Wisdom from Martha Beck I.

Any person who undergoes a dramatic shift creates a ripple effect, requiring change from others around her/him.

Attention is a powerful nutrient. It amplifies and accelerates the situations on which it is focused.

To liberate our minds enough to begin seeing alternatives, we must realize, prosaic as it seems, that we are physically capable of not doing almost everything we think we have to do.

Begin making choices based on what makes you feel freer and happier, rather than how you think an ideal life should look. It’s the process of feeling our way toward happiness, not the realizing of some Platonic ideal, that creates our best lives.

The nonverbal brain knows things you haven't put in words. What do you almost know? Let it come into your awareness; speak it.

The more respect you give your night dreams, the sooner they will become day dreams: ideas for new adventures, enterprises, and life strategies you may never have thought up while physically awake.—

Every time I have managed to eliminate all past and future thoughts from my brain and then accept the present moment absolutely, I've experienced the Stargazer’s incredible bliss, the feeling I can't possibly describe and you can't possibly imagine unless you've been there yourself.

I try to use the phrase "Tell me where I'm wrong" at least four or five times a day. Try it. You'll see that while insisting that you're right is gratifying, accepting that you're wrong can be transformative.

Whereas the physical immune system may create inflammation (a "flame" in the body), anger is like fire in the soul. Repressed, it destroys from the inside, by slow burn or explosion. Misdirected, it can blaze a path of destruction through your life and the lives of others. Cared for and properly used, it can warm you, light your path, fuel your progress, and keep hostile interlopers at bay.

I’ve developed the habit of mentally listing things that make me optimistic about the future. The simple act of hopeful thinking can get you out of your fear zone and into your appreciation zone - a habit that can replace anxiety with happy anticipation.

It seems to me at this moment that laughing is a serious thing, that it connects us with truth and love and God.—

This very day, do something brave to reduce any duplicity in your life. Stand up for yourself with someone who you've allowed to bully you. Apologize to someone with whom you may not have been entirely honest. Immediately- this is a promise- you will find the things you have been longing for drawing nearer to you.—

Right now, think of something about your life that is troubling you, something you want to change. For the next five minutes, instead of worrying about this thing, find a bright spot in the situation. You'll find the bright spots start to pop out more and your negative judgments fade.

An apology is the end of our struggle with history, the act by which we untangle from our past by accepting what it actually was. From this truthful place we are free to move forward, whether or not we are forgiven. Apologizing doesn't make us perfect, but it shows our commitment to be honest about our imperfections and steadfast in our efforts to do better.

As the Stargazer, you see that you are absolutely continuous with the rest of creation. You therefore love everything as yourself and have no doubt, none whatsoever, that you are infinitely loved in return by the entirety of which you are a part.