Paul, thanks, I love all three, and am curious about the rest of the items in your list of 50! If I had to pick one favorite among the top three it would have to be #3.
I have to tell you Priya, this post of yours gave me such a heart lift🥰 I just awoke from a nap (I'm still jet lagged from a visit 'down under') and today it's so grizzly outside here in Southern NH with grey skies and an ice storm making the branches on each tree bend down low with buds of little icicles (the spelling of icicle looks wrong, but I checked and it says that's it.) And I love reading your writing and I love the idea of your post and I love the quotes you shared too!
And my favorite instructions for living a life come from Mary Oliver:
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
P.s. in response to this that you write: "I’m going to write essays about these three topics - dreams (what do they mean, where do they come from), ***the self (can we trust ourselves?)*** and living in the heart of a paradox- over the next three weeks."
In another lovely moment of synchronicity, Jamie and I had a Buddhist sutta study Zoom gathering today with a Buddhist monk friend, and he was talking a lot about the *self* and how "self" is just a construct that often creates suffering. (I think what the Buddhists call "self" Eckhart Tolle calls "ego" - i.e. that sense of self we identify with as being superior or inferior.)
We discussed the difference between:
What is it that gives rise to joy?
vs.
How can I feel joy?
And how the latter often brings grasping/clinging. The sense of *self* is embedded in the quest. What the sense of self is and how it keeps slipping into the picture.
Camilla, thank you! I love the perspectives you share. As I wrote that I was going to write about trusting self, I thought of how a teacher from long ago talked about attachment to the self as the problem! I almost talked myself out of writing that essay right there 😀. Or, should I write from the Jungian perspective of the archetype of the Self? I guess I will have to think about it!
I'm so enjoying Beth Kempton's writing class at the moment called, INK & FLAME and am a bit obsessed with the metaphor of fire and fuel and volcanos representing what wants to come into our conscious awareness from our unconsciousness. Perhaps you have lots percolating in your unconsciousness about what is the "self" and what do we trust. I can't wait to read what comes through you Priya😁♥️🙏🕊️
This is so rich. It feels simple but not easy. I look forward to reading more. I don’t think I can top “work your dreams, trust yourself, and live the questions.” 😊 I might add “Don’t take anything personally,” and really any of the other Four Agreements. I also feel great affinity for Bucky Fuller’s advice: “You don’t change things by fighting the existing reality. To make change, build a new reality that makes the old one obsolete.”
Julie, I love the Four Agreements and the Buckminster Fuller quote. I'm looking forward to exploring the three topics though sometimes it feels like they are just different aspects of one whole. Like J. Krishnamurti said, "Do you want to know what my secret is? I don’t mind what happens.”
"Thanks to a young friend, I have started writing letters again." Good for you! Toward the end of 2024, I wrote three letters, in long hand, not typed on a keyboard, and the response in all three cases was shock and surprise that I would take the time and give some extra thought to the content. That doesn't mean we can't do that on the computer but most of us who have compared the 3 pages exercises, hand written journals and writings know the difference between the two different processes. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard. The brain, hand, pen, paper experience asks us in some ways to be more fully engaged with the process and perhaps to think more deeply about what we want to say.
Gary, you're so right! Writing letters by hand is a practice I'd more or less let go off. But, restarting it has made me more present while writing, more reflective, and sometimes, I am surprised by what emerges from the pen. Thank you!
Priya, I love your writing so much. I love standing with you, watching the sky. Thank you for this perfectly described moment. How do you do it? It’s beautiful.
My three instructions are: trust yourself. Take your imagination seriously. Trust yourself more. Love everything around you as much as you can and if you can’t, trust yourself enough to say, that’s it! I’ve had it! Give me something I can love even better!
I have about 50 in my Personal Owner's Manual, but here are 3 that come to mind:
1. We all have everything within us to live a fulfilling and happy life
2. Forgive, then forget
3. Don’t compare yourself to others
Peace Priya!
Paul, thanks, I love all three, and am curious about the rest of the items in your list of 50! If I had to pick one favorite among the top three it would have to be #3.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, comparing is a good one. Here is a link to my big list of personal values: https://pau1.substack.com/p/my-owners-manual-for-2022
Let me know which others you like!
I have to tell you Priya, this post of yours gave me such a heart lift🥰 I just awoke from a nap (I'm still jet lagged from a visit 'down under') and today it's so grizzly outside here in Southern NH with grey skies and an ice storm making the branches on each tree bend down low with buds of little icicles (the spelling of icicle looks wrong, but I checked and it says that's it.) And I love reading your writing and I love the idea of your post and I love the quotes you shared too!
