If we want to be compassionate we must be conscious of the words we use. We must both speak and listen from the heart." -- Marshall B. Rosenberg Conscious communication requires us to be truly present to what is occurring. When we are unconscious, we both speak to and react to others out of habit. And in the face of what we perceive as someone's judgment and criticism, we automatically (and unconsciously) defend, withdraw or attack. To communicate consciously requires attention to two areas:     You speak from awareness of what you are observing, feeling and needing, and     Through watching and listening, you are aware of those same needs in others I learned about conscious communication through NVC (Non Violent Communication.) It is a process of learning to communicate compassionately and authentically. NVC was created by Marhall B. Rosenberg who wrote "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" (available through major bookstores and a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Giving Thanks to Your Body

(This article was first published in November 2007 Metta Center email newsletter.) In Taoism and Chinese Energy medicine, there is an exercise called "Inner Smile", where you smile at your inner organs. This exercise has a very practical purpose: self-acceptance and appreciation. This simple and gentle practice is very effective in balancing your meridian system and is very nourishing to your spirit. Here is a slightly different version of this exercise: Sit or lie comfortably. Alternatively, you can even do this exercise when you are walking or in the shower. Begin by taking several deep breaths, exhaling slowly. Allow yourself to recall the time someone extend a kindness to you and you can feel a sense of appreciation gently arising from within your heart-center. Noticing this feeling of appreciation, you bring your attention and extend this feeling to various parts of your body. Starting from the top of your head, bring your attention and appreciation to...
Post a Comment
Read more