Buddha's Little Instruction Book

The popular author Jack Kornfield has a nifty pocket-sized book called Buddha's Little Instruction Book.  Here are a few bits of wisdom from the Buddha:

No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.

Through  our senses the world appears.  Through our reactions we create delusions.  Without  reactions the world becomes clear.

It is not our preferences that cause problems but our attachment to them.

Joy and openness come from our own contented hearts.

Whatever path of action you find that brings good and happiness to all, follow this way like the moon in the path of the stars.

A Prayer for the Soul

From Marianne Williamson's popular Illuminata:

Dear God,
On this day I ask for new life.
I ask to be reborn in spirit and mind.
I choose to consider as possible, through the
     grace of God, the total transformation of my
     mind and body.
The mystical nature of who I really am is
     known to You, dear God, but not to me.
Let me see revealed the depth and power of my
     true Self.
Amen.

It is man's foremost duty to awaken the understanding of the inner Self and to know his own real inner greatness.  Once he knows his true worth, he can know the worth of others.

          --Swami Muktananda

True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out--we must stay out; and to stay out one must have some absorbing errand.

          --William James

From the great doctor Gordon Livingston, M.D.

Pithy thought for the New Year.

"To the degree that one's choices become constrained by the need to avoid anxiety, one's life shrinks."

Dr. Livingston's other writings include the books Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart (which I plan to re-read in January) and And Never Stop Dancing:  Thirty More True Things You Need to Know Now.  Visit his website at www.gordonlivingston.com

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

          --Calvin Coolidge

We are not alone.
The spirits of those gone before guide our
     steps, our traditions, our beliefs.
We are not alone.
The care of those around us leads us to
     healing and wholeness and comfort.
We are not alone.

          --Mohawk/Onondaga Healer