Reading inspirational quotes is like clicking the ‘refresh’ button of the mind’s browser. It gets your mind ready to face each new day with a positive outlook, free of all the ‘cookies’ stored in its cache memory. I am sharing 12 select quotes and writings from some of the world’s most popular and revered thought-leaders.
On your beliefs- Louise Hay/ Mirror Work
“Everything in your life is a mirror of who you are. If you look at the people in your life, they are all mirroring some belief you have about yourself. The traits that bother you about some people, are actually mirroring a belief that you have about yourself.”
On being present- Eckhart Tolle/ The Power of Now
“Anxiety, stress, worry – all forms of fear, are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, bitterness, non-forgiveness is caused by too much past, and not enough presence. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. Your degree of presence determines the quality of your consciousness and the quality of your consciousness determines the future. So, the only place where true change can occur is the Now. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life. Have your dwelling place in the Now and pay brief visits to past and future when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation.”
On your outlook towards life- Rumi (13th-century Persian poet and mystic)
Live life as though everything is rigged in your favour
On choosing your thoughts and emotions- Esther and Jerry Hicks/ Ask and It is Given
“It is not your job to make something happen – Universal forces are in place for all of that. Your work is to simply determine what you want. If you have the ability to imagine it, to even think about it, this Universe has the ability and the resources to deliver it fully unto you. When you really want something and you are thinking about your desire and feeling pleasure from the thought, your thought vibration is in alignment with your desire and the current from your Source is flowing through you towards your intended desire without any resistance. When emotions feel good, you are allowing the fulfilment of your desire. When emotions feel bad, you are disallowing the fulfilment of your desire by focussing on the opposite of your desire. Pay attention to the way you feel, deliberately choose thoughts – about everything – that feel good to you when you think them.”
On taking time to reflect- Spencer Johnson/ One Minute for Yourself
“Taking one minute out a few times a day to stop and look at what I am doing is like driving across town and stopping at the stop signs. The stop signs help me get safely where I want to go. I stop, look and see that I have a choice: to proceed ahead, or change direction, or do whatever I see is the best for me. And I am less likely to run into and hurt other people who are at the intersection with me. It helps me take care of myself and others.”
On pain- Eckhart Tolle/ The Power of Now
“Focus on the feeling inside you. Know that it is the pain-body. Accept that it is there. Don’t think about it – don’t let the feeling turn into thinking. Don’t judge or analyse. Don’t make an identity for yourself out of it. Stay present and continue being the observer, the silent watcher, of what is happening inside you. This is the power of the Now, the power of your own conscious presence.”
On trusting yourself- Steve Jobs
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
On choices- Nelson Mandela
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
On being ‘present’- Spencer Johnson/ The Present
“The Present is Right Now! When you are fully engaged in what you are doing, your mind doesn’t wander. You enjoy life. You are happier and more effective. You are intent only on what is happening at that moment. And that focus and concentration leads you to your success.”
On being happy- A.G.Roemmers/ The Return of the Young Prince
“If I don’t like the face I see in the mirror, the only thing I can do is smile.”
On difficult decisions- Spencer Johnson/Yes or No
While making difficult decisions – “The secret is to not act on fear. Ask yourself – ‘What would I do if I were not afraid?’ And then do whatever that is.”
…And finally, the universal favourite (no pun intended!)-Paulo Coelho/ The Alchemist
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”