Quotes from Susan Piver

You have a soft spot. Contrary to popular belief, it is not where you are weak, it is the gateway to indestructible power.

Confidence is the willingness to be as ridiculous, luminous, intelligent, and kind as you really are, without embarrassment.

as unlikely as it may sound, in fact this sorrow is the gateway to lasting happiness, the kind that can never be taken from you.

Meditating with a goal or in order to accomplish something is not giving the practice a fair shake.Instead let yourself off the self-improvement treadmill, and simply be with yourself in your natural state. The practice isn't about achieving something. It's about letting go.

Instead of making it safe, love—whether for all beings or for one—actually breaks your heart. Being loved is uncomfortable; and the more I love, the more uncomfortable it is. In the end, I'm still not quite sure what I've vowed to do either as a wife or a bodhisattva, except to break my own heart, over and over. And to see what happens next.

I want full-on emotional, sexual, spiritual passion—not the torments of fights and jealousies, but the power of engaging deeply, from the bottom of my heart, with my lover's heart, with lots of ebb and flow in both passion and friendship, periods of great agreement and great distance, but always coming back to each other, to self, to commitment, together.

No matter how much help you ask for, cultivating these spiritual qualities is something you have to do within yourself, and it requires solitude. So if you feel like locking your door, closing the blinds, and retreating from the world, this is probably a good idea. Sit with the darkness. Allow it to teach you. This is a very brave thing to do.

I realized that in depression, nothing matters," she said. "And in sadness, everything matters.

Our culture generally views tears and what may lie behind them—sadness, anger, disappointment, fear—as signs of a problem. Something has gone wrong. Somebody needs to figure out who screwed up so we can set this thing right. But tears are actually sweet things. They are signs of authentic feelings. Of

Tranquility, compassion, and wisdom are the components of fearlessness, not power, control, and remaining unaffected.

It (becoming disheartened) is insidious, buried, sticky . . . like a weird smell you can't quite pinpoint and eventually get used to. Becoming disheartened is actually one of three forms of laziness; the others are procrastination and being too busy.

Rather than sweeping romantic gestures or grand overtures, it is these tiny courtesies that create the foundation for the love we seek. If they are missing, the foundation will weaken over time.

real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world

When you are filled with fear, anxiety, or other difficult emotions, the first thing you should always do is make friends with them.

If you've ever wished for a friend who would love you as you are, appreciate your genius, and make space for your foibles, welcome you when you're funny and shiny and when you're a complete mess—well, I can introduce you to this person. Rather, your meditation practice can. He or she has been there the whole time. You are the one you've been waiting for, as they say.

To enter a relationship for the long term is to enter the space of not knowing. While this is so brave and beautiful, exhilarating even, it is not particularly comfortable.

the Chilean psychiatrist and brilliant thinker Claudio Naranjo, said about music, "Only repetition invites spontaneous innovation," and of course this is true of all the arts. You

This book is about envisioning your life together with love, care, and mindfulness. It is about skillfully balancing the crazy wisdom of love with the grounded practicality of making a life together. It is about the middle road, the constant, meaningful interplay between these two poles, loving a person and loving the life you create together. Strong marriages exist here, between the fire of intimacy and the ground of pragmatism.

Instead, allow yourself to become curious. Curiosity is actually a form of fearlessness, when you think about it. It takes courage to let go of your hopes and fears in order to truly take in the other person. Open up more and more space in your own mind and heart for your partner's answers. Your own judgments and responses, while vitally important, are not the point right now. Trust, really trust, that they will still be there when you need them. (They will.)

In addition, it has been demonstrated that meditation can help with the following: lowering blood pressure decreasing symptoms in illnesses with a stress-related component (ulcers, for example) decreasing serum cholesterol levels reducing muscular tension reducing oxygen and energy consumption improving sleep In short, it has been scientifically proven that meditation is awesome.

When I think my actions will benefit others and not just myself, I find courage where I thought I had none. Holding others in my heart brings an uplifted quality to my actions, and I feel that I am being wise.

Let "I intend to find happiness" become "I intend to find happiness to benefit myself and the others in my life." Let "I set the intention to feel no more misery" become "I set the intention to help all beings escape from misery, beginning with myself." You can convert any poison into medicine by applying the proper wisdom.

THE NEXT TIME you notice that despair is driving you and you don't know how to believe in happiness anymore, slow down. Pick up a pen and a piece of paper and write down the wish that is at the center of your desperation: "I

Here was a path that led you, not away from strong emotion but directly toward it; one that applauded the ability to feel deeply—not for its dramatic qualities but for its vividness and intelligence.