RIDE ON
INNER REWARDS
KEEP ON MOVING
WINNIE THE POOH
BALANCE: SUPPORT AND FREEDOM
SPREADING WINGS
INDIVIDUAL PACE
LIFT YOUR SPIRIT - WITH RUMI’S SPRING POEM
WORDS OF WISDOM
A DEFINITION OF MINDFULNESS
CONSCIOUS BREATHING
WORDS OF WISDOM
RICH SOIL
THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE UPON US
HUMILITY
STUFF WE ARE
MOSTLY, BE GENTLE
SAVOR YOUR PRACTICE
PURE JOY
NUTRITIVE JOY
ENRG-JOY
THE ALTERNATING RHYTHM – Expand and Contract
WARM WORDS
WORDS OF WISDOM
REAL OPTIMISM
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW
WELCOME SPRING
REFLECTION
SEEK IT
A BREATH AWAY FROM DELUSION
LIGHTS OUT
SPREADING LIGHT ONE SUN
DON’T HURRY
THORNS OR ROSES?
SMELL THE FLOWERS
OPTIMISTIC
LEAP OF FAITH
TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES
AND THIS TOO SHALL CHANGE
HUMAN BECOMING
EVOLVE
CHANGE OF HEART
QUIET DOWN
THE ORIGINAL SELF
LET IT SHINE
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DOE
FEEL IT TO KNOW IT
TOUCH THE EARTH
NOTHING TO STOP YOU ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
NONSENSE
NO MATTER WHAT
LISTEN TO THE OTHER WORLD…
A KIND WORD
LIGHT YOUR SOUL, LIGHT THE WORLD
CHANGE
FIREFLIES by Evaleen Stein
HAPPINES … The Universe. Tut.com
Thich Nhat Hang
INSIDE THE BREATH – the Kabir Book translated by Robert Bly
THANKSGIVING IROQUIS PRAYER
THE CORE OF A PEACEFUL MIND -St. Francis de Sales
IT’S YOUR LIFETIME” - Dr. Wayne Dyer
THINK IT IS SO P Cota-Robles
Robert Fulghum
Spanish Proverb
Worth Doing
DON'T WORRY
EXPERIENCE

FAITH

MINI RETREAT

GET RUBBED
Sharon Salzberg
Lao-Tzu
Thich Nhat Hanh
LOVING IT
SHIFT
MOST OF ALL, YOU
ALIVE
TRANSFORMATION
A CLEAN FINISH
GRATITIUDE
MILLIONS OF CHANCES
LIBERATION FROM ENVEY
BE KIND TO YOU
BLESSINGS
Swami Sivananda
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Annie Dillard
DON’T BE SO RATIONAL…
POSSESSED
BEYOND LIMITS
REJOICE
THANKFUL
OUR LIGHT
QUALITY
IMAGINATION
QUIET
CHOICES
FLOWER ALWAYS OPEN
BALANCED ACTION
SEQUENCING
INSIDE OUT
WHAT DO YOU WANT
BREATH
RENEWAL
FORGIVENESS
KEEP YOUR FAITH
REBIRTH
HARMONY
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
PORTABLE PARADISE
HOW RICH ARE YOU?
ASHTANGA YOGA CLOSING CHANT
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
TRANSFOMATIVE GRACE
THANK YOU
STATE OF MIND
A PRAYER OF THANKS AND PRAISE
KNOWING
LET IT GO
COURAGE
EYES OF THE FUTURE
OPINIONS
KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW
INTUITIVE MIND AS TEACHER
NOTHING TO HOLD ON TO
GO IN AND IN - by Donna Fauds
KNOWING
OPEN TO THE UNEXPECTED
THE SKY
VALUE OF EVERY MOMENT
ATTITUDE — Charles Swindoll
BEAUTY — Ghalib
PEACE — Mahatma Gandhi
YOUR PRACTICE, YOUR TEMPLE — Amrit Desai
HOW DO THEY FEEL?
CULTIVATE LOVE EVERY DAY
LETTING GO OF THE THORN BUSH
ONE SOURCE — John Welch
LASTING PEACE — Jawaharlal Nehru
PARADISE — Willy Wonka
NONVIOLENCE — Martin Luther King, Jr.
PRACTICE PEACE EVERY MORNING
GRATEFUL— Christine Northrup
ABUNDANCE — Sarah Ban Breathnach
LORDS PRAYER - Aramaic
FULL HEART FREEDOM — John Friend
COMMITMENT — Mountaineer William H. Murray
INFINITE BEAUTY — Jillian
PAIN — Author Unknown
ALBERT EINSTEIN
RELAX INTO HAPPINESS - By Venerable Lama Gendun Rinpoche
METTA BLESSING
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
MAITRI UPANISHAD
RUMI
LOVE — Author Unknown
NAMASTE
RILKE
ALDOUS HUXLEY
NORTHRUP CHRISTIANE
KAHIL GIBRAN (an excerpt from THE PROPHET)
TOGETHER FOR THE RENEWAL OF LIFE
PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
PRAYER FOR CENTERING
PRAYER FOR SOLIDARITY AND JUSTICE — The Terma Collective
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN TO POOH
HIS HOLINESS, THE DALAI LAMA
THE BUDDHA
GERTRUDE STEIN
SUSAN STRASBERG
ANAIS NIN
FROM THEDIARY OF ANNE FRANK— Anne Frank
FROM WISDOM OF NO ESCAPE— Pema Chodron
DISCOVERY — Marcel Proust
A WALKING MEDITATION POEM — Thich Nhat Hanh
KNOWLEDGE — Thich Nhat Hanh
PRESENT MOMENT — Tennessee Williams
BEYOND WORDS — Sri Swami Satchidanada
FILL YOUR BOWL
THE INVITATION — By Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
UNHAMPERED SEEING... — T.K.V. Desikachar
FLY — Frank Outlaw
DON’T CONDEM — Chogyam Trungpa
IN THE PRESENT MOMENT — Thich Nhat Hanh



