We have all been there—a time when nothing we try gets any traction. Whether it's relationship building, job hunting, marketing creative projects such as books or plays. Not only aren't we getting good feedback on our efforts, but frequently we don't get any feedback at all—just rejection, usually in the form of silence, no response, or at best a form rejection with no helpful information.

A little of this, most people can take.  But when it goes on and on, for years, regardless what we try or how we try, what is one to make of this?  

Is the Universe trying to tell us something? Often, the things we are trying to do are things that we feel we have been guided to do by God, the divinity within us, by the universe—they are an expression of who we are. Is the Universe saying that we have been guided by a delusion and that we should cease this area of activity? If so, what do we do then?

The hostile environment of the world around you is constantly assaulting your faith. For many, if to most, people, faith is connected with a belief that what we seek will come about. But that is not Buddhist faith. There is no spiritual manipulator, puller of strings in the sky, that works to insure that what we desire comes to be.

Instead, Buddhist faith is rooted in faith in the Buddha's teaching—that if we return home to our true Buddha nature and free ourselves from cravings, that we will not suffer, that we will experience peace and happiness, regardless what is going on around us or to us.  See my post, "Regardless."

That is the only answer when the future looks bleak. It isn't changing what you are doing, it's changing how you think about what you're doing.  It's being able to say, "If it happens, great.  If it doesn't happen, that's ok too."

Paradoxically perhaps, when you adopt that position—when you are not so devoted to what you are doing—it makes it more likely, easier, for you to look clearly at past efforts and decide to approach things differently; not to give up your dreams, but to try a different tack. This makes your chance of achieving your dream more likely.

I certainly don't mean to make light of the desperation that many feel when faced with this situation.  The path to live in this world, follow your instincts, and not be caught in cravings and attachments is clear.  But because it goes against everything that we were raised to do and that our culture supports, it certainly requires a lot of work and much discipline. 

This whole blog is about the work that has to be done and the discipline with which it must be approached to see things clearly and end your suffering. But it is possible, said by someone who has finally come to live in that place of peace and happiness.
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I have often written of the importance of discipline in one's practice.  But the issue of such importance and a challenge for so many people, that I think another post devoted to the subject is warranted.

Whenever I've attended sanghas, whether in large cities or small, whether temple-connected or independent ones such as Shambhala, one of the most frequent problems I observed was that very few of the members had much discipline in their practice. And by "discipline" I mean two different things.

First, almost no one I knew in these sanghas had a disciplined daily practice, meaning that regardless what was going on, they meditated every day. Most didn't even try to have a daily practice and those that did found that the events of the day often interfered with their intent to practice. 

Second, when people meditated, they did not have a routine that they followed with affirmations, chants, prayer, etc.  Part of each meditation should be open-ended, but a large part should be somewhat scripted.

The reason why both of these aspects of discipline are critical is because in walking the path, you are trying to change the paradigms of your life, the paradigms of a lifetime. And you are doing it on your own, typically with no support from anyone around you other than the sangha. Not only do you not have support, everyone around you—family, peers, media— and within you—your ego—daily bombard with you negativity and harmful advice.

Some of this you may be aware of, but the bad advice coming from within you, from your ego, is probably not something that you are aware of or accept that it is the fact. Your ego is rooted so deeply within you and is the basis of your self-image, that to question your ego is to question your very existence.

Let me talk about the two different aspects of discipline. First, daily practice. Your are trying to walk the Buddhist or some other spiritual path. That path is contrary to how you've been raised to react to life, so it involves a major change for you. Also, there is the fact that every day you are assaulted by negative stimuli from the world around you as well as bad advice—not in your best interest—coming from your ego. See my post, "Ego - Changing Your Relationship With It."

Because we live in such a hostile—to our best interests— world, and because we were not raised to deal with it in a healthy way, it is critical that we meditate every day. We need the reinforcement of our faith and a reminder of the truth every day in order to be consistent in our rejection of the world's negativity and find peace and happiness in our lives.

But how to have a disciplined daily practice when we have so much to do every day and are constantly interrupted by people who want us to do something? The answer is to meditate first thing in the morning after you get up.  That is what I have been doing for more than 30 years and I have never missed a day of meditation regardless where I was or whether I was sick.

I get out of bed, freshen my face and do my "mirror time" (see my post "Mirror Time"), and then start my meditation/prayer. Afterwards I shave, shower, etc. Try it.  If you are living by yourself, you may be able to do something similar in the evening, but for most people who have a family or live with someone else, first thing in the morning is the only dependable way to have a disciplined daily practice.

The second aspect of discipline is to have consistent content to your meditation. Why is this important?  Again, it has to do with the fact that you are attempting to change your habit-energies, the paradigms of a lifetime.  The truths you have learned from the Buddha dharma and your intents need to be repeated every day as a reinforcement of your faith and intent as well as a reminder of what you are trying to do. This is your spiritual armor as you go through the day.

The other thing I have found valuable in this practice, is that when I recite the truths or my intent, if during the previous day I have done anything contrary to these truths or my intent, it come sto the fore and I have the opportunity in my meditation to sit with what I did, why I did it, and what I should have done instead. This has been immensely valuable to me in both going deeper into my practice and changing my habit-energies.

May you experience peace and happiness.

We are bombarded every day by negative messages from the world around us—whether it's the media, for example telling us how we should look to feel good about ourselves, or peers or family disparaging us in some way. We also are pulled every day by the force of our ego-mind that insists we do things which in reality are not good for us and cause us much suffering.

How do we resist this constant assault from both without and within? It's not enough just to sit on your cushion and meditate. It's not just about the process of meditation or prayer, it's the substance that is of vital importance.

Think of it as building a forcefield around you that these negative stimuli cannot penetrate.  Years ago, I wrote a post about building such a forcefield, "Change Your Life by Changing the Direction of Its Energy Flow."

I have since come to realize that the process of changing both the direction and quality of your energy flow consistently is more difficult; it's not just a matter of intent and discipline—you must free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. Here are what I now understand to be the steps in that process.

First. the absolutely necessary step is that you connect with your true self—whether you see that as your heart, the true Buddha nature inside you, or the child of the Universe within you.  And you must at the same time acknowledge that your ego—what you have always considered your self—is in reality your false self.  There are posts and books I've written about this process; see in particular the books How to Find Inner Peace and Discover Your Power.

Once you have learned to distrust what your ego-mind is telling you to do and instead ask and listen to your heart, it becomes much more likely that you will be able to maintain your heart's natural peace and end your suffering.  Remember, the root of all suffering is our cravings, and cravings are a function of the ego-mind. Once you are in touch with your heart, changing the direction of your energy flow to outward rather than inward is almost automatic.

Once you have absorbed these truths, not just intellectually but deep within yourself, there are other steps you need to take to strengthen the forcefield around you. One of the most important is understanding that things are the way they are—whether past, present, or future—because it's just the way it is; it's meant to be; it's all ok. This is of critical importance because your rejection or upset or fear of something—your being offended by something—is what starts the process of your thinking or acting (under the guidance of your ego-mind) in ways that create suffering and disturb your peace. And your outward energy flow in such a case will be decidedly negative.

When I say "it's meant to be," I don't mean that some celestial source manipulated things to bring this about, I mean that the laws of nature or the "laws" of the way man has developed have brought this about. There is no judgment here; it just is.

And when I say, "It's all ok," I mean that spiritually you will be ok, safe, regardless what is happening around you or to you—regardless whether you have been physically assaulted or are in prison or homeless— because you will always return home to your heart and be at peace and happy. Regardless. (See my post, "Regardless.")

Once you have gained this understanding, then you are ready to practice The Heart's Embrace.  (See my post, "The Heart's Embrace.") In this meditation, you acknowledge that any childhood trauma your experienced is just the way it was. You acknowledge that any disappointments or anger you experience in the present is regarding things that just are.  And you acknowledge that the future brings whatever it brings, que sera sera. There is no victimhood in this scenario,  When you do that meditation, nothing will offend, all internal and external struggle ceases, and you know you have everything inside yourself to be at peace and happy.

Another step that is critical is that you form the intent to change the way you react to things, etc.  This is important because, again, you are attempting to change the patterns of a lifetime, your habit-energy. This is not easy. And so you need to form the intent to love yourself unconditionally, to be strong and find your strength in your faith, etc. Once you are able to form these intents to change your habit-energy—which is a challenge in and of itself—it makes it easier, more likely, that you will actually be able to implement these changes.

