"This tendency to defend a belief structure is true in all cases, even the rational. Never underestimate our ability to convince ourselves of what we wish to be true, especially if we have invested time and money in our beliefs."

"The moments of peace in between the mental practices are meditation."

"You are here and you can't escape it. Thoughts about why you came to be here and a poor - me mentality will not help you to resolve the situation. You cannot avoid being here now, in this present moment, in this unfortunate predicament. Your choices, lack of choices, or accidental events, have led you to this moment. That cannot be changed no matter how much you think about it. The only things that can be changed in this present moment are your thoughts and actions right now. Take a deep breath and totally accept this moment."

"Love is the most complex of all human phenomena. It exists on a spectrum from tolerance and kindness to romantic love and self - sacrifice, reaching its pinnacle in altruism, a love that needs nothing in return."

"Why lie, Robert? Why lie? You know that lying is the alcoholics kryptonite, you can't afford it, the reasonable voice in his head screamed."

"Goals and dreams are the entrepreneur's mental energy. However, the same goals and dreams that drive his behavior will also drive him to an early grave if he doesn't take care of his physical energy through a mix of exercise and relaxation. Energy manipulation is the ability to feed the mind with dreams and sustain the body so it will keep up with those dreams."

"You are wrong about that, you know, Dr. Andersen replied calmly. This, right here - us talking, sitting in this overlit room, a bunch of shrinks watching us through the tinted windows - this is the dream. The peace you felt before, that is reality. It is the I. The only part of existence that does not change, that cannot change, that will not change. You may not be ready to understand this quite yet, but if you continue meditating, you will."

"If you want to increase your self - confidence as a yoga teacher very fast ' go out there, face your fears, and teach as much as you possibly can!"

"Ever since the Enlightenment era in the 17th and 18th Centuries - which, among other things, gave birth to the U.S. Constitution and the de facto motto E Pluribus Unum (out of the many, one) - interfaith tolerance has been sown into the fabric of Western society. The rules of one religion are not made into law for all citizens because of a simple social agreement. For you to believe what you want, you must allow me to do the same, even if we disagree."

"The only thing that seems to differ between the major schools of meditation is the point of concentration. Some traditions use mantras, others follow the breath, some have their eyes open, others have their eyes closed, some use simple words, others use prayers and the list can go on. Despite extravagant claims to the contrary, modern research has found no significant difference between the points of concentration at the beginning stages of meditation, which means it doesn't really matter which mantra, word or phrase you choose to begin with. The main thing is to practice whatever meditation method that you have chosen; sit still and let the mind settle."

"For years I tried to help people with simple things, such as tension relief through breathing and relaxation, but all they wanted were the drugs. They wanted to numb themselves. They did not want to face their fears or feel better through their own efforts - and they certainly did not want to be illuminated."

"There is not a single person I have met in my lifetime who is comfortable talking about death. It's the biggest downside to our youth - centric culture. Death is a bummer, so let's not talk about it. Let's hide it away and hope it never strikes close to home."

"Self - confidence is not a fixed way of being. People are not born with certain levels of self - confidence, it can be acquired, and it can be lost."

"Motivated authors sacrifice TV time, sleep, hobbies, and even family time."

"Concentration is the doorway through which the meditative state becomes available."

"Authors, such as William Zinsser, Steven Pinker, Natalie Goldberg, and Stephen King, who have all written exquisite books on the art and craft of writing, have reminded me that it is the commitment to the craft that matters the most; the longing to get better and the countless hours of work that go into writing and rewriting. To them I am eternally grateful."

"Interspirituality is not for everyone, but, for those of us who are interested, we have never lived in a better time to explore interspiritual practices. For the first time in history, we have easy access to all of the world's scriptures and spiritual traditions."

"If you decide to focus on one thing at a time, instead of trying to solve everything at once, and just do that one thing, then you will feel a sudden decrease in stress."

"The upside of approaching spiritual practices like an experiment is that there can be no failure, only different outcomes. Whatever happens, you will learn about yourself and your relationship with the divine along the way."

"One myth that has become established in the self - development arena is that it only takes 21 days to form a new habit. This simply isn't true in all cases. Sometimes it takes a shorter time, sometimes a longer time, and sometimes old habits are so hard to break that new ones never take hold."

"Imagine a time before you had ever had chocolate. Going to lectures about chocolate would have been interesting. Reading about chocolate might have increased your appetite. But only tasting chocolate would have really made you understand how good chocolate can be. Only tasting - only experience."

"Many people say that time heals all wounds, but that simply is not true. People can become more bitter, arrogant and spiteful with age."

"Whether one is remaining alert (mindfulness), focusing on a single thought or phrase (mantra), or mentally exploring ones inner world (visualization), all are one form of concentration or another."

"Although the repetition of a word or phrase is a preparatory practice and is itself not meditation, choosing a word or phrase that honors your belief system can be the linchpin you need for your mediation practice, providing both motivation and philosophical coherency."

"For reasons unknown, the philosophical aspect of the yoga movement has had to make way for the yoga fit revolution; today's image of a yogi is a slender and scantily clad young female doing postures on the cover of a bestselling magazine, whereas the older image was of an Indian man with long beard sitting in a cave wearing a loin cloth."

"Meditation is an interesting practice. It is so simple that anyone can learn how to do it. You sit still, relax, concentrate, gently struggle with the mind, and create moments of peace. That's it. I have revealed my trade secret. Of course there is a little more to it, but not much. However, that doesn't mean that meditation is easy. By comparison, swimming is also simple, yet, it takes years of practice to become good at swimming, especially if you want to swim at sea. Running is even simpler. Nonetheless, we all know that in order to become a good runner, practice is imperative. And for both you need coaches. The same is true about meditation. Simple is not the same as easy."

