Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child

We call this “inappropriate attention” (ayoniso manaskara) because it takes us away from the present moment and into a place of old suffering. It’s very important that whenever our attention is brought to that place, to that kind of image, we have ways of dealing with the sorrow, fear, and suffering that arise.

But all mental formations need to circulate. If we don’t let them come up, it creates bad circulation in our psyche, and symptoms of mental illness and depression begin to manifest in our mind and body.

When we agonize over questions like, Who am I? Where do I come from? Was I wanted? What is the meaning of my life? we suffer because we’re caught in the idea of a separate self. But if we look deeply, we can practice no-self. This is the realization that we’re not a separate self; we’re connected to our ancestors and to all living and non-living be

We have to use our intelligence and concentration to get insight, transform the suffering within, and become a Buddha, an enlightened one, a free person.

How do we bring about the feelings of joy and happiness that we need in order to be strong enough to deal with our suffering? The first thing to do is to release, to let go. Joy is born from letting go, leaving behind.

We transmit our thoughts, speech, and actions—collectively known as our karma—to our children and to the world; that is our future.

We practice the Five Remembrances so that the seed of fear can circulate. We must invite it up to be recognized, to be embraced. And then when it goes back down again, it becomes smaller.

So if you suffer a little bit, or you suffer a lot, or if you don’t suffer anything at all, that depends on you—on whether you have insight, whether you have compassion or not.

if we know how to generate the energy of mindfulness, it’s very healing to invite them up every day and embrace them. Mindfulness is a strong source of energy that can recognize, embrace, and take care of these negative energies.