Radical Acceptance

Radical Acceptance teaches how you can become more content and happy in your life by applying the principles of meditation and Buddhism.

Have you ever had that dream when you are trying to run from something, and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t? It is thought that dreams like this mean that the dreamer feels deep down they are inadequate, as so many of us do.

The reason we tend to feel this way is a result of our culture. And it’s no wonder that we do. Most of us go through life with a narrow goal in mind to achieve certain things. We don’t enjoy where we’re at, but instead, think about where we need to “go” next. We aren’t taught that we’re enough where we are now.

In the story of Adam and Eve, there is also the message that we are fundamentally flawed and must redeem ourselves. The message of original sin is that we need to constantly strive to redeem ourselves to gain entrance into heaven. This central story of the origin of man in Western culture shapes how many people see themselves.

No wonder we tend to feel inadequate— we’re taught from a young age we aren’t enough as we are. In contrast, Buddhism emphasizes that humans aren’t naturally sinful and flawed, but rather they are naturally loving and wise. They believe you’re probably just fine where you are and don’t focus so much on where you need to be.

Brach shares the story of Mohini the tiger to illustrate how some of us become trapped in our lives. Mohini was a tiger that was kept in a small cage for years. After years, she was given a large enclosure with a pond and acres of space to roam around in. The zookeepers thought she would love her new home. But instead, she paced the same area every day that was the same size as the small cage she had been in before, never roaming the new area. Even though she was freed from the small cage, her mind was what kept her trapped in old patterns. Similarly, we do this to ourselves. But instead of a cage, it’s our self-judgment and feelings of inadequacy that trap us in old patterns. It might tell us we’re not good enough, and hold us back from things we want to do. The key to freedom is accepting everything about us, inside and out. We should stop resisting and start considering every thought, feeling, and sensation with an open heart. This is radical acceptance. Even those unwelcome feelings that everyone has sometimes, such as disliking someone, we shouldn’t give ourselves self-criticism, but rather accept them…