RIDE ON

“Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.” — William Golding


INNER REWARDS

“The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it” Voltaire

“The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.” — John Ruskin


KEEP ON MOVING

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein


WINNIE THE POOH

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you.”


BALANCE: SUPPORT AND FREEDOM

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard. — Sloan


SPREADING WINGS

“Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own.” — Louis J. Helle, Jr., Spring in Washington


INDIVIDUAL PACE

Goh Chok Tong: “As people grow up and they want more freedom, it's on an individual basis, children want to have more freedom, you've got to allow that, so how do you balance it. I would say let it evolve, move as quickly or slowly as people would like to move.”


LIFT YOUR SPIRIT - WITH RUMI’S SPRING POEM

Did you hear that winter’s over?
The basil and the carnations cannot control their laughter.
The nightingale, back from his wandering,
has been made singing master over the birds.
The trees reach out their congratulations.
The soul goes dancing through the king’s doorway.
Anemones blush because they have seen the rose naked.
Spring, the only fair judge, walks in the courtroom,
and several December thieves steal away,
Last year’s miracles will soon be forgotten.
New creatures whirl in from non-existence, galaxies scattered around their feet.
Have you met them?
Do you hear the bud of Jesus crooning in the cradle?
A single narcissus flower has been appointed Inspector of Kingdoms.
A feast is set.
Listen: the wind is pouring wine!
Love used to hide inside images: no more!
The orchard hangs out its lanterns.
The dead come stumbling by in shrouds.
Nothing can stay bound or be imprisoned.
You say,
“End this poem here, and wait for what’s next.”
I will.
Poems are rough notations for the music we are.


WORDS OF WISDOM
"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies." — Nadine Stair

A DEFINITION OF MINDFULNESS
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and
nonjudgmentally.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn

CONSCIOUS BREATHING
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

WORDS OF WISDOM
Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” — Louis L’Amour

RICH SOIL

“Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” — Henry Ward Beecher


THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE UPON US

“Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.” — George Arliss


HUMILITY

the condition or quality of being humble. A noun form of the adjective "humble"; also "humbleness". [ < Old French, < Latin humilis (lowly, low to the ground), < humus (ground, dirt)] Humble: characterized by modesty in behavior, spirit, or attitude; showing deference or reverence… In most religious and self-help contexts, it means having a sense of perspective about oneself and one's real value instead of a perceived, fantasy, or promotion-based value. The word-field of this side of 'humble' includes… modest, modesty, well-grounded, unpretentious, restrained, unassuming. The Greek word in Colossians 3:12 is tapeinophrosune, a compound word (tapein (low to the ground) + phren (gut, diaphragm; the mind was thought to be located there)


STUFF WE ARE

 “dBe humble, for the worst thing in the world is of the same stuff as you; be confident, for the stars are of the same stuff as you.” — Nicholal Velimirovic


MOSTLY, BE GENTLE

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. — Max Ehrmann, author of Desiderata


SAVOR YOUR PRACTICE

Most often we gobble and we gulp. We do this with our yoga practice; barely finishing a pose before our minds jump to the next is much like not chewing your food before you swallow. Cutting off our breath before our inhale or exhale are actually complete… In order to digest our yoga, we need to savor everything about our experience – just like when we eat, we need to clearly see our smell it, taste it, and delight in it, in order for digestion to happen.


PURE JOY

“Joy is a great purifier. It burns away many polluted currents trying to reach us.”– Torkom Saraydarian.


NUTRITIVE JOY

“We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” – Maya Angelo.


ENRG-JOY

“True joy is that which gives us more energy and makes us feel more alive.” – Robert Puryear


THE ALTERNATING RHYTHM – Expand and Contract

“…One answer is in simplification of life, in cutting out some of the distractions.  But how? Total retirement is not possible.  I cannot shed my responsibilities.   I cannot permanently inhabit a desert island.  I cannot be a nun in the midst of family life.  I would not want to be… I must find a balance somewhere, or an alternating rhythm between these two extremes; a swinging of the pendulum between solitude and communion, between retreat and return.  In my periods of retreat, perhaps I can learn something to carry back to my worldly life.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gift from the Sea


WARM WORDS

One kind word can warm three winter months. – Japanese proverb


WORDS OF WISDOM

“There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.” – Chogyam Trungpa


REAL OPTIMISM

“Real optimism is aware of problems, but recognizes the solutions. Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome.  Sees the negatives but accentuates the positives, is exposed to the worst but expects the best, has reason to complain but chooses to smile.” – William A Ward.


HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses” – Ziggy.


WELCOME SPRING

 “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” – Anne Bradstreet.


REFLECTION
“Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives.”

SEEK IT
"Peace is not won by those who fiercely guard their differences, but by those who with open minds and hearts seek out connections."-Katherine Paterson

A BREATH AWAY FROM DELUSION
Albert Einstein shares: "He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."

LIGHTS OUT
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” – Steve Martin

SPREADING LIGHT ONE SUN
When you breath in and out, you share the air of all of creation. When you watch the sun set, it's like connecting with all of creation...“All humanity shares the sunlight; that sunlight is neither yours nor mine. It is the life-giving energy, which we all share. ”Krishnamurti

DON’T HURRY
"Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the flowers along the way." - Walter Hagen

THORNS OR ROSES?
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”- Abraham Lincoln

SMELL THE FLOWERS
"Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the flowers along the way." - Walter Hagen

OPTIMISTIC
"An optimist is the human personification of spring.” — Susan J. Bissonette

LEAP OF FAITH
“Sometimes our only mode of transportation is a leap of faith.”

TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES
"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies." - Nadine Stair

AND THIS TOO SHALL CHANGE
"Times of luxury do not last long, but pass away very quickly; nothing in this world can be long enjoyed... Everything changes, nothing remains without change.” - Buddha

HUMAN BECOMING
“In a product-oriented culture, there's a tendency to "productize" and "package" people. We often forget that a human being is a living process -- a “human becoming.” – Scott Noelle
EVOLVE
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

CHANGE OF HEART
“The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker.” - Einstein

QUIET DOWN
“…From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” - Peter F. Drucker

LET IT SHINE
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO
It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about. – Alan Ball, American Beauty, 1999

FEEL IT TO KNOW IT
"Do you know that even when you look at a tree and say, 'that is an oak' or 'that is a banyan tree', the naming of the tree, which is botanical knowledge, has so conditioned your mind that the word comes between you and actually seeing the tree: to enter into contact with the tree you have to put your hand on it, the word will no help you touch it." – Krishnamurti

TOUCH THE EARTH
"Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." – Kahlil Gibran

NOTHING TO STOP YOU - Thich Nhat Hanh
There is nothing to stop you from being in touch with life in the present moment. The question is, do you have eyes that can see the eyes that can see the sunset, feet that can touch the earth.

NONSENSE
"I like nonsense - it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope that enables you to laugh at all of life's realities." Dr. Seuss. (PS. Go See Horton Hears a Who. It was great!)
NO MATTER WHAT
“Do you know what today means, in spiritual, numerical terms? … Me neither. But I know this, your thoughts become things every single day, no matter what the occasion, no matter where the energy vortices lie, no matter when the equinox starts, no matter what the economy is doing, no matter who is in office, no matter what you want, no matter when you want it, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what. Any other thinking just gives your power away.” www.tut.com

LISTEN TO THE OTHER WORLD…
We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things but there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper. - James Carroll
A KIND WORD
One kind word can warm three winter months. - Japanese proverb
LIGHT YOUR SOUL, LIGHT THE WORLD
If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. Chinese Proverb
CHANGE
“The great thing about change, Jillian, is that it absolutely, positively, always means things are going to get even better. Even when you don’t know how.”
FIREFLIES by Evaleen Stein
Look! Look down in the garden how
The firefly lights are flitting now!
A million tiny sparks I know
Flash through the pinks and golden-glow,
And I am very sure that all
Have come to light a fairy ball,
And if I could stay up I'd see
How gay the fairy folks can be!
HAPPINES … The Universe. Tut.com
What if happiness didn't have anything to do with what you had, where you've been, or who you were, and arose entirely from what you chose to think about, yet nobody knew this? And that changing your thoughts, so that you could feel happier more often, would entirely change what you had, who you were, and where you're headed, yet nobody knew this either? Do you think if we told them they'd choose to think differently?
Thich Nhat Hang
“Tenty-Four, Brand-New Hours… Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others. Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don’t have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to leave our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.”

