Author: Posts

It is easy to miss our own good fortune, often happiness comes in ways we don’t even notice.  Learn to rejoice even in the smallest blessings life holds.  The ordinariness of our good fortune can make it hard to catch.  Stay connected to the moment paying attention to the ordinary details of life.

It is important to spend time with a teacher, but remember all teachings are mere references.  Your goal should be to bring yourself to a state of independence.  The true experience is living your own life, even the holiest of words are just words.

The character of your existence is determined by the energies you are connected to.  Attaching to gross energies will lead you to a heavy, detached life.  Attach yourself to higher energies.  Live in the world without attachments, without duality and you will feel free.

It’s the one-track mind that misses the riches, the favors, the wealth, the solutions to problems and the ways out of trouble. This is all spread before us, all of the clues that we need.  Remember the greatest gift we can give is our gratitude.

Quote: You create my reality, I create yours.

As we train in opening our hearts, discovering the soft spot, we feel more joy and an openness we can trust.  We do this by being present, training in mindfulness and unconditional friendliness, letting the process evolve naturally.

Eventually you reach a point where the quiescence of contemplation and the activeness of living are integrated.  Then there is no anxiety about whether you are living a spiritual life or not.  You realize that it is all part of the same seamless whole.

There is a force that is unseeable, ungraspable.  It is beyond any attempt to understand it or categorize it.  To feel it, let go of things with your mind and surround them with your heart.  Then the truth is everywhere you turn.

All things change.  Prosperity is followed by decline; evil can be checked, but not permanently abolished.  It always returns.  This idea might produce melancholy, but should not.  It ought only to keep us from falling into illusion when good fortune comes to us.

Quote: There are no mistakes, it’s all learning.

To feel loving kindness for others we first must train in being honest, loving, and compassionate towards ourselves.  Doing this, we sow seeds of our future well-being and gradually become aware of what causes happiness as well as what causes distress.

Most thinking is tied to some sensory image.  We need this way of thinking to function in the everyday world.  We need to eliminate this dualistic thinking in order to reach a state of mind that does not cling to external forms and to find peace within.

We struggle whether things are small or large, whether there is a purpose or not.  Look behind such things and realize the universe is a divine creation of conscious beings and you will discern the deep, silent, complete truth.

Set fixed limits on your expenditures, also set limits on your actions, the limits of loyalty and disinterestedness.  If you go too far in setting limits on others they rebel, too far on yourself is injurious.  Therefore, set limits on limitations.

Quote: The only truth in this world is this moment.

If we look for that soft heart we guard so carefully, we can’t find it.  All we find is a kind of tenderness with some sadness.  The sadness is an inherent sadness, unconditional sadness, this is sometimes called the genuine heart of sadness.

All things we learn must be tested and proven to yourself before you believe in them.  The only concern you should have is: “can I use what I learn and is it good for me?”  You then need to express yourself and take action, creating new circumstances for yourself and others. 

Your mind is like the sky, if its cloudy you will not see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.  All our misery is created by the activity of the mind.  Let go of words, ideas, attitudes and expectations, then you will see the truth that’s always available to you.

To bring about abundance, a union of clarity of mind with energetic movement is needed.  If you possess these two attributes and go forward, your influence will be felt and you will be met with recognition.  However once abundance is achieved, we also must prepare for the decline that must follow.

Quote: More endorphins make you happy.  In order to get more, work hard (at living) and you will be happy.

Our attempts to live humanely in this world are never wasted.  Cultivate love, not anger.  This might just be what it takes to save us from extinction.  If we train in opening our hearts and minds, we will find that others are no different than ourselves.

We must seek a level of consciousness beyond the intellect. We must study, but not to the point that the emphasis on direct experience is lost.  If we combine the intellect with direct experience, then there will be no barriers to the wordless perception of reality.

These ancient words are not the medicine, only the prescription; not the destination, but a map to help you reach it.  Using words as a guide and to see with your own eyes, hear it with your own ears, is the only way to the destination.

If we are to lead others, we first must learn to serve.  We must remain accessible and responsive to the views of those we lead. At the same time, we must have firm principles so that we do not vacillate when there is only a question of current opinion.

