Becoming Your Own Therapist Quotes

“When you’re among peaceful, generous, happy people, you’re inclined to feel happy and peaceful yourself. When you’re among angry, aggressive people, you tend to become like them. The human mind is like a mirror. A mirror does not discriminate but simply reflects whatever’s before it, no matter whether it’s horrible or wonderful.”
― Lama Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist & Make Your Mind an Ocean

“Don’t worry. When the time is right, you’ll meet your teacher. When you’re ready, some kind of magnetic energy will bring you together with your teacher.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“The human mind has the potential for infinite development. If you can discover, even in a small way, that true satisfaction comes from your mind, you will realize that you can extend this experience without limit and that it is possible to discover everlasting satisfaction.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Lord Buddha never put much emphasis on belief. Instead, he exhorted us to investigate and try to understand the reality of our own being. He never stressed that we had to know what he was, what a buddha is. All he wanted was for us to understand our own nature. Isn’t that so simple? We don’t have to believe in anything. Simply by making the right effort, we understand things through our own experience, and gradually develop all realizations.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Whether you get up one morning with a foggy mind and the world around you appears to be dark and foggy, or you awaken with a clear mind and your world seems beautiful and light, understand that these different impressions are coming from your own mind rather than from changes in the external environment. Instead of misinterpreting whatever you experience in life through wrong conceptions, realize that it’s not outer reality, but only mind.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Lord Buddha himself taught that basically, human nature is pure, egoless, just as the sky is by nature clear, not cloudy. Clouds come and go, but the blue sky is always there; clouds don’t alter the fundamental nature of the sky. Similarly, the human mind is fundamentally pure.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Problems exist in the minds of individuals. You have to solve your own problems, no matter what kind of society you live in—socialist, communist or capitalist. You must check your own mind. Your problem is not society’s problem, not my problem. You are responsible for your own problems just as you’re responsible for your own liberation or enlightenment.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Q: What is nirvana and do many people attain it?

Lama: When you develop your powers of concentration such that you can integrate your mind into single-pointed concentration, you will gradually diminish your ego’s emotional reactions until they disappear altogether. At that point, you transcend your ego and discover an everlasting, blissful, peaceful state of mind. That is what we call nirvana. Many people have attained this state and many more are well on their way to it.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“When the powerful wisdom that understands the nature of the mind arises, the dark clouds of ego disappear. Beyond the ego—the agitated, uncontrolled mind—lie everlasting peace and satisfaction. That’s why Lord Buddha prescribed penetrative analysis of both your positive and your negative sides. In particular, when your negative mind arises, instead of being afraid, you
should examine it more closely.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Like modern science, Buddhism talks about the existence of billions and billions of galaxies. The consciousness of a person born on earth may have come from a galaxy far away, drawn here by the force of karma, which connects that person’s mental energy to this planet. On the other hand, the consciousness of a person dying on this earth may at the time of death be karmically directed to
a rebirth in another galaxy, far from here. If more minds are being drawn to earth, the population increases; if fewer, it declines. That does not mean that brand new minds are coming into existence. Each mind taking rebirth here on earth has come from its previous life—perhaps in another galaxy, perhaps on earth itself, but not from nowhere.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Initially it’s difficult to accept the idea of reincarnation because these days it’s such a new concept for most people, especially those brought up in the
West. They don’t teach you continuity of consciousness in school; you don’t study the nature of the mind—who you are, what you are—in college. So of course, it’s all new to you. But if you think it’s important to know who and what you are, and you investigate your mind through meditation, you will easily come to understand the difference between your body and your mind; you will recognize the continuity of your own consciousness; from there you will be able to realize your previous lives. It is not necessary to accept reincarnation on faith alone.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“It is important to be conscious in your everyday life. The nature of conscious awareness and wisdom is peace and joy. You don’t need to grasp at some future resultant joy. As long as you follow the path of right understanding and right action to the best of your ability, the result will be immediate, simultaneous with the action. You don’t have to think, “If I spend my lifetime acting right, perhaps I’ll get some good result in my next life.” You don’t need to obsess over the attainment of future realizations. As long as you act in the present with as much understanding as you possibly can, you’ll realize everlasting peace in no time at all.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“It is very important that you become your own psychologist. Then you can treat yourself through
the understanding wisdom of your own mind; you’ll be able to relax...”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Meditation is an alert state of mind, the opposite of sluggishness; meditation is wisdom. You should remain aware every moment of your daily life, fully conscious of what you are doing and why and how you are doing it.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Question: Lama, as I understand it, you said that the basic problem is that individuals lose touch with their own nature. How do we lose touch with our own nature? Why does it happen? Lama: One reason is that we are preoccupied with what’s going on outside of ourselves. We are so interested in what’s going on in the sense world that we do not take the time to examine what’s going on in our minds. We never ask ourselves why the sense world is so interesting, why things appear as they do, why we respond to them as we do. I’m not saying we should ignore the outside world, but we should expend at least an equal amount of energy analyzing our relationship with it. If we can comprehend the nature of both the subject and the object, then we can really put an end to our problems. You might feel that materially your life is perfect, but you can still ask yourself, “Does this really satisfy me? Is this all there is?” You can check your mind, “Where does satisfaction really come from?” If you understand that satisfaction does not depend only on external things, you can enjoy both material possessions and peace of mind.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist & Make Your Mind an Ocean

