The Journey to Self Discovery

If we’re interested in living the freedom that we know is possible, we're asked to look at all the ways we keep ourselves separate from it.  And for some of us, one of those ways is to live in regret of our past actions. Here’s the scenario. Whether you intended to or not, you’ve done something that hurt someone else or yourself, and you just can’t let yourself off the hook. You can’t stop repeating the story of what you think you did wrong in your mind, convincing yourself that you’re damaged and unworthy. It’s like you’ve created a movie of what happened, and you keep pushing play—over and over. And the images of what you did and the choices you made recycle in your mind nonstop. If this is what’s happening to you, something needs to change for you to come to peace. If you continue to punish yourself and believe that you’re bad to the core, you’ll live in this shame forever. So how to release yourself from the prison of feeling bad about your past...

It’s always possible for a higher level of consciousness to infuse our experience in any moment. Say that you’re disappointed by something that someone says or does. You can stew in the story of what happened, or you can bring kindness to the pain you feel. Stewing in the story keeps you stuck and separate. And being kind to your emotions is more spacious and less stressful. You’re letting consciousness in by being aware of your in-the-moment experience—instead of being lost in the story. I’ve noticed a lot of people complaining recently, and it strikes me that they are totally caught in their stories. Someone was complaining about getting parking tickets, and I thought to myself, “This suffering is so unnecessary.” Read the signs and follow the rules, and like magic, you’ve freed yourself from getting tickets and the need to complain about them. And there’s no more room for enjoyment, presence, and peace. This is everyday awakening. In any moment, we can re...