At the core of the Dalai Lama’s inspiring teaching is to promote self-discipline, compassion, forgiveness, empathy, happiness, peace and love.

Despite your belief system, consider the idea that Buddhist teachings are not a religion, but rather a science of mind.

One of the supporting elements in Buddhist practice is to work with the voice and sound. Chants, trumpets, drums, bells, tingshas, cymbals etc. are being used on a regular basis to foster clarity and to amplify intention.

Here then in yellow the Holiness’ guidelines:

Love is the absence of judgment.

Judgment serves no purpose in our lives. It blocks us from truth and love, and keeps one stuck in the illusion of separation. Love is our true essence and the mortar that holds it all together. Love has no limitations. In the absence of judgment and separation, or duality, love is what remains. And only you know what that means to you.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Being kind and compassionate is at the core of all spiritual teachings and paths. It is a quality of character that can be cultivated by each person by making a conscious choice, one moment at a time. Instead of criticizing others, apply your time and energy on being positive and compassionate. Kindness, same as love and all the other expansive qualities of mind, emanates a high vibratory frequency rate which creates a sense of well-being and connectedness. According to research, whenever you are kind, feel-good hormones are released in your body which ultimately help you stay healthy.

Positive and negative actions are determined by one’s own motivation. If the motivation is good, all actions become positive; if the motivation is wrong, all actions become negative.

Any action, whether the result is positive or negative, largely depends on motivation, your intention. If the motivation is sincere then the action most-likely will be positive, if the motivation is not pure, the results will reflect that. This statement by the Dalai Lama refers to motivation as a thought and thought determines your intention. Thoughts are energetic vibrations. Keep the frequency of your thoughts high.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

When life plays differently than planned, general human tendency is to look within for fault. Hindsight is always perfect, or most always. One of the keys is to break our habitual thought patterns and to envision a different approach and outcome, sometimes just exactly the opposite of what we are presented with. But change of intention most oftentimes includes also a change of action. Always remember, if nothing changes, nothing changes! 

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

Largely as a result of various sources of conditioning in our early lives, most people live in the illusion that happiness and peace are derived from “out there”. This can be the future, material things and / or other people. True and sustained happiness begins right “now and here”, on the inside. If you are not at peace with yourself and the world you live in, anything or anybody will not make a far reaching difference to your state of mind. Live in the present as that is all you have. Spend time to reflect and chase away the negative thoughts. Accept yourself and then allow yourself to grow by making conscious changes. 

Sleep is the best meditation.

Rest. Allow your mind and body to rejuvenate. When is the last time you allowed yourself a midday nap? Or a 10 – 12 h night of sleep? Sleep deprivation is a huge culprit in negative moods, including anxiety and depression. Allow yourself to replenish adequately. 

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

We all do it from time to time, some more often and more intensely than others. Falling prey to negative emotions – anger, hatred, fear, jealousy etc. Anger is a corrosive emotion that harms your mental and physical health. It damages the nervous, cardiovascular and gut system. Anger, if fed, can also lead to depression. It requires ongoing awareness, determination, patience, discipline and a conscious choice to gradually free yourself from negative emotions such as anger and hatred. 

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

William Blake said: “Enlightenment is taking full responsibility for your life”. Ignorance is the root cause of our piled up frustration which can show up disastrously in our lives. So here too, becoming aware of the patterns that keep you in a perpetual “stuckness” and making the necessary and appropriate changes requires awareness and resolution within yourself, so you may leave your comfort zone and push the envelope in expanding your capacities. And this too obviously means something different to everyone. 

It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.

Step back and allow yourself the space and time to take a bird eye’s view to observe the situation at hand from a number of different angles. Given the proper degree of open mindedness and flexibility, you will most likely arrive at different perspectives and may discover that they hold some positive elements for you. 

True spirituality is a mental attitude you can practice at any time.

Spirituality is building a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves. It is about embracing the interconnectedness of all things, and to awaken to the true nature of self. It is common to have a spiritual experience while listening to the gongs and bowls and other instruments, walking in the woods, meditating, watching the rising sun, gazing into the eyes of your loved one, or whatever nourishes your soul. Most often though it is just a matter of taking some time out from the frantic pace of everyday living with its various distractions.

A Dialogue with The Dalai Lama

On December 8, 2021 an esteemed panel of scientists at the Mind & Life Institute lead a dialogue with his Holiness and the profound messages that came out in response to the 7 questions are timeless, especially in times of a pandemic, that is heightened by an ecological global crisis and many other factors that contribute to a seemingly frightening world picture. Click on the photo to watch the dialogue on the Mind & Life Institute website.

In closing then, here is a great visual analogy on how the speed of many aspects of our lives has increased over the past 60 + years. An astounding comparison…

The video highlights and may bring closer to you how practicing the above recommendations is essential and needed to a healthy way of living.

Please take a moment and allow yourself the 2 minutes to watch this eye opening clip ;)