The last thing I want to mention is the importance of daily meditation and prayer.  The barrage we face every day is so unrelenting and our ego-mind is so powerful and deeply rooted within us, that we need to constantly reinforce the positive forces within us. And that is the purpose of daily meditation/prayer.  

And I practice what I preach. Over the last 33 years, I have not missed one day of meditation/prayer—whether I've been at home, whether I've been sick, whether I've been traveling.  Nothing interferes with my meditation/prayer practice. A major reason why I have not missed a day, besides discipline, is that I meditate first thing in the morning after I get up so that nothing can interfere with my intent to meditate.

When you have accomplished these steps, found your positive outward energy flow, and stopped absorbing negative energy from the world around you, you will feel a peace and lightness of spirit that is your birthright.

Many people have faith or pray, but their faith and prayer is tied to something happening that they desire. If it happens, great.  If it doesn't, they question their faith or their prayer—they ask whether their higher power is there for them.

They've got it all wrong.  Faith and prayer have nothing to do with something happening, it cannot be dependent on that.  Remember: we are talking here about faith in your true self, your heart, the child of the Universe inside you, not in some external spirit that pulls the strings of life.

The point of faith is that you know that the God/the Universe within you loves you and that you will be ok regardless what happens to you or around you because you have returned home to your true Buddha nature/the child of the Universe within you and so nothing can disturb your heart's peace and happiness. (See my posts, "Buddhism and the Divine" and "The Miracle That Is You.") The world is controlled by men and what men do has everything to do with them, their ego, and has nothing to do with God, the Universe, the spirit.—even when they say they are doing God's work. But despite this, you see all things with equanimity; nothing offends.

You may in your prayer tell the Universe what you desire, and you may imagine receiving what you desire (see my post, "Prayer") but your faith is not dependent on that desire being fulfilled. The most the Universe will do in response to your prayer is present you with a happenstance that gives you the opportunity to act and fulfill your desire. (See my post, "Happenstance - Part II.")

But if it is not meant to be, if it is truly not in your best interest (if you asked yourself, "Is this right for me?" you would get an answer which you may or may not listen to), then it will not happen. This is what is meant by "turning your will and your life over to God" or "let go and let God." You cannot allow your mind to control your thoughts or your actions as it brings you nothing but suffering.

The key word here is "regardless."  Whether your heart's desire is fulfilled or whether you are homeless or in a concentration camp, if you have come home to your true self, to the child of the Universe within you, then truly nothing will disturb your peace and happiness. That state is not dependent on anything external to you; it is only dependent on your continued faith and contact with your true self. Hard as it may be to imagine, you will be at peace regardless.
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People have all sorts of goals in life, whether it concerns their work, their relationships, their finances. And it is these goals that drive them. 

While these matters are understandably important to the individual, these goals are a product of the ego-mind, of a person's insecurity and past life experiences. They are both the result of and the source of much unsettling emotion and frustration. 

These emotions are like landmines to your practice. In walking the Buddhist or any other spiritual path, it is therefore important to find a way to incorporate these desires into one's practice so that you can address them without their becoming cravings that cause frustration and suffering.

The starting point is that for anyone walking the path, the only "goal" should be to be at peace and happy.  And if we are one with our Buddha nature/the divinity within us/the child of the Universe within us, then we know that we have everything inside us that we need to be at peace and happy. We need nothing more or different than the way things are right now. 

Regardless what is going around us or is being done to us, we do not let anything disturb our heart's peace and happiness, and if we are aware of something disturbing us, we say, "no," and return to the guidance of our heart. I'm not saying that these things that disturb are not important; the "trick" is to address those issues not with your mind but with you heart.  See my post,"The Heart's Embrace."

It is within this context that you should consider your desires. To have desires that don't disturb your peace and happiness, that don't become cravings, include your desires in your prayers and in your imaginings. This requires great awareness and discipline; it is otherwise very easy to fall back into the control of our ego-mind, it is that strong and aggressive. 

In your prayers, ask to be given the opportunity, the happenstance, to pursue your dreams while clearly stating that if they come to be, that would be great; but if they don't, that would be ok too. This expression and feeling of equanimity is critical to addressing your desire as part of prayer rather than their becoming cravings. You will need to "put some skin in the game," but you will be able to do so without getting frustrated or anxious,

Depending on the particular desire, this can be very challenging.  For example, if your goal is to get a job or make some money (if currently unemployed), it's very hard saying to yourself that it's ok if it doesn't happen because that goes against everything you have been taught and feel.  But if you are one with the Buddha nature within you/the child of the Universe within you, then you know you will be ok regardless, and you need to keep that foremost in your mind and heart..

Again, if you are one with the child of the Universe within you, you know you will be ok, safe, regardless what life provides because you know you have everything inside you that you need to be at peace and happy. And so there is no need that drives your desire to become a craving.

Praying—in the normal sense of the word—is not a Buddhist concept since their is no divinity in Buddhism; there is thus no one to pray to. But in my interpretation of the Buddha dharma, there is a divinity within each of us that we can pray to. (See my post, "Buddhism and the Divine.")

Whether you call it your true Buddha nature, the divine essence within you, or the child of the Universe in you—there is someone you can pray to ... your true self. Prayer in this context is different from what people traditionally think of as prayer. And it is different from meditation.

Here you are not asking for someone external from yourself to make something happen; to manipulate events to bring about what you desire. Instead, you are just stating what you desire; you are letting your true self and the Universe know what it is your desire. That idea is not that they will make something happen, but that a happenstance will occur that provides you with the opportunity to further your desire. What you do with that opportunity is then your responsibility. (See my post, "Happenstance - Part II" - You, Your Buddha Nature, and the Universe.")

The second practice is to imagine yourself with what you desire.  While you are in meditation/prayer, close your eyes and imagine yourself as being in the job you want, or haven the resources you want, or whatever. This is a peaceful, positive exercise that will bring a smile to your face and your heart. It's telling yourself, "Yes I can," and removing the feeling that there are obstacles that you must overcome. The things that you viewed as obstacles may still be there, but you no longer view them as that and so they no longer have a negative power over you.

The other aspect of prayer is that it should not be purpose-driven. It should always include a statement of things you are grateful for. This reminds us that although there are things in our life that we would like to change, there is so much that we are grateful for. This is essential if we are to be able to say, "It's would be great if this happens; but it's ok if it doesn't."  It's essential in order for you to maintain a space of equanimity.

As a Buddhist it will probably feel strange at first to pray. Also it may be that, like me, you are very turned off by the traditional concept of prayer. But open your mind to the possibility that the type of prayer I'm advocating is both good for your peace and happiness and totally consistent with the Buddha dharma.
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We all tend to categorize our experiences as either good or bad; sometime indifferent. This our ego-mind's take on the experience; whether the ego-mind likes the experience or not, whether it thinks it is good for us or not.

Whether we judge something as good or bad has a significant influence on our state of mind, on our emotional equilibrium. If we find something "good," we can be joyful; but if we feel something is "bad," we will become angry, anxious, fearful, frustrated. Yet there is no inherent "goodness" or "badness" in anything.  The application of those judgments is totally a function of the person making the assessment. From things as banal as the weather or as significant as the assessment of political leaders, such is the nature of the judgment of good v bad.

The reader may ask, "What about the Holocaust?  Wasn't that inherently bad?"  The answer is, no.  We know all too well that there were millions of people who thought the holocaust was a good thing; there still are such people.

What the reader is confusing is good v bad, with right v wrong.  The former is dependent on individual judgment.  Right v wrong, however, is a question of morality, and the answer to whether something is right or wrong is consistent regardless the viewer because morality is unchanging, and it is basically the same for all religions and cultures; the moral value is inherent in the action..

There may be some cultures within which there is no morality, such as the Nazi regime. There were certainly many ministers and priests who supported the regime and said nothing about Nazi anti-semitic actions. These were people who, regardless of their vocation, were not guardians of morality and were instead either first and foremost nationalists or they acted in what they felt was in the best interests of preserving their church. History is replete with examples of churches that have lent themselves to the nationalist actions of the state. 

The ability of even very moral, intelligent people to be ruled by their minds more than their heart is perhaps best illustrated by Pastor Niemöller, a prominent Lutheran pastor, who in the early years supported the Nazis. He famously later said, "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."

The point is that when you assess something as good or bad, beware!  You are not in a spiritual space when your mind makes that judgment; you are not one with your true Buddha nature/the divinity within you/the child of the Universe within you. If you were, you would know that regardless what happens to you, it's all ok because nothing can ever disturb your peace and happiness, and that is what your intent, your goal, should be.

