If Our Bodies Could Talk by Dr. James Hamblin

All quotes from James' book

Ignorance is the product of active cultivation.  It spreads through marketing and through rumor. 

To allow ourselves to be challenged – to welcome it, and to seek it out – is to guard against the purposeful cultivation of ignorance. 

Sometimes the most interesting thing is knowing why we don’t know, and the point is in the considering, and being comfortable in not knowing. 

Health is a balance between acceptance and control. 

Preventable illness influences and is influenced by education, employment, the environment, and the economy. 

We rely too heavily on a mind-set where our system fixes problems, and not heavily enough on creating systems where these problems do not arise. 

Around 8% of our genes are not even human, but viral. We are born with viruses woven into our DNA, and we contain trillions of bacteria that are responsible for, among other things, the appearances of our faces, our body weights, and our state of mind. 

Our bodies are dynamic networks of genetic information shaped by experience, and microbes that change who we are in every moment. 

We weren’t made to do anything. Our bodies are collections of processes that exist as responses to other processes. 

Living Beautifully with Uncertainty & Change by Pema Chodron

All quotes from Pema's book

Our attempts to find lasting pleasure, lasting security, are at odds with the fact that we're part of a dynamic system in which everything and everyone is in process.

We grab at pleasure and try to avoid pain.... Under the illusion that experiencing constant security and well-being is the ideal state, we do all sorts of things to try to achieve it. 

Our discomfort arises from all of our efforts to put ground under our feet, to realize our dream of constant okayness.

To be in denial: you can't hear anything that doesn't fit into your fixed identity.  Even something positive -- you're kind or you did a great job or you have a wonderful sense of humor -- is filtered through this fixed identity.

The purpose of the spiritual path is to unmask, to take off our armor.  When that happens, it feels like a crisis because it is a crisis -- a fixed-identity crisis.

The real cause of suffering is not being able to tolerate uncertainty.

The fixed identity is our false security.  We maintain it by filtering all of our experience through this perspective. 

When we don't like someone -- they're not on our wavelength, so we don't want to hang out with them -- it's generally because they challenge our fixed identity.  We're uncomfortable in their presence because they don't confirm us in the ways we want to be confirmed, so we can't function in the ways we want to function.

The discomfort associated with groundlessness, with the fundamental ambiguity of being human, comes from our attachment to wanting things to be a certain way.

The suffering we experience with physical pain is entirely conceptual. It comes not from the sensation itself but from how we view it.

In Buddhism, strong emotions like anger, craving, pride, and jealousy are known as kleshas -- conflicting emotions that cloud the mind.  The kleshas are our vehicle for escaping groundlessness, and therefore every time we give in to them, our preexisting habits are reinforced.

We can spend our whole life suffering because we can't relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation.

When you practice staying present, one thing you'll quickly discover is how persistent the story line is.

It isn't the content of our movie that needs our attention, it's the projector.  It isn't the current story line that's the root of our pain; it's our propensity to be bothered in the first place.

In not taking the old escape routes, we're predisposing ourselves to a new way of seeing ourselves.

You build your inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts. 

It's a tricky business-- not rejecting any part of your self at the same time that you're becoming acutely aware of how embarrassing or painful some of those parts are.

Lovingkindness for yourself does not mean making sure you're feeling good all the time-- trying to set up your life so that you're comfortable every moment.  Rather, it means setting up your life so that you have time for meditation and self-reflection for kindhearted, compassionate self-honesty.

If we don't act on our craving for pleasure or our fear of pain, we're left in the wide-open, unpredictable middle.  The instruction is to rest in that vulnerable place.

At some point, you'll hit a wall of truth and wonder what you've been doing with your life.

Each of us lives in a reality we take to be the real one. This is how it is, we insist.  End of story.

Tonglen is a practice for thinking bigger, for touching into our sameness with all beings. 

The path to unshakable well-being lies in being completely present and open to all sights, all sounds, all thoughts -- never withdrawing, never hiding, never needing to jazz them up or tone them down.

Each person's life is like a mandala -- a vast, limitless circle.  We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear, and think forms the mandala of our life.... Everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening.  From this point of view, awakening is right at your fingertips continually.... It's up to you whether your life is a mandala of neurosis or a mandala of sanity.

Splendidness provides vision, and wretchedness grounds us.

If you can stay present in even the most challenging circumstances, the intensity of the situation will transform you.

Cultivating a Daily Meditation by The 14th Dalai Lama

All quotes from The 14thDalai Lama's book

The dreams that are important are not the ones we have just after falling asleep, but rather those experienced during the time of dawn. 

