Saying no to temptation doesn’t mean much if we don’t mean no
Suppose someone we know succumbs to an unworthy temptation. On being confronted about their wrongdoings, they may apologize and promise to never repeat that lapse. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Use cleverness to counter corruptness, not cover corruptness
We all have a certain amount of cleverness and a certain amount of corruptness. Our cleverness enables us to go beyond the appearance of things [...]
Virtue that is more talked than walked is not necessarily infertile, it may just be infantile
Suppose someone speaks big things, but doesn’t live accordingly. We may dismiss their talk as big bluster: “What they speak is infertile – nothing comes [...]
To take sole credit for our abilities is to put too much burden on ourselves
Amid life’s inevitable struggles, we all seek some abilities that help us thrive or at least survive. When we discover some such abilities, we naturally [...]
When nothing feels filthy, everything may be tidy – or everything may be filthy
Suppose we enter a tidy room. If we cast one thing around carelessly, it stands out as an eyesore. But if the whole room is [...]
Even if we can’t stop feeling sensual urges, we can stop feeding sensual urges
Suppose we live in a forest cabin. We may not be able to prevent the arrival of unwanted animals. But we can avoid feeding them, [...]
Stop playing games with your mind – and with those who play games with your mind
Suppose a person starts playing with a poisonous snake, treating it like a pet or a toy. They would be courting danger. Suppose they had [...]
If we let our mind devalue our efforts to improve our life, it will end up devaluing our entire life
We sometimes try to do some things to improve our life. Though we start enthusiastically, soon our mind starts devaluing our efforts: “Even if you [...]
Seek the association that warns us about our urges, not warms us to our urges
Suppose we meet a stranger belonging to a group that is hostile to us. Naturally, we would be reserved while dealing with them. But if [...]
Our deepest desires should direct us from within, not disappear within
Suppose we have something precious that we are afraid of losing. We may keep it carefully, deep inside a secret safe. However, if we don’t [...]
See memory not as an exhaustive guide to the past, but as a constructive guide from the past to the future
We usually think of memory as a tool to remember the past. Actually however, the past is too vast to be remembered entirely or accurately. [...]
Experience becomes our best teacher when we experience the Best Teacher
As the common saying goes, experience is the best teacher. But we see so many people who don’t learn from experience; they keep repeating the [...]
For changing yourself, focus on comprehending yourself, not on criticizing yourself
Suppose someone criticizes us constantly about something we are doing. Instead of understanding where we are coming from, if they simply judge and condemn us, [...]
Manage the garbage in your mind, and minimize the garbage to manage in your life
Garbage that is not cleared often tends to multiply – even if it is kept in a bin, the bin starts stinking or polluting the [...]
What we feel doesn’t fell us, what we will does
When we strive to free ourselves from impurities, we may still feel impure desires rising in our consciousness. To not become disheartened by such desires, [...]
We rarely do things without a reason, but reason is rarely behind the things we do
Suppose someone does something stupid or terrible. If they are asked why they did what they did, they usually come up with some justification for [...]
Be terrified about how terrible you can be, to never become that terrible
Suppose we read about some people doing terrible things, such as terrorists murdering innocent people. We may feel revolted, “What kind of human being would [...]