Quote: One thing I know for sure is that I know nothing.  Socrates

Self-importance hurts us, limiting our world to likes and dislikes.  We can either question our beliefs or not.  Either we accept our fixed version of reality or we begin to challenge it.  When we train in staying open and curious, dissolving our assumptions and beliefs is the best use of our lives.

If you are walking the same path as another person, walk it together as long as you can, but when you must part do not hold your companion back.  We may understand why a companion must leave, but do not deny your feelings as you walk on alone.

Discover your truth, then you will realize the world is perfect as it is and it can’t be improved.  See things as they are without trying to control them, let things go their own way.  If we treat our planet with care and love, we will be in synchronicity with ourselves.

If we wish to know what a person is like, we need only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what side of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes.  If we want to take care of the world, cultivate and nourish the good parts of your character and the world changes with you.

Quote: Pay attention to nature.

Are we going to spend this lifetime struggling against uncertainty or are we going to train in letting go?  Train and aspire to reconnect with the natural flexibility of our being and help others do the same?  If we do this, limitless possibilities open up.

We are not always in harmony with the universe and we possibly are not ready to follow its way.  We think compulsively and we involve ourselves in amusements.  We must learn by following natures’ pattern.  This will help us attune to the universe.

If you are a pattern to the world, this will create an inner strength and there will be nothing you can’t do.  Accept the world as it is and return to the innocence of childhood and become receptive to all that comes your way like a newborn.

Do not take loss or gain to heart, they are minor considerations.  What matters much more is not dwelling on loss or gain, just accept them, then you are assured of opportunities for successful and beneficial influence.                                                                                                                                                   

Quote: We all have this limited time on earth, how can we help others?

If we have hope that there is somewhere better to be or there is someone better to be, we will never relax with what we are or who we are.  Suffering begins to dissolve when we question the belief or hope that there is somewhere to hide.

Life is sometimes compared to the ocean, sometimes turbulent sometimes calm.  The ocean is vast and deep, we try to conquer it and understand it.  The wise know there is no other alternative except to accept it, and float here and there, go in and out with the tides.

What is a good man, but a bad man’s teacher?  What is a bad man, but a good man’s job?  No matter how intelligent you are, if you don’t understand this ancient teaching, you will get lost.  This is the great secret.

Difficulties and obstructions throw a man back on himself.  Do not blame others, look for the errors within yourself and through this introspection, the external obstacle becomes an occasion for inner enrichment and education.

Quote: The way to get out of the box is to no longer believe in the box.

We are as impermanent as anything else, nothing and no one is fixed.  If we cling to ideas or thoughts, we have to ask ourselves what we are basing it on.  When thoughts and emotions fall away unceasingly, everything changes.

We speak of opposites as antagonistic elements, but opposites are part of the same entity.  They define one another as black defines white.  They alternate with one another as war alternates with peace.  Whenever something reaches its extreme it changes towards its opposite.

Cultivate inner strength and tranquility.  If you succumb to frivolities and agitated emotions, you will lose your inner strength and tranquility.  Participate directly in every moment and no mental concepts or attitudes will be able to dim your light or disturb your tranquility.

The very gradualness of development makes it necessary to have perseverance, for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling into nothing.  Gentleness with perseverance that comes from inner calm will ensure success.

Quote: The secret of happiness you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. Socrates

We get caught up in looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring what is happening right now.  If we run away from discomfort and pain, we will be unhappy and disappointed.  Touch the center of your pain, stay present to the ache of loss or disappointment; this is the trick.

Spring is here, the cycle of seasons will continue in succession.  Time is a continuum.  Movement and growth are taking place all around us.  Let us get out into nature, enjoy the day, reel in the coming of spring and rejoice in the warming of the earth.

There is an underlying energy or essence that permeates all things.  It is always there; it is perfect and creates all things.  This energy connects us all with the universe and each other,  We are all part of it.  This energy helps you live a plain and simple life in harmony with nature.

If you are faced with a superior foe, it would be hopeless to fight him.  An orderly retreat is the correct procedure.  It is by no means a sign of strength or courage to engage in a hopeless struggle regardless of circumstances.

Quote: We only move into the future when we turn to face our past and become what we are.