Book excerpt: In Becoming Alive and Real, Cherie McCoy depicts the process of Self Acceptance Training, a healing method which delivers insights into the connections between life experiences and the patterns of emotions, tensions and pain which can be held within the body. Utilizing tools and principles she has refined over 47 years of teaching, she describes guiding students in search of understanding, catharsis, and ultimately peace. Along with explaining the philosophy behind her work, Cherie offers real life examples of how Self Acceptance Training can bring physical, emotional and spiritual life changes. In our very intellectual and analytical culture where so much power and credence is given to the mind, we often forget that we are essentially a body, with an ability to think, which separates us from other animals. As we journey into the body's truth, we're exploring a new frontier, and just like the pioneers of history, we don't always know what we will discover. This is an exciting and sometimes scary adventure which is always extremely rewarding. At the end of each foray into these discoveries, the gifts of peace, self confidence, inner strength, and a wondrous connection with our true self emerges.