If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. – Meister Eckhart
On Thanksgiving Vacation this week, see you Monday November 29th!
Daily Affirmation: Today I AM thankful.
Recommendation: The Urantia Papers
Category Archives: Quotes – 2010
Need To Understand
You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding. – Guy Finley
using sheer will
How many times have we tried, through the force of will power, to change a habit or to effect change? How many times have such attempts worked? I will wager that the success rate is not high, witness many of our failed New Year resolutions!
understanding comes first
Understanding why we act the way we do is key. Force often doesn’t work and even when it does there’s an equal and opposite reaction that might not be palatable. We must understand why we react negatively when someone says something that’s not agreeable. What exactly is it that ticks us off? Do we fear rejection? What is it that wants us to be right, every time? Examining that, understanding it, is key. The doorway to that understanding is being present to what is.
Daily Affirmation: Today I AM present to what is.
Recommendation: Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-zinn
Suffering Is Optional…
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. – Zen Proverb
emotional pain
This quote references emotional pain. The kind of pain we feel when someone rejects us, abuses us, is nasty or behaves contrary to our expectation of them. How do you handle such pain?
we choose
We choose our reaction to life events. That reaction results in how we feel internally, whether we suffer or are at peace. Imagine an orange in your mind’s eye. For some of us our mouth will start to water and we might even sense a citrine aroma. Why is that? It’s because of our past experience with an orange. It’s not reality but we can feel and sense an orange nevertheless. Similarly we react when our self-image is affected in any manner by external events. Our self-image is impacted by external events, we identify closely with this self-image, we think it’s us, all it really is a bunch of reactions and a construction of our thoughts. We are not our thoughts, we are not our self-image. We are the awareness that witnesses the self-image. As soon as we can realize that and learn to step back, see things as they are, we can start to claim our true self. That self cannot feel pain or fear unless we choose it. Stillness quickens the acquisition of this self.
Daily Affirmation: Today I see truth.
Recommendation: Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings by Thich Nhat Hanh
Are You a Realist?
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – William Arthur Ward
pessimist or optimist?
How do you view the world? What are your first thoughts when an incident occurs? How can we balance our approach more towards the middle? How can we ‘be here now’ and see things as they are?
seeing things as they are
This quote was a great reminder for me, as I tend always to be an optimist. Such an approach is generally powerful but often keeps me from seeing things as they are! Realists work with actuals and the practical. Balance is key, it’s the ‘middle way’!
Daily Affirmation: Today I AM balanced in how I view life events.
Recommendation: Awakening of Intelligence by Jiddu Krishnamurti
Expecting Abundance
Once, when we were discussing a world peace project with my teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, somebody asked him, ‘Where is all the money going to come from?’ And he replied without hesitation, ‘From wherever it is at the moment.’ – Deepak Chopra
expectations
We get what we expect. We get according to our faith. And we get what we ask for. We all live with a set of core beliefs. These beliefs are more powerful when they’re so deeply ingrained as to be second nature and sub-conscious. If life isn’t what we want it to be, then we must examine our deepest beliefs about it.
expectation = reality
When we can consciously choose our thoughts and design our beliefs & assumptions then we can, within certain limitations, sculpt our life experiences. What do you hold deeply?
Daily Affirmation: Today I AM conscious of manufacturing my thoughts.
Recommendation: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
How To Rise Above…
3.42 … greater than the senses is the mind. Greater than the mind is Buddhi, reason; and greater than reason is He – the Spirit in man and in all.
3.43 Know Him therefore who is above reason; and let his peace give thee peace. Be a warrior and kill desire, the powerful enemy of the soul. – The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 3)
our world
We live in a manufactured world of our thoughts. It’s the level of our ego. We get ensnared by desires, thinking they’ll satisfy. We get hurt by what others say, as though words can really hurt unless we give them meaning. We seek to control life, and others, thinking that’s the way to safety. But the ego never lets go, unless we do.
a warrior
We’re asked to recognize the real ‘enemy’, which is our ego-driven mind and its desires. We’re asked to rise above this level of mind, by first recognizing that the Spirit resides within us and then attempting to find the peace that comes through identification with that Spirit. Such an embrace is hastened by discerning, self-questioning thoughts and stillness.
Daily Affirmation: Today I rise above my ego.
Recommendation: The Bhagavad Gita (Penguin Classics) by Juan Mascaro
All In Our Mind
All my life I’ve watched people waiting for someone else to make them happy. The way I got it figured, the only one who can make you happy is you. – Aaron Martinson
who or what next?
What will we buy next to quench our desires and to become happy? Who must be a certain way for us to be pleased? What must happen at work and in our careers for us to be satiated? What do we yearn for? What do we truly desire?
all in our mind
Heard that story about the fisherman in Mexico discovered by an American Tourist? If not here it is, pick any link. It’s funny we know this truth but we’re nevertheless compelled to keep seeking. The truth is: We have everything right now to be happy. It’s pretty much all in our mind (and hearts), how we think, what we make of who we are, what we have and what’ll satisfy us. It’s a fine balance of course, we must still strive for the better life. But when is it enough? How do we distinguish between the ever-lasting and the temporal?
Daily Affirmation: Today I AM satisfied.
Recommendation: Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes
