The receiving is the giving. It’s the most genuine thing you can give back. That’s what they wanted to give you in the first place.
We all do emotional gymnastics to be seen as wonderful or funny – just to get what we already have. And because we’re doing the gymnastics, we don’t see that we already have it.
The Work is merely four questions; it’s not even a thing. It has no motive, no strings. It’s nothing without your answers. These four questions will join any program you’ve got and enhance it. Any religion you have – they’ll enhance it. If you have no religion, they will bring you joy. And they’ll burn up anything that isn’t true for you. They’ll burn through to the reality that has always been waiting.
Reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it.
Peace and joy naturally, inevitably, and irreversibly make their way into every corner of your mind, into every relationship and experience. The process is so subtle that you may not even have any conscious awareness of it. You may only know that you used to hurt and now you don’t.
I already please everyone, and I already have everyone’s approval, though I don’t expect them to realize it yet.
Self-realization is the sweetest thing. It shows us how we are fully responsible for ourselves, and that is where we find our freedom.
There’s no reason to believe that thoughts match reality. As you move through life, thoughts appear like shots in the dark. They are no more than vague attempts to figure out what’s going on around and inside you. When you’re seeking love and approval, many thoughts are aimed at deciphering the behavior of the people you care about, or theorizing about what’s going on in their minds.
Katie: We live; we die. Always right on time, not one moment sooner or later than.
Hurt feelings or discomfort of any kind cannot be caused by another person. No one outside you can hurt you. That’s not possible. Only when you believe a story about them can you be hurt. So you’re the one who’s hurting yourself. This is very good news, because it means that you don’t have to get someone else to stop hurting you or to change in any way. You’re the one who can stop hurting you. You’re the only one.
You can argue with reality all you want, or you can stop arguing long enough to understand it and be free.
Inquiry doesn’t have a motive. It doesn’t teach a philosophy. It’s just investigation.
That’s what inquiry is for, to break through stressful mythology. These.
This is true freedom: a mind that is no longer deceived by itself. Ruth:.
As long as you think that the cause of your problem is “out there” – as long as you think that anyone or anything else is responsible for your suffering – the situation is hopeless. It.
Your story is your identity, and you’d do almost anything to prove that it’s true. Inquiry into self is the only thing that has the power to penetrate such ancient concepts. Even.
He is just like everyone else, except that he no longer believes that in this moment things should be different than they are. Therefore in all circumstances he remains at ease in the world, is efficient without the slightest effort, keeps his lightness of heart whatever happens, and, without intending to, acts with kindness toward himself and everyone else. He is who you are once you meet your mind with understanding.
And that goes not only for mothers but for every human being you haven’t forgiven yet. Every human being, every cat, dog, tree, thing – to be separate from anyone or anything goes against your heart. The only time those people or things are not okay is when you believe they’re not.
To make amends” means to right the perceived wrong. What I call “living amends” is more far-reaching. It applies not only to one particular incident but to all future incidents of that kind.
Reality doesn’t wait for our agreement or approval. It is what it is. You can count on it. Gary:.