Quotes from JOAN BORYSENKO

Today is a cross-quarter day, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The sun is becoming an ever greater presence; the days are growing longer.

Our mind is like a field in which many seeds germinate.

October is a month of introspection and retrospection, of taking stock.

We will think deeply about our values, our relationships, our motivation and our mind-habits. We will take responsibility for living our lives with awareness and love.

May all beings be free, May all beings knew the love and beauty of their own true nature, May all beings find happiness in service to all.

One of the most insidious forms of spiritual materialism is attachment to intellectual attainment.

Two or three times today, take a deep breath and enter the moment with mindful awareness.

Likewise may I begin to see new growth in myself as I approach old fears with greater courage and the faith that all situations, seen rightly, are an opportunity for growth in love and wisdom.

Today the cosmic wheel turns and opens fully to the West. The hours of light and dark are exactly equal on this first day of fall.

How does your attitude affect your energy level?

The beauty of May draws us out of hibernation into a natural mindfulness of the blessing and abundance of nature. Gratitude and mindfulness are intimately related, for as we practice gratitude we come more aware, more present. We wake up.

Peace of mind creates the most conducive conditions for physical healing.

Psychiatrist and writer Jerry Jampolsky asks the question "Would you rather be happy or would you rather be right?" I've been working on choosing happiness for quite some time.

Let me be open to all possibilities, living the full circle of my life in gratitude no matter when that circle is complete.

Centering prayer is a form of meditation that is a conscious letting go of small mind and its continuous self-centered fantasies.

When my ego starts in with its judgments about what is wrong, what is not good enough, let me notice this pessimistic thinking and instead, see my blessings.

Complaining is a way of reinforcing the mindset of scarcity and lack. If something is wrong, take action to set it right rather than complaining.

The mind can be either our staunchest ally or our greatest enemy. If we learn to control the mind, practicing the art of staying present, then the Divine Presence reveals itself in each moment as peace, beauty, insight and joy.

young physician obviously didn't give a damn anymore. Her cynicism

Gratitude is a natural outcome of mindfulness. It is also a way to become mindful. We often shut out natural beauty by becoming mindlessly absorbed in the chatter and worry of small mind with its endless self-absorbed attachments to past and future.

Retrospect the way that you expressed feelings yesterday. If you tend to use your feelings as a way to justify feeling bad, consider the possibility that you could use your feelings as guides to feeling better.

Control of breath is the cornerstone for health and for letting go of our small mind and entering the Big Mind of God.

Help me take a deep breath whenever I'm caught in the ego and switch into an awareness of the present moment and the peace, joy, creativity and love of my own true nature, my Higher Self.

The modern proverb "Use it or lose it" is very wise. If we don't exercise our muscles, they waste away. If we don't exercise our minds, they begin to close.