Instead of asking ourselves, 'How can I find security and happiness?' we could ask ourselves, 'Can I touch the center of my pain? Can I sit with suffering, both yours and mine, without trying to make it go away? Can I stay present to the ache of loss or disgrace-disapp ointment in all its many forms-and let it open me?' This is the trick.

Meditation takes us just as we are, with our confusion and our sanity. This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is called maitri, or unconditional friendliness, a simple, direct relationship with the way we are.

We can spend our whole lives escaping from the monsters of our minds. (36)

The Process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are completely changing our way of perceiving reality.

We can begin to open our hearts to others when we have no hope of getting anything back. We just do it for its own sake.

The idea of karma is that you continually get the teaching that you need to open your heart.

My experience with forgiveness is that it sort of comes spontaneously at a certain point and to try to force it it's not really forgiveness. It's Buddhist philosophy or something spiritual jargon that you're trying to live up to but you're just using it against yourself as a reason why you're not okay.