If we Pause and breathe in and out, then we can have the experience of timeless presence, of the inexpressible wisdom and goodness of our own minds. We can look at the world with fresh eyes and hear things with fresh ears.

We can gradually drop our ideals of who we think we ought to be, or who we think we want to be, or who we think other people think we want to be or ought to be.

If there's any possibility for enlightenment, it's right now, not at some future time. Now is the time.

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.

When we scratch the wound and give into our addictions we do not allow the wound to heal.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

The happiness we seek cannot be found through grasping, trying to hold on to things. It cannot be found through getting serious and uptight about wanting things to go in the direction we think will bring happiness. We are always taking hold of the wrong end of the stick. The point is that the happiness we seek is already here and it will be found through relaxation and letting go rather than through struggle.