Category: Inner Life

Steering the mind

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For each and every one of us, the most important thing is our state of mind.  That which feels joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain, is just our mind.  But our mind doesn’t have to simply react to things around us.  It can be steered in different directions.  You can direct yourself toward what is good, and by doing so, you get accustomed to positive thoughts.  If you direct yourself toward being negative, that also can become a habit.  If you allow yourself to become apathetic and not care much, you become insensitive and dull.  The word spiritual refers to directing or steering our mind toward something good, something noble.  Simply that.  One of the most important factors in accomplishing that goal is to know how to let ourselves be completely at ease.

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Recognizing Our Natural Mind State

Resting on our own ground

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No one else can ever provide the connection that finally puts the soul at ease. We find that connection when the window of the heart opens, allowing us to bask in the warmth and openness that is our deepest nature. When we look to others for this ground, we wind up trying to control and manipulate them into being there for us in a way that allows us to settle into ourselves. yet this very focus on trying to get something from them prevents us from resting in our own ground, leaving us outwardly dependent and inwardly disconnected.

John Welwood

Inner nourishment

Karl Duffy2 Comments

As adults we can sometimes fall into the trap of  blaming others for where or who we are.  Instead  we work at letting  go of resentments and becoming responsible for nurturing ourselves. Our parents may not have  provided the care we needed deep down, or others may have failed to support us in our lives.  However, now we  take on that role by acknowledging our own deepest needs and listening to what our inner self has to say.

We are, in a sense, our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good.

St Gregory of Nyssa, Homily on the Book of Ecclesiastes

Meeting your destiny

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You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it.

Jung

Finding a quiet space within

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As I have written before, finding quiet time  each day is not a luxury. Rather,  it is essential for protecting our health and strengthening our deepest selves.  Looking within nourishes  the roots of an enduring happiness, namely, a deep confidence in our sense of self, as opposed to a happiness which looks outside, linking itself to circumstances in our lives, such as our career, finances or even relationships.

I can’t give you any advice but this:

to go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.


Rilke

To a heart, full of hesitations

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When today you have doubts and fears, why not follow the advice in this Mary Oliver poem. To look at nature all around you –  the buds beginning to appear, the early flowers blooming – and see there a support for your inner self.

Oh, my dear heart,
My own dear heart,
Full of hesitations,
Questions, choice of directions,

Look at the world.
Behold the morning glory,
the meanest flower,
the ragweed, the thistle.
Look at the grass.

Mary Oliver, The Singular and Cheerful Life