Ordinary people cannot remember past lives because the level of consciousness during the time of death, the interval state between the previous life and the next life, is most subtle.  The subtle level of mind on which those memories are based cannot communicate to our gross conscious mind.  A person who has some experience of utilizing deeper consciousness has a better chance to have clearer memories of past lives.

As the root cause of suffering can be purged or eliminated, suffering itself can be eliminated.  Basically the root cause is the delusions.  All these delusions are rooted in the self-grasping attitude. 

This table is devoid of elephant.  The mere absence of that thing, the elephant, is the same as the way in which reality is empty of inherent existence and also devoid of delusion. 

All phenomena exist in the condition called dependent arising.  When we try to discover their essence, we find only labels posited by conceptual thought, giving them their designations such as "book". Further, the consciousness which thus labels is dependent upon earlier and succeeding moments of consciousness, the beginning of which is nowhere to be found. 

All negative states of mind have their root in the self-grasping attitude, a mistaken consciousness which can be shown to be distorted. 

One can say that this table is non-inherently existent because it is existent, since it exists depending on other factors. The very fact of its existence proves its non-inherent existence. 

Bodhisattva practitioners should deliberately and actively live in situations where there is trouble, because they are chiefly working for the welfare of other sentient beings. 

We need a purpose in this life to give it meaning beyond feeding this suffering body. 

The only actual enemy is the self-grasping attitude and consequent distorted mind.  

When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd

All quotes from Sue's book

It's always difficult and risky to try to put soulmaking into words. 

Crisis, change, all the myriad upheavals that blister the spirit and leave us groping -- they aren't voices simply of pain but also of creativity. 

The fullness of one's soul evolves slowly.  We're asked to go within to gestate the newness God is trying to form; we're asked to collaborate with grace. 

Spirit needs a container to pour itself into.  Grace needs an arena in which to incarnate. Waiting can be such a place, if we allow it. 

Waiting is thus both passive and passionate. It's a vibrant, contemplative work.  It means descending into self, into God, into the deeper labyrinths of prayer. It involves listening to disinherited voices within, facing the wounded holes in the soul, the denied and undiscovered, the places one lives falsely.  It means struggling with the vision of who we really are in God and holding the courage to live that vision. 

Transformations come only as we go the long way round, only as we're willing to walk a different, longer, more arduous, more inward, more prayerful route. 

We think that the "real thing" is concentrated in the next moment, the next month, the next year.  We can go on and on, waiting for the next "happening" of life, hurrying toward it, trying to make it happen.  We live from peak event, from brightness to brightness, resisting the flat terrain of ordinary time -- the in-between time.  Waiting is the in-between time.  It calls us to be in this moment, this season, without leaning so far into the future that we tear our roots from the present. 

To create newness you have to cover the soul and let grace rise.  You must come to the place where there's nothing to do but brood, as God brooded over the deep, and pray and be still and trust that the holiness that ferments the galaxies is working in you too. 

Waiting is the yeasting of the human soul. 

The door of entry to the soul is prayer and reflection. 

Change begins with the recognition that we're not so much an "I" as a "they".  We may like to think that we're individuals living out our own unique truth, but more often we're scripts written collectively by society, family, church, job, friends, and traditions. 

The waiting process actually has three distinct phases that need to be maneuvered: separation, transformation, and emergence.  

Understand the source of the crisis.  There are three basics sources: developmental transitions, intrusive events, and internal uprisings.  

Developmental transitions are like the tapered neck of an hourglass -- difficult but necessary passages that we have to navigate in order to emerge into the next era of life.  

Intrusive events...impinge on us from without.  These crisis come in many forms and usually take us by surprise.  A death, an illness, an accident, a lost job, a broken relationship, an unwelcome move, a dashed dream, an empty rest, a betrayal. 

An internal uprising could be as simple as a vague sense of restlessness, some floating disenchantment, a whispering but relentless voice that says, There has to be more than this. ... Or the uprising may take the form of stress, burnout, a chronic sense of exhaustion, inner voices desperately trying to tell us something. 

While soulmaking can be fraught with tears, it doesn't require the abandonment of joy. 

Letting go isn't one step but many.  It's a winding, spiralling process that happens on deep levels and we must begin at the beginning: by confronting our ambivalence. 

There has to be a phase of active praying, hanging on, turning loose, sweating, trying, and trying again. 

The opposite of courage isn't only fear but security. 

Where there's no risk, there's no becoming; and where there's no becoming, there's no real life. 

