All I know is the universe wants me to really understand that peace comes from accepting life as it is, finding comfort in uncertainty, and just enjoying each day as it comes. Man, do I fight against this! Now I’ve come a long way, for which I’m grateful for, and I’m proud of who I’ve become.  I know all my current life experiences are just there to keep lovingly guiding me into living more fully in the present moment. But sometimes, I just want to yell, ‘Really…really…REALLY!’ It’s that desired, subtle Disney Fairytale ending we all as Americans are taught. If I do X, Y, and Z, then I’ll rest in happiness and the rest of life will be smooth sailing. 

The thing is…this doesn’t exist in the material world. And it pisses me off sometimes. Then it’s time to move to acceptance. Most of what I’ve been taught about how the world is, just isn’t true.

What Keeps Us Fighting, Scrapping, and Clinging to What Isn’t True? 

We are all terrified. If we’ve been identifying ourselves as something that actually isn’t true..then what the hell is true…who really am I? Identity Crisis! So to avoid this, we keep fighting, scrapping, and clinging to what we know, our comfort zone.

I love how Susan David, author of “Emotional Agility,” puts it:

“…One of the greatest paradoxes of human experience is that we can’t change ourselves or our circumstances until we accept what exists right now. Acceptance is a prerequisite for change. This means giving permission for the world to be as it is, because it’s only when we stop trying to control the universe that we make peace with it. We still don’t like the things we don’t like – we just cease to be at war with them. Once the war is over, change can begin.” (Emotional Agility, p.67)

The ironic thing about the American culture is how much time, effort and resources we spend being at war with everything – War on Drugs, War on Crime, War on Terror, War on Illegal Immigration, War on Poverty, War on Aging, War on Time. The list goes on and on. Is it any surprise that we are paralyzed with fear, unable to make the changes we need to connect to the safety and security we all crave?

Acceptance is one of the key components of the Samya Yoga Healing Model for Managing Emotions Effectively: STAY CALM. See, the thing is, really, we don’t need to manage emotions…we need to accept them. Just like Susan David writes, we can’t change our emotional state unless we first accept what we are actually experiencing without judgment. 

How To Do This?

The first part of the STAY CALM model: Stop and pause, Take a Breath, and become Aware.

We have to first start to get familiar when we are fighting and reacting. If we stay oblivious to the fight reactions, such as blaming, pointing fingers, and refusing to see any other perspective, we will continue to be in the stuck cycle of fear, anger, and overwhelm.  Even though it sucks and we want it to change, it’s still comfortable.

You want change, you want more peace? Well, then you have to be willing to start moving out of your comfort zone and into uncertainty. And feeling uncomfortable is also part of it. It’s kind of like buying a new pair of hiking boots. Most hiking boots can’t be taken out of the box and worn for 10 miles or your feet would end up a blistered, bloody mess. They have to be worn in, tried out for short distances, until they start to feel comfortable. After practicing with those boots for some time, then you trust them enough to carry you through long, epic trail adventures.

The same thing goes for trying new ways to ‘manage’ emotions. It takes time and practice for your mind-body system to build trust and accept a new way just might be a better way to live. 

So, start to Stop and Pause, Take a Breath, and become Aware of YOUR reactions rather than judging and trying to control someone else’s.

Ways to Practice and Learn More

If you’re interested in learning more and pushing your comfort zone into a more empowered life, join me!

• FREE YOURSELF! The Secret to Managing Emotions Effectively. A Webinar with Samya Yoga Healing on April 10th, 2021 from 9-10am. All you really need to know to feel confident and empowered to meet any emotional reaction! $17 investment in yourself.
• IDENTIFY THE ROOT CAUSE OF SUFFERING: Using Traditional Yoga to Unlock Clarity, Confidence, and Self-knowing. A 4-week, Online Course in which you will have learned the root causes of your suffering, know how it feels in your body to let go of fear to experience clarity and self-knowing, and have all the tools you will need to meet life’s challenges, so you can meet life head on with confidence, enjoy the present moment, and feel capable in dealing with anything that happens in your life with grace. Course starts May1st, 2021. Registration begins April 9th. For more details: https://samyayogahealing.com/. 
• CREATE A SERENE MIND, 5-Day Challenge! Join the FREE email challenge, April 12th-16th, 2021 to experience the Four Keys to unlocking the door to a more serene and peaceful mind. If you practice nothing else in your life, these four keys or attitudes will transform your life in how to meet any person you encounter so that you can remain calm and collected. Plus, they are also very effective in meeting our own mind states that might be anything but calm.

Namaste