Page 372 – Tiny Buddha

A Place to Release Your Secrets and Shame: Share Your Truth in the Forums

Ten months ago when I launched the Tiny Buddha community forums, I hoped they would better enable us all to connect with and support each other.

Since then, I’ve been amazed and inspired to see the love and compassion people extend there, without any agenda beyond helping others feel less alone and more at ease in our uncertain, often confusing world.

There are now over 10,000 active forum members, and there have been more than 1,600 conversations on a wide range of topics related to spirituality, self-esteem, relationships, purpose, parenting, health and fitness, and more.

Whether you’re an active …

Freedom and Happiness

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Bubble Inc.

Two Ways to Spread Light

By Jennifer Cook in Fun & Inspiring

Source: What My Coffee Says to Me

How to Avoid Drama: Stop Taking Things Personally and Needing to Be Right

By Lestari Hairul in Blog, love & relationships

“Concern yourself not with what is right and what is wrong but with what is important.” ~Unknown

I remember quite distinctly the point where my rational self, less invested in the discussion, took a step back and pointed out that I was descending down the path of needing to prove that I was right.

It was precisely when I started seeing the other commenter as needling my position and attacking the ideas as mine.

What started out as an appeal to respect cultures that celebrate death as a normal part of life, turned into a mud-slinging event the moment I …

How to Respond to Negative People Without Being Negative

By Midge in Blog, change & challenges, love & relationships

“Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

A former coworker seemed to talk non-stop and loudly, interrupt incessantly, gossip about whomever wasn’t in the room, constantly complain, and live quite happily in martyrdom.

It seemed nothing and no one escaped her negative spin. She was good at it. She could twist the happiest moment of someone’s life into a horrendous mistake. She seemed to enjoy it, too.

At first, my judgmental mind thought her behavior was quite inappropriate. I simply didn’t approve of it. But after weeks of working with her, …

Something Good in Every Day

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Chibird

Kayden Discovers the Rain

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Kayden + Rain from Nicole Byon on Vimeo.

Remember the first time you ever stood in the rain? Way back when you were little and the world was full and magic and wonder? Me neither–which is why I have a feeling you’ll also appreciate watching Kayden discover it for the first time.

How to Overcome Envy So It Doesn’t Poison Your Relationships

By Angela Lam Turpin in Blog, change & challenges, letting go, love & relationships

“Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.” ~Marquis de Condorc

I struggled to offer a tight smile to a friend who had achieved a life-changing career break.

Although I was thrilled and excited for my friend, I was sad and disappointed in myself. I, too, had worked hard and waited patiently, but unlike my friend, my work and my wait continued, unacknowledged and unrewarded.

At first I didn’t notice I had been bitten by envy. But its invisible poison infected my bloodstream, polluting my future interactions with my friend. I was guarded, afraid of being hurt …

3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Enter A Relationship

By Amanda Christian in Blog, love & relationships

“Love does not obey our expectations; it obeys our intentions.” ~Lloyd Strom

Recently, I did something radical; I entered into a relationship with the intention of extending love. I consciously set the goal of peace.

It’s with the intention to experience more peace than ever before that the relationship began, and it’s with that same intention that we decided to end the relationship. In between it all, I felt deeply connected, heard, and loved.

What did I do differently this time that allowed me to experience a new level of peace and love? What about this relationship created the …

Buddha Doodles: Embrace Your True Experience

By Molly Hahn in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Buddha Doodles

When Life Knocks You Down

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Getting Unstuck: Work Through Fear and Change Your Life

By Chantal Houde in Blog, change & challenges

“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.” ~Eckhart Tolle

We’ve all been there. Feeling stuck is very distressing, and it can often make a situation feel even more difficult than it already appears to be.

Many of us may have felt trapped in a job, a relationship, a place; any unfavourable situation, really, that we see little way out of can leave us feeling deeply discouraged.

The uncertainty of it all becomes overwhelming and, over time, paralyzing.

I have felt the frustration, the sadness, and the hopelessness that accompany this predicament many times.

In …

Forming Healthy Habits: 3 Tiny Choices That Create Huge Change

By Jane Endacott in Blog, healthy habits

“It is better to make many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb

Seven years ago I was a sedentary, over-caffeinated, unmindful, somewhat neurotic meat-eater with a bit of a drinking problem. My meals came out of boxes with chemical compounds for ingredients and had little in the way of anything that grew outside or came from a field.

I made excuses for not exercising, but in reality I was so insecure that I didn’t think I was strong enough to be athletic. I was afraid of making an …

How to Move On When You’re Hurt and Waiting for Closure

By Maria Moraca in Blog, change & challenges, letting go, love & relationships

“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Ah, closure. That feeling of vindication, or a sense of completion—it can be very enticing!

There are times when seeking resolution is really important. If we are having an argument with our partner, settling it can help strengthen our relationship. If we are having a disagreement over a contract, determining the outcome may be required to continue with the project at hand.

In these types of situations, seeking resolution is very relevant.

That said, there are loads of situations that occur in life …

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People: How Is This Supporting You?

By Kirra Sherman in Blog, change & challenges

“This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival… Be grateful for whatever comes. Because each has been sent  as a guide from beyond.” ~Rumi

Yesterday my boyfriend’s father told me that he doesn’t believe that everything happens for a reason. He explained, “Where I can’t get on board is, if that’s true, then why do bad things happen to good people?”

It touches close to home for their entire family because not only does one of their sons’ girlfriends have a rare and terminal form of cancer, she met their son because he successfully removed a …

The Power of Kindness: Life-Changing Advice About Creating Happiness

By Aqilah Norazman in Blog, happiness & fun, love & relationships

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill

It was a beautiful winter’s day in Sydney. Having returned home after working for two years in Singapore and traveling through Asia, I felt like I owed it to myself to do something I loved.

My heart has always been in fitness and travel. When there was a job opening at my local travel agency, I applied, went for the interview, and got the position. I was a happy girl—but only for a short while.

Two months into my job, it …

3 Ways to Be Kind and Make Someone’s Day

By Ellen Bard in Blog, love & relationships

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” ~Oscar Wilde

It’s the small, everyday things that can make or break a day for us.

While we celebrate the role models who inspire thousands (in person or on Facebook!), for most of us everyday moments—a stranger jostling us in the shops, a driver cutting us up at a light, someone pushing in front of us in line at the post office—can upset us out of all proportion.

But the flip side is that we can also be disproportionately pleased by the small actions of a stranger.

On …

The Most Precious Gift We Can Give

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Soul-to-Souls.com

The Gap by Ira Glass: Inspiration for Creative People

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Feeling disappointed by the gap between your taste and your creative abilities? This short video offers an inspiring message to help you keep creating, even if you’re not yet fully satisfied with your work.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Unhappy with Your Work

By Rachel Trotta in Blog, happiness & fun, work fulfillment

“What you do today is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” ~Unknown

In my working lifetime, I have been the poster child for seeking work-life balance. I have spent hundreds of hours curled into complex yoga asanas, breathing into the resistance and unexpected openness.

I have meditated sincerely, flowering into a quieter mind. Add to that a happy, growing relationship, stable social connections, and purposefully cultivated hobbies, and you would think that I go humming and beaming to work each morning.

The startling truth is that for every minute that I have spent …