“When we don’t tell those we love about what’s really going on or listen carefully to what they have to say, we tend to fill in the blanks with stories.”

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

Metta sees truly that our integrity is inviolate, no matter what our life situation may be. We do not need to fear anything. We are whole: our deepest happiness is intrinsic to the nature of our minds, and it is not damaged through uncertainty and change.

Forgiveness that is insincere, forced or premature can be more psychologically damaging than authentic bitterness & rage.

We find greater lightness & ease in our lives as we increasingly care for ourselves & other beings.

If we have nothing material to give, we can offer our attention, our energy, our appreciation. The world needs us. It doesn’t deplete us to give.

With attachment all that seems to exist is just me & that object I desire.

The combination of realizing our distinctiveness along with our unity is seeing interdependence.

With a clear intention and a willing spirit, sooner or later we experience the joy and freedom that arises when we recognize our common humanity with others and see that real love excludes no one.

Abiding faith does not depend on borrowed concepts. Rather, it is the magnetic force of a bone-deep, lived understanding, one that draws us to realize our ideals, walk our talk,and act in accord with what we know to be true.

To reteach a thing its loveliness is the nature of metta. Through loving kindness, everyone & everything can flower again from within.

The mind thinks thoughts that we don’t plan. It’s not as if we say, ‘At 9:10 I’m going to be filled with self-hatred.

If we fall, we don’t need self-recrimination or blame or anger – we need a reawakening of our intention and a willingness to re-commit, to be whole-hearted once again.

We need the courage to learn from our past and not live in it.

Meditation is a microcosm, a model, a mirror. The skills we practice when we sit are transferable to the rest of our lives.

Compassion grows in us when we know how the energy of love is available all around us.

You are a person worthy of love. You don’t have to do anything to prove that.

Listening is not understanding the words of the question asked, listening is understanding why the question was asked in the first place.

I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness.

If you get offended by my music, don’t listen to it.

There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.

Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.

I’ve often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people.

Hearing is listening to what is said. Listening is hearing what isn’t said.

Don’t listen to the person who has the answers; listen to the person who has the questions.