It's not a terrible thing that we feel fear when faced with the unknown. It is part of being alive, something we all share.

There's nothing more important on our spiritual path than developing gentleness to oneself.

Once you create a self-justifying storyline, your emotional entrapment within it quadruples.

Compassion isn't some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we're trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don't even want to look at.

When things fall apart in your life, you feel as if your whole world is crumbling. But actually it’s your fixed identity that’s crumbling. And as Chögyam Trungpa used to tell us, that’s cause for celebration.

Trying to change ourselves doesn't work in the long run because we're resisting our own energy. Self-improvemen t can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs only when we honor ourselves as the source of wisdom and compassion.

Blaming is a way to protect your heart, trying to protect what is soft and open and tender in yourself.