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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Dan Millman
Read between
May 23 - May 25, 2020
But the lessons of experience are hidden.
“Everything you’ll ever need to know is within you; the secrets of the universe are imprinted on the cells of your body.
Realization is three-dimensional — a simultaneous comprehension of head, heart, and instinct. It comes only from direct experience.”
Life requires more than knowledge; it requires intense feeling and constant energy. Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive.”
You lack integration.
“It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others, or circumstances, for your predicament. As your eyes open, you’ll see that your state of health, happiness, and every circumstance of your life has been, in large part, arranged by you — consciously or unconsciously.”
When my body was active, my mind rested in the moments of silence.
The world was peopled with minds, whirling faster than any wind, in search of distraction and escape from the predicament of change, the dilemma of life and death — seeking purpose, security, enjoyment, trying to make sense of the mystery. Everyone everywhere lived a confused, bitter search. Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner — a corner they never turned.
Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change, free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is a law, and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.”
“Life is not suffering; it’s just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it, until you let go of your mind’s attachments and just go for the ride freely, no matter what happens.”
The brain is real; the mind isn’t.
first realize that you’re in prison — then we can plot your escape.”
Why defend a self you don’t even believe in?
Stress happens when the mind resists what is.”
You will be free of the world’s turbulence as soon as you stop taking your thoughts so seriously.
What you saw was only a vision, not a conclusive experience. It will fade into memory, but even so, it will serve as a reminder and reference point.
“Meditation consists of two simultaneous processes: One is insight — paying attention to what is arising. The other is surrender — letting go of attachment to arising thoughts. This is how you cut free of the mind.”
Everything is a lesson. Trust your life. Everything has a purpose,
“To rid yourself of old patterns, focus all your energy not on struggling with the old, but on building the new.”
“The irony of your present eating habits is that while you fear missing a meal, you aren’t fully aware of the meals you do eat.”
Just do your best.’”
The breath is a bridge between mind and body, feeling and doing. Balanced, natural breathing brings you back to the present moment.”
‘When you sit, sit; when you stand, stand; whatever you do, don’t wobble.’ Once you make your choice, do it with all your spirit.
“It’s better to make a mistake with the full force of your being than to timidly avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit. Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, action and consequence, then making a choice.”
Then my analytical mind piped in: Wow! A spontaneous mystical experience. The spell was broken.
“There are no ordinary moments!”
Meditation is a useful practice, but eventually you have to open your eyes and look around. The warrior’s life is a moving experience.”
Satori occurs when attention rests in the present moment, when the body is alert, sensitive, relaxed, and the emotions are open and free.
Satori is your key to the gate.”
“Meditating an action is different from doing it. To do, there is a doer, a self-conscious ‘someone’ performing. But when you meditate an action, you’ve already released attachment to outcomes. There’s no ‘you’ left to do it. In forgetting yourself, you become what you do, so your action is free, spontaneous, without ambition, inhibition, or fear.”
I saw that I had never learned how to enjoy life, only how to achieve. All my life I had been busy seeking happiness, not finding it.
The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
“Understand this above all,” he interrupted. “You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you expect or hope for. There have never been past warriors, nor will there be future ones. The warrior is here, now. Your sorrow, your fear and anger, regret and guilt, your envy and plans and cravings live only in the past, or in the future.”
You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability — to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is the warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.”
“Love is not something to be understood; it can only be lived.”
you, too, must teach by example what you’ve realized through experience.”
One day you’ll discover that death is not what you might imagine; but then, neither is life. Either may be wondrous, filled with change; or, if you do not awaken, both may turn out to be a considerable disappointment.”
Happiness is not just something you feel — it is who you are.”
Act happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.”
