The mind, conditioned as it is by the past, always seeks to re-create what it knows and is familiar with. Even if it is painful, at least it is familiar. The mind always adheres to the known. The unknown is dangerous because it has no control over it. That's why the mind dislikes and ignores the present moment.

You are not 'in the now;' you are the now. That is your essential identity-the only thing that never changes. Life is always now. Now is consciousness. And consciousness is who you are. That's the equation.

Any action that arises out of stress is of low quality, and it contributes to human suffering. You are making yourself and others suffer.

Whatever you think people are withholding from you-praise, appreciation, assistance, loving care, and so on-give it to them.

Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not 'yours,' not personal. They are conditions of the human mind. They come and go. Nothing that comes and goes is you.

If you are not taking responsibility for your state of consciousness, you are not taking responsibility for life.

A simple but radical spiritual practice is to accept whatever arises in the Now, within and without.