INSIDE THE BREATH – the Kabir Book translated by Robert Bly
“Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in stupas, not in Indian shrine
rooms nor synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
Not in masses, nor kirtan, not in legs winding around
your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me
instantly... You will find me in the tiniest house of
time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside of breath.”
THANKSGIVING IROQUIS PRAYER
“We return thanks to our mother,
the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.

We return thanks to all the herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure to our diseases.

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters,
the beans and squashes,
which give us life.

We return thanks to the bushes and the trees,
which provide us with fruit.

We return thanks to the wind,
which moving in the air, has banished diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and the stars,
which have given to us their light
when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to our grandfather Hé-No,
that he has protected his grandchildren
and has given to us his rain.

We return thanks to the sun,
that he has looked upon the earth
with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things
for the good of his children.

THE CORE OF A PEACEFUL MIND -St. Francis de Sales
“Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You're a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist.And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind.”

IT’S YOUR LIFETIME” - Dr. Wayne Dyer
“You become what you think about all day and those days become your lifetime ”
THINK IT IS SO P Cota-Robles
“What we think about, what we hold in our minds and put our attention and energy into, we actually draw into our lives.”

Robert Fulghum
“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”

Spanish Proverb
“How lovely it is to rest and then do nothing afterwards”

Worth Doing
“If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing slowly or not at all.”

DON”T WORRY — John A. Simone, Sr.

"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change.  If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change."


EXPERIENCEErich Schiffmann

“Go in there, be clear about what you don’t know, and let yourself be taught in the doing of it.”


FAITH — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” 

MINI RETREAT

“We all need sometime to ourselves. Just a few minutes a day to get reacquainted with the one who’s been there since the beginning.”


GET RUBBED — Rumi
“If you are irritated by every rub, how can you be polished?”

Sharon Salzberg
“It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years - we turn on the light and it is illuminated. Once we control our capacity for love and happiness, the light has been turned on.”

Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)
“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong”

Thich Nhat Hanh
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

LOVING IT - Mother Teresa
“It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters.”

SHIFT - Anne Cushman
“Metta practice…. helps us Shift our focus from getting love to creating it, from improving our bodies to cherishing them, and from fixing life to embracing it.”

MOST OF ALL, YOU - Buddha
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

ALIVE - Chris Elms
“You are alive. I am alive. This IS the miracle. Quality of life is not some vague phrase; it is the actual everyday happiness we get from slowing down, coming into the present, and enjoying a child, a friend, a dog, a walk, a tree. Enjoying Life! Yes!! Happiness is now, and only now. This is a sacred choice we all have. Come home to the present of the present.”

TRANSFORMATION
“Just when the caterpillar thought it was the end of the world, it became a butterfly.”

A CLEAN FINISH - Emerson
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense."

GRATITIUDE -Thich Nhat Hanh
"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything."

MILLIONS OF CHANCES - Dali Lama
"If I am only happy for myself, many fewer chances for happiness. If I am happy when good things happen to other people, billions more chances to be happy!"

LIBERATION FROM ENVEY
Edward Hays in The Great Escape Manual writes “It is important not only to be grateful to others but also to be grateful for others. We need to cultivate a gratitude for others' giftedness in the same way that we appreciate a beautiful sunset or a smile from a loved one. Others always seem to have been given gifts in life that we desire, and so it's easy to be envious. Riding sidesaddle with envy is a dangerous practice: I would be happy if I had what he or she possesses. By contrast, giving thanks constantly and in all circumstances liberates us from envy.”

BE KIND TO YOU - Pema Chodron
"What you do for yourself  any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself  will affect how you experience your world.  In fact, it will transform how you experience the world.  What you do for yourself, you're doing for others, and what you do for others you're doing for yourself." 

BLESSINGS
"Hold constantly as a deep, hallowed, intoned thought that desire to bless, for truly then shall you become a peacemaker."

Swami Sivananda
“Put your heart, mind, spirit and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard
“Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important.”

Annie Dillard
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

DON’T BE SO RATIONAL… - Albert Einstein
"I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking." -

POSSESSED - Robert Bolton
"A belief is not merely an idea that the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind."

BEYOND LIMITS - Seth
"There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in."

REJOICE - Ziggy
"You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses."

