Sharon Salzberg

“Cultivation of positive emotions, including self-love and self-respect, strengthens our inner resources and opens us to a broader range of thoughts and actions.”

“As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them.”

“As we work to reweave the strands of connection, we can be supported by the wisdom and lovingkindness of others.”

“When emotions are long held and extremely complex, it sometimes takes years for them to enter fully into awareness.”

“It is so powerful when we can leave behind our ordinary identities, no longer think of ourselves primarily as a conductor, or writer, or salesclerk, and go to a supportive environment to deeply immerse in meditation practice.”

“We like things to manifest right away, and they may not. Many times, we're just planting a seed and we don't know exactly how it is going to come to fruition. It's hard for us to realize that what we see in front of us might not be the end of the story.”

“Ultimately, we forgive others in order to free ourselves.”

“People turn to meditation because they want to make good decisions, break bad habits & bounce back better from disappointments.”

“We have to know ourselves to know where we end and another person begins, and we have to develop the skills to navigate the space between us. Or else we will seek wholeness through false means that honor neither us nor those we love.”

“In more ways than any of us can name, love is wrapped up with the idea of expectation.”

“We think of ourselves as our titles or our jobs or our position in a family. We depend on being praised by others. But something happens when that praise is undermined.”

“For all of us, love can be the natural state of our own being; naturally at peace, naturally connected, because this becomes the reflection of who we simply are.”

“We truly can reconfigure how we see ourselves and reclaim the love for ourselves that we’re innately capable of.”

“Mindfulness won’t ensure you’ll win an argument with your sister. Mindfulness won’t enable you to bypass your feelings of anger or hurt either. But it may help you see the conflict in a new way, one that allows you to break through old patterns.”

“Forgiveness is a personal process that doesn’t depend on us having direct contact with the people who have hurt us.”

“Effort is the unconstrained willingness to persevere through difficulty.”

“The practice of sympathetic joy is rooted in inner development. It’s not a matter of learning techniques to “make friends and influence people.” Instead, we build the foundations of our own happiness. When our own cup is full, we more easily share it with others.”

“Patience doesn't mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process that's unfolding, rather than ripping open a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry up and get that chrysalis stage over with.”

“We all want to be happy. We need to expand the notion of what that means, to make it bigger and wiser.”

“Some people have a mistaken idea that all thoughts disappear through meditation and we enter a state of blankness. There certainly are times of great tranquility when concentration is strong and we have few, if any, thoughts. But other times, we can be flooded with memories, plans or random thinking. It's important not to blame yourself.”