In ways large and small we must cooperate with the inevitability of change. 

Aligning ourselves -- heart, body, mind, and spirit -- into unique positions of stillness creates the special environment we need. 

Everything incubates in darkness. 

We're containers filled with an ego elixir we've brewed ourselves. 

Our wounds become the womb. 

When we enter the crucible of darkness and bring the painful tensions of our lives together to simmer creatively, a threshold level is eventually reached in which healing, "knowing", strength -- a new synthesis of being -- takes place. 

Spiritual experiences aren't meant to be homogeneous, only harmonious -- not in unison, but in unity.

Religion is not to be believed, but danced. 

The words nowhere and now here have the same arrangement of letters; the letters are merely separated by a small space in the latter.  Likewise, a fine space separates us from experiencing life as nowhere or now here. 

Time isn't a straight line along which we travel, but a deep dot in which we dwell. 

Many times we starve our souls, although we wouldn't dream of starving our bodies. 

When I fail to feed my soul, I soon notice that I have less strength for living authentically.  At time  my energy becomes depleted.  Weakened, I'm more apt to revert to old patterns. 

50 Mindful Steps to Self-Esteem by Janetti Marotta

All quotes from Janetti's book

Our tendency is to compare how we’re doing against others and wrap our identity around stories we tell about ourselves.  

Basically, we can’t control life, we have difficulty with this lack of control, and we take this inability personally. 

From the wakefulness of awareness, the warmth of compassion, and the wisdom of the journey comes connecting to others, caring for a larger whole, and committing to your core values no matter what comes your way. 

Mindfulness involves opening to the present moment just as it is, without trying to hold on to what you like about it or get rid of what you don’t like.  Part of mindfulness is thus “being with” yourself as you are, despite your desire to be otherwise. 

It’s not what happens, but how you relate to what happens. 

Rather than saying, I’m inadequate, you say, Ah, so this is what inadequacy feels like! 

Mindfulness teaches that life is to be experienced through the senses, not through the mind’s running commentary. 

Staying in the present shifts your focus from what’s wrong to what’s not wrong. 

With intention comes attention – looking deeply into who you really are what life is all about. 

Mindfulness takes you out of automatic patterns of behavior; rather than mindlessly reacting, you consciously respond in more productive ways. 

Acceptance doesn’t mean that everything is okay; it means recognizing things are as they are and reducing your resistance to them. 

Journaling allows you to slow down your thinking, step back, and gain perspective, clarity, self-knowledge, and emotional healing. 

By being aware of my thoughts and feelings and not letting them define me, I was able to work from the inside. 

Focusing on finding Band-Aids for your wounds creates a vulnerable sense of self. In trying to fix a broken sense of self, you become lost to who you truly are. 

By using your breath as a constant, you learn how not to be swept away by disaffirming thoughts, and how to smooth out the ups and downs of believing you “should” be like this and “shouldn’t” be like that.  As you learn to relax into your breath and trust your mind to stay put, you begin to unhook from your conditioned state of control and mistrust and to rest in awareness itself: a space that’s empty of preferences and full of life. 

Your body is a teaching manual of what you carry in your mind and heart. 

Yoga, meaning “to integrate” in Sanskrit, reestablishes the union and balance of mind and body. 

Learn to pay attention to the present moment and be the person you already are. This ignites a change from a self-esteem driven by “doing”—striving to be someone you’re not – to a self-esteem cultivated by “being” -- witnessing your own unfolding nature. 

Nonjudging implies that there’s no such thing as success or failure, right or wrong, or winning and losing.  Mistakes simply happen. 

Nonstriving means replacing the myth that life is happening somewhere else with the belief that what’s happening now is what really matters. 

The seductive nature of thoughts reels you in because you believe that you are the thought, and emotions like fear and anxiety confirm it. 

When you constantly seek the comfort of a sense of control, you try to impose your will on the world.  Your mind is seduced into an endless loop of judging, obsessing, planning, fantasizing, and rehearsing that keeps you keeps you stuck in “doing” mode. This depletes your energy. 

Relaxing into the moment creates a space for you to unhinge from your conditioned reflex of control, fear, and vigilance. 

So much of what we do is driven by a desire for distraction from ourselves. 

Patience means experiencing life in process. 

Mindfulness sets the conditions for your heart to become spacious. 

Every time you notice a need to avoid suffering by shutting down and losing touch with yourself, you can use the quality of openness to “be with” what’s inside – your fears, faults, and failures. 

See the emotion as a challenge or friend, rather than an obstacle or enemy. 