"Everyone knows that a quick - fix usually doesn't work, yet we have all been sold on the idea time and time again. Most of us would like to believe in miracle drugs and fast relief. The truth is that most of the quick fixes for stress focus on temporary relief from tension or pain. Temporary, as in, the problem will return with a vengeance. This doesn't mean we should never take drugs to alleviate tension or pain, it just means that taking drugs is not a viable permanent solution; it's just a temporary relief."

"Being positive all the time is such a catchy idea, and it's easy to preach. I guess that's why it is popular. But life reveals itself in successions of up's and down's and if you plan to be positive all the time you will definitely fail."

"There is no such thing as lack of time, only unclear priorities and lack of motivation. It is better to abandon a project than to work on it half - heartedly for a protracted period of time."

"Short term goals are often based on dissatisfaction, and actions based on dissatisfaction will eventually lead to a life of unhappiness."

"Letting go of the past does not mean that we should try to forget everything that has happened to us and not learn anything from our previous thinking patterns and actions. Letting go simply means that we do not allow the past to control our current thoughts and actions."

"One of the hallmarks of great teachers is that they rejoice when their students surpass them. Encouraging an atmosphere of questioning and inviting people to grow within your classroom isn't necessarily easy, which must explain why people who want to create cults or die hard followers discourage questioning in general. They would rather have people reciting their dogma than asking hard questions."

"Simplicity is everywhere in nature, and meditation is a natural state. Meditation is a state of peaceful equilibrium, the fourth state of consciousness, and is always available to every single human being."

"In its purest form the term meditation means two things; (1) the state of meditation, which resembles deep dreamless sleep while awake, and, (2) the practices that lead to the state, usually a combination of relaxation and concentration techniques."

"But death can't be the final word, can it? I mean, look at this fire. The wood that we threw on it has been decimated, or so it seems, but in reality, the wood has been transformed into gasses and ashes. I think about that, you know, about how nothing is ever destroyed, but only changes form."

"While having information is a crucial first step, more information isn t necessarily better. Take a look at your bookshelves and the list of seminars you have attended. If you have read more than one book about a subject or attended more than one seminar but still haven't reached your goals, then your problem is not lack of information but rather lack of implementation."

"Fear and anger, the two emotions that most people came to him to reduce - emotions that he'd worked so hard to overcome in his own life - were fuel for politicians. Maybe candidates and congressmen thought that sowing discord among countrymen, even family members, was an unfortunate type of collateral damage. Maybe they didn't think about it at all."

"Growth seems to evolve from a narrow - minded, constricted worldview (selfish) to an ever - more - encompassing worldview (multiperspective caring). To put it simply, the more self - centered you are, the lower you tend to land on these scales, while the more perspectives you can entertain - the more empathy you can show and the better your ability to see things from a variety of viewpoints - the higher you land on these scales."

"For example, the call for equal rights has perverted into 'let's all be the same. Male and female biological differences are discounted, because 'male and 'female are considered 'outdated social constructs, and while that is partially true, the social construct stance becomes clear reductionism when it totally discounts clear differences in male and female biology (i.e., androgyny is not the same as equality)."

"The worst possible approach to a problem is waiting until it becomes overwhelming or irreversible, and that is exactly what many people do. They put dealing with stress on the backburner until they start to experience all the worst symptoms of stress, and by then, it may be too late!"

"History has taught us that when understanding and tolerance are fostered, people of different faiths can live together in harmony. Regrettably, history has also taught us the opposite, that such states of equilibrium can quickly degenerate and succumb to rhetoric of anger and fear, sometimes leading to violence and even war. A balance of mutual respect and tolerance needs to be maintained through good works. Interrelations need continual nurturing."

"Stress - free moments certainly exist, but that is the extent of it. People, who have bought into the idea of a stress - free life, believe they should be happy and positive all the time. They have been sold a damaging falsehood. As the first sentence in M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Travelled famously said: 'Life is difficult. Learning to deal effectively with life's difficulties, learning to manage the inevitable stress of life is attainable, while eliminating stress is not."

"We are known to be anti - authoritarian, anti - institutional, and notoriously anti - religious - more likely to quote Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Monty Python, or Star Trek than the Bible."

"We all want results and we want them fast. But, when practicing meditation, impatience is a hindrance."

"Relaxation is, a state between waking and sleeping, where the body is completely still and the mind is allowed to flow freely from one thought to another, or alternately, a state in which the mind becomes inadvertently calm."

"Being a good parent is not an obligation, it is a choice. Plenty of people fall short in the parent category and quite a few refuse to accept it. You will do a much better job if you understand that taking care of your children is a choice not an obligation."

"You see, meditation is not a fabricated state. It is natural. It is accessible to all. And in the same way that a person who learns how to run, can run any time they want to, or, a person who knows how to play an instrument can play music at will, once you learn how to meditate, you can create your moments of peace at will."

"Not everything that is related to yoga is equally beneficial."

"If you stick with the definition of spirituality as a peaceful internal state (a.k.a. deep, dreamless sleep while awake), then you will ignore some of the hallucinatory experiences that are bound to happen when you sit in silence (studies have shown that, in such circumstances, the mind often creates elaborate experiences and stories that are reminiscent of dreams) and refrain from interpreting them as something otherworldly."

"No one can save time. It's not like money. You can't deposit the time you save into an account and use it later. Time passes. Time is a constantly depleting resource. Once it's gone, it's gone, and you will NEVER get it back."