Watch the wheel and the way it spins. The farther you get from the center the quicker it spins. To find peace return to the center.

Human beings are cowards in the face of happiness. You need courage to hold onto happiness.

~Momoko Ryugasaki in "Kamikaze Girls"

Job Immunity

In order to survive in a job setting, you must have an inner core that is immune to getting caught up in all of the craziness around you. Too many people allow their jobs to be THE THING in their lives. When that happens, it’s easy to feel inundated, take things personally, and blow things out of proportion.

I’m not suggesting that you don’t give your all in a job or professional setting. It’s important that your superiors understand that you’re a conscientious employee who cares and can be relied upon to work hard and get the job done. What I am saying is don’t let the job get all of you. At a deep personal level, you’ve got to know that there are more important things in life. You don’t advertise this at your work setting, and you don’t put any less effort in, but you work smarter. Many people don’t realize that perspective and the ability to perform at your best are closely related. When you’re able to appropriately detach yourself you’re not straining and letting yourself get overwhelmed. You demonstrate more wisdom and restraint in responding to the situations you have to deal with. You can focus and concentrate on one thing at a time. You don’t get yourself immersed in counterproductive things that you can’t control, and you don’t participate in any negativity that may be around you.

There will always be some people around us that operate out of fear or insecurity and are constantly trying to prove their worth (though they wouldn’t admit this). These folks are not only living in an unhealthful manner, but they’re not functioning at their full capacity, because it is just an exhausting way to live. They are not good role models, and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to compete with them for attention. We must remind ourselves that calm, relaxed, gentle people can also be super achievers.

If you’d like to develop more of a defense wall so your inner core is immune to getting caught up in external situations, ask yourself what is really important in life. Remind yourself that this is not life and death and there will be a life after this job. Remind yourself that, chances are, you’ll have several jobs after this one. Also, remember that if this were your last day on the job, somehow, someway, they would find a way to survive without you. No one is irreplaceable. What’s the best thing to do? Do your best each day and go home, leaving your job at the job. What’s the most important thing? Peace of mind. Why? Because life is short and we don’t know how many moments we have left.

The Power Of Now

Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. They never go beyond a narrow, mind-made, personalized sense of self that is conditioned by the past.

In you, as in each human being, there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought. It is the very essence of who you are. We may call it presence, awareness, the unconditioned consciousness.

Finding that dimension frees you and the world from the suffering you inflict on yourself and others when the mind-made "little me" is all you know and runs your life. Love, joy, creative expansion, and lasting inner peace cannot come into your life except through that unconditioned dimension of consciousness.

If you can recognize, even occasionally, the thoughts that go through your mind as simply thoughts, if you can witness your own mental-emotional reactive patterns as they happen, then that dimension is already emerging in you as the awareness in which thoughts and emotions happen -- the timeless inner space in which the content of your life unfolds.

The stream of thinking has enormous momentum that can easily drag you along with it. Every thought pretends that it matters so much.

It wants to draw your attention in completely.

Here is a new spiritual practice for you: don't take your thoughts too seriously.

How easy it is for people to become trapped in their conceptual prisons.

The human mind, in its desire to know, understand, and control, mistakes its opinions and viewpoints for the truth. It says: this is how it is. You have to be larger than thought to realize that however you interpret "your life" or someone else's life or behavior, however you judge any situation, it is no more than a viewpoint, one of many possible perspectives. It is no more than a bundle of thoughts. But reality is one unified whole, in which all things are interwoven, where nothing exists in and by itself.

Thinking fragments reality -- it cuts it up into conceptual bits and pieces.

The thinking mind is a useful and powerful tool, but it is also very limiting when it takes over your life completely, when you don't realize that it is only a small aspect of the consciousness that you are.

Wisdom is not a product of thought. The deep knowing that is wisdom arises through the simple act of giving someone or something your full attention. Attention is primordial intelligence, consciousness itself. It dissolves the barriers created by conceptual thought, and with this comes the recognition that nothing exists in and by itself. It joins the perceiver and the perceived in a unifying field of awareness. It is the healer of separation.

Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now.

Dogmas -- religious, political, scientific -- arise out of the erroneous belief that thought can encapsulate reality or the truth.

Dogmas are collective conceptual prisons. And the strange thing is that people love their prison cells because they give them a sense of security and a false sense of "I know."

Nothing has inflicted more suffering on humanity than its dogmas.

It is true that every dogma crumbles sooner or later, because reality will eventually disclose its falseness; however, unless the basic delusion of it is seen for what it is, it will be replaced by others.

What is this basic delusion? Identification with thought.

Spiritual awakening is awakening from the dream of thought.

