Remember, it’s better to speak up and let a relationship fall apart than to live in fear, or sacrifice your integrity.

I want this music and this dawn and the warmth of your cheek against mine. – R.

Trust your observations and intuitive responses. Bring up your concerns as they appear.

Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.

Just bringing our full attention to what we are doing, and when we are done, we go home. But we are forever changed – while the performance is over, the music now lives within us.

When you feel hurt, confused, lonely, or sad, breathe into your pain, feel it, be with it, then breathe out an image of clarity, light, and a blessing. This alone will start to change your life.

More than anything else, I want myself. I want to live with integrity and truth. I’m not going to hide the jewel of who I am, nor will I mask my imperfections. No bargains, no avoiding reality, no conning myself, no lies.

Within six weeks they were lovers... ‘I realized, from having nearly died, that when you’re alive, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing, being alive. There’s plenty of time to be dead.

While most streams of Buddhism take a contemplative stance on passion, pleasure, and pain, Sufism encourages us to be open to our passions – to dive into the sea, to become at one with the beauty and power of the waves.

Our refuge is being exactly where we are – not dramatizing problems by replaying them in our heads, telling stories to our friends, eliciting sympathy and convincing ourselves that this is a very big deal. Our refuge is in the stillness of being the compassionate witness to our panic and fear – not judging it as good or bad, just accepting the what is of the moment.