Page 397 – Tiny Buddha

Being Mindful and Releasing Worries: 5 Tips for Living in the Present

By Deborah Hawkins in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“The next message you need is always right where you are.” ~Ram Das

I try to exercise mindfulness in all things. Nowhere has this been as important for me as in my relationships.

I try to remember that I am not the same person I was as a child. People in any family play different roles at different times.

It’s been heartening to see myself, formerly a frequent recipient of unwanted advice, in a position of sharing the wisdom of my experience and being a conscious example of what I recommend.

I am a younger sister. I am fifty-six years …

How to Rewire Your Brain (and Renew Your Life)

By Eric Klein in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

I began practicing yoga and meditation in 1970 when I was seventeen years old.

I practiced in my small bedroom at one end our family’s long New York City apartment. My room was next to the kitchen. My parents, brother, and sister had bedrooms on the other side of the apartment.

I’d get up early and move through a sequence of yoga asanas before sitting down to meditate.

I’d sit in meditation until I heard the kitchen noises as my mother and siblings began their breakfast routine.

That was the signal that it was time for me to move from …

Life Is Practiced Rather Than Perfected: Balance Is Good Enough

By Kathy Kruger in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“Good enough is the new perfect.” ~Becky Beaupre Gillispie

Taking another look through the treasure trove that is Tiny Buddha’s quote archive, I realized that there’s actually no category for quotes on “balance.” Because I’m interested in (read: slightly obsessed about) balance, I delved into the groupings more closely and realized that the list itself is, in fact, finely balanced. And it’s a metaphor for life.

In the archive you can find wisdom in words on loss, pain, and sorrow, or seek solace in quotes on happiness, hope, and healing. Sage advice on weakness may speak …

Transform Your Confidence by Learning to Approach New People

By Onder Hassan in Blog, love & relationships

“As long as you make an identity for yourself out of pain, you cannot be free of it.” ~Eckhart Tolle

I remember it like it was yesterday—sitting in the corner of a bar in Holland at a social gathering, feeling alienated because I didn’t know the people I had to mingle with. After all, they were friends of my girlfriend at the time.

My worries had consumed me and I didn’t know where to begin. I wondered: Should I pluck up the courage to strike up a conversation, or should I withdraw?

I realized from this experience that I lacked …

Dharma Comics: Follow What You Love

By Leah Pearlman in Fun & Inspiring

DharmaComics_FollowWhatYouLove_LeahPearlman

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Let Go of Attachment: You Can Be Happy Even if Things Change

By Cherie DiNoia in Blog, change & challenges, letting go

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

A wise old soul once told me that I needed to practice not being attached.

I honestly had no idea what he was talking about. I remember he gave me a very intelligent and understandable definition of attachment, but because it made such little sense to me, there was very little I could do with it. It was incomprehensible.

I have found that, like the definition of attachment, it isn’t the teachings themselves that give us the answer; it is our own discovery, in …

From Restlessness to Action: Enjoy Working Toward Your Dream

By Kristin Harnedy in Blog, meaning & passion

“The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you.” ~Tom Bradley

Every day seemed like hours passing. It didn’t matter how much I got accomplished at work or how many nice things I did to help others. I never felt satisfied.

This restlessness seemed to grow as much as the time I spent on my creative writing shrank.

My someday dream of finishing just one book started to seem more like a never-to-be-crossed-off item on a bucket list. And the most frustrating thing was that the more effort I put into trying to write more, the …

Street Compliments: Sharing Love on the Side of the Road

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Soul Pancake (the site started by Rainn Wilson, from The Office) set up a compliment station on the side of the road, and the exchanges they captured on film are both beautiful and touching.

When was the last time you told someone how you feel?

You Have the Power to Change Someone’s Day for the Better

By Ernest Dempsey in Blog, love & relationships

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s a feeling of dread. Maybe you’ve experienced it before.

You’re driving down the highway and suddenly something goes wrong. You’re stepping on the gas pedal but nothing is happening.

All the little lights on the dashboard come on and you notice one particular gauge you’ve been meaning to address sooner.

The needle is just past the E. You’re out of gas.