THANKFUL - Buddha
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

OUR LIGHT - Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

QUALITY - Chris Elms
"You are alive. I am alive. This IS the miracle. Quality of life is not some vague phrase; it is the actual everyday happiness we get from slowing down, coming into the present, and enjoying a child, a friend, a rose, a dog, a walk, a tree. ENJOYING LIFE. YES!! Happiness is now, and only now. This is a sacred choice we all have. Come home to the present of the present."

IMAGINATION - Mark Twain
"I have been through a lot of terrible things in my life. Some of which have actually happened."

QUIET - Hans Margolius
"Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."

CHOICES - Annie Dillard
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

FLOWER ALWAYS OPEN - Zen Proverb
"Everything changes in this world. But flowers will open each spring, just as usual"

BALANCED ACTION
"Each choice we make causes a ripple effect in our lives. When things happen to us, it is the reaction we choose that can create the difference between the sorrows of our past and the joy in our future."

SEQUENCING - Oprah Winfrey
"I've learned that you can't have everything and do everything at the same time."

INSIDE OUT - Jose Ortega Gasset
"Order is not pressure which is imposed on society from without, but an equilibrium which is set up from within."

WHAT DO YOU WANT - Kathleen Winsor
"Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to do what they want to do."

BREATH - George Carlin
"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

RENEWAL - From The Great Law of the Iriqouis Confederacy
"In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

FORGIVENESS - Mark Twain
"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it."

KEEP YOUR FAITH - Roy R. Gilson
Keep your faith in all beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone.

REBIRTH - Unknown
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."

HARMONY - Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony"

WHAT IS HAPPINESS? - Georg Feuerstein
"Everyone is seeking to maximize happiness and minimize unhappiness. Therefore, the pursuit of happiness was written into the American constitution as a basic human right. However, the constitution does not offer a clear explanation of what happiness is. Nor does it tell us how to realize happiness… What, then, is happiness? First of all, we must note that happiness is often confused with pleasure…The particular sting of pleasure is that it is short-lived. Hence we often hunt after a pleasurable repetition and in the process run the rise of becoming ‘addicted’… However much the pleasure, we always hunger for more. Happiness, on the other hand, is deep, full and enduring. It is satisfying in itself. Therefore it gives us peace and tranquility… The person who is happy does not look for greater happiness. But pleasure always spurs us on the experience greater pleasure. Happiness, however, sets us free."

PORTABLE PARADISE— Paramahansa Yoganada
“By practice of mediation, “The Master said, “you will find that you are carrying with in your heart a portable paradise.”

HOW RICH ARE YOU? — Nonpareil
"If someone were to pay you ten cents for every kind word you ever spoke and collect five cents for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?"

ASHTANGA YOGA CLOSING CHANT 
"May all be well with mankind. May the leaders of the earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path. May there be goodness for those who know the earth to be sacred. May all the worlds be happy. May the rains fall on time and may the earth yield its produce in abundance. May this country be free from disturbances and may we be free from fear."

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS — Timothy Miller
"Gratitude is the intention to count-your-blessings every day, every minute, while avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or deserve different circumstances."

TRANSFOMATIVE GRACE
Roshi John Daido Loori has said that expressing gratitude is transformative, just as transformative as expressing complaint. Imagine an experiment involving two people. One spends ten minutes each morning and evening expressing gratitude, while the other spends the same amount of time practicing complaining. One subject is saying things like, "I hate my job. I can't stand this apartment. Why can't I make enough money? My spouse doesn't get along with me. That dog next door never stops barking and I just can't stand this neighborhood." The other is saying things like, "I'm grateful for the opportunity to work; there are so many people these days who can't even find a job. I'm grateful for my health. What a gorgeous day; I really like this fall breeze." They do this experiment for a year. Guaranteed, at the end of that year the person practicing complaining will have deeply reaffirmed all his negative "stuff" rather than having let it go, while the one practicing gratitude will be a very grateful person.

THANK YOU— Meister Eckhart
"If the only prayer you say in your entire life is "Thank You," that will suffice."

STATE OF MIND—Stephen Levine
"Gratitude is the state of mind of thankfulness. As it is cultivated, we experience an increase in our "sympathetic joy," our happiness at another's happiness. Just as in the cultivation of compassion, we may feel the pain of others, so we may begin to feel their joy as well."

