We must do more than just try to remember that nothing disturbs our peace of mind without first having gained our consent to enjoin us in that conflict; we must learn to fight for ourselves, to boldly reject any negative state that would rule us -- or else accept the lot of victim and wear his mantle of woe.
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Everything is temporary. Resistance to any unwanted moment fixes, at once, an unwelcome sense of self that then feels stuck in the negativity it struggles to escape...
Facing your fearful feelings brings them to an end because if you'll proceed while being afraid, you'll see all that's been scaring you... is you.
The true nature of anything -- whether a newly opened leaf or a fearful thought or feeling -- is inseparable from what it serves.
We are always trying to build a self that won't disappear out of the things that are coming in the stream of time, never understanding that nothing we find floating upon this temporal stream can ever be timeless. And if this is true about the nature of the world's ever-becoming events, how much more impermanent is our sense of identity derived from them? But we're slow to learn!
Do you remember the opening lyric to the classic song "Love and Marriage?" If not, allow me to refresh your memory: "Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage." Along with its memorable melody, this particular song has endured the test of time because hidden in the heart of its simple lyric is a celestial law about the power of attraction. If you recall, the rest of the lyric go...
Picture a man who just heard that one of his closest friends has betrayed him. How does he respond? What's his first answer to this ordeal? Anger that includes plans for revenge. Imagine a woman who suddenly realizes she's going to be late for an important appointment. There's no way to make it on time. How does she meet the pressure of this moment? What's her first answer to running out o...
What causes disputes between human beings? What is this business of "what I believe" vs. "what you believe"? Can we see that you cannot separate what you believe in from what you want? When I say, "I believe in this," and "I believe that you should be like that," what I'm really saying is that I insist you be what I believe you should be, because if you don't, we have war...
On this one point all saints, sages, and illumined beings agree: there is nothing as certain as silence, stillness, and solitude to introduce you to the divinity within. The first step in learning to be still isn’t really an action at all, meaning that it’s nothing like we might ordinarily think of doing when we want our world to stop spinning like a top.
Two men stroll down a leaf-covered wood-lot path on a clear, brisk Autumn morning. Jeff and Mark have been friends for years. They enjoy their Saturday morning walks and talks together. Yet, something's different about Mark today. Jeff senses there's a problem. But he says nothing. Two minutes later Mark stops walking, and turns to Jeff. His eyes are searching for a place to begin. Then, foll...