"Once I was giving a teaching on love. The theme of the talk was that everyone has love within them. No matter what the circumstance, who you are, or where you are in the world, you have love 24 hours a day — even when you are feeling anger or hatred. During this talk, it... Continue Reading →
We are so quick to judge one another. And just as we are hard on others we are even harder on ourselves. With mindfulness, our natural compassion grows. We can see that we are all carrying our own burden of tears. You and everyone you meet are sharing in some measure of the pain present... Continue Reading →
Sometimes in our sleep or unexpected moments we get back in touch with the 'happiest' version within or as some people call 'child within' - this point of reference lies deep within, often covered with layers of anger, resentment, grudges and buried away to avoid hurt and disappointments. Sometimes buried so deep away that we forget... Continue Reading →
You are bigger than your wounds. Even though we all want to be happy, often we don’t know how. You are born radiant, a child of the earth, innocent, open, and filled with wonder. As Wordsworth describes, we arrive “trailing clouds of glory.” Then as you grow, you find yourself vulnerable and, inevitably, you experience... Continue Reading →
Rather than reinforcing our "me-ness" and justifying ourselves constantly, we should base our lives on something more powerful and trustworthy. If we develop real trust in ourselves, constant self-defense is no longer required. That may sound good, but what we are going to trust in ourselves? To begin with, we need to conduct another examination.... Continue Reading →
“The essence of Buddhist practice is not so much an effort at changing your thoughts or your behavior so that you can become a better person, but in realizing that no matter what you might think about the circumstances that define your life, you’re already good, whole, and complete. It’s about recognizing the inherent potential... Continue Reading →
Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, 'Prove that you are a good person.' Another voice says, 'You’d better be ashamed of yourself.' There also is a voice that says, 'Nobody really cares about you,' and one that says, 'Be sure to become successful, popular, and powerful.' But underneath all... Continue Reading →
Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have... Continue Reading →
Sometimes when we are alone, we have thoughts such as "Oh, I am a failure". I cannot do anything right! I am worthless, no wonder nobody loves me!This low self esteem is one of our biggest hindrances on the path to full awakening. We live with ourselves 24/7 but we don't even know who we... Continue Reading →
Don't worry about how your emotions compare to someone else's. You can't tell anyway, because everyone's unique. We're all neurotic in our own ways. What really matters is your own experience and what you think. You have to be honest with yourself. But no matter how difficult your situation seems to you, it's who you... Continue Reading →
Loving kindness towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. It means we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to throw ourselves away and become... Continue Reading →
Everyone wants to be happy. But why do our constant struggles to make ourselves happy so often lead to frustration, or even depression? In seeking happiness for ourselves alone we become self-centered, caught up in a claustrophobic state of mind, where we not only end up not being happy but there’s no end to problems,... Continue Reading →
The kindness to oneself that I was speaking of is rather different from the self-fixation of selfishness. For example, the Buddha said, “I have shown you the path to liberation but know that its achievement depends on you.” In other words, we have to take responsibility for the achievement of liberation through our own efforts.... Continue Reading →
True refuge is that which allows us to be at home, at peace, to discover true happiness. The only thing that can give us true refuge is the awareness and love that is intrinsic to who we are. Ultimately, it's our own true nature - Tara Brach
Whenever the heart is stretched painfully we know we are growing in the right direction. This is because the essence of bodhicitta is to uproot our holding on to the self - trying to cherish and protect it. When this challenging stretch happens we then have room to replace this self-importance with love for all... Continue Reading →
“Now I understand that in order to feel a true sense of belonging, I need to bring the real me to the table and that I can only do that if I’m practicing self-love. For years I thought it was the other way around: I’ll do whatever it takes to fit in, I’ll feel accepted,... Continue Reading →