The realm of consciousness is much vaster than thought can grasp.When you no longer believe everything you think, you step out of thought and see clearly that the thinker is not who you are.

The mind exists in a state of "not enough" and so is always greedy for more. When you are identified with mind, you get bored and restless very easily. Boredom means the mind is hungry for more stimulus, more food for thought, and its hunger is not being satisfied.

When you feel bored, you can satisfy the mind's hunger by picking up a magazine, making a phone call, switching on the TV, surfing the web, going shopping, or -- and this is not uncommon -- transferring the mental sense of lack and its need for more to the body and satisfy it briefly by ingesting more food.

Or you can stay bored and restless and observe what it feels like to be bored and restless. As you bring awareness to the feeling, there is suddenly some space and stillness around it, as it were. A little at first, but as the sense of inner space grows, the feeling of boredom will begin to diminish in intensity and significance. So even boredom can teach you who you are and who you are not.

You discover that a "bored person" is not who you are. Boredom is simply a conditioned energy movement within you. Neither are you an angry, sad, or fearful person. Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not "yours," not personal. They are conditions of the human mind. They come and go.

Nothing that comes and goes is you.

"I am bored." Who knows this?

"I am angry, sad, afraid." Who knows this?

You are the knowing, not the condition that is known.

Thinking that is not rooted in awareness becomes self-serving and dysfunctional. Cleverness devoid of wisdom is extremely dangerous and destructive. That is the current state of most of humanity. The amplification of thought as science and technology, although intrinsically neither good nor bad, has also become destructive because so often the thinking out of which it comes has no roots in awareness.

The next step in human evolution is to transcend thought. This is now our urgent task. It doesn't mean not to think anymore, but simply not to be completely identified with thought, possessed by thought.

Feel the energy of your inner body. Immediately mental noise slows down or ceases. Feel it in your hands, your feet, your abdomen, your chest. Feel the life that you are, the life that animates the body.

The body then becomes a doorway, so to speak, into a deeper sense of aliveness underneath the fluctuating emotions and underneath your thinking.

There is an aliveness in you that you can feel with your entire Being, not just in the head. Every cell is alive in that presence in which you don't need to think. Yet, in that state, if thought is required for some practical purpose, it is there. The mind can still operate, and it operates beautifully when the greater intelligence that you are uses it and expresses itself through it.

You may have overlooked that brief periods in which you are "conscious without thought" are already occurring naturally and spontaneously in your life. You may be engaged in some manual activity, or walking across the room, or waiting at the airline counter, and be so completely present that the usual mental static of thought subsides and is replaced by an aware presence. Or you may find yourself looking at the sky or listening to someone without any inner mental commentary. Your perceptions become crystal clear, unclouded by thought.

To the mind, all this is not significant, because it has "more important" things to think about. It is also not memorable, and that's why you may have overlooked that it is already happening.

The truth is that it is the most significant thing that can happen to you. It is the beginning of a shift from thinking to aware presence.

Become at ease with the state of "not knowing." This takes you beyond mind because the mind is always trying to conclude and interpret. It is afraid of not knowing. So, when you can be at ease with not knowing, you have already gone beyond the mind. A deeper knowing that is non-conceptual then arises out of that state.

Artistic creation, sports, dance, teaching, counseling -- mastery in any field of endeavor implies that the thinking mind is either no longer involved at all or at least is taking second place. A power and intelligence greater than you and yet one with you in essence takes over. There is no decision-making process anymore; spontaneous right action happens, and "you" are not doing it.

Mastery of life is the opposite of control. You become aligned with the greater consciousness. It acts, speaks, does the works.

A moment of danger can bring about a temporary cessation of the stream of thinking and thus give you a taste of what it means to be present, alert, aware.

The Truth is far more all-encompassing than the mind could ever comprehend. No thought can encapsulate the Truth. At best, it can point to it. For example, it can say: "All things are intrinsically one." That is a pointer, not an explanation. Understanding these words means feeling deep within you the truth to which they point.

~Eckhart Tolle

# Pacification of the emotions;
# Tranquil compliance with the inevitable;
# Self-control in the face of any event;

Let It Roll Off Our Back

One of the most difficult challenges in life is learning not to take things to heart and hold on to it. Especially when we’re younger, or if we’re very sensitive, we take so much of what comes our way to heart. This can be overwhelming and unproductive if it throws us off balance on a regular basis. When we are feeling criticized or attacked from all directions, it becomes very difficult for us to recover ourselves so that we can continue to speak and act our truth. This is when we would do well to remember the old saying about letting certain things roll off us, like water off a duck’s back.

