Sydney

“Everything is support in our awakening. We’ve been conditioned to kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. Blame, blame, blame. One of the major ways that we don’t stay present is blaming. We blame ourselves; we blame other people. I often see students blaming the outer circumstances or blaming their own bodies and minds for why they can’t be present. Consider that what needs your attention and consideration is your own mind, and how you view these outer circumstances. You can befriend your circumstances; you can have compassion for your circumstances and for yourself. What happens when you do that? I recently”
― Pema Chödrön, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind

“There was a yoga teacher in India in the twelfth century named Saraha, and he said (to loosely paraphrase him): “Those who believe in existence as solid are stupid. Those who believe that everything is empty are even more stupid.” He was referring to any beliefs that limit our experience and cause us to be unable to perceive what’s in front of our eyes and nose. Beliefs that we hold so strongly and so dearly that we’re willing to fight for them, beliefs that blind us and make us deaf.”
― Pema Chödrön, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind