Change How You View Yourself
“External things furnish us with suggestions, over which we project our own ideals and make our objects. The wicked see this world as a perfect hell, and the good as a perfect heaven. Lovers see this world as full of love, and haters as full of hatred; fighters see nothing but strife, and the peaceful […]
Pain Can Be As Beautiful as a Sunset
“As you do not wish to change a lovely form, the glow after sunset, the vision of a tree in a field, so also do not obstruct the movement of sorrow.” — J. Krishnamurti Kudzu is a creeping, climbing, perennial vine that, once it grows, overtakes and grows over anything in its path. Mature kudzu […]
Comparison As the Fuel for Progress
“Experience is the only path to knowledge, comparison perfects it.” — Sri Aurobindo Comparison is known to be the thief of joy. Comparing how much we have to people who have more makes us unhappy. Ditto with comparing our lives’ behind-the-scenes to others’ highlight reels in a social-media-dominated world. Others appear happier, richer, fitter, and […]
When You Want To Go Far In Life…
“You must not mistake Sattva for dullness or laziness. The calm man has control over the mind waves. Activity is the manifestation of inferior strength, calmness, of the superior.” – Swami Vivekananda On the cricket field, MS Dhoni was always calm, even if the opposition seemed in control. No outbursts of emotion, no rush, no […]
The Only Person Worth Competing With
“If it rains when the star Svāti is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an oyster, that drop becomes a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when the star shines, and wait to catch the precious raindrop. When a drop falls into them, quickly the oysters […]
Changing Your Mind Is a Sign of Strength
“Individuality. . . is nothing but the result of ignorance, maintaining itself through many layers of memories, tendencies, and wants. These limitations inevitably cause sorrow and confusion.” — J. Krishnamurti Individuality, as it is today, is: “I know the truth,” “I deserve more,” and “I want others to agree with me.” My choices, my opinions, […]
Getting Out of the Whirlpool of Life
“A man must be active in order to pass through activity into perfect calmness.” — Swāmi Vivekānanda The Hindu scriptures describe two ways to attain peace: “Neti, Neti” (not this, not this), and “Iti, iti” (this, this). Neti is difficult; most people cannot control their minds to stop thinking about something they renounce. For instance, […]
The Calm And The Storm
“The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert. He has learned the secret of restraint; he has controlled himself.” — Swami Vivekananda A popular image of the sattvik […]
How to Stop Overthinking
“You cannot discard [your memories]. But what you can do is meet your next experience wholly; then you will see those past memories come to action, and then is the time to meet and dissolve them.” — J. Krishnamurti Sadhguru asks the question: “Are you working from memory or from awareness?” Memory is important, else […]
Think Using First Principles
“To most people, thinking is but a reaction. . . Then it is no longer thinking, for then it is uncreative. Most people say that they think but are blindly following their reactions; they have certain standards, certain ideas, according to which they act.” — J. Krishnamurti Often, our lives are just imitations of others. […]