Author: Posts

Do not shut anyone out of your heart and don’t make the other into an enemy. When we open our hearts, we can’t make things completely right or wrong anymore.  Trying to find absolute rights and wrongs is a trick we play on ourselves to feel secure and comfortable.

Today is the 108^th day, an important number to the ancients.  Numbers are important in our lives, but are only symbols, a way to project order on to the universe.  Numbers, from a world with mysteries to explore and exploit, if our understanding is deep enough.

We will know others by what we do ourselves.  You will know families by what you contribute as a family.  You will know the world by what you do as a planetary citizen.  How do we know this?  Because we know that each part is the whole and the whole is in each part.

Don’t let yourself get swept away by unfavorable circumstances or let your steadfastness be shaken.  You can avoid this by maintaining your inner peace, remaining outwardly calm and yielding.  By doing this we can overcome the greatest adversaries.

Quote: Letting go of everything will bring peace to your heart.

Meditation is the only activity that doesn’t add anything to the picture.  It is a totally nonviolent, nonaggressive practice.  Not filling the space, allowing for the possibility of connecting with unconditional openness; this practice provides the basis for real change.

We recognize the necessity of daily activity in life, but also, we need to take time each day to reflect on the day’s events and return to what the ancients call the source.  This back-and-forth movement between source and daily activity is the movement of all things.

Living life is easy if you don’t cling to good and bad.  Let go of preferences and everything will become clear.  A natural person has two attributes: awareness and action.  We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of the world; we all need to increase our service along with our understanding.

To make successful progress you must be in harmony with the natural laws.  In times of progress and successful development, it is necessary to work and make the best use of the times.  These times of increase do not endure; therefore, they must be utilized while they last.

Quote: Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

We cannot blame our problems or the world’s problems on others, it’s something we can come to know in ourselves.  The more we make friends with ourselves, we will see our mistaken thinking that the way to happiness is to blame somebody else for problems.

Being free is not doing what you want.  Animals do things instinctively and, by example, are free of the interference of the self. To go beyond self, self-cultivation and training will enable you to reach the ground of deep intuition and the freedom that it affords.

We cannot attain clarity and simplicity by avoiding the world.  Do your work, take care of others, practice virtue without expecting it of others and when you understand the higher truths, retain an ordinary manner.  This is true clarity, true simplicity, true living.

Contemplation of the meaning of the laws and underlying workings of the universe will enable you to give expression to these laws in one’s own person.  Contemplation of the action of others will allow you to put yourself in another’s place and understand his motives.

Quote: If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.

When you fear something, you become unnerved and usually do what it tells you to do. You can listen to it, even respect it, even be convinced of it.  But if you don’t do what it tells you to do, it has no power over you and, in this way, you defeat what you are fearful of. 

It is our own egotism that leads us to define ourselves as individuals.  Understanding the nature of compassion, we realize that our separation from others is artificial.  Once we find compassion in our hearts, we will understand our essential oneness with all things.

Practice the four cardinal virtues.  First reverence for all life; love and respect for all beings and things.  Second, sincerity; this manifests as honesty, simplicity and faithfulness.  Third, kindness and being gentle with yourself and others.  The fourth, service to others with no expectation of reward.

Our destinies are subject to immutable laws that must fulfill themselves.  You still have the power to shape your fate as you expose yourself to the influence of benevolent and destructive forces.  Using this power, you learn the nature of all beings and influence the hearts of all.

Quote: The very center of your heart is where life begins – the most beautiful place on earth.

Patience is not learned when everything is going well, but rather when things do not go our way.  Patience is learned when our expectations collide with the reality of the situation.  Patience implies willingness to be alive, rather than trying to seek harmony. 

Each day we must dedicate ourselves to the self-cultivation of our character so that we are ready to take on the problems and challenges each day brings.  But, the proper use of our talents and wisdom is essential to combat the challenges each day brings as it unfolds.

What good is it to spend your life accumulating material things or conforming to others conventions?  Live simply, virtuously true to your nature, ignore time, relinquishing ideas and concepts, drawing no line between what is spiritual and what is not.

To influence others, no matter the relationship, we should be sincere and free from judgements.  Keep your mind pure as the clear sky and as open as the vast ocean.  Thus, acting in harmony you open your heart and mind fully to accept all people without prejudice

Quote: Don’t think too much, just do it.

