The acceptance aspect of Acceptance and Integration Training is part and parcel of the work most of us offer. It’s not about indulging our reflex to right things for our clients. It’s about finding ways to help our clients allow space for their experience of BEING in life.

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In the course of that BEING there is all manner of pain and heartache that come our way. It’s natural to pull back from a hot stove. However, pulling back from the hot pain of heartbreak tends to prolong and increase the heartbreak.

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Acceptance doesn’t mean we LIKE what we are experiencing or that we approve of it. It simply means we are allowing for the experience as it is, without the inhibition of self judgment, self criticism, or self evaluation.

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All of us encounter experiences that challenge and stretch our acceptance muscle. The more we use this muscle the more readily we find ourselves in that sweet spot of acceptance even in the face of the unacceptable.

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Zivorad Slavinski joins others in the use of a statement aimed at mitigating a natural resistance to acceptance. Dick Olney also used a statement aimed at leaning into accepting the unacceptable, “I feel ________ and that’s where it’s at and that’s ok.”

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Zivorad uses what he calls, “The Formula for the Elimination of Self Sabotage.” He suggests placing two fingers in the center of the chest while repeating, “Even though I feel ________ I love and accept myself.”

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Statements like this, followed by a few easy breaths can help us begin naming and taming the beast that has hijacked our attention. A simple practice like this is something we can offer our clients to help them recenter in NOW and align with the truth of their experience in the moment with a bit less resistance and a bit more acceptance.

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This beast seems to have no problem with self acceptance.

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Message me, let’s talk about how AAIT is different than other models based on acceptance.