Everybody needs to take some time, in some way, to quiet themselves and really listen to their heart.

If we are engaged in actions that cause pain and conflict to ourselves and others, it is impossible for the mind to become settled, collected, and focused in meditation; it is impossible for the heart to open.

When we come into the present, we begin to feel the life around us again, but we also encounter whatever we have been avoiding. We must have the courage to face whatever is present - our pain, our desires, our grief, our loss, our secret hopes our love - everything that moves us most deeply.

What would we have to hold in compassion to be at peace right now? What would we have to let go of to be at peace right now?

We are awakened to the profound realization that the true path to liberation is to let go of everything.

The present moment is really all that we have. The only place you can really love another person is in the present. Love in the past is a memory. Love in the future is a fantasy. To be really alive, love - or any other experience - must take place in the present.

Virtue and integrity are necessary for genuine happiness. Guard your integrity with care.