Live your daily life in a way
that you never lose yourself.
When you are carried away
with your worries, fears, cravings,
anger, and desire,
you run away from yourself
and you lose yourself.
The practice of meditation
is always to go back to oneself.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
(1926 to 2022, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk)
Our whole experience of life is a relationship.
Every single moment is centered
in the way we relate to what is happening.
Our perceived disconnection from spirit/source
is at the root of all our conflicts.
This sense of separation extends beyond
a split from source and one’s own self,
into a sense of separation from every other part of creation.
Every person we meet (who really is a part of our infinite Self),
is encountered as other.
Our experience is one of duality;
me and you, this and that, right and wrong
which ultimately results in a never-ending struggle.
When we see our Self in ‘other’
it is no longer possible to form a relationship based in fear.
It is no longer an encounter of competition,
protection or an effort to possess.
It is a deeply encountered state of relating —
centered in love.
It is seen as an opportunity to express our authentic Self
and to feel and witness our Self as Love
through the reflection of what appears as other.
The more connected you are in your Self,
the more connected your experience will be with life.
~Isira Sananda
(Australian spiritual teacher)
When we see actions on behalf of a collective ego
rather than actions that are on behalf
of the heart of who we are
we are disturbed by the world.
When we are not confused about the heart
of who we are,
we are not as disturbed by the world.
If we care about liberation above all else,
we will be less phased by the noise.
Instead, we can focus on
what in our own selves creates separateness.
Living in alignment with truth
and being committed to choices
that bring us closer to our heart space
and a collective unity
automatically softens us
from the harsh conditions we live in.
~Caverly Morgan
(Meditation teacher, author, speaker,
and nonprofit founder of Peace in Schools)
As we start to even temporarily, once a day,
just suspend our disbelief
and get into that open heart
and that open mind,
our inner guidance system can get to work,
and we can start to lean in to a faith
far beyond our logic and our mind.
In that place of faith, then,
we can be given everything we need
to start to let what is necessary unfold.
~Gabby Bernstein
(1979 to pres., author, motivational speaker, teacher)
If you have some fear
of pain or suffering,
you should examine
whether you can do anything about it.
If you can,
there is no need to worry.
If you cannot,
then there’s also no need to worry.
~Dalai Lama
(1935 to pres., 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader
and former head of state of Tibet, Buddhist teacher)
Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
and endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
how to read the love letters
sent by the wind and rain,
the snow and moon.
~Ikkyu
(1394-1481, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk)
Just sit there right now.
Don’t do a thing.
Just rest.
For your separation from God
is the hardest work in this world.
~Hafiz
(1315-1390, Sufi Mystic and Poet)
When we help someone,
our heart expands.
It reaches out to embrace another
as a member of the one human family.
This act alone opens up our soul.
As our love for others flows out,
God’s love for us can pour in.
As this exchange takes place,
our soul currents begin to rise up
to the point at which we can experience
the divine Light within us.
~Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
(1946 to pres., Author, Scientist,
Mystic Adept of Light and Sound Current Yoga,
Leader of Science of Spirituality and
International Movements for World Peace)
As a seed does not
reveal the shape of the tree
the innocence of the infant face
does not reveal the sage or the sorcerer to come.
The white beauty of a blossom with
the fragrance to rival the majestic jasmine
does not reveal the enslaving
incense concoction of your beans.
Half the world has surrendered to you.
The other half are either ignorant of your
magic or have turned ascetic and
refused to succumb to you.
Of all of man’s ingenuity in
extracting pleasure and nourishment
from the Mother Earth’s breast,
you stand out to be the one
to inspire a fierce faith
of unquenchable sort.
You have overshadowed the Lord of Light.
As for the faithful,
daybreak means you and not the sun.
~Sadhguru
(1957 to pres., Indian spiritual teacher,
founder Isha Foundation)
No matter how despairing or cut off
we can feel at any given time,
we are not actually severed
from the essential flow of life
or from one another.
If we get quiet for a while
and pay careful attention,
this is what we realize.
~Sharon Salzberg
(1952 to pres., Mindfulness and Buddhist teacher,
Co-founded the Insight Meditation Society)
Thought for Today 