The Inner Work: An Invitation to True Freedom and Lasting Happiness

by Mathew Micheletti

The best way to find compassion is to see that your experiences are impersonal and not actually about you, but just what you are experiencing. Do not confuse the limiting, internal dialogue inside your mind as the ultimate reality. One of our favorite sanskrit mantras to repeat is “neti, neti”—meaning “not-this.” I am not my past. I am not my trauma. I am not this fear. I am not this thought. I am not this guilt. I am not this doubt. I am not this story.

the source of our dissatisfaction is the mind’s internal dialogue, not the subject of its complaints.

The desire to hide, deny, or reject our insecurities, pain, anger, or sadness ultimately only hurts us further. When repressed and buried, our emotions will slowly poison us from within. For, every denial and rejection of our emotions is only a rejection of our Self. If we resist the existence of our shadows, they will only continue to thrive through our denial and fear of them. To feel is to heal.