I was no longer striving to rid myself of pain; rather I was learning to relate with care to the suffering I felt. From the very start, these practices carried me to a loving, open and accepting awareness that felt

how can we start exactly where we are, with all our entanglements, and still develop unconditional acceptance of ourselves instead of guilt and depression? One of the most helpful methods I’ve found is the practice of compassionate abiding. This is a way of bringing warmth to unwanted feelings. It is a direct method for embracing our experience rat

Not taking our pain personally is a profound shift away from our habitual way of regarding our life.

As you go through your day, pause occasionally to ask yourself, “This moment, do I accept myself just as I am?” Without judging yourself, simply become aware of how you are relating to your body, emotions, thoughts and behaviors. As the trance of unworthiness becomes conscious, it begins to lose its power over our lives.