The Way of Acceptance: A Practical Guide to Dealing with Life

by Jonathan Gibbons

Our practice of mindfulness is continually disturbed by What if I hadn’t done that? Why does she always treat me this way? What we need are the tools to combat such intrusive thinking so that we can stay focused on the present moment.
By analysing the nature and cause of our mental disturbance, this pragmatic guide to mindfulness shows how we can overcome this disturbance, stop overthinking, and find peace. But can I stay mindful when I’ve just missed my flight, lost my job, and my partner has walked out on me? The Way of Acceptance is here to suggest that we can deal with all these things and more. And that acceptance shouldn’t be about backing down or pretending everything’s fine. Instead, it’s about engaging with our experience intelligently and turning our attention toward what can be fixed in our our attitude.
The Way of Acceptance …
The Way of Acceptance will not show you how to fix all your problems, remove your pain, or make you enlightened. It will, however, give you the tools to disengage from unnecessary negativity and obsessive thinking, teach you how to live more mindfully, and show you how acceptance can transform your life. Take your mindfulness practice to a higher level with The Way of Acceptance.

Genres: Nonfiction

268 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2022

About the author

Jonathan spent a decade in India practicing Zen meditation, studying Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, doing every self-improvement course available, and trying to get his body into excruciatingly painful yoga postures before realizing that this was not the most direct way to find contentment in life. So he went in search of a more direct route that didn’t involve endless contemplation, esoteric knowledge, or complicated practices. He finally emerged from months of silent retreat in the depths of the forest, returned to the “real world”, and began leading an informal meditation group. Inspired by the questions he encountered there, he began to teach a simple, pragmatic approach to dealing with the inevitable challenges and frustrations of our increasingly frenetic lives. And so The Way of Acceptance was born.

Over the course of his colorful life, Jonathan has played bass in rock, pop, blues & jazz bands in the UK, traveled extensively in Asia, taught in the Middle East and South America, played classical guitar on the streets of Europe, and set up a recording studio in a converted cowshed in the foothills of the Indian Himalaya, where he produced three albums, including a groundbreaking album of Tibetan rock with local musicians.

Jonathan recently returned to the UK after an absence of 28 years. He spends his time teaching, writing, playing guitar, and practicing meditation.

For more information on Jonathan and “The Way of Acceptance” please visit:
www.wayofacceptance.com

Reviews

[Mcbravo7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is much more than a self-help book, a genre I generally tend to be wary of. This is simple but powerful stuff. The author throws light at life’s problems and offers what seem to be obvious and simple suggestions for dealing with them in a way that can only improve our lives. He systematically offers various examples from the real world, sometimes his own world, which makes it all feel very genuine and down to earth. It reads like a friend’s soothing voice guiding you from chapter to chapter. It also covers mindfulness skills, breathing techniques, drawing on both Eastern and Western practices. "The Way of Acceptance" shows us how we already possess the tools within us to cope with life’s adversities and how to best apply a good dose of resignation to everything. The concept of “acceptance” reads more like “embracing” every single aspect of life.
A single and superficial reading of the book will not be enough. It is a practical guide, like a collection of successful recipes (there are some practical breathing and emotion-focused exercises suggested at different points of the book) but it requires attentive re-reading, stopping, reflecting and putting those ingredients into practice. As I worked though it and read on, I found myself surrendering to things that before seemed impossible. Thank you, Jonathan Gibbons!
I strongly recommend this book!

[Emily Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it and defo learned things from it, but kind of felt a bit overly complicated at times. Like it was flooded with examples and things about how to be accepting and how to 'do acceptance correctly' and how lots of people 'do acceptance wrong' which is helpful to see how its put into practice, but it was kinda to the point where I was just a bit confused...

[Maxime Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone having a hard time, loss, or life challenges, this book is a treasure of self reflection, helping the reader gain perspective on the experience of life, and accepting the reality of the present moment, for it is the only thing that truly exists. Could not recommend it enough.