Some of us have the good fortune of some type of natural gift, whether it's playing tennis or painting or writing.

Time and the timeless dimension co-exist here, now in this very moment that we're living, this very moment that we're speaking.

When we turn our gaze to the inside, it becomes difficult to locate this familiar sense of self. To overcome that fear we need to feel special in some way.

It's the bringing together of knowledge and wisdom that is a great part - perhaps the greatest part - of our life's journey.

The great French Impressionist painter Renoir, right at the end of his very long life, said to a friend, "I am just now learning to paint." Renoir carried his gift with a humility which realized how much he still had to learn. Anyone who goes deeply into a field in life and realizes this, gains a sense of proportion that can only make you humble.

When the heart opens, we forget ourselves and the world pours in.

This question of love begins and ends with the willingness to be welcoming to one's own experience as a loving action towards oneself. It may be dark, it may be light, it may be joyous, it may be sorrowful, but it's your experience, and therefore, your life. As we have that kind of loving response towards our own life, then life itself in terms of the outside world, begins to feel different.