Unbroken - Motivational Video

Perspective

It's all in your perspective.



"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."
 - Camille Pissarro

"What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are." - C.S. Lewis

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - Robertson Davies

Thoughts Are Things by Henry Van Dyke

I hold it true that thoughts are things; 
They're endowed with bodies and breath and wings;
And that we send them forth to fill
The world with good results, or ill.

That which we call our secret thought
Speeds forth to earth's remotest spot,
Leaving its blessings or its woes
Like tracks behind it as it goes. 

We build our future thought by thought,
For good or ill, yet know it not. 
Yet, so the universe was wrought.
Thought is another name for fate;
Choose, then, thy destiny and wait,
For love brings love and hate brings hate.

- Henry Van Dyke

Insight

Often when it seemed I found 
Goodness here, there, all around,
I saw, on closer scrutiny,
The goodness come from inside me.

Why did the whole world seem to smile? 
Because I laughed with it awhile. 
Why was all earth so bright with sun?
Because my light heart gave it one.

What made the future seem so bright,
The past seem dear, the future right?
What was it set the day apart?
The peace of God within my heart.

Since then, when life looks dark and grim, 
My assets small, my prospects dim,
I push dark thoughts back on the shelf 
And seek for heaven in myself.

-unknown

The Four Agreements

Rooted in traditional Toltec wisdom beliefs, four agreements in life are essential steps on the path to personal freedom:  

1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

- by Don Miguel Ruiz

How To De-Stress: Spend Time By Water

Change and Trials: Imagine Yourself As A Living House

On dealing with change and trials:

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to?

The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace." 

- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

The Art of Zen: Zen Things

Why Forgiveness Has The Power To Heal and Make You Whole Again

One of the heaviest emotional burdens we carry is a lack of forgiveness — for others and especially, for ourselves.

We can forgive even if we refuse to tolerate someone's behavior.

The Healing Power Of Forgiveness

When we hold onto a resentment, grievance, shame, guilt, or pain from the past, our entire body-mind suffers. Our body produces excessive amounts of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which over time can compromise our immune system, and potentially contribute to cardiovascular disease.

Hostility is an inflammatory emotion and, as researchers have found, the number one emotional risk factor for premature death from heart attacks and strokes. Hostility is also linked to autoimmune disorders. It’s not a coincidence that we speak of people “dying from a broken heart,” or describe a betrayal as “a stab in the back,” or say that a deep loss was “gut wrenching.”

As we’ve known for more than three decades, the body and mind are inextricably connected.

Fortunately, this body-mind is incredibly flexible, and when we let go of the emotional toxicity, our body immediately begins to return to homeostasis, which is a state of self-healing and self-regulation. On an emotional level, the benefits of forgiving and releasing the burden of judgment are valuable beyond compare. In forgiving, we free ourselves from attachments to the past, and we clear encumbrances that constrict our heart and accelerate the aging process.

When we lend our energy to forgiveness, we increase our capacity for compassion and love for everyone around us, including ourselves.

Ultimately forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves.

Forgiving, Not Condoning
It is common for people to resist forgiving someone out of the belief that forgiveness in some way condones that person’s actions. But forgiveness isn’t about condoning an action that caused pain for us or others. It doesn’t imply that we tolerate a thief who has stolen, our partner who has cheated, or the child who told a lie. We can forgive even if we refuse to tolerate someone’s behavior and no longer want that person to be part of our life.

Ultimately forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves. We can benefit from forgiving even if the person we forgive isn’t aware of our feelings or is even no longer alive.

Consider the inspiring words of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned by the South African government for 27 years, yet emerged without bitterness for his captors. He stated, “As I walked out the door toward my freedom I knew that if I did not leave all the anger, hatred and bitterness behind, I would still be in prison.”

Even knowing the value of forgiveness, many people doubt whether they will ever be able to forgive and fully let go. But rest assured, we all have the ability to forgive, for it is the nature of life to release toxicity and return back to wholeness.

At the same time, forgiveness often doesn’t happen in one fell swoop. Particularly in cases of deep violation, forgiveness is often a process that requires you to forgive one layer at a time. Sometimes you have to forgive someone many times before you finally let go of all the emotional residue of the past.

Yet as you take steps to restore peace in your heart, you will feel a shift. Every act of forgiveness and letting go is an act of healing your own self. As you practice it on a regular basis, you will feel lighter as you expand your capacity for flexibility, love and compassion.

by Deepak Chopra