"If we would only love more all limitations in our lives would be gone!" - John Randolph Price
Love is empowering, in part because it brings us into a state of acceptance.
In many situations "acceptance" can feel like a more accessible state to find than "love". We attach a lot of labels and expectations to the word "love". We often equate love with attachment, preference, or attraction. Acceptance is more neutral. Acceptance brings an openness to the heart space.
To be in a state of acceptance creates a space of allowing what is to be what is. It allows without trying to change and without wishing a person or a thing was different. If you think about it, that is a very similar heart space to unconditional love...unconditional acceptance. We can accept without agreeing with what is happening and without condoning what another person is doing or has done. We can accept without labeling the person or action "good" or "bad".
One of my favorite phrases to use to help me stay in acceptance and out of reactivity is: "It's like this now." Acceptance is freedom. Acceptance allows us to experience while stepping out of our tendency to label, to control and to run away from or to run toward what is happening.
"It's like this NOW" also reminds me that now it is like this, but it won't be like this forever. Acceptance allows us to be present. In that space, in that attitude of empowerment, lives potential. In that state of being we can choose to respond objectively. We can choose to act in a way that supports us and others. We can choose to love. In that state of observing and accepting, we open up to possibility. We open up to new possibilities. We step outside our own labels and open ourselves up to a new way of being. We are not labeling or confining others by our judgements, so we create a silent invitation for others to step into a new way of being. We create space to experience life and people in a new way. When we live outside our labels, limitations disappear.
In the state of acceptance of the way things are we also position ourselves to make change.
When we are in resistance to the way things are, or in denial, we have no power to make positive change. We must FIRST accept "It's like this now".
From there we can reflect on what we would prefer and how to achieve that in the best way.
We make change from a place of acceptance and power and step outside of victimhood.
One of my other favorite phrases is
"Why is this happening for me?"
This allows me to be in both a state of curiosity (which is associated with a Growth Mindset, for any of you who are familiar with Carol Dweck's work) and a state of acceptance rather than victimhood and resistance.
Paying attention to the words we use is key to life and to working Magick in your life. Words carry immense power. Words are a creative force. When backed by emotion and energy they carry even more power!
Think of how often you say "Why is this happening TO me?!" or "Why did they do this TO me?!" What kind of energetic, mental and emotional state does that create for you? Can you feel the difference between that and "Why is this happening FOR me?"
For one, there are assumptions behind those statements.
When something is happening "TO" you, the basic assumption is that you are being attacked or abandoned.
When something is happening "FOR" you, the basic assumption is that you are being supported by the Universe/God/Source or whatever word is most comfortable for you to use for the Divine Creative Force of which we are a part.
Since you don't actually know, And YOU are, ultimately, the creator of your life, it is much more effective to assume the latter and move on in your response from a state of curiosity and power.
When acceptance feels difficult
It's easy to talk about changing our patterns of behavior and self-talk. But it is often the case that the persistent voice in our head can be stubborn and difficult to redirect. Seeking the help of a professional is recommended for intense emotional disturbances or severe thought disorders.
As far as Modern Mystery School lineage healings, there are three things I can recommend that helped me more than anything else I had ever done:
1) A personal clearing, which I call an Energy Cleanup. This may be especially helpful for persistent intrusive thoughts and feeling heavy, or after a recent difficult event or negative encounter.
2) Life Activation for more Clarity and to connect you with your Divinity, your inner source of Love and Light
3) Empower Thyself Program and Initiation. I still use the rituals I learned in that firsts Modern Mystery School Program every day, and my life has never been the same since.