A PRAYER OF THANKS AND PRAISE — unknown songwriter
Blessed are they who give without expecting even
thanks in return, for they shall be abundantly
rewarded.
Blessed are they who translate every good thing they
know into action, for ever higher truths shall be
revealed unto them.
Blessed are they who do God's will without asking to
see results, for great shall be their recompense.
Blessed are they who love and trust their fellow
beings, for they shall reach the good in people and
receive a loving response.
Blessed are they who have seen reality, for they know
that not the garment of clay but that which activates
the garment of clay is real and indestructible.
Blessed are they who see the change we call death as
liberation from the limitation of this earth-life, for
they shall rejoice with their loved ones who make the
glorious transition.
Blessed are they who after dedicating their lives and
thereby receiving a blessing, have the courage and
faith to surmount the difficulties of the path ahead,
for they shall receive a second blessing.
Blessed are they who advance toward the spiritual
path without the selfish motive of seeking inner
peace, for they shall find it.
Blessed are they who instead of trying to batter down
the gates of the kingdom of heaven approach them
humbly and lovingly and purified, for they shall pass
right through.

KNOWING— unknown songwriter
"I used to know everything, I know nothing now"

LET IT GO— Dana Fould
Let go of the ways you thought life would unfold; the holding of plans or dreams or expectations – Let it all go. Save your strength to swim with the tide.
The choice to fight what is here before you now will only result in a struggle, fear, and desperate attempts to flee from the very energy you long for.
Let go. Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes through your days whether you receive it gently or with all your quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take on faith: the mind may never find the explanations that it seeks, but you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go and the wave’s crests will carry you to unknown shores, beyond your wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and peace, and certain transformation.

COURAGE—Anais Nin
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage"

EYES OF THE FUTURE— from the book RED
"The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats. The silent space that says we only live by grace. Wilderness lives by the same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands."

OPINIONS— unknown
"Those who are full of their own opinions will be deaf to words of wisdom from others. In a discussion between two persons, what often happens is that each is intent on asserting his own views. As a result, apart from hearing his own voice or views, he does not learn anything else."

KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW—Eric Hoffer
"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

INTUITIVE MIND AS TEACHER
Albert Einstein says "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift"

NOTHING TO HOLD ON TO — Marilyn Ferguson
"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's the place in between that we fear…It's like being between trapezes. Its' Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to."

GO IN AND IN - by Donna Fauds
Go in and in.
Be the space between two cells,
the vast, resounding silence in which spirit dwells.
Be sugar dissolving on the tongue of life.

Dive in and in, as deep as you can dive.
Be infinite, ecstatic truth.
Be love conceived and born in union.
Be exactly what you seek, the Beloved,
singing Yes, tasting Yes, embracing Yes, until there is only essence;
the All of Everything expressing through you as you.
Go in and in. and turn away from nothing that you find.

KNOWING — Epictetus
It's impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

OPEN TO THE UNEXPECTED — Lizelle Reymond
"You must learn to welcome consciously the most unexpected events of life, to be entirely transparent in front of them, without any motive, either right or wrong. At that moment avoid all judgment, for you do not know what law is in operation"

THE SKY
"The sky will bow to your beauty if you do." (Don't know who said it. A student passed it on in class.)

VALUE OF EVERY MOMENT
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train. To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

ATTITUDE — by Charles Swindoll
"Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, then education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company.. A church.. A home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes".

BEAUTY — Ghalib
The world is nothing more than Beauty's chance to show herself.
And what are we?
Nothing more than Beauty's chance to see herself
For if beauty were not seeking herself,
We would not exist.

PEACE — Mahatma Gandhi
"Peace between countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between individuals."

YOUR PRACTICE, YOUR TEMPLE – Amrit Desai"
"You must approach your yoga practice with reverence and gratitude and love. It’s very much like entering a temple.

HOW DO THEY FEEL? — Author unknown
"People will forget what you said, will forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel."

CULTIVATE LOVE EVERY DAY
At the End of the Day, Ask Yourself:
"Did my thoughts, actions and deeds contribute to the well being of others?
Did I ask more from others than I needed?
Did resistance to change cause harm to others or myself?
Did my words express the truth from my heart?
Did the choices I made nourish myself?
Did I pause to give thanks for at least one gift in my life?
Did I take time to notice the omnipresence of a power beyond myself?
At the end of the day, am I at peace with myself? "

LETTING GO OF THE THORN BUSH
Long ago, a wise yogi was walking down a road. From off in the distance, he heard a terrible moaning and groaning. As he hurried to give aid, the cries of pain grew stronger. He came upon a man hugging a huge thorn bush, his face and arms scratched and bleeding. "Help me, help me," cried the man.
"My son," said the yogi, "I have a solution for you ... Let go of the thorn bush."
Slowly the man removed first one arm. Then the other. Finally, with the wise man's suggestion, he was able to step back from the thorn bush. The man smiled. "I feel great!" he told the yogi. "Thank you."
But in the next moment, a wave of uneasiness overcame the man. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the yogi with suspicion. "You can't have it! This is my thorn bush!" And he grasped the bush even harder than before.
The yogi shrugged his shoulders and silently blessed the man as he walked down the road, the cries of agony fading into the distance.

