Be fearless, not tactless
Suppose a soldier feels inspired to fight fearlessly against a tyrannical invading army. But if he just charges single-handedly at that army, he will end [...]
How can we develop both materially and spiritually?
We may fear, “If we become too spiritually serious, that will undermine our material prospects. Conversely, if we become too materially ambitious, that will undermine [...]
Are we making things worse than they need to be?
Suppose we find ourselves in a place with fading light. Naturally, we will open our eyes wider to find our way. If instead we close [...]
When is fearlessness a facade for foolishness?
Suppose a child goes dangerously close to the parapet of a skyscraper. When his mother warns him, “Move away or you will fall down,” he [...]
Two ways to deter ourselves from wrongdoing
Suppose a child wants to sneak into the kitchen and eat all the cookies there, but doesn’t do so because his mother may discipline him. [...]
How humility is non-different from curiosity
Suppose we are driving for an important meeting but can’t find the venue. Even if we are driving a limo, we may not hesitate to [...]
The simple way to do something wonderful
Once an award-winning painter was asked, “How do you draw such magnificent paintings?” The painter’s reply: “One line at a time.” We often admire profusely [...]
You are not a negative thinker, even if your mind is
“You are such a negative thinker.” We may receive this discouraging feedback if we tend to look at problems in a given situation. Such labels [...]
When positive thinking affects our life negatively
“Think positively,” is an oft-circulated message in our self-help steeped culture. And it’s helpful to the extent it encourages us to look at a glass [...]
Tap the power of negative thinking
Yes, you read that right. We are discussing the power of negative thinking, not positive thinking. Every time a fire is prevented by an accessibly-placed [...]
Winning, whining, wining — or worshiping?
Suppose we strive to do something challenging. If we win, our mind becomes jubilant; if we don't, it often goes into a zone of negativity, [...]
Knowledge expands the avenues available for us to address those problems
Suppose someone is coughing. If they have no medical knowledge, they might just try to suppress their cough, which might make the disease worse. A [...]
The more we are emotional, the less emotions we have and the more our emotions have us
Emotions bring life to our life — if we had to live like emotionless robots, there wouldn’t be much to look forward to in our [...]
Purification means that sensual contemplation stops; determination means that we stop sensual contemplation
To grow spiritually and live meaningfully, we need to regulate sensual indulgence. For such regulation, we had best begin in the beginning: by minimizing our [...]
We can’t always move on from grief; we need to sometimes move on with grief
02.18 We can’t always move on from grief; we need to sometimes move on with grief When we lose a loved one, grief can overwhelm [...]
To differentiate between resoluteness and stubbornness, consider content, consequence and intent
When we stick to something rigidly, are we being resolute or stubborn? To understand the difference, we need to look at our action’s content, consequence [...]
The mind demands that others leave us alone and then complains they don’t care for us
Suppose someone who we care for is going through difficulties. When we try to help them, they demand from us, “Leave me alone”, but then [...]
When the mind complains about the shortage of enjoyable sense objects, contemplate the shortage of enjoyment in the supposedly enjoyable sense objects
Suppose we go to a hotel to eat a full meal and find that the delicacy we wanted is provided only in limited quantity. Our [...]
Avoiding some risks keeps us alive, taking some risks brings us alive
The world is filled with dangers that can overrun us if we aren’t careful. Avoiding unnecessary risks keeps us alive. Still, we want to not [...]
What we contemplate mentally, we cultivate mentally
Suppose we have a garden. We will be careful about what we cultivate there. And we certainly wouldn’t intentionally cultivate weeds or toxic plants. Unfortunately, [...]
Don’t fight against your bad habits — cultivate good habits and let them fight against your bad habits
When we have some bad habits, we often strive to get rid of them. If we fail repeatedly, we may become disheartened and quit. Why [...]