The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self

as you keep making one-degree turns toward integrity, go gently and check in often with your inner teacher.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”

“Know what you really know, feel what you really feel, say what you really mean, and do what you really want.”

Neuroscientists have shown that meditators who’ve spent many hours observing their thoughts and focusing on compassion have less neural activity in parts of the brain associated with negative emotions, and unusually dense neural tissue in areas linked to empathy, love, and joy. The longer these people practice, the greater the change. They are lite

Considering this painful thought, ask the following four questions. Don’t give answers that are quick or glib: if you want freedom from suffering, let the questions sink into your consciousness and notice what arises from deep within you. Is it true? (Yes or no. If no, move to question 3.) Can I absolutely know that it’s true? (Yes or no.) How do I

For an American, admitting to such total ignorance is anathema. We aim to know everything. We’re socialized to think that not knowing is stupid and shameful. But in traditions like Zen, “don’t know mind” refers to a way of thinking that’s free from rigid concepts, as clear and fluid as air.

Every day you make thousands of tiny decisions about what to do with your time. Every single choice is a chance to turn toward the life you really want. Repeatedly putting a little less time into what you don’t love, and a little more into what you do love, is your next step on the way of integrity.

Dropping into enlightenment Start by sitting with both hands outstretched, palms up. Get comfortable. By actually lifting your hands, you’re activating both hemispheres of your brain, so don’t skip this step or the exercise won’t work. Think of something you do regularly, even though you think you shouldn’t: obsessing about your ex, playing compute

Psychologists who study change tell us that, paradoxically, positive transformation happens more quickly when we do it in small steps rather than heroic leaps.