And my favorite instructions for living a life come from Mary Oliver:
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
P.s. in response to this that you write: "I’m going to write essays about these three topics - dreams (what do they mean, where do they come from), ***the self (can we trust ourselves?)*** and living in the heart of a paradox- over the next three weeks."
In another lovely moment of synchronicity, Jamie and I had a Buddhist sutta study Zoom gathering today with a Buddhist monk friend, and he was talking a lot about the *self* and how "self" is just a construct that often creates suffering. (I think what the Buddhists call "self" Eckhart Tolle calls "ego" - i.e. that sense of self we identify with as being superior or inferior.)
We discussed the difference between:
What is it that gives rise to joy?
vs.
How can I feel joy?
And how the latter often brings grasping/clinging. The sense of *self* is embedded in the quest. What the sense of self is and how it keeps slipping into the picture.
♥️🙏🕊️
Love this, Camilla. It makes me think of that teaching that happiness is not a goal. Happiness is an outcome of making soul-centered choices.
ooh, I love that too Julie!🥰♥️🙏🕊️
Julie, I’m reminded of this quote from the Dalai Lama.
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
YES!!
Camilla, thank you! I love the perspectives you share. As I wrote that I was going to write about trusting self, I thought of how a teacher from long ago talked about attachment to the self as the problem! I almost talked myself out of writing that essay right there 😀. Or, should I write from the Jungian perspective of the archetype of the Self? I guess I will have to think about it!
Yes, more fuel for the Fire🔥
I'm so enjoying Beth Kempton's writing class at the moment called, INK & FLAME and am a bit obsessed with the metaphor of fire and fuel and volcanos representing what wants to come into our conscious awareness from our unconsciousness. Perhaps you have lots percolating in your unconsciousness about what is the "self" and what do we trust. I can't wait to read what comes through you Priya😁♥️🙏🕊️
Thank you, Camilla!
Three exciting premises, Priya! I look forward to reading them. Your post today was simply exquisite. Loved every word.
Jeanine, thank you!
This is so rich. It feels simple but not easy. I look forward to reading more. I don’t think I can top “work your dreams, trust yourself, and live the questions.” 😊 I might add “Don’t take anything personally,” and really any of the other Four Agreements. I also feel great affinity for Bucky Fuller’s advice: “You don’t change things by fighting the existing reality. To make change, build a new reality that makes the old one obsolete.”
Oh, I love that Buckminster Fuller quote Julie! And I love the 4 agreements too!🥰♥️🙏🕊️
Julie, I love the Four Agreements and the Buckminster Fuller quote. I'm looking forward to exploring the three topics though sometimes it feels like they are just different aspects of one whole. Like J. Krishnamurti said, "Do you want to know what my secret is? I don’t mind what happens.”
What a great quote! My dad always said, “The trick with familly is not to take anything personally.”
Don’t focus on outcomes. Do less not more. Sleep well. ☺️
"Thanks to a young friend, I have started writing letters again." Good for you! Toward the end of 2024, I wrote three letters, in long hand, not typed on a keyboard, and the response in all three cases was shock and surprise that I would take the time and give some extra thought to the content. That doesn't mean we can't do that on the computer but most of us who have compared the 3 pages exercises, hand written journals and writings know the difference between the two different processes. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard. The brain, hand, pen, paper experience asks us in some ways to be more fully engaged with the process and perhaps to think more deeply about what we want to say.
Gary, you're so right! Writing letters by hand is a practice I'd more or less let go off. But, restarting it has made me more present while writing, more reflective, and sometimes, I am surprised by what emerges from the pen. Thank you!
Priya, I love your writing so much. I love standing with you, watching the sky. Thank you for this perfectly described moment. How do you do it? It’s beautiful.
My three instructions are: trust yourself. Take your imagination seriously. Trust yourself more. Love everything around you as much as you can and if you can’t, trust yourself enough to say, that’s it! I’ve had it! Give me something I can love even better!
That’s more than three but that’s what I’ve got.
Give me something I can love even better is such a great call to adventure! Rebecca, thank you! I’m a huge fan of your writing!
This post felt deep and visceral in a way I can’t really explain, Priya. I really liked it. It was moving and beautifully written.
I also really liked your three points and I look forward to reading about each of them individually as you delve deeper in the coming weeks. :)
Thank you, Michael! Your company and support are much appreciated!