More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
our spiritual practice (sadhana), the association that we keep (sanga), our character (sadachar) and our service to God and to others (seva).
When we comfort someone, it is easy to fall into their sorrowful energy, which can
perpetuate their suffering. It’s important that we bring positive, non-judgemental energy into these conversations.
‘How can love that started so pure evaporate so quickly?
Making choices in life is like buying something at a shopping mall. The
sales assistant may show us all the products available, telling us the pros and cons of each of them, but we must make the choice in the end. The final decision is our responsibility. ‘I’m not your guru, I’m your friend,’
‘There is a traffic jam within our minds, Harry. And that traffic jam is stopping each one of us from reaching our true potential. Imagine if we knew how to clear this disruption. No fumes of insecurity causing us to cough, no one honking at us, distracting us from what’s important and plenty of fuel to sustain us so that we can live a life worth living.’ There were no
‘The traffic of the mind,’ I smiled at him. ‘The mind is what we use to perceive the world. We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. Like your sunglasses
‘There are so many positive things happening in our community,’ he started. For the next forty-five minutes, he did not mention a single complaint I had made. He only focused on the positives, uplifting my mood. ‘I am not saying these problems don’t exist, but the real problem is that when negativity consumes the mind, not only do we lose the vision to see the beautiful things around us, but also the ability to solve the problems that confront us. We have to train our mind to focus on the positive and feel empowered to deal with the negative.’ He
I could sense a ‘but’. ‘But how long did your positive attitude last? Are you telling me that Radhanath Swami just told you to be positive and it miraculously happened?’
‘Well the miracle lasted at least an hour until lunchtime,’ I laughed. ‘This state of mind develops over time, and I realized that fully while eating lunch.’
I may have perceived faults in them in the past, but they had all helped me in my journey.
I learnt on that day that when we think negatively of people, we should immediately counteract that energy by contemplating three positive qualities they have.
Gratitude is not a feeling; it is a state of mind that can be developed, and it allows us to tap into a reservoir of unlimited positive energy. Being grateful happens in two steps. The first is to realize that there is good in the world and that good has fallen upon us. The second is to know that goodness is coming from something other than us, an external reality is giving the gifts of grace to our very own reality.
Check out this quote.
This could be our family, our friends, nature and even God. We have so much to be grateful for!
Statistically, we always have more to be grateful for than ungrateful. Ingratitude means to forget the blessings in our life, to ignore the kind things people have done for us. It is not just positivity we feel when we embrace gratitude. Better sleep, the ability to express more kindness, feeling more al...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
‘So gratitude is the key to remaining positive and happy?’ Harry confirmed. ‘Certainly,’ I replied. ‘It’s not the happy people who are grateful; it’s the grateful people who are happy. Does that make sense?’
Gratitude has many layers to it. Let’s understand them thoroughly.’
The artist was the internationally renowned violinist, Joshua Bell. Thirty-nine at the time of the experiment, Bell
Bell had filled Boston’s stately Symphony Hall, where run-of-the-mill seats sell for $100. This was a test of context, perception and priorities:
The stats were dismal. In the forty-five minutes that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped and hung around for at least a minute, twenty-seven gave money amassing a grand total of $32.
‘One’s ability to appreciate beauty is related to one’s ability to make moral judgements,’
Art in a gallery and art in a coffee shop are going to be treated differently.
‘There is one evidence-based thing we can do. The only price is commitment and consistency. This is writing a gratitude log daily, which is based on three principles of gratitude: recognize, remember and reciprocate.’
Human nature is such that when we please others, we feel pleased ourselves.
discourse
we focus on earning at the expense of our learning in our professional lives.
Outside ourselves: The majority of our time is spent in connecting with the world—networking, relationships, our work. It’s all crucial, but can lead us astray if we have no inner direction. The fear of missing out, thinking that the grass is greener elsewhere,
and living a life out of balance are all symptoms of having incorrectly prioritized happiness
it is as if a light bulb is getting connected to an entire powerhouse. A bulb on its own is just a piece of glass
It does not become peaceful just because you say so. It needs to be controlled. Therefore, meditation is a discipline that helps us control the mind. For
‘Even understanding the concept of meditation takes time.
If we are not proactive in our relationships, they start to seem dry and become cumbersome. We have to have respect for the other person, which is reflected in how sensitively we treat them.’
(this was the only part of the safety demonstration which I had mastered)
Frequent international travel and social dealings have taught me a valuable lesson, which is to fight the strong urge to judge someone based on an initial interaction with them.
too much praise can go straight to the head.
How we behave towards others determines the quality of our life.
My golden rule to know whether or not you are being adequately sensitive to another person is: treat someone better than you would like to be treated.
Ask yourself the question, ‘Does my tone of voice, body language and behaviour reflect sensitivity?’
‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’
‘When we are overly familiar with people, we forget how important they are to us and the correct way to behave with them.
enunciating
retorted,
inanimate
Insensitivity becomes part of our general attitude, and our instinct does not discriminate between things and people.
reverence
takes two hands to clap
‘Yes, at times, we incite the response that people give us.
‘They are always looking for the nectar that flowers possess and avoid lingering where there is dirt. We should be like the bee—always seeing the best in people and choosing to avoid their faults.’
‘You know something, darling? I got up early this
