The approach is that the best way to use unwanted circumstances on the path of enlightenment is not to resist but to lean into them.

The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. . . Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold: if we just do the right things, someone will appreciate us and take care of us. . . Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves.

When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are. Then ironically, taking in pain - breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are heightens your awareness of exactly where you're stuck.

Appreciate everything, even the ordinary... Especially the ordinary.

You are the sky. Everything else - it’s just the weather.

According to the Buddhist belief, you can go on and on indefinitely, so you see your life as just a brief moment in time.

There's a reason you can learn from everything: you have basic wisdom, basic intelligence, and basic goodness.