Suffering—the mental, not physicl, type—is psychological. That is to say that the suffering actually occurs in our minds, although it is acted out through crying, shouting, angry pronouncements, physical strikes (whether towards yourself or someone else) and other various acting-out behviors. What causes the debilitating effects of suffering are these acting-out behaviors because they are exhausting and can make us feel like we're losing our mind.

Many advise ending suffering by stopping these behaviors, controlling them. But this is an exercise in futility because if the mind reacts to something as violating or offending you, there is no stopping the acting-out behavior because the  mind will not allow it.

Instead, the key to stop suffering is to change your reaction to situtions. Our buttons get pushed beause something offends us. Often this offense stems from negative experiences we had as  child or growing up. We feel very self-righteous when somethning offends us and so we react with an acting-ut behavior.  And typically, one such behavior leads to another, often stronger, behavior, till at some point we fall down exhausted and feeling totally defeated.

So how do you keep from being offended? What makes this more difficult is that in some way we like the feeling of self-righteous anger that follows being offended; it feels like we're standing up for ourselves, we're protecting ourselves. But in reality, you are making yourself weaker by such tantrums.

The process begins by your realizing that these tantrums (and that's what they are) hurt you because they make you feel terrible about yourself.  They may start as an expression of your self-righteous feeling, but they end in exhaustion and defeat.

Once you realize that these tantrums hurt you and that you want them to stop, that gives you the motivation so find a way to not be offended by the actions of the world around you. One path is to say, "It's just the way it is." (See my post, "It's Just the Way It Is - Take IV.) Another path is to stop having cravings for something by saying, "If it happens, great; if it doesn't happen, that's ok too."  This is reacting to something with equanimity.

But in order to take either of these steps, it is essential that you know that you will be ok even if what you want doesn't happen.  Whether it's stop being mistreated by someone, or being acknowledged by someone, or getting a new job, or whatever—you will be ok, which means at peace, regardless.

Even if you lose your job, you know you'll be ok.  Even if you're treated badly, you know you'll be ok.  That goes against everything we're taught by our culture; you need money to live. How can you say you'll be ok, in any sense?

This is where it's essential that you connect with your true self, which is your heart, your true Buddha nature/your divinity/the child of the Universe within you. (See my post, "True Self.")  Only then will you feel, will you know, that you will be ok regardless what life provides because you have returned home and will always return home to your true self, and so you will be at peace regardless what happens around or to you.  

Whether you have money or are poor, whether you are alone or with friends and loved ones, whether you re healthy or sick, whether you are imprisoned or free—regardless, you will be at peace and happy because you are one with the child of the Universe within you and there is nothing else you feel you need in order to be at peace and happy.

I have written several posts on the maxim, "It's just the way it is," because it is so critical to being free of suffering and finding peace.  My final version of the maxim being, "It's just the way it is; it's meant to be and it's all ok,"  (see my post, "It's Just the Way It Is - Take III).

Why is it so critical?  If you don't acknowledge that things are the way they are because it's just the way it is, with or without the addendum that it's meant to be and is all ok, whatever you don't acknowledge will offend you.  And if something offends you, it generates emotions of anger and frustration. This causes mental suffering and robs you of peace.

This is true both of things that happened in your past, as well as things that are occurring in your present. Most of us experienced things in our past, usually in childhood, often done by parents, that continue to really upset us and not only cause us suffering because of the memory of these offenses, but the memory causes us to react to things today as though these contemporary experiences were another example of the offense we experienced as a child.  In the present or recent past, things happen to us that we take offense at and it has an impact on how we move forward with our lives.

Given the suffering we experience because of these past memories or recent experiences, why don't we following the lesson of saying, "it's just the way it is?"  This wise advice is contained in the Serenity Prayer, "Grant me the serenity to understand that things are they way they are because it's just the way it is," and the Acceptance Prayer, "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.  When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, etc. as being exactly the way it is at this moment." 

People don't want to "accept" things as "just the way it is" because of their ego-mind.  These things that happened should not have happened; they weren't right, or fair.  And all that is probably true.  Many people are treated terribly, both as children and as adults, whether by family, strangers, or society. The actions taken may not be intended to harm, but they harm nevertheless.

