In the absence of presence there is only that repetitive mental noise, and part of that mental noise is the story of me. It’s the problematic story that is hoping that at some point in the future that it will no longer be problematic, not realizing that what it calls ‘future’ has no actual existence
Eckhart Tolle
You cannot rely on anything. Things change. OK, so this is where your choices begin. We can’t escape life’s essential problems, but we can change our understanding about them. We can practice reframing, generosity, and gratitude. The evanescence of things is the real reason you enjoy your life
Lewis Richmond, Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser
One of the most powerful Buddhist teachings is that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will. As long as you’re wanting yourself to get better, you won’t. As long as you are oriented toward the future, you can never just relax into what you already have or already are. One of the deepest habitual patterns that we have is the feeling that the present moment is not good enough. Instead of looking for fruition, we could just try to stay with our open heart and open mind. By entering into this kind of unconditional relationship with ourselves, we can begin to connect with the awake quality that we already have
Pema Chodron
Many of us have been running all our lives. We have the feeling that we need to run — into the future, away from the past, out from wherever we are. In truth, we don’t need to go anywhere. We just need to sit down and look deeply to discover that the whole cosmos is right here within us.
Thich Nhat Hahn
When I experience difficult mind states that I cannot control, I know their source is in my own mind and that nothing happens externally. Even when a clearly external event has triggered the response of fear or sadness that has manifested as anger, it is essentially the grid of the mind that has shaped that response. Knowing that negativity or aversion is a transient energy never means to ignore it. It means to see it clearly, always, and work with it wisely.
Sylvia Boorstein
To sit with the internal monologue, in equanimity and with patience, with a view that’s unwavering, allows the inner noise to quiet, to sputter out, to still. Not overnight, but in time, with steadfast commitment to overcome the downhill slip of mindfulness into unconscious, habituated believing, we can still the noisiness of selfing.
Our practice helps us to keep from being continuously reborn in old habit patterns. Interior silence allows us to be receptive to insight and allows us to remain mindful of intentions. It empties the mind and, in that emptying, allows us the experience of grace.
~Kathleen Dowling Singh
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