Buddhist practices offer a way of saying, 'Hey, come back over here, reconnect.' The only way that you'll actually wake up and have some freedom is if you have the capacity and courage to stay with the vulnerability and the discomfort.

Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary disengagement when we are no longer moving toward any goal ... The pause can occur in the midst of almost any activity and can last for an instant, for hours or for seasons of our life ... You might try it now: Stop reading and sit there, doing 'no thing,' and simply notice what you are experiencing.

My understanding is that to love, we need to be able to totally surrender to the living/dying nature of this world.

When you are in touch with your body and heart, it allows you to then be in the world and act with intention and clarity and kindness.

Our kids go to school and they come out feeling not intelligent, not desirable, not attractive or appealing to others.

Just remember that everyone is struggling; everyone is living with fear and uncertainty and it doesn't matter what their politics are.

The trance of unworthiness keeps the sweetness of belonging out of reach. The path to "the sweetness of belonging," is acceptance - acceptance of ourselves and acceptance of others without judgment.