Today we would ask you to meditate on the word acceptance.

Many of you have difficulty with acceptance.  There is a belief system in your society, inculcated in most of you when you are very young, that people of value “work hard to make their dreams happen.”  That the worthy human being is someone who ever strives to control and conquer his reality.  The “successful” human is ever engaged in struggle for achievement.

This belief, for many of you, is a source of terrible misery.  For it creates a life in which one can never truly be doing enough; in which one is always falling short of one’s potential; in which other people seem to “have their lives together,” while you are an unworthy mess.

This “work hard and make your dreams happen” belief especially runs into trouble when you experience adversity — physical illness, economic hardship, the disillusion of relationships.

That is why the quality of acceptance is something to embrace, to see really as your dear friend.  Acceptance is so simple.  It is seeing with true perception.  It is embracing life, in the present moment, as it is.  Not only that — it invites life in.  It accepts, as you accept a gift, or accept food into your mouth, or accept a hug.  It is a dropping of all defenses.  It is a letting in, a relaxing, an invitation.

Acceptance is not “giving up”.  That is a lie.  Acceptance does not mean abandoning your dreams.  On the contrary.  Acceptance just means that you are at peace with life.  That is all it means.  It just means you are at peace.  How much easier it is for you to do things when you are at peace.  Consider: nations at war exhaust their resources and live in constant states of stress and existential threat.  Nations at peace can put their resources into growth and prosperity.  That is why peace of mind is essential to growth and well-being.  And the road to true peace lies in acceptance.

Accept your life, as it is.  Accept yourself, for who you are.  Accept the world, as it is.  Then, and only then, will you awaken to the true beauty that is around you.

Today we would ask you to meditate on the concept of power.  

This is literally a charged word in the English language.  Power is connected to forms of energy — the power that fuels your homes and cars and cities.  There is the power of authority.  There are individuals with “powerful personalities.”

So today we would ask that you simply sit with this word, power, and notice what arises in your mind.  Particularly notice if this word “power” arouses fear in you.  Do you fear power?  Does power make you feel uneasy, or defensive, or simply frightened in some vague sense?  Do you feel “powerless”?  Do you fear the misuses of power?

We would invite you to approach this word “power” with a loving heart.  Think of power in its highest, most majestic sense.  The power of nature: the waterfall, the ocean, the snow-capped mountains, the wind, the sun that shines forth its radiance, the stars gleaming in the vast depths of the cosmos.  The flight of the eagle, the leap of the lion.  Feel a sense of awe, and wonder.  Connect with that energy.

Consider powerful personalities for whom you feel a deep sense of admiration.  Individuals with tremendous courage and inner radiance.  People whose mere presence can alter the world around them for the good.  This does not have to be on a grand scale.  Sometimes individuals who outwardly lead quite mundane lives can wield extraordinary power.  

Sit with this energy, this sense of power.  Know that power is good.  Do not be afraid of it.  The energy that fuels the stars is inside you.  It is within your DNA.  Do not fear power.  It is good.  

Today we ask you to listen to your heart.

What does this mean?

For the most part, people are attuned to the external world.  They listen to their senses — particularly the senses of sight and sound.  You are continually absorbing and processing information.  Often you are in a light hypnotic state as you do so, particularly when watching television or a computer screen.  You absorb information through these sources, and because you are in a light hypnotic state, you take the information in as fact.

In reality, most of the information you receive in this way is false — particularly when the information encourages feelings of fear, scarcity, and judgment of others or the self.

So today, we would ask you to listen to your heart.  What is coming in through the eyes and ears can be filtered through the heart, as well as the mind.  Your heart can tell you quite clearly if the messages you are taking in are true or false.

Try it, as you watch television, or sit in front of your computer.  As you absorb information, take a moment to connect with the space of your heart.  Notice how you feel.  Notice if there is a feeling of expansiveness in the heart, or if there is a feeling of contraction and shutting down.  If you sense contraction, then in all likelihood the information you are taking in through your eyes and ears is false.

As you cultivate the practice of listening to your heart, it will in time become much easier to discern truth from falsehood, and so take actions and make decisions that will bring you peace of mind.

Today we would ask that you “let your hair down.”  

During the workday week many of you tend to get caught up in a kind of role-playing.  You put on your work costumes and go to work.  You play out your various workday dramas.  You play your roles. 

Most of you do not perceive it as role-playing.  And yet it is.  For there is often an element of pretense that is worn in your professional pursuits.  When you are at work, you wear the particular mask associated with your job.  You have a persona. People who work with you may only know you as this persona, this mask.  Deep down you know it is not the “real you.”

However, there is a tendency for masks to be a bit sticky.  Sometimes it is hard to take a mask off.  Sometimes you don different masks for different occasions.  You wear them in the same way you wear your clothes.  Different masks for different parties and costume dramas.