Most of the time, the attacks and criticisms of others have much more to do with them and how they are feeling than with us. If we get caught up in trying to adjust ourselves to other people’s negative energy, we lose touch with our core. In fact, in a positive light, these slings and arrows offer us the opportunity to strengthen our core sense of self, and to learn to dodge and deflect other people’s misdirected negativity. The more we do this, the more we are able to discern what belongs to us and what belongs to other people. With practice, we become masters of our energetic integrity, refusing to serve as targets for the disowned anger and frustration of the people around us.

Eventually, we will be able to hear the feedback that others have to offer, taking in anything that might actually be constructive, and releasing that which has nothing to do with us. First, though, we tend ourselves compassionately by recognizing when we can’t take something in from the outside without hurting ourselves. This is when we make like a duck, shaking it off and letting it roll off our back as we continue our way in the world.

Venerable Atisha

Avoid places that disturb your mind, and always remain where your virtues increase.

Until you attain stable realizations, worldly amusements are harmful, therefore abide in a place where there are no such distractions.

Avoid friends who cause you to increase delusions, and rely upon those who increase your virtue. This you should take to heart.

Since there is never a time when worldly activities come to an end, limit your activities.

Dedicate your virtues throughout the day and the night, and always watch your mind.

Because you have received advice, whenever you are not meditating always practice in accordance with what your Spiritual Guide says.

If you practice with great devotion, results will arise immediately, without your having to wait for a long time.

If from your heart you practice in accordance with Dharma, both food and resources will come naturally to hand.

Friends, the things you desire give no more satisfaction than drinking sea water, therefore practice contentment.

Avoid all haughty, conceited, proud, and arrogant minds, and remain peaceful and subdued.

Avoid activities that are said to be meritorious, but which in fact are obstacles to Dharma.

Profit and respect are nooses of the maras, so brush them aside like stones on the path.

Words of praise and fame serve only to beguile us, therefore blow them away as you would blow your nose.

Since the happiness, pleasure, and friends you gather in this life last only for a moment, put them all behind you.

Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.

You will have to depart leaving everything behind, so do not be attached to anything.

Generate compassion for lowly beings, and especially avoid despising or humiliating them.

Have no hatred for enemies, and no attachment for friends.

Do not be jealous of others' good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself.

Do not look for faults in others, but look for faults in yourself, and purge them like bad blood.

Do not contemplate your own good qualities, but contemplate the good qualities of others, and respect everyone as a servant would.

See all living beings as your father or mother, and love them as if you were their child.

Always keep a smiling face and a loving mind, and speak truthfully without malice.

If you talk too much with little meaning you will make mistakes, therefore speak in moderation, only when necessary.

If you engage in many meaningless activities your virtuous activities will degenerate, therefore stop activities that are not spiritual.

It is completely meaningless to put effort into activities that have no essence.

If the things you desire do not come it is due to karma created long ago, therefore keep a happy and relaxed mind.

Beware, offending a holy being is worse than dying, therefore be honest and straightforward.

Since all the happiness and suffering of this life arise from previous actions, do not blame others.

All happiness comes from the blessings of your Spiritual Guide, therefore always repay his kindness.

Since you cannot tame the minds of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind.

Since you will definitely have to depart without the wealth you have accumulated, do not accumulate negativity for the sake of wealth.

Distracting enjoyments have no essence, therefore sincerely practice giving.

Always keep pure moral discipline for it leads to beauty in this life and happiness hereafter.

Since hatred is rife in these impure times, don the armor of patience, free from anger.

You remain in samsara through the power of laziness, therefore ignite the fire of the effort of application.

Since this human life is wasted by indulging in distractions, now is the time to practice concentration.

Being under the influence of wrong views you do not realize the ultimate nature of things, therefore investigate correct meanings.

Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.

Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.

You should consider this well because it is not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the heart.

If you practice like this you will delight me, and you will bring happiness to yourself and others.

I who am ignorant request you to take this advice to heart.

This is the advice that the holy being Venerable Atisha gave to Venerable Jangchub Ö."

Stronger Than Your Enemy

"Is there a law against being stronger than your enemy? Is there anything to forbid you from picking up your aggressor by the scruff of his neck and asking him, ‘do you want me to smash you to the ground?’ If you did this he would soon see how strong you were. And then, if you put him gently on his feet again instead of throwing him violently to the ground, he would begin to respect you. Would this not be much better than always allowing yourself to be defeated and ill-treated? You must be stronger than your enemies, capable with a single word, gesture, or glance, of paralyzing them and making them feel so small and vulnerable that they beat a retreat. If you cannot be a winner on the physical plane, you can at least try to be a winner on the mental plane. Would this not be far better than allowing dishonest, cruel, evil people to destroy you?”

~Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

You have to be aware of the uselessness of your self-importance and of your personal history.

In eradicating worry from our minds, we free ourselves to think practically about our circumstances, living in the moment rather than losing ourselves in our fears. True security originates in the heart rather than in the resolution of outer world concerns because we can choose to feel self-assured as easily as we choose to harbor anxious thoughts. When we select the former, we can think about the issues before us in concrete terms without becoming overwhelmed by emotional reactions. We are more apt to look for solutions, however far-fetched, and to implement them promptly. Instead of bemoaning our fate, we change what we can and leave the rest to the benevolent wisdom of the universe. In putting aside your worries, you enable yourself to address your situation constructively.

PRAISE AND BLAME ARE ALL THE SAME = DRUG

• If you fight thoughts and try to stop them forcefully they will grow stronger, because you will be giving them more attention. If you want to get rid of a tree growing in your garden and cut it down, it will grow again quite fast, but if you stop watering it, it will gradually wither. You need to treat your thoughts in the same manner. In order to calm them down you have to dismiss them, which is equivalent to not watering the tree.
• Things don't always proceed according to plans and expectations. People not always act the way you wish them to act. You may not be always able to be in control of external influences and conditions, but you can certainly learn to control your attitude and reactions. There is no sense of allowing circumstances and people to pull your strings and affect your mind and feelings. You can choose not to let what people say and do affect your moods. You can maintain an inner attitude of emotional and mental detachment, and refuse to allow every minor event play with your feelings and evoke anger.
• If detached person cannot do or change something, it does not disturb his peace of mind. On the other hand, if he needs to do something, he will pursue it wholeheartedly. He will do everything needed to succeed. If it does not work out, he stays calm, and will either try again, or forget the matter easily and move to something else.
• Now try to look at the thoughts with lack of interest. Lack of interest is the magic word when it comes to controlling and silencing thoughts. Do not let your feelings to be aroused and manipulated by your thoughts. Watch the thoughts that enter your mind as if watching a boring movie and they will lose their power.
• Why not become conscious of your thoughts, choose to think the ones that are beneficial for you, and consciously and advantageously utilize the power of attraction? You can attract people, circumstances, events, possessions or a life style with the magnetic power of attraction of your mind.
• "Warriors are incapable of feeling compassion because they no longer feel sorry for themselves. Without the driving force of self-pity, compassion is meaningless.
  For a warrior everything begins and ends with himself. However, his contact with the abstract causes him to overcome his feeling of self-importance. Then the self becomes abstract and impersonal."

Why worry and fret about something when nothing is going to change regardless of how much you or I worry about it?

It's easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting.

How To Avoid Burnout

1. STOP DENYING. Listen to the wisdom of your body. Begin to freely admit the stresses and pressures which have manifested physically, mentally, or emotionally.

2. AVOID ISOLATION. Don't do everything alone! Develop or renew intimacies with friends and loved ones. Closeness not only brings new insights, but also is anathema to agitation and depression.
3. CHANGE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. If your job, your relationships, a situation, or a person is dragging you under, try to alter your circumstances, or if necessary, leave.
4. DIMINISH INTENSITY IN YOUR LIFE. Pinpoint those areas or aspects which summon up the most concentrated intensity and work toward alleviating that pressure.
5. STOP OVERNURTURING. If you routinely take on other people's problems and responsibilities, learn to gracefully disengage. Try to get some nurturing for yourself.
6. LEARN TO SAY "NO". You'll help diminish intensity by speaking up for yourself. This means refusing additional requests or demands on your time or emotions.
7. BEGIN TO BACK OFF AND DETACH. Learn to delegate, not only at work, but also at home and with friends. In this case, detachment means rescuing yourself for yourself.
8. REASSESS YOUR VALUES. Try to sort out the meaningful values from the temporary and fleeting, the essential from the nonessential. You'll conserve energy and time, and begin to feel more centered.
9. LEARN TO PACE YOURSELF. Try to take life in moderation. You have only so much energy available. Ascertain what is wanted and needed in your life, then begin to balance work with love, pleasure, and relaxation.
10.TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY. Don't skip meals, abuse yourself with rigid diets, disregard your need for sleep, or break the doctor appointments. Take care of yourself nutritionally.
11.DIMINISH WORRY AND ANXIETY. Try to keep superstitious worrying to a minimum -- it changes nothing. You'll have a better grip on your situation if you spend less time worrying and more time taking care of your real needs.
12.KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR. Begin to bring joy and happy moments into your life. Very few people suffer burnout when they're having fun.