The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening in Ordinary Life

I came to this book with high hopes. My yoga instructor read one of his quotes in class and it spoke to me.What I found in this book were about 8 key moments of brilliance followed by long, heady (for me) virtually useless explanations that can be best described as mental gymnastics. This book feels like it would be best suited for other very heady folks who have fallen into one of the many mental "spiritual" traps described by the author.*The strongest Concept in the book for me: "Addiction to future wholeness."I am embracing this concept wholeheartedly and have already shared it with clients. And yet, I have found that as I have followed my path, I find myself feeling more and more whole and I think a lot of it has not to do with a change in mindset, but rather through actions that are in alignment with my path. Mental shifts in belief system have helped, but they are not all there is.

Jeff Foster always points out that there is no one who can reach, let go or do anything. This is pure insight combined with warmth and poetry, and I love his style. And if you need something in addition, in a different form and with simple and helpful exercises, I highly recommend "Awaken to Life" by Dirk Hessel. Very well structured he begins with problems in our childhood, goes on to adulthood and finally ends up in our timeless true self. If you like Jeff Foster, you should also read Hessel. This German spiritual teacher is still unknown here, maybe because he shows an honesty and clarity that is not popular in the spiritual »scene«. But obviously he doesn't care. I discovered him by chance and he seems to be the »new German Nisargadatta«. As a matter of fact his intention is to radically end and dissolve the spiritual search instead of prolonging it (and it worked for "me"!). Once again it's a matter of taste, by whom or what we are attracted for a while. The main thing is that clear and awakened consciousness speaks and that it constantly points to our true nature. Because it's a very good combination it is probably best to read Foster and Hessel. If you dare.

Even though I've given this book 5 stars, I'd like to start with the book's drawbacks. First, if you've already read plenty of books on oneness, non-duality, dharma, or whatever you want to call this genre, be prepared to cover a lot of familiar ground. This is to be expected, of course, as all such writings ultimately point to the same truths. Besides re-hashing some well-worn themes, this book also contains a LOT of repetition of its central metaphor - the inseparability of waves from the ocean. This metaphor is a helpful one, but at numerous points in the book I found myself thinking "I get it already with the ocean thing, please get to your point." With some good editing this book could have been about half as long, in which case it would have packed a wallop, word-for-word. This brings me to why I give the book 5 stars. Foster's discussion of the "seeking mechanism" is both new and powerful. Many readers will recognize themselves in the many forms of seeking Foster describes, and they may experience a flash if insight (as I did) into how seeking itself is an obstacle to the realizing the very truth one is seeking. Foster's discussions of relationships and honest communication are nothing short of fantastic. His descriptions of how we carry our search for completeness into our relationships, and how that search corrupts those relationships, should be required reading for every couple in a committed relationship. His treatment of addiction is also extremely good. In my view, these plusses more then make up for the drawbacks discussed above and make this a 5 star book. Highly recommended.

The powerful nature of Jeff Foster's work has taken me by surprise since I haven't been a spiritual seeker and have no background in this type of thinking. His writing is engaging and fascinating. Although there are a few concepts that don't sink in for me, I have gotten so much out of his work. Practicing Deep Acceptance is not easy, but when I can do it I know it's right by how I feel. I saw Jeff in person when he came to town for a Meeting and he is very endearing and his words resonate deeply. When he is working with someone who is struggling and showing them how to get in touch with the feelings going on their body, healing seems so simple. That is actually the heart of the work. All of the words (and he is VERY wordy!) just increase awareness and point me in the right direction. I got the audio version of the book as well, and I love it. He doesn't read the book, but speaks right to his audience in a very soothing and engaging way. He is a gem! I wish the world was full of Jeff Fosters and hope it will be someday.

If you are still confused about some non duality concepts Jeff gives a very clear explanation about what is non duality as well as how to accept yourself (your thoughts and emotions).Suffering comes when we have some image about ourselves and our thoughts don't go hand in hand with that image. But since we don't control what we think we are going to war with our thoughts and that's when suffering shows up.freedom comes from acceptance but.... even acceptance can be misunderstood.We are not our thoughts or our image but in order to go 'beyond our thoughts and image' we first need to understand how it works (the ocean & waves analogy Jeff uses).overall one of the best books I read about non duality so far and it's written in a simple language that anyone can understand...I highly recommend this book

This one of the best spiritually oriented books I have read (and I've read a number of them). Jeff breaks it down to the deep vulnerability of being in the moment and allow everything to be as it is. When we allow everything to be accepted and not repressed, denied or pushed away we remove our suffering. We may still have pain, issues, triggers, and many other things coming up but they can all be what they are in the space of intimate presence. I highly recommend this book.

This came along at just the right time. I'd had my mind and heart already opened by following a spiritual master for some years, to whom I'm forever grateful, but I was still facing the same old patterns again and again. I'd been trying to enquire them away or dismissing them as unreal, just fixating more and more on my absolute self. This book tells you it's ok to hold these shadows in love, to not see any part of you as bad. Rather than fixating on an ideal of what enlightenment should look like - all joy, bliss and love - Jeff encourages us to start being ok with not feeling ok. And this is where the real healing happens. These suppressed parts of us just want to be heard and held so that they can finally work their way through, and then the integration of body, mind and spirit can fully take place.

I enjoyed this book very much, Jeff talks about many issues and pitfalls that the spiritual seeker is faced with, he guides us back to the simplicity of our nature and removes lots of misunderstanding. The only point I would not agree,is to generalize the role of a "guru"( or teacher or guide - or whatever you call it) or the relationship with one. Here I strongly feel that he has never met or never really understood the real relationship with one, who actually brings you more and more in touch with your own Self and thus one's own power and not as he proposes turns you into another "addict", into an addict for enlightenment. He overlooks that to be close to someone's presence, can be of tremendous help and support, especially at the beginning. This far too general and over-simplified view I truly cannot share. Apart from this I would recommend the book as it covers very important topics "on the way".

As a Zen practitioner, I found this book to be quite inspiring. Although, I have been practising the development of awareness through zazen (Zen meditation) for just over 30years, this book was supportive in enhancing my experience of Self as awareness. When an author shares his experience of being present in this way, there are many different paths that all point to Self awareness and in my mind, there can never be too many. It has to be tautological. Well worth purchasing if you are on such a path.

I've been reading Jeff Foster books right from the start in 'Life without a centre' and it is very interesting to see how his views on enlightenment and the spiritual path have evolved and, dare I say it, mellowed. From that young firebrand throwing out all the old ideas of reaching enlightenment and kicking out the gurus, to the current, more chilled out Jeff, he has always had a power to intrigue me, and make me question my own ideas. I found his message very hard to accept in 'Life without a centre', but since then his words, along with many other influences of course, has guided my own development and I found almost every page of this new book to hit a chord with me. Great stuff, don't bother with all those other spiritual books, just get this one.

I got this book a few months ago, but wasn't ready for it at the moment. Have recently read it properly and I have to say this is the best book I've read in terms of being awake without expecting life to be perfect. Plenty of people talk about 'living in the present moment' without taking into account the challenges of everyday life. This book merges them both together perfectly. If you're ready to accept things as they are without pretending to like them and without denying that they can be bloody tough at times, this book is for you.