The philosopher Alan Watts always said that life is like a song, and the sole purpose of the song is to dance.
He said that when we listen to a song, we don’t dance with the goal of getting to …
“The largest part of what we call ‘personality’ is determined by how we’ve opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness.” ~Alain de Botton
I know fear and anxiety. We’re old friends. When I was fifteen, and school was over, …
“Your thoughts have to understand one thing: that you are not interested in them. The moment you have made this point you have attained a tremendous victory.” ~Osho
“What do you do when you go out alone to the forest …
“Toxically shamed people tend to become more and more stagnant as life goes on. They live in a guarded, secretive, and defensive way. They try to be more than human (perfect and controlling) or less than human (losing interest in …
“There is no greater wealth in this world than peace of mind.” ~Unknown
Achieving (and keeping) peace of mind is high on my priority list, yet my choices didn’t always reflect this, particularly when it pertained to my work.
Over …
“We are used to thinking of thinking as a good thing, as that which makes us human. It can be quite a revelation to discover that so much of our thinking appears to be boring, repetitive, and pointless while keeping …
“In a retreat situation, you are forced to come face to face with yourself, to see yourself in depth, to meet yourself.” ~Lama Zopa Rinpoche
When I was at university, doing a ten-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat was considered a …
“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” ~Rick Warren
Regret—whether for things that you have done or things that you had no control over—can keep you frozen in the past, unable to …
“We think we are our thinking, and we even take that thinking as utterly ‘true,’ which removes us at least two steps from reality itself.” ~Richard Rohr
Do you frequently obsess over worst-case scenarios? Do you struggle to think …
“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Do you ever feel as though you would be happy if only things were a little different?
You know that happiness is important, but you keep putting …
“It’s not a matter of letting go, you would if you could. Instead of ‘Let it go,’ we should probably say ‘Let it be.'” ~Jon Kabat-Zinn
I always believed that a busy mind was a bad thing.
And for a …
“We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.” ~Jack Kornfield
Almost two years ago, I kept seeing the word “mindfulness” pop up everywhere I was looking, and I had no clue …
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” ~Eckhart Tolle
As a child, I remember my daily walks to elementary school. It was an uphill walk for the most part. Quite symbolic of later years, now that I …
“When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.” ~Eckhart Tolle
Well into my twenties, all of my friendships with women looked a lot like junior high.
One day, we’d be codependent …
“Change your thoughts and you change the world.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
We all encounter times in life when someone says or does something that offends us. After the fact, no matter how hard we try to let go of feelings …
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m on a much needed and looked forward to vacation with family whom I love dearly, and yet I’m entering the belly of the whale. Perhaps it was triggered by …
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~Maya Angelou
Can you remember what it was like?
Becoming an adult. Having to take responsibility for your life. Having the world opening up …
“Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time.” ~Shunryu Suzuki
Sitting meditation has always been challenging for me; practicing mindfulness, even harder.
As a self-confessed worrywart who has contended with constant ruminations, flashbacks, …
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.” ~Unknown
Working in an office requires us to …
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ~Viktor Frankl
Life is hell… or so I thought for …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. Click here to read more.
