Have you ever said something hurtful in a moment of frustration and later felt awful about it with self-talk like: How could I have said that? What was I thinking?! Although it’s important to acknowledge and honor difficult emotions when they arise, if they run the show the results are usually disastrous. If fear or confusion is in the driver’s seat, you’re sure to be headed for trouble. That’s why integrity—acting in alignment with your values—is one of the essential components to awakening joy. A key to inner peace is learning the power of delayed gratification with regard to impulse control. We often don’t realize that we can choose a longer lasting well-being by foregoing the quick gratification of hastily acting …
Category Archives: Integrity
Loving the Truth
The most direct way to access true happiness is to bring more consciousness into our lives. In order to do that, we have to be willing to take an honest look at our experience. This can often be a challenging endeavor. It’s been said that self-awareness is usually bad news. But the alternative is going through our lives unconsciously. That route almost guarantees repeating habitual behavior based in greed or aversion that will likely lead to more suffering for others and ourselves. We might think that ignorance is bliss but in the long run, as we are willing to face the truth, we can wake up and create genuine well-being for ourselves. Something deep within us loves the truth. We are …
Angeles Arrien
We are grateful to have this footage of Angeles Arrien from her presentation at last year's Awakening Joy course. Angeles passed away last week. She was a real wisdom teacher and friend to our community--a true bodhisattva with a beautiful spirit of generosity and love of life. Please keep her in your thoughts.