Self acceptance is vital to loving ourselves in completeness. Unconditional self acceptance is understanding and acknowledging we all make mistakes, but most importantly, not letting our mistakes define us. 

Here are some tips on how to work with our imperfections:

Write down a list of what bothers you about yourself. See if somewhere in your life this trait has served a good purpose or created a positive outcome for you or others that is not harmful.

Explore 2 or 3 traits and try and understand their origins. When did you first notice this trait became an issue? Can you find a source for this trait. Did you have a heartbreaking relationship that made you become less trustful of others? Did you feel unworthy as a child? We then realise many of our traits were built over a lifetime and are possible to shed. 

Work on forgiving yourself for seemingly not so good behaviours that have been infringing on others and your own life. Take some time to be self compassionate. The same...

No personality is perfect, but we have perfectly imperfect personalities. We need to be mindful that our human spirit is perfect and whole and we have been given a human body in which to live and express ourselves. Some of our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses. 

For example, a person may be friendly and welcoming. This is a beautiful trait and quality to have. In a world of personality conflicts, this can also be a weakness, because  that same person may be afraid to speak up, or it can result in being nice even when we don’t want to be, which can compromise our authenticity.

A person may be very well organised that is conducive and a necessity to keeping organisations, households and work places functional. However if not balanced with flexibility it can be too rigid and not adaptable to unexpected situations or events. 

We may have trust issues and find it difficult to get close to people, yet at the same time, this serves to cultivate...

There are many reasons imperfections scare us:

* we fear our imperfections will push people away

* we don't know how to change them, or improve them

* we worry people will take advantage of our weaknesses

* our beliefs about ourselves are too ingrained to shift our way of thinking

Honouring and Serving,
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach

Have there been times in your life when you are afraid to do something because you worry about doing it perfectly?

• Do you keep people away for fear of them knowing your imperfections?
• Do you wish they would go away?
• Do you sometimes struggle to know how to deal with imperfections?

We all have imperfections as humans and struggle to manage these. It can create resistance to leading fulfilling lives. Our constant fretting about what we perceive to be wrong with us, can be debilitating and stunt our growth, with too much focus on our imperfections only.

What we can lose sight of, is that some of our deepest insecurities and strengths are found in our imperfections simultaneously. Once we understand this, we begin to accept ourselves completely and reach the realisation, it is  our acceptance of ourselves that allows us to move forward and grow spiritually. 

Honouring and Serving,
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach

Thankfully there are ways to avoid greed taking over. 

→ have a values driven life first and foremost

→ surround yourself with people generous people - They are more likely to share the same values, and inspire you to be the same

→ be generous. create wealth with others in mind also.

→ support a local group or cause that you know could do with some financial assistance and resource. Put extra money to good use, without having a saviour mentality. 

→ find ways to have a sustainable income that does not lead to the exploitation of workers

→ be thankful for what one already has, as there are plenty of people in the world who are struggling. 

→ choose to work within cooperative groups that generate wealth, with the thought that wealth would be shared with others and the communities surrounding. 

Honouring and Serving,
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach

What can happen when greed takes over?

We only have to take a look around the world, nearby and afar, to see what happens when a person or group of people  become greedy. 

 people want more as they obtain more 

 the desire for more can take over personal values

 greed damages relationship priorities, people  competing against each other for 'more' than another

 people lose sight of who they are

 people are exploited, for profits

 people  are reluctant to help others financially because of fear of 'losing' money

 money becomes an indicator of power

 greed has led to the destruction of the planet, land and oceans, for resources. 

 people engage in certain behaviours to meet short term goals, because of the rewards, whether it's ethical or not. 

Honouring and Serving,
Simran K. Rattan MD
Content support Maria Peach

Greed has evolved from the competitive economic capitalist, market systems within countries and between countries.

It is incompatible with the innate feeling we all have to nurture and care for one another as a community and therefore explains the conflict many people have in dealing with money.

This economic competitiveness has cultivated societies focused on materialism, which often utilises unethical business and corporate decisions for profit.

Rather than create for the whole and others, many people create only for themselves and their own family.

Like most things in life a healthy balance is required on a spiritual journey. It is important to recognise spiritual bypassing in our own journeys whilst also not focusing too much on spiritual bypassing as a means to negate every spiritual experience of ourselves and others. 

When we are able to work through our emotions and feelings in such a way that acknowledges their presence, allows them to be and helps us understand why we react and respond as we do, we are able to move forward without employing bandaid strategies.  Allowing ourselves to express who we are, loving ourselves as we are, leads to:

 Genuinely healed wounds

 A Greater connection within to that deeper universal place within,

 A more wholesome and loving experience with ourselves and others

 Spiritual and emotional growth

 A happier life

When we are able to express how we feel in a sincere and genuine way, we are acknowledging our true nature and self.  For if we are willing...

The goal of spirituality is for us all to find inner meaning and connection with our deeper self. The benefits of living from our authentic selves, expressing our emotions,  is when we do so, others are not afraid to do the same. It becomes a rippling effect, with more and more people realising, it’s ok to have moments of frustration, anger, sadness and to experience pain. This is part of being human and when we acknowledge these emotions, we begin to love ourselves unconditionally which is the core essence of living a spiritual life.

We can do certain activities to work towards living our most authentic spiritual life. 

 Self acceptance work. When we understand our shadow is not our enemy and our emotions are not shortcomings, we are able to work with these emotions to move forward

 Accept our emotions and work at processing : 

• Express 
• Observe
• Accept
• Reflect 

 Journaling lets us express our emotions in written form

 Practicing...

Spiritual bypassing leads us to repress feelings and emotions. It is something people do to avoid dealing with pain. This causes stunted growth, keeps us disconnected from being our true authentic self, and is not healthy. The desire to be living in a constant high and elevated state, to causes people to spiritual bypass which may manifests as: 

• anger-phobia
• emotional numbing and repression
• delusions of having arrived at a higher level of being
• focussing on the positive only leading to negative resistance of self and others
• Self judging
• Excessive niceness
• Misuse of spiritual and religious truths to avoid pain

This avoidance and denial of our unaddressed wounds, detracts us from the calling of our true self, and a deeper place of compassion for others and self. Emotions serve as a function to meet our needs. Our brains have specific areas, like the limbic region, which interprets information and produces our emotional reactions. When emotions are not processed and not...