re-submitted:

Dear Sushmita:

“my heart is closed… I keep thinking of him“- your heart is not closed to the idea of him.

“I don’t see any solution to this…. I know this will not end“- your heart is closed to a better future.

Because I read Roberta’s recommendation right above (thank you, Roberta, a pleasure reading your replies!), I looked up some quotes from the author, and I think that reading them can help me feel better. Maybe they can help you, Sushmita, to feel better as well.

Most of the quotes I f0und were from the book Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom, by Rick Hensen: “Staying with a negative experience past the point that’s useful is like running laps in Hell: You dig the track a little deeper in your brain each time you go around it”, “The remedy is not to suppress negative experiences; when they happen, they happen. Rather, it is to foster positive experiences—and in particular, to take them in so they become a permanent part of you“, “Every time you take in the good, you build a little bit of neural structure. Doing this a few times a day—for months and even years—will gradually change your brain”, “By taking just a few extra seconds to stay with a positive experience—even the comfort in a single breath—you’ll help turn a passing mental state into lasting neural structure“,  “Just before bed, your mind is very receptive, so no matter what went wrong that day, find something that went right, open to it, and let good feelings come and ease you into sleep”, “Taking in the good is not about putting a happy shiny face on everything, nor is it about turning away from the hard things in life. It’s about nourishing well-being, contentment, and peace inside“.

From the book Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness: “This is our neuropsychological home base: to be calm, contented, and caring. No matter how disturbed by stress and sorrow, we can always come home”, and about love: “And no matter what, love is the universal medicine. This resource helps us feel safer, more satisfied, and more connected—remarkably, whether it is flowing in or flowing out. So if all else fails, or if you don’t know where to turn or where to start, begin with love“-

what do you think about these quotes, Sushmita?

anita