In our everyday 3D lives, we apply force to matter and get predictable results. We unpack groceries, chop garlic, and switch on a stovetop to boil water for spaghetti. These familiar objects appear to be inert. They do what you make them do. But this model doesn’t port to inner moves. In the subtle realms of mind and emotion, applying force creates... See more

How difficult it is to do as one ought every day without a single interruption. How difficult it is, not to dream up a book, but to write it without lassitude—in a word to be in good heart day after day.

Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That’s the truth of it. They honor their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don’t grow up. Not really. They get older. But to grow up costs the earth, the earth. It means you take responsibility

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Ostaseski summarized the insights he’s learned from the dying as “five invitations to be present.” 1) Don’t wait. 2) Welcome everything, push away nothing. 3) Bring your whole self to the experience. 4) Find a place of rest in the middle of things. 5) Cultivate don’t-know mind. For 2), Ostaseski quoted James Baldwin: “Not everything that can be fac... See more

Don't try to work in a distinctive style. Just try to do the best job you can; you won't be able to help doing it in a distinctive way.

Style is doing things in a distinctive way without trying to. Trying to is affectation.

Affectation is in effect to pretend that someone other than you is doing the work. You adopt an impressive but fake persona, and... See more

If you don’t add any value to the world (via your contributions, your character, your attitude, etc.) and you are constantly leaching energy from those around you, eventually this strategy will make your world small, limited, and miserable.

See both the dignity and absurdity in human nature

Trust the value of your personal experiences, even when others might trivialize them, recognizing that all human experiences contain both dignity and absurdity, and no single expression can fully capture their complexity.

Relief comes from asking "What are the facts?" instead of "What shall I do?"

By observing her own anger and impulses to control others, Milner discovered the power of detachment and shifting focus from "How can I make them do what I want?" to "Why are they behaving this way?" leading to a sense of relief and freedom.

Observing your daily experience helps you discover true happiness

Through daily reflection on her experiences, Milner discovered that true happiness often came from unexpected moments of "wide focus" awareness, rather than conventional ideas of enjoyment, leading her to uncover deeper, more authentic desires.