Never underestimate the value of kindness. \”Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control. We can love and care for others but we cannot possess our children, lovers, family, or friends. We can assist them, pray for them, and wish them well, yet in the end their happiness and suffering depend on their thoughts […]

We must learn to see beyond the illusions of this world. \”It takes a little effort to get our of illusions because we have invested in them very much. They are our hopes; It is through them that we go on living.\”  ~Osho~ Notice when you use the word \”I\” when referring to how you

Life is a constant dance of energy in motion. \”The heart that seeks to awaken, to live genuinely, is more real than anything. That nameless drive calls you to be who you most truly are.\”  ~Ezra Bayda~ We live in a paradox. Everything seems a mess, yet all is well. Experiencing hatred teaches us the

Challenging situations are rarely as bad as our thoughts make them out to be. \”Whenever you\’re stuck in distress, penetrate your confusion with this question: What is my most believed thought right now?\”  ~Ezra Bayda~ When we operate from the premise that all things work toward our highest good, we come to discover that inconsolable

As we awaken, we learn to see beyond \”good\” and \”bad\”. \”Spiritual practice includes learning how to open-heartedly receive the shocks of life – the things you don\’t like, the people who criticize you, the job that goes wrong, the partner that leaves, the health that fails you – whatever shakes you up.\”  ~Ezra Bayda~

Our struggles transform us. \”When life presents difficulties we can crumble or we can learn. Aspiring to be free tips the scale toward learning.\”  ~Ezra Bayda~ Our natural inclination is to avoid pain. Eventually that creates a core belief that we should never need to experience pain. When we resist it (out of the belief

Anger disrupts your ability to be at peace in the present moment. \”What holds us back from living open-heartedly? What shuts life out? What cuts off our natural ability to truly love? As must as anything, the answer is this: our anger. Though out anger hurts both ourselves and others, we still cling to it.

Rather than being a slave of the mind, seek instead to regulate it back into the helper it is meant to be. \”Enlightenment is a state of freedom not only from the counterproductive emotions driving cyclic existence but also from the predispositions established in the mind by those afflictive emotions.\”  ~Dalai Lama~ What you allow

You have chosen to be here now, in this place with your loving insights, for a purpose. \”You must become enlightened in order to most effectively benefit others.\”  ~Dalai Lama~ The greatest gift that we can give is our Presence. No matter what the situation, we have the opportunity to bring light where there is

Our attachments create biases that impact our ability to love unconditionally. \”Real compassion does not depend on whether the other person is nice to you.\”  ~Dalai Lama~ Our friendships and close connections demonstrate our unconscious biases or judgment. We feel for those we love. Our compassion prompts us to extend a helping hand when they