“Live a virtuous life, help everyone and spread joy wherever you go.”
“Do numbers hold spiritual significance? Perhaps they do. For me, the most powerful numbers are two and six because when you multiply those numbers, you get the exact amount of square feet required to roll out a yoga mat. Even after years of practice, I’m continually astounded that all I really need to heal my body, open my heart, and still my chaotic mind is twelve square feet.”
“To the unaware person, karma is the prison in which the mind is held hostage. Because of karma, an unaware person is doomed to repeat the past in perpetuity as the seeds planted yesterday bear bitter fruit tomorrow. But to the mindful person, karma offers the promise of freedom. Mindfulness allows us to change our mind in the present, planting new seeds that will bear sweet fruit.”
“When we relate to ourselves with loving kindness, perfectionism naturally drops away.”
“A Kula or spiritual community is like a nudist camp for the soul. Not only are we given the permission to remove our robes of guilt, our suits of shame, and our masks of false identity—we are encouraged to do so. To become naked and hold nothing back is to become truly beautiful.”
“On a physical level, water is often called the universal solvent because of its ability to dissolve almost anything at the molecular level. On a spiritual level it is the breath which acts as a universal solvent, because there is no trauma so great, no wound so deep, no delusion so convincing, that deep and mindful breathing will not dissolve it.”
“True spiritual virtues can have no opposite, but they can wear masks and costumes. Joy often masquerades as anger; innocence often dresses up as guilt; love pretends to be fear. At the end of the day, we discover that we don’t need to be fearful of these internal monsters—we simply need to unmask them.”
“Forcing Your body into a yoga pose is like brushing your teeth with a wire brush. You may get rid of the plaque but gingivitis will be the least of your concerns.”
“Resolutions, like all spiritual virtues, can be misused by the ego when mindfulness is absent. There are few things that will keep you in the bondage of habit like a grand resolution. It is like an empty box wrapped in the best of intentions, yet lacking anything of substance.”
“Without suffering there cannot be happiness. Without mud there cannot be any lotus flowers.”
“There is no distinction between means and ends. There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. There is no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way.”
“Vipassana meditation is not an intellectual journey but an experiential awakening.”
“Just as one goes on a fast or a body cleanse you owe it to yourselves to detox your mind, it will not be easy but easy never yielded lasting results.”
“• لا ننجح بأن نكون أسخياء مع أنفسنا إلا في اللحظات النادرة التي نحتاج فيها إلى القسوة فعلا .”
“It is easy to make the mistake of thinking yoga is about touching your toes when in fact yoga is about learning to touch others. Likewise, many people think the purpose of meditation is a perfectly still mind, when in fact, it is a more compassionate heart. Spiritual practice is measured by one’s ability to ease the suffering of the world one breath at a time.”
“Once we understand cause and effect, we can stop complaining about the effects of our choices. We can start making more mindful decisions about the thoughts we entertain, the actions we perform, the people with whom we associate, and the quality of life we want to live.”
“إن الجهاد الحسن هو الذي نخوضه باسم أحلامنا عندما نكون شبابا .. تتفجر أحلامنا في داخلنا بكل عزيمتها ولا تنقصنا الشجاعة اطلاقاً .. لكننا لم نتعلم بعد كيفية النضال .. وحين نخلص الى تعلمها بعد جهود مضنية نكون قد فقدنا الطاقة على الكفاح عندئذ نرتد على انفسنا ونصبح ألد أعدائنا .. نتذرع قائلين أن احلامنا طفولية وعويصة على التحقيق أو أنها ثمرة جهلنا لحقائق الحياة .. فنقتل أحلامنا لأننا نخاف من خوض الجهاد الحسن”