Life is glorious, but also wretched.  Gloriousness we feel inspired and connected, we get arrogant and look down on others. Wretchedness softens us up. When we know pain, we can be there for others.  Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other; one inspires us, the other softens us.

Hands grasp, but also give; mouth tastes, but also speaks; nose breathes, but also smells; eyes see, but also show; ears hear, but also balance. Each of our senses is not simply an information gathering faculty but is a channel of expression as well.

If you want to know the truth of all things, stop talking about it and start to relax your body.  Quiet your senses and return your mind to its original clarity.  You will then realize you are not separate from others or the oneness of all things, the truth will surround you.

When we are dealing with mistakes and errors of others, do not dwell on them.  Just simply pass them over, that is if they are unintentional transgressions, and forgive misdeeds right away.  Then conditions will ease and we can make our way back to ordinary conditions as soon as possible.

Quote: It’s not about being wrong, but how we do better.

When you start to get angry, pause, stop thinking and connect to that soft spot, but at the same time be honest with yourself to how you are feeling.  You’re not suppressing anything.  That means relaxing with that hot energy-knowing it is the only way to find peace with yourself and the world.

Look within to gain self-awareness, but we may be confused if we try to look with our eyes.  Look within using inner vision, using your inner eye or third eye centered in your brain.  It is important to discover and use this mode of introspection to gain awareness.

By letting things go their own way, everything will happen as it should.  Nothing can be gained by interfering.  Accept things, freely extend your goodwill and virtue in every direction regardless of circumstances.  You will be able to embrace all things as part of the harmonious oneness.

Political structures change, as do nations, but life and our life’s needs remain eternally the same.  These needs cannot be changed no matter our disposition or education.  Your real education comes from self-development, this way your learning will penetrate the roots of humanity.

Quote: Do not rush into any situation.

When we are treated as something special, we think we are a big deal.  Then the same person treats someone else special and ignores you, you feel insulted and humiliated.  The idea is to live humbly and if rewarded, accept it and when not, accept things the same way.

When the mind is focused it can become the most powerful tool we know.  Explore all the dimensions of your mind, then you will find a wholly integral mode of consciousness.  To do this, select an aspect of your mind and delve into it by daily focus.

We can know the world, but first we must know ourselves.  We can do this without going anywhere.  Live a quiet, simple life, free of ideas and concepts.  Find contentment in the practice of undiscriminating virtue, this will become a sanctuary for yourself and all beings.

The beginning of all things lies still in the form of ideas that have yet to become manifest.  We have the creative power to lend form to these archetypes of ideas.  Once you see causes and effects with clarity, you will have success in giving actuality to these ideas.

Quote: You cannot change what you are, only what you do.

To relate to others compassionately is a challenge.  It means not shutting down on that person and first, not shutting down on ourselves.  To do this requires openness, not fixating or holding on to anything, communicating from the heart and being present for that person.

Both imagination and dreams are similar activities.  In dreams there is a total suspension of rationality and consciousness, so there is little or no direction possible.  Imagination is a tool we can use to make our lives better, different and creative.  By cooperating with it, we can achieve things “we never dreamed possible”.

There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend ourselves, no greater misfortune than having an enemy.  Whoever can see through the fear will always be safe.  If you understand this, peace and harmony naturally arise.

We should not try to combat our own faults directly.  The longer and harder we fight them, the more victorious they will be.  Fight our faults by making progress in the good is the only way.  Take care not to become hardened and obstinate, remain receptive to impressions by continuous self-examination.

Quote: Next day is a new day.  Do not pressure yourself if today did not meet your expectations.

We are different from each other; our ideas of social etiquette are different from culture to culture.  Rather than criticize each other’s ways or fight over our differences, be curious and strive to understand the other.  Doing this we can achieve peace and harmony in the world.

If we mistake our subjective viewpoints as something solid, permanent and never relative to circumstances, then we will have no end to our problems.  Remember that everything is comparative, then we can move through life in a more dynamic way.

If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place because the mind is the governing aspect of human life.  To correct your mind, stop thinking and clinging to things, avoid daydreaming and allow your original insight to emerge.  Then your mind will be clear.

The words and deeds of the past can be used to strengthen and elevate your character.  When you study the past, do not confine yourself to knowledge of history but apply that knowledge to give actuality to the past.

Quote: Be consistent and don’t give up on people.