Self-Acceptance

And now I do what's best for me"
As we enter this month with some new intentions, I encourage you to practice some self-acceptance. Although the setting of these intentions can be a positive thing, sometimes we have a tendency to allow them to be representative of things we feel we lack or are missing.

We need to acknowledge that we are always whole and we are always good enough.  Identify the unconscious thought patterns that make you feel like anything less.  Make a conscious effort to replace them with positive thoughts of self-love or gratitude.

The practice of this acceptance is called Santosha, or contentment (the second of Patanjali's Niyamas encompassed in the Eight Limb Path). Santosha is not something that can be sought.  

All of the things we do to bring fulfillment to ourselves actually interfere with our own satisfaction and well-being.  Contentment can only be found in acceptance and appreciation of what is in the present moment.  We need to leave "what is" alone, and contentment will quietly and steadily find us.

”Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."