All of spiritual practice is a matter of relationship: to ourselves, to others, to life's situations.

There are several different kinds of painful feelings that we might experience, and learning to distinguish and relate to these feelings of discomfort or pain is an important part of meditation practice, because it is one of the very first things that we open to as our practice develops.

Use whatever has come to awaken patience, understanding, and love.

Love is based on our capacity to trust in a reality beyond fear, to trust a timeless truth bigger than all our difficulties.

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

In a society that almost demands life at double time, speed and addictions numb us to our own experience. In such a society, it is almost impossible to settle into our bodies or stay connected with our hearts, let alone connect with one another or the earth where we live.

To open deeply, as genuine spiritual life requires, we need tremendous courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit.