“In a basic way, acceptance is seeing clearly what’s happening and holding it with kindness. This is a radical antidote to the suffering of judging mind.”

The most powerful healing arises from the simple intention to love the life within you, unconditionally, with as much tenderness and presence as possible.

Observing desire without acting on it enlarges our freedom to choose how we live.

If our hearts are ready for anything, we are touched by the beauty and poetry and mystery that fill our world.

There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.

Self-judgment continues to arise – it’s a strong habit – but the fact that I made a conscious commitment to recognize it has helped me stop feeding the story of being unworthy.

The trance of unworthiness keeps the sweetness of belonging out of reach. The path to “the sweetness of belonging,” is acceptance – acceptance of ourselves and acceptance of others without judgment.

But this revolutionary act of treating ourselves tenderly can begin to undo the aversive messages of a lifetime.

With mindfulness training we are able to recognize when we get lost in our mental dramas, and bring a kind and nonreactive presence to the feelings that accompany them.

Extend an act of kindness each day. No one has to know. It can be a smile, reassuring words, a small favor – without expecting something in return.

On this sacred path of Radical Acceptance, rather than striving for perfection, we discover how to love ourselves into wholeness.

When we open to love, we become love.

Fear of being a flawed person lay at the root of my trance, and I had sacrificed many moments over the years in trying to prove my worth. Like the tiger Mohini, I inhabited a self-made prison that stopped me from living fully.

Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns.

Our attitude in the face of life’s challenges determines our suffering or our freedom.

Become a witness to your thoughts.

Happiness lies not in finding what is missing, but in finding what is present.

Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ball park.

You must accept that we are as real as you are; you must accept that you are not God.

I think my desire to always get better, to always want more, to always be my top critic, and accepting the good and the bad.

It has become almost a cliché to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature, but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics.

In short, numbers are accepted as evidence when they agree with preconceptions, but not when they don’t.

You are the life you accept for yourself.

We’re no longer in the Cold War. Eavesdropping on friends is unacceptable.

Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.