âReal peace and contentment in our lives come from realizing that life is a process to engage in, a journey down a path that we can choose to experience as magicalâ.
âWhen we learn to focus on and embrace the process of experiencing life, whether weâre working toward a personal aspiration or working through a difficult time, we begin to free ourselves from the stress and anxiety that are born out of our attachment to our goals, our sense that âI canât feel happiness until I reach my goalâ.â
âThis âgoalâ always takes the form of someplace we have not yet reached, something we donât yet have but will at some point, and then, we believe, all will be right in our lifeâ.
âWhen we subtly shift toward both focusing on and finding joy in the process of achieving instead of having the goal, we have gained a new skill. And once mastered, it is magical and incredibly empoweringâ.
âHowever, the practicing mind is quiet. It lives in the present and has laser-like, pinpoint focus and accuracy. It obeys our precise directions, and all our energy moves through it. Because of this, we are calm and completely free of anxiety. We are where we should be at that moment, doing what we should be doing and completely aware of what we are experiencing. There is no wasted motion, physically or mentallyâ.
âIf you are not in control of your thoughts, then you are not in control of yourselfâ.
âA paradox of life: The problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of themâ.
âWe have a very unhealthy habit of making the product â our intended result â the goal, instead of the process of reaching that goalâ.
âWe erroneously think that there is a magical point that we will reach and then we will be happyâ.
âThe word practice implies the presence of awareness and will. The word learning does not. When we practice something, we are involved in the deliberate repetition of a process with the intention of reaching a specific goalâ.
âWhen you focus on the process, the desired product takes care of itself with fluid ease. When you focus on the product, you immediately begin to fight yourself and experience boredom, restlessness, frustration, and impatience with the processâ.
âWhen you focus your mind on the present moment, on the process of what you are doing right now, you are always where you want to be and where you should beâ.
âIn order to focus on the present, we must give up, at least temporarily, our attachment to our desired goalâ.
âWhen you shift your goal from the product you are trying to achieve to the process of achieving it, a wonderful phenomenon occurs: all pressure drops awayâ.
âWe waste so much of our energy by not being aware of how we are directing itâ.
âRemember, judgment redirects and wastes our energyâ.
âIn summary, creating the practicing mind comes down to a few simple rules: Keep yourself process oriented. Stay in the present. Make the process the goal and use the overall goal as a rudder to steer your efforts. Be deliberate, have an intention about what you want to accomplish, and remain aware of that intentionâ.
âThe problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of themâ.
âAs we attempt to understand ourselves and our struggles with lifeâs endevours, we may find peace in the observation of a flower. Ask yourself: At what point in a flowerâs life, from seed to full bloom, does it reach perfection?â
âMost of the anxiety we experience in life comes from our feeling that there is an end point of perfection in everything that we involve ourselves withâ.
âStop yourself during the day as much as you can and ask yourself, âAm I practicing flowerlike qualities and staying in the present with my thoughts and energies?ââ
âIt is our ego that makes us create false ideas of what perfect is and whether we have reached itâ.
âHabits are learnt. Choose them wiselyâ.
âYou cannot change what you are unaware ofâ.
âWhat is required is that you are aware of what you want to achieve, that you know the motions you must intentionally repeat to accomplish the goal, and that you execute your actions without emotions or judgment; just stay on course. You should do this in the comfort of knowing that intentionally repeating something over a short course of time will create a new habit or replace an old oneâ.
âAll the patience you will ever need is already within youâ.
âConstantly reviewing new ideas creates, in a sense, a new habit of perceiving and processing our lives, a habit that brings us the sense of clarity we long for every dayâ.
âThere are not that many ideas in this book; just a few, and they have always been there for us to discover. But they slip away from us in our daily lives so easily. They need to be studied over and over again from different angles so that they become a natural part of usâ.
âExperiencing impatience is one of the first symptoms of not being in the present moment, not doing what you are doing, and not staying process orientedâ.
âThe first step toward patience is to become aware of when your internal dialogue is running wild and dragging you with itâ.
âThe second step in creating patience is understanding and accepting that there is no such thing as reaching a point of perfection in anythingâ.
âProgress is a natural result of staying focused on the process of doing anythingâ.
âWhen you stay on purpose, focused in the present moment, the goal comes toward you with frictionless easeâ.
âWhen you constantly focus on the goal you are aiming for, you push it away instead of pulling it toward you. In every moment that you look at the goal and compare your position to it, you affirm to yourself that you havenât reached it. In reality, you need to acknowledge the goal to yourself only occasionally, using it as a rudder to keep you moving in the right directionâ.
âCheating discipline doesnât workâ.
âThe real thrill of acquiring anything, whether it is an object or a personal goal, is your anticipation of the moment of receiving it. The real joy lies in creating and sustaining the stamina and patience needed to work for something over a period of timeâ.
âWhen you let go of your attachment to the object you desire and make your desire the experience of staying focused on working toward that object, you fulfill that desire in every minute that you remain patient with your circumstancesâ.
âSimplicity in effort will conquer the most complex of tasksâ.
âThe four âSâ words are simplify, small, short, and slowâ.
âSimplify. When you work at a specific project or activity, simplify it by breaking it down into its component sectionsâ.
âSmall. Be aware of your overall goal, and remember to use it as a rudder or distant beacon that keeps you on courseâ.
âShort. Now you can also bring short into the equation: âIâm going to work at cleaning the garage for forty-five minutes a day over the next few days until it is completely clean'â.
âSlow. Incorporating slowness into your process is a paradox. What I mean by slow is that you work at a pace that allows you to pay attention to what you are doingâ.
âNon-judgment is the pathway to a quiet mindâ.
âEquanimity is defined as even-temperedness and calmnessâ.
âIt is because equanimity comes from the art of non-judgment. Non-judgment quiets the internal dialogue of our mindâ.
âOur concepts of ideal and perfect are always changingâ.
âWhat we consider good or bad for ourselves doesnât stay the sameâ.
âWisdom is not a by-product of age. Teach and learn from all those around youâ.
âWith deliberate and repeated effort, progress is inevitableâ.