First, I want to extend a great big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in Sunday’s chat! There were so many outstanding contributions and insights from everyone. And as many of you already know, a Twitter chat hour tends to fly by so fast that it can be difficult catching each and every tweet from everyone.
I would also like to thank Kumud Ajmani for inviting me to co-host for #spiritchat. I was honored to be asked and appreciate his gracious hospitality.
Secondly, acceptance is such an important topic for so many people, I wanted to be able to extend our explorations and reflection beyond a one-hour Twitter chat. So, I’m writing this follow up post that will serve to help turn Sunday’s #spiritchat into a timeless resource. Read it whenever you need to review the topic, or for anyone who happened to miss Sunday’s chat and would still like to participate.
Preliminary Guest Post
If you would like to review my preliminary guest post hosted on Kumud’s website, you can click on the following link:
Preliminary Post on the Spirit of Acceptance
Reading through the preliminary post is a great way to prepare for the upcoming questions we shared during the chat. Consider this post as a way to still capture the spirit and essence of the chat with the bonus of being able to answer the questions at your own pace.
Also, this is a great way for anyone who already attended the chat to review the material at any time and answer the questions as often as you like. Perhaps consider them for a periodical study and refresher whenever you feel the need.
The next section contains all of the questions presented during the chat. Feel free to copy and paste the questions into a text editor or other word processor and answer them on your own. You could also take one question at a time and devote it to a journaling session.
No matter how you choose to use the questions, make it a special time. Make it YOUR time. After all, this is about you…the heart and soul of who you really are underneath all the layers of false beliefs and masks that you may have unconsciously adopted in your lifetime.
Now is the time to lighten the load. If you are drawn to this post, this is your special invitation to shed some of those layers and uncover the real you. it’s time to get to know yourself on a more intimate and deeper level. Or perhaps you have only been estranged from yourself for a little while and simply need to get reacquainted.
So, knock on the door of your own heart and soul and say, ‘Here I am!’ And notice what happens when you answer.
The Spirit of Acceptance
#SpiritChat Questions
- Q1. How do you define self-acceptance? What feelings does it evoke? #spiritchat
- Q2. What areas of your Self or your life do you have the most difficulty in accepting? #spiritchat
- Q3. What are some common fears/myths surrounding the idea of acceptance? #spiritchat
- Q4. How has the ambitious/driven nature of our culture impacted your sense of acceptance? Or has it? #spiritchat
- Q5. Shame is a primary root cause of feelings of unworthiness. Agree or disagree? Why?
- Q6. What (spiritual) techniques can we use, to accept ourselves when others reject us? #spiritchat
- Q7. Acceptance and tolerance…How do we separate the two in practical situations? #spiritchat
- Q8. How do we balance our need of BEING in acceptance with our need to DO in the world? #spiritchat
- Q9. What possibilities might open for us if we were more accepting of ourselves/others? #spiritchat
- Q10 A message, for those seeking to accept themselves as they are in this moment… #spiritchat
The Spirit of Acceptance on Storify
If you would like to view the entire acceptance Twitter #spiritchat held on Sunday, May 25, 2014, Kumud has captured it on Storify for all of us. You can view it by clicking on the following link:
[View the story “Spirit of Acceptance – #SpiritChat Summary” on Storify]
Purpose
One of the main goals and purpose for this post is to help us turn our 1-hour exploration into a lifetime experience. I want us to have the opportunity to become one with our head knowledge; to basically move it from head to heart in a way that will be reflected in our way of being and actions.
I don’t want you to just ‘think’ about the idea of self-acceptance in your head and call it a day. I want you to get to the point where you FEEL the experience of self-acceptance in your body, your heart, and your very soul.
There are so many things in this world that can distract us and cause us to forget. Let us remember who we truly are in the world and make the most of it.
Action Steps in Review
1. If you haven’t already done so, please read the preliminary post. (See link above)
2. Answer the #spiritchat questions in a word processor of your choice or in your journal. Feel free to answer any or all questions in the comments section of your post if you missed the chat.
3. If you would like to see the answers that others shared during the chat, you can review it on Storify. (see link above)
4. Make a conscious effort whenever you feel yourself being pulled away from the internal peace of acceptance, to stop and do what you need to do to get back in touch with that space…the energy of your own acceptance.
5. As you notice ways that you have not felt accepted, also notice the moments when you aren’t accepting of others. At this point, don’t judge it. Simply see if you can notice even if only in retrospect.
Again, thanks to Kumud Ajmani and to all who participated in The Spirit of Acceptance #spiritchat.
Feel free to let me know how you are doing!
© Samantha S Hall 2014 All Rights Reserved
********************
Additional Related Resources:
Exploring the Meaning of Acceptance by Samantha Hall
One Same Heartbeat by Nic Askew
A Life Beyond by Nic Askew
The Hidden Messages of Family by Nic Askew
On Interconnection…and Yet by Dan Oestreich
More resources will be added here as I find them and/or create them.