Today we would ask you to let down your hair.  Take off the mask.  Stand up, and “shake off” the week.  Literally shake your body as an animal shakes off water from his fur.  Let your hair down.  Be free.  Be unconstricted.  Be loose.  Be light.  Even if only for a few moments, when no one else is watching you — be you.  Let your hair down.  Be who you really are.

Today we ask you to meditate on grace.

This word, in the English language, has a number of lovely meanings.  There is the grace associated with form — the graceful curve of a swan’s neck, the graceful lines of a work of art.  There is grace of movement — a dancer’s grace, a leopard’s grace.  There is a graceful way one can meet life — the grace of a generous, loving spirit.

And there is of course divine grace: the light that shines forth from the deeper realms into your world of form, bringing with it the grace of forgiveness and miracles.  Grace encompasses all this and more.  It is one of your most splendid words.

So today all we ask is that you meditate for a few moments on grace.  What does it stir in your own heart.  What comes to mind.  Do you know individuals that evoke this quality of “grace” for you?

It is a beautiful word.

Today we would ask again, as we have once before in this series, to drop a grievance.  This activity is so essential, so intrinsic to maintaining your well-being, that we cannot overemphasize its importance.

It does not have to be a major grievance, some terrible hurt you are holding on to — although it can be, if you are feeling ready to do this great work.  But for most of you it is easier to work on dropping a minor grievance.

By this we mean the small, petty annoyances that dull the pleasures of your day and clutter up your consciousness.  The irritating things that your spouses, children, family members and co-workers do, often on a daily basis.  Things that you feel justified in complaining about, if only in your own mind.

Choose one of these minor complaints.  Hold it in the space of your consciousness.  Really feel that dull, irritated feeling around it.  Or if it is a sharp pain, feel the sharpness.

Imagine that this feeling has a shape.  Imagine it has a color.  Imagine it has a texture.  Imagine holding it in your hands, and feeling it.  Feel its weight.  Fell whether it is hot or cold to the touch.  Maybe it has the face of the person you are annoyed at.

Now: imagine a hole opening up in the floor.  A black, bottomless hole — smooth and flat, like Bugs Bunny’s rabbit hole.  

Toss your grievance into this hole.  See it vanish into the void.  Really let yourself feel what it feels like to get rid of this thing.

Once it has vanished, the hole closes.  It is gone.  There is no trace of it.

Notice how you feel.  Sense if there is a release in your body.  Notice if you feel better.  

Your grievances are such heavy burdens.  That is why dropping them is an act of pure self-love.

Today we would ask for you to connect with the feeling of trust.

What does that mean?

Think of a friend or loved one around whom you feel a feeling of total trust.  Someone who evokes in you a feeling of calm, stability, and reliability.

This person may no longer exist on this plane.  It may be a trusted grandparent who has passed on, or another relative.

It does not have to be someone you know very well.  It just has to be someone who you think of, and say “I trust this person.”  Someone you can imagine being present for his or her fellow men, in a calm, reassuring way.  Someone who is solid.  Someone who does not needlessly judge, or attack others, or easily fall into petty dramas.

If you do not personally know anyone that you deem trustworthy in this way, then connect with a historical or spiritual figure who evokes this feeling.  “I can trust this person.  I can rely on this person.”

Once you have your trustworthy person in mind, we would ask you to take a few moments, and really allow yourself to connect with the feeling of trust.  The trust of a little child who places his hand in a gentle grown-up’s hand, knowing that he will be led along where he needs to go, and be protected and loved.

Notice what happens in your body and mind.  Notice if there is any resistance to letting go in this way, even in your imagination.  If resistance arises, just breathe, and relax.  Return to that feeling of calm, quiet trust.  Even a few moments spent in this way can do a world of good.

Today we would ask that you take some time in your busy day to relax your body for a few moments.

There are a number of ways we have suggested on previous days to aid you with this: listening to a favorite song, looking out the window, connecting with your heart, spending a minute dancing, or snuggling up in a soft place.

Another way to relax, even seated in an office chair, is to just take a minute to relax all the parts of your body.  Say to yourself, “My toes are relaxed, my feet are relaxed, my ankles are relaxed, my calves are relaxed, my knees are relaxed, my thighs are relaxed,” and so on.  Start with your toes, and continue up your body to the top of your head.  

It does not need to be a lengthy process.  All that we ask is that you take a few moments out of your busy day to let your body have a break.  Just for a few moments.  This little respite will do you a world of good.

Today we would ask that you get up and dance for one minute.

That is all we ask.

Set a timer for one minute.  And during that time, get up and dance!

It can be any kind of dance your body is moved to do.  You all know how to dance — especially when no one else is looking.

Play music if you like.  Dance for more than a minute if you like.

But for at least one minute today — get up and dance.  Let your body do what your body wants to do.  However it wishes to express itself.  However it dances.  Let it dance.