Wise Words for You

Develop the habit of getting up early and sitting in silence. Read a peaceful thought and reflect on it. Write down some ideas about this thought. Return to silence, allowing these ideas to take root inside you. Share your ideas with a person close to you. This practice will help you accept and cope with conflicts and difficult situations. It will help you stay happy and peaceful for the rest of the day.

The indication of balance in life is a sense of well-being, optimism and a clear conscience. The foundation for achieving this is to look after myself spiritually – making my mind peaceful, loving and thoughtful at all times. Then I will instinctively know how much to spend on my own well being and how much on fulfilling other responsibilities. I can only give my best to others when I am myself at my best.

The root of suffering is attachment. You have created a space in your mind that holds a person or object as part of you. When that person or object is criticized, neglected or not with you, you feel pain in your mind and you experience a sense of loss. If you want to be happy, you must learn to love and appreciate while remaining independent.

Rest does not come with sleeping, it comes with waking. This is both an insight and an action of enlightenment. When we are enlightened we realise that real rest is possible only when we become free of illusion and we no longer struggle against life. Illusion is the idea that people should be, and do, what we want them to. The truth is, all is as it should be, despite appearances, or our perceptions of others to the contrary.This means you can be easy on yourself, easy with others and easy with the world around you. Easiness is a virtue, an attractive one at that. It is much more influential than force. So quit forcing, end the struggling and…relax!

You bring out the best in others, because you see the best in others.

A slip of the foot I may recover, but a slip of the tongue leaves a deep imprint. Think before you speak, choose your words with care. Once out they cannot be withdrawn.

Give birth to new possibilities through your ability to reach into the future and let go of the past.

To never get angry is a tall order for almost any human being. So when we see anger as failure, and we try not to be angry and fail, it is so easy to turn the gun on ourselves when our anger comes. We blame ourselves and put ourselves down for not being able to control ourselves. Don’t turn the gun in yourself. Don’t give yourself a guilt trip. We spend our lives learning anger, so we are not going to unlearn all the beliefs and habits which create our irritations, frustrations and angers in a few days, or even a few weeks. (though some who really do ‘get it’ can change that fast). So be easy on yourself. Healing the inner scars, forgiving ourselves, transforming those habits, are all aspects of this inner work, and they take a little time. Be patient, be gentle and merciful with yourself. And if you do decide you want to forgive and heal yourself, if you do decide you don’t want to be a slave to others words and actions, if you do decide you want to be free of your negative f...

If your mind has any limited desires, they will not allow you to become content. When you are walking in the sun, your shadow goes ahead of you and if you try to catch it, you won’t be able to. When you turn around, your shadow will follow you. In the same way, desires attract you and make you cry. Let go of them and they will follow you. Those who ask for something can never become full and complete. To chase any limited desire is like trying to catch a mirage.

Silence, happiness, love and blessings are important aspects. Happiness leads to good health. It is only you who can give this medicine to yourself. Some bring illness to themselves through anger, greed, unfulfilled desires, expectations, suppression of feelings and relationships not based on true love. Look in your heart, you will know where your illness comes from. There are three ingredients for a long and healthy life: live with attention but without worry; use time in a worthwhile way; keep your thoughts pure, positive and filled with strength.

Love provides the environment for everyone’s growth. When I experience true love I can provide the right environment for people so that they can progress in their lives. Today I will not hold onto those I love nor expect them to do everything according to my needs, but instead will give them real support.

With habits, never give in or we lose our dignity. With the self, never give up or we lose our destiny. With others, never give your worst, or you will never develop your best. The saying, “what we give is what we receive”. The lesson: Just to give.

“…the caterpillar has the heart of a butterfly!” It is true that if we know within our hearts what we want to become, then we will become that.

Deep inside our consciousness is an oasis of peace. This is the molten core of the soul, but it is not hot, it is cool. Not passive, but a source of inner power to fuel our mind and intellect, so that we can create powerful thoughts and make accurate decisions. If you can learn to go to this centre, peace will be your companion, positivity your partner, and you will be able to chill out in one second, anywhere, anytime. Returning to the centre of your self is the journey of one second. It is the regular destination of clever souls. And it is the source of your power and peace.

There is a huge hole in the heart of all our educations. It is where the skills and abilities of self-management should be. No one teaches us how to manage our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour, so we find it hard to manage the four Rs – relationships, roles, responsibilities and resources. So let’s get started. Consciously choose the quality of your thoughts today – accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and clean up the waste. Everything, which means everything in your life, begins with your thoughts.

Most people don’t understand themselves or others. we need to make time for this. We get too impatient. Very often, because we are not willing to take this time, misunderstandings continue. We don’t take time to listen to someone quietly and try to understand them. Then we start inventing things about them, because we simply haven’t taken the time to understand.