“The mind is very powerful. Therefore, it requires firm guidance. A powerful jet plane needs a good pilot; the pilot of your mind should be the wisdom that understands its nature. In that way, you can direct your powerful mental energy to benefit your life instead of letting it run about uncontrollably like a mad elephant, destroying yourself and others.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Recognizing the dissatisfactory nature of our existence and renouncing the world in which transitory sense objects contact transitory sense organs to produce transitory feelings, none of which are worth grasping at, we seek instead the everlasting, eternally joyful realizations of enlightenment or nirvana.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“All of us, the religious and the non-religious, Easterner and Westerner alike, want to be happy. Everybody seeks happiness, but are you
looking in the right place? Perhaps happiness is here but you’re looking there. Make sure you seek happiness where it can be found.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“If the religious theory that you learn does not serve to bring happiness and joy into your everyday life, what’s the point? Even though you say, “I’m a practitioner of this or that religion,” check what you’ve done, how you’ve acted, and what you’ve discovered since you’ve been following it […] If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom, then obviously it’s worthwhile. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Without understanding how your inner nature evolves, how can you possibly discover eternal happiness? Where is eternal happiness? It’s not in the sky or in the jungle; you won’t find it in the air or under the ground. Everlasting happiness is within you, within your psyche, your consciousness, your mind. That’s why it is so important that you investigate the nature of your own mind.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Buddhism is a method for controlling the undisciplined mind in order to lead it from suffering to happiness. At the moment, we all have undisciplined minds, but if we can develop a correct understanding of its characteristic nature, control will follow naturally and we’ll be able to release emotional ignorance and the suffering it brings automatically. Therefore, no matter whether you are a believer or a nonbeliever, religious or not religious, a Christian, a Hindu, or a scientist, black or white, an Easterner or a Westerner, the most important thing to know is your own mind and how it works.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“There’s a very strong connection between the body and the mind. In Tibetan tantric yoga, we take advantage of that strong connection: by concentrating strongly on the body’s psychic channels we can affect the mind accordingly. Therefore, even in everyday life, the food you eat and the other things your body touches have an effect on your mind.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“You can see from your own life experiences how the environment can affect you. When you’re among peaceful, generous, happy people, you’re inclined to feel happy and peaceful yourself. When you’re among angry, aggressive people, you tend to become like them. The human mind is like a mirror. A mirror does not discriminate but simply reflects whatever’s before it, no matter whether it’s horrible or wonderful. Similarly, your mind takes on the aspect of your surroundings, and if you’re not aware of what’s going on, your mind can fill with garbage. Therefore, it is very important to be conscious of your surroundings and how they affect your mind.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Like modern science, Buddhism talks about the existence of billions and billions of galaxies. The consciousness of a person born on earth may have come from a galaxy far away, drawn here by the force of karma, which connects that person’s mental energy to this planet. On the other hand, the consciousness of a person dying on this earth may at the time of death be karmically directed to a rebirth in another galaxy, far from here. If more minds are being drawn to earth, the population increases; if fewer, it declines. That does not mean that brand new minds are coming into existence. Each mind taking rebirth here on earth has come from its previous life—perhaps in another galaxy, perhaps on earth itself, but not from nowhere.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“The Mahayana Buddhism of Tibet certainly does contain an unbroken oral tradition of teachings on the development of supernormal powers, which has passed from realized guru to disciple from the time of the Buddha himself down to the present ...”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“Q: Could you please explain the relationship between meditation, enlightenment and supernormal mental powers, such as seeing the future, reading other people’s minds and seeing what’s happening in a place that’s far away?

Lama: While it’s definitely possible to achieve clairvoyance through developing single-pointed concentration, we have a long way to go. As you slowly, slowly gain a better understanding of your own mind, you will gradually develop the ability to see such things. But it’s not that easy, where you meditate just once and all of a sudden you can see the future or become enlightened. It takes time.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“It is very important that you become your own psychologist. Then you can treat yourself through the understanding wisdom of your own mind; you’ll be able to relax...”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“These days, people study and train to become psychologists. Lord Buddha’s idea is that everybody should become a psychologist. Each of you should know your own mind; you should become your own psychologist. This is definitely possible; every human being has the ability to understand his or her own mind. When you understand your own mind, control follows naturally.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist

“When Lord Buddha spoke about suffering, he wasn’t referring simply to superficial problems like illness and injury, but to the fact that the dissatisfied nature of the mind itself is suffering. No matter how much of something you get, it never satisfies your desire for better or more. This unceasing desire is suffering; its nature is emotional frustration.”
― Thubten Yeshe, Becoming Your Own Therapist