ONE SOURCE — John Welch
"We are all like a well that has its source in common underground stream which supplies all. The deeper down I go, the closer I come to the source which puts me in contact with all other life."

LASTING PEACE — Jawaharlal Nehru
"Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people."

PARADISE — Willy Wonka
If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, DO IT
You can change the world, there's nothing to it.
There is no life I know to compare with pure Imagination.
Living there you'll be FREE, if you truly wish to be.

NONVIOLENCE — Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."

PRACTICE PEACE EVERY MORNING
Thich Nhat Hanh offers this prayer to recite upon waking up:
"Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."

GRATEFUL— Christine Northrup
"Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life."

ABUNDANCE — Sarah Ban Breathnach
"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present -- love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure -- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."

LORDS PRAYER — Aramaic
O cosmic brither of all radiance and vibration!
Soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where your Presence can abide.
Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission.
Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with our desire.
Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.
Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us,
as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.
Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose,
but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.
For you are the ground and fruitful vision, the birth, power and fulfillment,
as all is gathered and made whole once again.

FULL HEART FREEDOM — John Friend
"In order to experience the fullest freedom of our hearts, we must say 'no' to that which dishonors us, cloaks our beauty, blocks our happiness, diminishes our health, weakens our self esteem, dis-empowers us, and significantly reduces our psychic savings account."

COMMITMENT — Mountaineer William H. Murray
"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." -- Mountaineer William H. Murray ~ reflecting on the organization and willpower necessary to begin a major expedition.

INFINITE BEAUTY — Jillian
"The more beauty you see, the more beauty be."

PAIN — Author Unknown
"Pain is the difference between what is and what I want it to be."

ALBERT EINSTEIN
"He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."

KNOWING EACH OTHER - Peace Pilgram
"We people of the world need to find ways to get to know one another -- for then we will recognize that our likenesses are so much greater than our differences, however great our differences may seem. Every cell, every human being, is of equal importanceand has work to do in the world."

RELAX INTO HAPPINESS -- By Venerable Lama GendunRinpoche
Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower,
But it is already there, in relaxation and letting go.
Don't strain yourself, there is nothing to do.
Whatever arises in the mind has no importance at all,
Because it has no reality whatsoever.
Don't become attached to it,
Don't pass judgment.
Let the game happen on its own, springing up and falling back
Without changing anything -
And all will vanish and reappear, without end.
Only our searching for happiness prevents us from seeing it.
It is like a rainbow which you run after without ever catching it.
Although it does not exists,
It has always been there and accompanies you every instant.
Don't believe in the reality of good and bad experiences;
They are like rainbows.
Waiting to grasp the ungraspable, you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you relax this grasping, space is there -- open, inviting, and comfortable.
Nothing to do--
Nothing to force --
Nothing to want--
Everything happens by itself.

METTA BLESSING
"May suffering ones be suffering free and the fear-struck fearless be. May the grieving shed all grief, and all beings find relief."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

MAITRI UPANISHAD
"As is ones thought, so one becomes. That is an eternal mystery." Maitri Upanishad

RUMI
"Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing & right-doing there is a field I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, even the phrase, each other doesn't make any sense."

LOVE--Author Unknown
"Love is like an hour glass with the heart filling up as the brain empties."

NAMASTE
We often complete our practice with saying Namaste. This simple word is an expression of deep connection. Namaste means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides, I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you, where if you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.

RILKE
"Once the realization is accepted, that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living, side by side, can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distances between them, which makes it possible for each to see the other whole and against a wide sky. I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other and only those are the true sharings which, rhythmically, interrupt periods of deep isolation."

ALDOUS HUXLEY
"Experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him."

NORTHRUP CHRISTIANE
"Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life."

KAHIL GIBRAN (an excerpt from THE PROPHET)
"Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of teaching". And he said: "No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind. The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding. The musician may sing to you the rhythm, which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it. And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither. For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man. And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth."

TOGETHER FOR THE RENEWAL OF LIFE
We join with the Earth
And with eachother
To bring new life to the land
To recreate the human community
To provide justice and peace
To remember our children
To remember who we are.
We join together
As many and diverse expressions
Of one loving mystery
For the healing of the Earth
And the renewal of all life

PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
People are people.
People are unreasonable, illogical, self centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you succeed, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spent years building may be destroyed over night.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

(From a sign on the wall at a children's home in
Calcutta - supported by the works of mother Theresa)

PRAYER FOR CENTERING
May today there be peace with in me
May I trust my highest power that I am exactly where I am meant to be
May I not forget the infinite possiblities that are born of faith
May I use those gifts that i have received and pass on the love that has been given to me
May I be content knowing i am the child of the universe (god, anything you like to say)...
Let this presence settle into my bones, and allow my soul the freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun... It is there for each one of us.

