Acceptance is one of the themes that runs through Nectar of Time. Below is everything in the Nectarium that touches on it.
Where it comes up 5
Within this theme 14
Concepts 3
- Equanimity
Staying stable whether good or bad things happen. Tamir puts it as the goal of shadow integration: being able to weather life's storms and then listen clearly to your intuition.
- Acceptance
Sheela's core principle: 'I accept life as it comes.' She credits it for her ability to run the commune, survive heartbreak and stay free of regret. She accepts things graciously and lets…
- Expectations
Sheela's chain: expectations of others lead to disappointment, disappointment leads to depression, a 'catch-22' you avoid by being clear about your own desire and taking whatever comes as…
Books 1
- If—
Poem Tamir quotes ('meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same'); Ian's wife has an 'If' tattoo and knows the whole poem by heart.
Quotes 4
Pain can be bodily also. Pain can be fantasy. Pain can be imagination. For me, pain is nothing to brag about. You have it. You, with your own intelligence and understanding, you go through it.
You can do your half and then you cross your fingers for the rest.
Become clear of one's own desire, and bear in mind: when you have expectations of others, you will be disappointed, cause they will never be fulfilled. And the moment you are disappointed, you will get depressed. So avoid this catch-22.
For me, life is the choices we make. And there is always choice to accept and move forward, or choose something else and fall in a ditch. But both are good choices. When you fall in the ditch, you will have to figure out how you come out. There is also activity. There is also using brains.
Insights 4
- Even the ditch is a good choice
Sheela sees no bad choices: accepting and moving forward is good, and falling into a ditch is also good because climbing out takes action and brains. What changes the pleasure of a choice…
- Sadness is part of love; suffering is optional
Sheela admits there were sad moments after the falling out with Bhagwan, but calls them 'also part of love'. She accepted them graciously and let thoughts and feelings leave as they came…
- Acceptance freed her to take responsibility
Sheela says she could carry responsibility for the whole commune because she wasn't chasing achievement. She did it out of love and accepted life as it came, which she says makes life…
- Expectations of others breed depression
Expecting things from others guarantees disappointment, because those expectations are never fulfilled, and disappointment slides into depression. Sheela's way out is to get clear on your…
Practices 2
- Get clear on your desire, drop expectations
Sheela's answer when asked for a practice to become more like her: get clear about your own desire, stop expecting things from others, and take whatever comes your way as it is and go…
- Let feelings come and go
When painful events come, accept them graciously, let thoughts and feelings arrive and leave on their own, and keep love where it belongs, in your heart.