The disease of anger needs the medicine of tolerance; the pain of disappointment needs the medicine of hope; the violence of revenge and spite needs forgiveness; fear needs courage, ego needs self-respect. Through inner silence we receive the strength to heal.

Comparing yourself with others will leave you vulnerable on three counts: you’ll either feel inferior, superior or impressed. All three of these states are dangerous because they all disregard the underlying principle of our true connection with each other – mutual love and regard, based on independently generated self-esteem. To protect yourself from this vulnerability, make sure that your attention remains turned within, towards the spiritual experience of pure pride. Staying centred in your elevated self-respect will help you remain undisturbed by others around you. Keep asking yourself, “Who am I?” “How would my spiritual personality respond to this event or person?” this will help to center you further, and allow you to enjoy the successful efforts of others.

It’s a great idea in sport. Too many fouls and your out of the game for a short period. The same happens in real life, but we are not aware of it. Sin essentially means forgetfulness, or more specifically, to forget yourself, to forget who you truly are, a pure, peaceful and loving spiritual being who occupies and animates a physical form. It is this forgetfulness that makes us commit what we call sinful action. If you are insulted by another person, and you become angry in response, the sin is the anger which you create not the insult. You are asleep to the truth that you just hurt yourself, and that you are the creator of your anger not the other person. And now you have a recording in your consciousness that contains an image of the other surrounded by the energy of anger. You put it there, not them. Next time you see them, up comes the anger again, and in that moment you are at your least effective, paralysed by self created anger, you are effectively out of the game until...

I express my care and concern by responding to situations with a cool head and to people with a warm heart. If I remain aware that as fellow human beings we are all part of one family, and that even the smallest of gestures can make a difference in people’s lives, I am always blessed with a caring heart. It takes so little to show that I care yet it can mean so much.

Artist impression of the 'new' Scotrail trains, having already clocked up millions of miles down south. ScotRail have been accused of introducing “new” trains – with 10million miles on the clock.  A fleet of refurbished InterCity 125 trains will come into service on routes from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Inverness and Aberdeen next year.  The 26 high-speed trains date back 40 years. They were introduced by British Rail in 1977. Having travelled about 1000 miles a day, they have now each covered about 10million miles. The InterCity 125s are being used by Great Western ­Railway in England, where replacement electric stock is being phased in. They are being leased for 12 years by Dutch operators Abellio, who will spend £54million refurbishing them. Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, said: “The InterCity 125 was a fine high-speed train when it came on track in the 1970s. “But it is ...

I think about you all the time, And every day it hurts to cry. So much has happened in my life, I'm not sure how hard to try. Tears are falling constantly, My heart hurts everyday. I think about your beautiful smile, That I pray I see again someday. The sweet smell of your perfume, Has slowly faded away. But all your helpful teachings, Are always here to stay. I can't express how much you taught me, So much I can't explain. All the times I can remember, Never once heard you complain. So many hearts were broken, The day God called you home. It seems as though each one of us, Were left to survive alone. I know there was a reason, That you had to leave. To keep us in your watchful eyes, So now in God I really do believe.

When there is stillness within, I can hear the voice of my own wisdom.

We live in a time of ‘take, take, take’. Something for nothing; buy one get one free. The truth of the matter is that simply by giving I will receive all that I need. Giving is receiving. Today let me find a way to ‘give’ unconditionally and with love. Give a smile; give a word of appreciation; give a thought of good wishes; give your co-operation for a task. Make today a day of giving and tomorrow you will receive the fruits.

Peace is not a passive attitude; it is an active state. It requires having constant attention and determination, in order to live and to respond as a peaceful being to any upset in life. You need to be brave and vigilant.

Two heaped cups of patience One heartful of love Two handfuls of generosity One headful of understanding and a dash of humour Sprinkle with kindness, add plenty of faith and mix well. Spread over a period of a lifetime and serve to everyone you meet.

To dwell on my mistakes stops me moving forward.

The best time to awaken both body and spirit is in the early morning. We are fresh, in solitude, and the vibrations of the world are at their calmest. It is not surprising that you will find all experienced meditators and yogis up with the dawn, inviting the sun of spirit to shine into the heart of their soul. The first half hour of conscious awareness will be the foundation of your day. Make an early start. Meditate, set the switch of your consciousness and calibrate your energy for the day. You’ll be surprised the difference it makes.

If I learn to create love in my heart and silently share it with everyone I meet, love will grace every corner of my life.

Rise above little things. Be a big thinker. You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, dream big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, image big, love big, live big. Carry that list and you’ll start feeling big. Be a believer and you’ll be an achiever.

Becoming aware of own gifts and those of others fills life with beauty. When I am aware of others’ unique gifts, I can encourage them to develop them. Using my own gifts enriches others as well as myself. At times of need, I am able to draw on these qualities.