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“I spent many late nights during medical school using my brain to think about the brain and then using my mind to ponder the irony of it. How exactly do we separate and distinguish the mind from the brain? I can operate on the brain but not on the mind, but operating on the brain can forever alter the mind. It's a dilemma of causality - a circular reference problem like the perennial question of what came first, the chicken or the egg.”

“It's the same with the wound in our hearts. We need to give them our attention so that they can heal. Otherwise the wounds continue to cause us pain. Sometimes for a very long time. We're all going to get hurt. But here's the trick - they also serve an amazing purpose. When our hearts are wounded that's when they open. We grow through pain. We grow through difficult situations. That's why you have to embrace each and every difficult thing in your life.”

“When your mind wanders away from your breath it's not good or bad. It's just doing what it does. Just notice it. Then guide it back to your breath. Help it focus again. That's all. You just have to show it who is in control.”

“In a way, it was easier for me to quiet my mind with my eyes open. It was when I closed my eyes and everything went dark that most of my worries came rushing out. In the dark there was no distraction, and every fear seemed to want to come out and play.”