Because "acceptance" has connotations, rather than the word "accept" I have used the word "acknowledge."  When people hear "accept," it sounds like they approve of what happened, that it was right. Whereas saying "acknowledge" is just acknowledging that this event happened; it was or is part of ones life.

So for example, I have acknowledged the fact that I experienced certain things as a child. These things have caused me great suffering through my adulthood because I reacted to them emotionally with self-loathing.  Likewise, I experienced things like rejection (job applications) recently that caused anxiety.  Once I started saying that "it's just the way it is/was" as well as "it's meant to be and all ok," and truly meant it, these things no longer offended me.  I wasn't angry or frustrated or anxious.

I should explain, if you don't read my earlier posts, that "it's meant to be" does not mean that God or some higher power caused it to happen, it just means that either the physical laws of the universe or the laws of man's developed nature caused it to happen.  The phrase "it's all ok," does not refer to the experience but rather to the faith that I will be ok—at peace—regardless what I experience in life because I am one with the Universe and so at peace.

This practice has made a profound difference in my life, in my experiencing peace. And because I have been at peace and not emotionally upset by things that had happened or were happening in my life, I have not only not experienced psychological suffering, but I have been able to make better judgments about how to live my life.
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As the Buddha said, suffering is universal.  It is one of the common elements experienced by all of mankind over all ages.  And the Buddha taught that we suffer, not because of the way things are, what we experience; he taught that we suffer because the way our minds work.

When he started the wheel of the dharma turning with his first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, he taught that the cause of our suffering is our cravings.  And that the way to end our suffering is to free ourselves from our cravings.

The Four Noble Truths:

1. that life is suffering, suffering being our clinging to the the five things that form our perception of life: the appearance of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-ego.
2. that the cause, the origin, of suffering is our craving and emotions. 
3. that the end of suffering is the freeing ourselves from our cravings and emotions, relinquishing them, not relying on them.
4. that the way leading to the end of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.

In a word, we can’t end our suffering while continuing to act as we’ve been acting all our lives.  Ultimately we are causing our suffering, not the world around us.

Most Buddhists, let alone the average person, find it very difficult to relinquish our cravings and emotions because they are so central to our self-image, to our ego-mind, to the way we have been conditioned to think about ourselves and the world around us by our life experiences. We say, the problem is not us, it is the world around us. And so we continue to suffer, regardless how disciplined our physical practice, regardless how much we pray.

Many years ago when I read a book about the Buddha's life ("The Life of the Buddha," Bhikkhu Nanamoli), one the most impactful stories was the one about suffering.  One day, the Buddha was speaking to some disciples, and he asked them whether something caused them suffering.  He said, if it does, “it is not you, it is not yours, it is not your self.”  

In other words, the emotion or perception caused by something in the real world is not part of your true self. It is a function of your ego-mind which is the home of all of our reactions to our life experience—the five skandhas—the appearance of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-ego. These perspectives/emotions are not inherent in you. And the emotions that they call up have no inherent existence in the events themselves either.

Ah, but what's this about "your true self?"  We are taught that one of the most important teachings of the Buddha is the teaching of "no self."  But the Buddha never taught that. As explained in my post, "The Misleading Teaching of No Self," while the Buddha taught that many things are "not self", he never taught that we have "no self."  Indeed, as in the quote above, he often refers to "the self." Our true self is our Buddha nature, our unborn Buddha mind (Zen Master Bankei), or, as I have in more recent years come to understand, the divinity within us or the child of the Universe within us. 

But it takes much work and a disciplined practice to regain contact with our true self, because it has been overwhelmed, buried, by the aggressiveness of out ego-mind. Much of the teaching in this blog and in my books is about freeing ourselves from the control of our ego-mind so that we can know our true self again. So we can live in peace and happiness regardless what is happening around us or to us. You cannot free yourself from suffering without changing your concept of who you are.

So the next time you are suffering, stop and say to yourself, "This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my self."  Look to your true self, to the child of the Universe within you, for guidance and free yourself.

For understanding my concept of the child of the Universe within you, read my book, Discover Your Power.  It was written for teenagers when I was teaching in a middle school, but it is for people of all ages who feel insecure, don't feel good about themselves,  or feel they have no control of their lives.