“I observe but do not second-guess others’ thoughts”
Source: A World of Yoga: 700 Asanas for Mindfulness and Well-Being
“If true fulfilment cannot be found in worldly pleasures, where can it be found? Happiness is a state of mind, therefore the real source of happiness lies in the mind, not in external circumstances. If our mind is pure and peaceful we shall be happy, regardless of our external conditions.”
Source: The New Meditation Handbook: Meditations to Make Our Life Happy and Meaningful
“…we use the dopaminergic power of the happiness of pursuit to motivate us to work for rewards that come -after we are dead- depending on your culture, this can be knowing that your nation is closer to winning a war because you’ve sacrificed yourself in battle, that your kids will inherit money because of your financial sacrifices, or that you will spend eternity in paradise. It is extraordinary neural circuitry that bucks temporal discounting enough to allow (some of) us to care about the temperature of the planet that our great-grandchildren will inherit. Basically, it’s unknown how we humans do this. We may merely be a type of animal, mammal, primate, and ape, but we’re a profoundly unique one.”
Source: Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
“Lying is not only saying what isn't true. It is also, in fact especially, saying more than is true, and, in the case of the human heart, saying more than one feels.”
“Who's the Joker, playing with our perception?
Who's that thief, grabbing our attention?”
Source: On My Way To Infinity: A Seeker's Poetic Pilgrimage
“If someone is the street were entrusted with your body, you would be furious. Yet you entrust your mind to anyone around who happens to insult you, and allow it to be troubled and confused. Aren't you ashamed of that?”
Source: How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life
“We’re made of three parts, Maggie. Our mind, our heart, and our gut. When we listen to one of those parts, we lose our way. The heart isn’t cautious enough, so it leads us to try and find love where there is only emptiness. The mind is too rational, so it ignores the softer needs of the heart and doesn’t leave room for forgiveness. The gut is instinctive, but we ignore it because it causes quick flashes of reaction so deep inside that the heart and mind can easily swamp it. But it’s the gut we need to learn to listen to. It’s holds the deepest sense of what we need and will give us the quickest feeling about when something is right or wrong”
“Interestingly, pathological liars have atypically large amounts of white matter in the prefrontal cortex, indicating more complex wiring.”
Source: Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
“Pretty straightforwardly, the more categories of adversities a child suffers, the dimmer his or her chances of happy, functional adulthood.”
Source: Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
“It is debatable which one of us is the insane one.”