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Our reactions to life's ups and downs are so disproportionate, we create our own anguish and then blame other people for it. True mastery starts when we recognize that WE are the problem. If other people easily upset you, the problem isn't other people, it's your short fuse. May no-one and no-thing ever disturb your inner-peace.

This is how I personally cope with general anxiety and dismiss intrusive thoughts.

The difference between Sharing and Complaining, Supporting and Enabling, and how we can maintain a calm composure and peace of mind while listening to other people grumbling about one thing or another.

If you wait until you "feel ready" to make some changes in your life, you'll be waiting forever because "ready" is not a feeling, it's a decision. The way to embrace change instead of resisting it, even though we are wired to avoid what is different, is to stop thinking of change as scary or dangerous, and start getting excited about it (because change is going to happen whether you are ready or not).

Our need to belong is natural, healthy, and necessary, but the craving for acceptance is egocentric, fragile, and unstable. That's why many of us feel stuck between wanting connection, but resenting social convention pressuring us to conform in order to belong. The Buddha's realization was that he wasn't even separate from the tree under which he was meditating; they were one. We all are. My invitation is for us to bring that level of awareness into every interaction, and to see everyone and everything as an extension of ourselves. You don't need to "prove your worth," and you certainly don't need to pretend to be something you are not in order to belong. If you find value in these videos, please show your support at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/support — Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love.

The more consistently you take ownership of your inner world, the less you try to outsource your well-being. It starts by noticing how often you blame something or someone else for your misery, and you might also see how dependent you've become on something or someone else for your happiness. The peace we are chasing is not "out there" somewhere, it is patiently waiting for us to come back to ourselves and reclaim it from within.

We are all taught a language, but we are not taught how to communicate, which is the reason for so many arguments and misunderstandings. When the Buddha spoke of Mindful Speech, it wasn't just about avoiding gossip and verbal abuse. Mindful Speech is also about purposeful and meaningful communication. Words can be useless and lack meaning, or they can be rich and offer healing. In a world where it costs absolutely nothing to transform casual interactions into meaningful connections, there is no reason for dismissive, vague, or entitled comments between us. So, let's lead by example in our conversations, and be as truthful, sincere, and articulate as possible to make meaningful connections the new norm.

Trying to control someone is not the same as loving or caring for them. True compassion respects autonomy; it does not try to engineer outcomes. So, do not exhaust yourself trying to change what is not yours to fix. Peace comes from accepting what is, keeping in mind that acceptance does not mean approval, it simply means recognizing what is within our control, and gently releasing what is not.

Don't ignore the past, but don't cling to it, either. We are not what has happened in our lives, nor anything we have done, we are who we choose to become today. The Buddhist concept of Non-attachment is not about erasing who we were, it's about not being confined by it.

Imagine the inner-peace that comes from no longer trying to convince anyone of anything. What would happen if you choose NOT to argue? The mantra that keeps me silent 99% of the time is "The only thing I know for certain is that I don't know anything for certain, so I don't argue with anyone about anything, I just listen." Prioritizing inner-peace means diligently and consistently overriding the ego's desire to prove itself superior. As Wayne Dyer said, "Do you want to be kind, or do you want to be right?"

To avoid being self-obsessed and desperately seeking the approval of others, Buddhism invites us to remain focused on WHO we are (our character), and be less concerned with WHAT we are (our identity and all the labels we wear). Egocentric identities are performative and outwardly expressive in order to be noticed, recognized, and praised, while your character isn't loud, it isn't censored, filtered, or polished to imitate perfection, because it doesn't seek attention. Your character can't be labeled, photographed, or quantified. Character is what's left after you lose everything that can be lost. Character is who we are in the dark 🙏

To practice the timeliness of mindful speech, I personally use the W.A.I.T acronym, which stands for "Why Am I Talking?" It serves as a reminder to pause before speaking. WAIT can also stand for Why Am I Texting? Why Am I Troubled? Or Why Am I Triggered? I've learned the hard way that speaking even the most true and kind words can create conflict if the person speaking them or hearing them is not in their right frame of mind.

We all have bind spots, and I was recently made aware of one of my own. Since I'm committed to being honest and transparent, it's important that I not only share my "Ah-ha Moments" with you, but also my "Oh-oh Moments" when I fail to see things clearly. I thought exclusivity was the same as discriminatory, but now, thanks to you, I see how my own point of view was limited because of a blind spot. Thank you for walking beside me on this journey, even when I slip and fall. I appreciate you.

The reason we frequently argue, fight, and get so easily frustrated, is not because we don't understand each other, it's because we think we can. Even people who go through seemingly identical experiences emerge completely different on the other side. So, if it's inner-peace you are after, start by accepting that although empathy and compassion go a long way, you can't truly understand anyone else no matter how hard you try. Nobody is capable of seeing the full picture from anyone else's point-of-view. So, instead of making ourselves miserable by constantly trying to do the impossible, we can let go of our perceived "need" to know, and just let the mystery be.

Are you brave enough to see yourself without any of the masks you wear at work, at church, on social media, or wherever you claim to have moral standards and beliefs to which your behavior doesn't actually conform? Of the twenty or so obstacles on the spiritual path, hypocrisy may be the hardest to face, but it's the easiest to overcome. Eliminating the internal conflict of claiming to be one thing but being another is how we bring what we think, say, and do, into harmonious alignment. Without it, life can be unbearable, and true happiness unattainable. At least be brave enough to listen and think about it. Authenticity is both terrifying and liberating at the same time. As Kurt Cobain said, "I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not."