When we make God our friend, we become our own friend
We are often our worst enemies. When we get some lucky breaks, we let them slip away because of laziness, distractedness and impulsiveness. When we [...]
When the mind says our victories are too small to count, cross-question it – What other way is there to big victories
When striving for self-mastery, we sometimes succeed in taking small steps forward. For example, suppose we find it difficult to wake up early in the [...]
Learn to wonder and ponder, not wander and pander
Babies tend to wander and pander. They wander wherever they can without considering where they are going and why. They typically pander to their tongue, [...]
When we limit our challenges, we can challenge our limits
Suppose an army is fighting a multifront war against a formidable enemy. For the army to succeed or even survive, it needs to limit the [...]
Tolerance empowers us when we focus on our purposefulness, not on our powerlessness
Some people feel that tolerating makes them powerless: “If things are going wrong and I just tolerate them without doing anything about them, am I [...]
The mind burdens us and deems as burdens those who offer to relieve our burdens
Suppose someone thrusts a huge burden upon us. We’ll feel annoyed, even angered, thinking: “Why do I have to carry this?” But, if they force [...]
Tolerance empowers us when we focus on our purposefulness, not on our powerlessness
Some people feel that tolerating makes them powerless. To know more about this verse, please click on the image Explanation of article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiSddd-O16Y&feature=youtu.be Podcast: [...]
The mind is a perpetual procrastinator – it postpones our resolutions to someday, then some decade and then some lifetime
Suppose we wanted to go somewhere important. If someone physically tied us up, we would struggle to break free. Yet if someone deterred us by [...]
Everything that happens may not be God’s plan, but God can make his plan work through everything that happens
When something terrible happens, we may question, “Is this God’s plan? Did God want this thing to happen?” Some people answer firmly in the affirmative, [...]
Our loudest desires won’t lead us to happiness – our deepest desires will
In a conversation, suppose one person speaks the loudest. That doesn’t make them right; the person who has given the deepest thought to the issues [...]
Trying to get even with others gets us at odds with ourselves
Whenever anyone hurts us, a natural human tendency is to want to get even with them, “The way you have hurt me, I will hurt [...]
Be not self-seeking, be seekers of the self
Self-seeking people care for their own pleasures, without caring for anyone else. Such people can’t be seekers of the self because what they seek is [...]
Devotion commences when God becomes our guide and culminates when he becomes our goal
To embark on any journey, we need to know the starting and ending points. In our devotional journey toward God, what are the starting and [...]
A God who pretended we had no shortcomings would be a God who did not take our potential seriously
Suppose a coach tells a trainee-athlete, “You are perfect; you have no shortcomings.” Such pampering suggests that the coach doesn’t see any potential in that [...]
Addiction is an abductor who extorts ever-increasing ransom but never releases
Suppose an abductor abducts a child and demands a huge ransom from the parents. Even after receiving the ransom, however, they don’t release the child, [...]
Complaining is no one’s birthright – and it has made no one’s birth right
Some people are chronic complainers. They self-righteously justify their negativity, irritability and disagreeability, “Can’t you see how many things have gone wrong in my life? [...]
If we are grateful when ability manifests through us, we can be graceful when it doesn’t
Amid life’s challenges, we all look for some ability that enables us to stand apart. On finding such an ability, we may become proud, delighting [...]
God is always ready to work with us, are we ready to work with him?
Suppose a reputed coach, who has helped many athletes excel, is eager to work with a budding athlete. That athlete would be profoundly grateful. But [...]
When you feel like giving up, start looking up – not sentimentally, but spiritually
When life seems overwhelming, we may feel like giving up. As a last-ditch effort, we may look up. Whether looking up will help depends on [...]
Everything in history is not in memory; everything in memory is not in history – intelligence means to know what belongs where, and to keep it there
History and memory are both records of the past. Yet they can differ significantly. Let’s see how. Everything in history is not in memory: Because [...]
The resilience of the human spirit reflects our longing for and our belonging to transcendence
Life is tough. The difficulties that befall us can be morale-sapping. One thing that inspires us to persevere is stories of people overcoming challenges. Their [...]