“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you have, it depends solely on what you think.”
As seen in ayrial.com. Although the Buddha is often credited with that quote, its origin doesn’t really matter. Few people would dispute its message. So if most people would agree that our thoughts determine how we feel, then why are we not very good at monitoring our thoughts? The analogy of The Three Rooms can…
The Present Room
“You are always present,” is one of the best compliments that someone can give you. It means you are here, right now. It means you not only show up for work or appointments, but you show up for life. When you are with people, you’re fully engaged. Your thoughts are not back in the Past…
Growing Up
We all hope to grow into the person we want to become—to grow into the person we already are—but just don’t know how yet. We’ve all seen glimpses of that awesome person inside of us, and these moments made us feel good. We’ve also seen the not-so awesome side of ourselves, which hasn’t made us…
Every Day Is Halloween
Once a year, on Halloween, we walk around knowing that people aren’t really who they appear to be on the outside. For one day, we withhold our usual judgment. We don’t look at people in costumes and masks and say, “There’s Batman, he’s a good guy” or “There’s the Riddler, he’s a bad guy.” We…
“You Can” People versus “You Can’t” People
We can only be defined by what we think and say about ourselves. We cannot be defined by what other people say about us unless we allow it. When we listen to what other people tell us we can do, we start to doubt ourselves. It chips away at our self-confidence and we succumb to…
War of Words
One of the lessons we teach children is that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Don’t let what other people say bother you. Simple, right? But even though we learned this as children, we don’t practice it as adults. We know name-calling shouldn’t bother us, but it does.…
We Are Not Victims
Typically, we blame others for our own inability to take responsibility for our actions. We become the victim, and there’s usually a lot of sympathy for the victim. Sometimes playing the “victim card” makes people feel better because they like the sympathy. But too often, they play the role of the victim even though they…
Guilt Breeds Misery
We have all heard the expression “misery loves company.” The root of all misery is guilt, and guilt loves company, too! So we project our subconscious guilt onto others to make ourselves feel better. This may work momentarily, but it only succeeds in making us feel guiltier because we haven’t been completely freed of the…
Anxiety Attacks
If you’ve never had an anxiety attack, you can’t fully appreciate how debilitating it can be. During one, anxiety physically attacks your body by constricting the flow of blood to your heart. This is why panic attacks are often confused with heart attacks. Millions of people suffer from anxiety attacks each year. What brings on…
The Underdog Generation
Everyone loves it when an underdog wins. Their victories are thrilling. These types of outcomes are unexpected. They rarely happen because most underdogs listen to the rhetoric about how they have no chance of winning, and they accept it. They may say, “We’re going to give it our best shot” or “We hope to make…
Observing Your Behavior
How would you describe yourself? Think of all the characteristics you believe you possess. Now, how would others describe you? Would they list the same characteristics? We often see ourselves completely differently from how others view us. That is why it is imperative that we observe our own behavior—constantly. Opportunities to do this crop up…
Where’s God?
We tend to believe there is nothing wrong with us. Anything not going right in our lives is almost always someone else’s fault. “Did you see what he did to me?” “Did you hear what she said?” “What was she thinking?” On a grander scale, we always have God to blame. With so much human…
The Three Rooms
We know we can physically be in only one place at a time. However, mentally traveling to the past or future is not only possible, but something we do constantly, at warp speed, without even knowing it. With our thoughts, not only is time travel possible, but seemingly inevitable. Unlike the physical body, our thoughts…
How Our Thoughts Create Our Experience of Life
Everyone in this world wants to feel happy. In our modern world, the media around us is constantly inviting us to buy things, eat things, and do things with the promise they will make us feel good. But what really makes us happy? If happiness were all about things, why are some people always happy…
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Who Am I?
People on a spiritual path frequently ask themselves, “Who am I?” It is an iconic question that has been asked for generations. The answers can only be revealed when we look within— but that’s not where we usually look. We generally define who we are in the physical world by what other people see—our appearance,…
Recharge Your Internal Mobile Device
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a mobile device—at least, no one older than ten. You can’t walk down the street without seeing people glued to their smartphones. In the morning, everyone makes sure their mobile device is charged. People seem to pay more attention to how much power they have left on their…
