I play a difficult musical instrument to master, but I have a wonderful teacher, known all over the world. He has corrected me many times, and yet as I continue to practice, these supposed corrections still come out wrong...as well as my anger towards myself for failing to learn! What am I missing here; why do I continue to fail? (From student correspondence)...

All unhappy thoughts are creations of a mind that visits what it does for the sole purpose of stirring up something with which to stimulate itself. To see this truth is to see that you are not this mind, nor its misery -- which further means you need never again consent to the captivity inherent in trying to sort out its sufferings.

We are wrongly led to believe that life makes us into the kind of person we are. The truth is that the kind of person we are -- our life-level -- makes life what it is for us! This is why nothing can really change for us until we see that our unhappiness isn't connected with the event, it is the level of it. Let's look at this a little more deeply. We believe that we meet events and that thos...

If only we would cease giving others > Reasons to resist our presence, > Bear ourselves > With what we burden them, > Leaving no reason for blame . . . > Then . . . that great silent rage > Hidden in the human heart > Would have to be seen for what it is: > Violence looking for a war. > Such a discovery would awaken > Within the discerning soul > The immediate, most int...

To know the real pleasure of relationship with any other person requires no thought on our part. On the other hand, thoughtlessness wrecks any relationship into which it rears its ugly head.

One of the greatest gifts that a man or woman can be given in this world (and only if they ask properly) is to understand that everything that happens to them - no matter what -- is for their greater good. It makes no difference what it is -- call it the worst thing in the world -- and most of us have had the experience of recognizing there were times when if we could have thrown away that moment full of fear, anger, resentment, we would have thrown it away.

When I look at myself, it seems that my most prevalent emotion is anger. It's always there. I frequently find myself caught up in what you call "mental movies," remembering all the cruelty and unfairness that seem to justify this anger. I know that indulging in this does no good, but I feel powerless to stop these raging thoughts. What can I do? I really am weary of my own out-of-control emoti...

Before we can experience the truth of a higher state of consciousness, before we can stand on the ground of ourselves that is the secret stuff of Reality, we are asked to quietly be who and what we are in the Now. To do this we must learn to let go of those parts of our present nature that are never quite pleased with what is. After all, doesn't it seem that we are always in some sort...