Joy means rejoicing in what is. Joy is freedom from regret, resentment, and blame. 

When feeling deprived in some way, we tend to hold tightly to what we have, because it doesn’t feel as if there’s enough to go around. 

Emotional baggage may be a way to disown yourself and deem yourself unacceptable. 

When your speech is true, useful, and timely, it’s intentional, thoughtful, and effective.

Chi Nei Ching by Mantak Chia and William U Wei

All quotes from Mantak and William's book

In Eastern medicine, fascia is a structure for and a conduit of chi.  The meridians and channels pass through fascia, keeping the tissue moist and dense with chi.  When the chi is deficient, fascia becomes dry, hard, and brittle; movement can become painful.

To maintain your energy, meditate every day to reconnect with the outer forces and burn our sick and undesired energy.

Dreamhealer 2 by Adam McLeod

All quotes from Adam’s book

You have the rest of your life to change your future.

Accept the primary responsibility for maintaining your health.

Wellness involves an open, positive, responsible and participatory attitude toward one's own well-being.

Start by being aware of what pushes our buttons.  What situations drive us to distraction?  What characteristics in others drive us crazy? What triggers our positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn flood our systems with energy?

Remember that you are always the person in charge of your own wellness.  You are the driver of the car.  You make all of the decisions -- where you go, when you go there, and now fast you travel.  The healer is the navigator or map reader, advising you on the easiest route to your destination and assisting as required. 

Balancing of mind, body and spirit is what a healing journey is about. 

Ill health is an imbalance of energy.  Energy imbalance manifest itself in the form of different ailments, depending on where we develop an energy blockage.  Energy blockages, frequently first experienced as stress, manifest differently from person to person. 

How to Get Along with Anyone by Ophira and Tali Edut

All quotes from Ophira & Tali's book

Sometimes you need a challenge in order to evolve.

Often, we attract “difficult people” unconsciously because our souls yearn to grow. We need to wake up, pay attention, learn something.  

Making Marriage Simple by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt

All quotes from Harville and Helen's book

Romantic love is the powerful force that draws you to someone who has the positive and negative qualities of your parents or caregiver. 

We call the result of not getting all of your needs met your "childhood wounding".  You become sensitive in the present to what was missing in the past.

Your unconscious mind chose your partner.  It knew that in order to heal your childhood wounds, you had to feel these emotions again as an adult.  Marriage gives you this chance to relieve memories and feelings from your childhood, but with a different happier outcome.

Ninety percent of our frustrations with our partner come from experiences from our past. 

People's reaction to stress and conflict fall into one of two categories: minimizing or maximizing.... When Minimizers are anxious, they tend to pull their reactions deep inside.... When Maximizers are anxious, they tend to express themselves loudly.

Your partner's needs are a blueprint for your own healing and growth -- and your needs are a blueprint for your partner's. 

This is the crux and calling of a truly committed and conscious partnership:  we need to answer the call to become each other's healers.

When your partner doesn't feel safe, they put up their defenses.

The best way to heal a relationship is not to repair the two people, but the Space Between them.

Negativity is any words, tone of voice, facial expression (such as rolling your eyes), or behavior your partner says feels negative to them.

When you feel superior to your partner (whether it is because you believe you're better or because you feel they didn't have it as bad as you did) this is a sure sign you're in competition. 

Negativity is invisible abuse.

Your job is to be a source of safety for your partner. 

Connection and joy are two sides of the same coin.

Requesting what you want shifts you out of the position of being a victim.

100 Things Successful People Do by Nigel Cumberland

All quotes from Nigel's book

Successful people never rely upon chance or fate. 

Being liked takes sacrifice.

Real success is about helping other people succeed.

To love yourself involves understanding, acceptance, forgiveness and being at peace with who you are.  To be comfortable and at peace with yourself you need to understand that none of us is perfect and you are not the only one who has faults, weaknesses and issues; accept yourself as you are, no matter how imperfect you think yourself to be; forgive yourself and stop blaming yourself for errors and mistakes in your life. 

Treat your health as your main wealth.

You must forgive others for the sake of your own wellbeing. 

True confidence is about being completely at peace with yourself. 

Understand what is really making you uncomfortable. 

Success will not come to you, you have to go and find it. 

When you are in harmony with yourself, four things are aligned: what you do, what you think, what you say and what you feel. 

Being in harmony with others is all about being honest, walking your talk, being open, trusting and kind.  The opposite is breaking promises, confrontation, misunderstanding and a lack of authenticity. 

Be the person today you want to be in retirement. 

The expert is the one who has made the most mistakes.