It’s a helpless feeling. Desperation flashes through your mind as the wheels begin …

8 Simple Tips to Bring More Love into the World

By Arvind Devalia in Blog, love & relationships

“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~Brené Brown

Have you heard the story of the ugly duckling?

Well, there never was an ugly duckling; he was actually a swan whose real beauty had not been recognized by him or by others.

All of us may or may not be ugly ducklings, but we are totally worthy of being loved, accepted, and cherished just as we are.

Ultimately we are all trying to do the best we can with our current knowledge, awareness, and understanding. But we lose our way, and the …

Buddha Doodles: Hard Pasts

By Molly Hahn in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Buddha Doodles

Knowing Better and Doing Better: How Are You Fortunate?

By Melanie M. in Blog, happiness & fun

“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” ~Hausa Proverb

Gratitude, the level of gratitude that one has, varies greatly by person. You have those that are grateful for every single thing in their lives, and those that know what the word means on paper yet never practice it in their own lives.

Then you have so many others (like myself), I call them the “in-betweeners.” We are grateful for so much but often forget this because life takes over, or so many other things are going on at once that you barely have five minutes to …

How to Deal With Change When Change Is Hard

By Hannah Braime in Blog, change & challenges

“You must welcome change as the rule but not your ruler” ~Denis Waitley

My name is Hannah, and I find it hard to deal with change.

As much as I used to want to think of myself as flexible and easy-going, I struggle to live up to these ideals. I like to know where I am, what I’m doing, where I’m going, and to have my near future mapped out in lists, to-dos, and ideas. In short, I do whatever I can to minimize the level of uncertainty in my life.

My discomfort around uncertainty means I am usually …

AJ’s Art Journal: May Flowers Line Your Path

By Janette Gregson in Fun & Inspiring

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We Live Unbound: An Inspiring Video About What’s Possible

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

So much is possible, if we’re willing to believe it.

That doesn’t mean we have no limitations beyond the ones we set in our mind; simply believing that something is possible doesn’t guarantee it will happen. But it does create the possibility that it could.

That’s what makes us feel alive: taking bold action toward possibility, knowing that the goal isn’t to control what will happen tomorrow. It’s to create a sense of freedom as we choose what will happen today.

Are you living unbound?

Create Purpose and Happiness by Being Useful to People

By Bri Saussy in Blog, love & relationships, meaning & passion

“What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.” ~the Dalai Lama

One of the beautiful things about being an intuitive reader is that people are willing to go very deep very quickly. Vulnerability, shame, fear, and hope are all active players at a table set with Tarot cards. Often people start out their first session with me warning that “You might get bored, this is just another love drama.”

Of course I never do get bored—everyone has a unique and precious story and I feel honored to share in them, period.

Besides, underneath every question that’s …

3 Unconventional Tips for Forgiving and Letting Go

By Lisa Esile in Blog, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

“The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.” ~Pema Chodron

Forgiveness is good, right? I don’t mean in a heal the planet kind of way—I mean in a selfish, me me me kind of way.

We want to let go of our resentments and connect with people genuinely. We want to feel happy and contented, full of love for ourselves and those around us. We want to run, carefree, through the fields in a pretty cotton dress, not sit around in our pajamas, twisted with bitterness.

But how do you experience genuine forgiveness and stop feeling resentful? Because …

Embodied Presence: Find Freedom from Your Thoughts and Emotions

By Quandra in Blog, letting go, mindfulness & peace

“To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now.” ~Donald Altman

Embodied presence probably sounds superfluous. How else would we be present but in the body? If we leave our bodies, then we are by definition deceased. No longer present.

The simplicity of this embodied presence idea belies its depth though. The issue isn’t that I’m ever literally disembodied, but that I’m often unaware of my body-mind connection to the point that I’m not sufficiently mindful of the moment.

I know I’m not unique for this. We all do this. …

Believing in Our Goodness: Do You Have Faith in Humanity?

By Daniel Goldsmith in Blog, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we hear someone speak about faith, we usually expect to hear about some kind of subjective encounter with supernatural forces. In our skeptical age, we tend to look at faith as “believing in something you know not to be true,” as Mark Twain expressed.

Before we dismiss any talk of faith, however, we should remember that there are many ways to understand the word. You can have faith in a benevolent, loving deity guiding your every move. But you can also …