PRAYER FOR SOLIDARITY AND JUSTICE — The Terma Collective
May our eyes remain open even in the face of tragedy.
May we not become disheartened.
May we find in the dissolution of our apathy and denial, the cup of the broken heart.
May we discover the gift of the fire burning in the inner chamber of our being -- burning great and bright enough to transform any poison.
May we offer the power of our sorrow to the service of something greater than ourselves.
May our guilt not rise up to form yet another defensive wall.
May the suffering purify and not paralyze us.
May we endure; may sorrow bond us and not separate us.
May we realize the greatness of our sorrow and not run from its touch or its flame.
May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.
May our wrath be cleansing, cutting through the confusion of denial and greed.
May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth.
May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.
May the soul's journey be revealed and the true hunger fed.
May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten and blessed with the remembrance of who we really are.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN TO POOH
“You are braver than you believe, And stronger than you seem, And smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin to Pooh

HIS HOLINESS, THE DALAI LAMA
“Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries . . . It lies with each of us individually . . . What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take seriously our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment.” HIS HOLINESS, THE DALAI LAMA

THE BUDDHA

“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your thought unguarded” The Buddha

“The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings.” The Buddha


GERTRUDE STEIN
“Whenever you get there, there is no there there.” Gertrude Stein

BY SUSAN STRASBERG
“You can’t push a wave onto the shore any faster than the ocean brings it in.” Susan Strasberg


BY ANAIS NIN
“And there came a time when the risk of remaining closed tight in a bud far outweighed the risk it took to bloom.” — Anais Nin


FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
“I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.” — Anne Frank


FROM WISDOM OF NO ESCAPE
“The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it's a brand-new sun. It's born each morning, it lives for the duration of one day, and in the evening, it passes on, never to return again. As soon as the children are old enough to understand, the adults take them out at dawn and they say, "The sun has only one day. You must live this day in a good way, so that the sun won't have wasted precious time." Acknowledging the preciousness of each day is a good way to live, a good way to reconnect with our basic joy.” — Pema Chodron


DISCOVERY
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust


A WALKING MEDITATION POEM

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Bring the Earth your love and happiness.
The Earth will be safe When we feel safe in ourselves.
Thich Nhat Hanh



KNOWLEDGE
“Knowledge is regarded as an obstacle to understanding, like a block of ice that obstructs water from flowing. It is said that if we take on things to be the truth and cling to it, even if truth itself comes in person and knocks at our door, we won’t open it. For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”Thich Nhat Hahn


PRESENT MOMENT
“Life is all Memory, except for the one present moment that goes by so quickly you hardly catch it going.” — Tennessee Williams


BEYOND WORDS
“There is a certain kind of deer from which we get musk fragrance. But that deer is always searching for the source of the fragrance it does not realize it comes from him; it is in him. Like that deer we run here and there searching for that peace (that beauty) which is always within us.” Sri Swami Satchidanada


FILL YOUR BOWL
Fill your bowl to the brim/ and it will spill Keep sharpening your knife/ and it will blunt Chase after money and security/ and your heart will never unclench Care about people’s approval/ and you will be their prisoner Do your work, and then step back.. The only path to serenity. — Annonymous


THE INVITATION
I haven’t read this book yet, but I loved this excerpt I read from it. Has anyone out there read it yet? Let us know your recommendations. “It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wilderness and let the exctasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn’t interest me if the story you’re telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul” By Oriah Mountain Dreamer.


UNHAMPERED SEEING ...
“When we are swimming in a river and cannot see the bank, it is difficult to notice the current. We are moving so much with the river that we may scarcely see its flow. But if we go to the bank where we have firm ground it is much easier to see how the river is flowing... The practice of yoga encourages this unhampered seeing to simply happen.” T.K.V. Desikachar


FLY
“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take a step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for us to stand on, or we will be taught to fly.” Frank Outlaw


DON’T CONDEM
“When you don’t punish or condemn yourself, when you relax more and appreciate your body and mind, you begin to contact the fundamental goodness in yourself.” — CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, founder of Shambala Meditation Center, author of a VERY COOL BOOK called CUTTING THROUGH SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM.


IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the Green Earth in the present moment. To appreciate the peace and the Beauty that are available now. Peace is all around us, In the world and in nature. And within us — in our bodies and our spirits. Once we learn to touch this peace. We will be healed and transformed. It is not a matter of faith; It is a matter of practice. — Thich Nhat Hang