As we hurry through our days, perhaps the one thing we each most need is to take the time to become inwardly centered. Resting at the center means that we relax and inwardly put ourselves in the hands of life. We stop the struggle, release the anxiety, quit the worry. We come to a point of rest. Sometimes we feel that the world is hanging on our shoulders. But it's not. We can do our jobs and fulfill our commitments in life without strain and without burden. We can do what we do, with peace of mind and heart. No need to struggle right now This moment is filled with all that we need to complete our task— the moment isn't holding itself back from us— it's giving itself to us so that we will have the time to do whatever is necessary. Relax into this moment now, rest at the center of your being now and let everything work out well for you, now. You can rest inside now, and all things will be well. 

A great Sufi meditation master was once asked from whom he had learned to sit so still in meditation. The Sufi master replied, "I learned stillness by watching a cat by a mousehole; the cat was much stiller than me." The cat was so still because it instinctively knew that in stillness lay its fulfillment. We, too, can realize fulfillment in learning to take time to be still inwardly each day. As I tell my meditation students, "Don't argue with silence." All the great religious and spiritual traditions have taught some form of inner quietude. Jesus said, "Go in your closet and close the door," meaning to take time to turn within and be still. Buddha's enlightenment came as he sat meditating under the Bodhi tree in India. Mohammed spent many years in
solitude and deep, inner contemplation. In the Book of Job, about 4000 B.C., we have the admonition: meditate on these thoughts to attain union with God. Let's take time each day to be still in the midst of all our doing, to attain inner peace and harmony. 

We can be inner-directed as opposed to outer-directed in this life. Outer-directed means that we look to people and situations to tell us how to be in this life. Inner-directed means that we learn to trust our own inner understanding and intuition to guide and direct our way in this life. We learn to listen to ourselves deeply and follow our own profound advice. It's useful at times to receive advice from others— but let's leave the final authority for our unfoldment up to our own inner convictions and understanding. We can develop the capacity to be inwardly centered in the midst of life's uncertainties, and we can make choices based on our awareness of what is appropriate and true for us. Stay centered within. 

When things are going well for us in our outer life, it's easy and simple to feel good inside of ourselves. When family, personal relationships, job, finances and physical health are all going well, we can find inner peace without struggle or strain. We say, "All is right with our world, and all is right with our self." But sometimes things in our outer life don't go so well— then it is as important, if not more important, to maintain our inner equilibrium of peace, calm and serenity. We are always unfolding our inner nature—when people and situations in our outer life fluctuate, we can still abide at the center of our being. Strength in life comes from our capacity to stay inwardly centered and focused on the good, regardless of outer appearances. Let's just know right now that, appearances to the contrary, life is good and we are a part of this life— so we can let ourselves relax and be at peace. 

A woman once came into a psychiatrist's office with an egg on top of her head and a strip of bacon behind each ear. She said to the psychiatrist, "I have come to talk to you about my brother." Sometimes we think that all of our problems are somehow outside of ourselves. We say, "If only they would change, then we would be all right." We half-way convince ourselves that all of our distress comes from the people in our lives. Yet, at some point on the road to spiritual maturity, we come to realize that no one is responsible for how we feel about our life except ourselves. The famous therapist Victor Frankl said that no matter how powerful or devastating outer forces or pressures may be, we always have the choice as to how we will inwardly respond to whatever happens to us. No one can take away our inner dignity or our freedom or ability to discover meaning and purpose in any situation in life. The answer is always inside— look within and find your solution today. 

Codependency is when we feel dependent on others for fulfillment and our emotional well-being. We look to others rather than ourselves and become frustrated and disappointed when others aren't always there for us. As alcoholics are chemically and psychologically dependent on alcohol, so codependents are emotionally dependent on others to rescue and take care of them, or they, themselves, are the rescuers and caretakers. Yet there is a way in which we all live from each other. During the ancient Pueblo Indian rites of passage, a child at puberty was taken into the kiva and initiated into the spiritual rites and ceremonies of the tribe. Then he was sent out into the wilderness alone to experience his power vision, a spiritual event which united him to all life. When he returned, after having his power vision, he was accepted as a full-fledged adult member of the tribe. We too have our rites of passage, perhaps not as organized, but of equal validity. We too learn to release our dependency on others, only to eventually discover that we are one with all life everywhere and that we can stake our claim as full adult citizens in an infinitely friendly and receptive universe. 

There is a widespread phenomenon sweeping our land called Mego, which translates: "My eyes glaze over," meaning that when we hear something that is not particularly interesting or relevant to us, our attention span wanes, our eyes glaze over and we dismiss the unwanted intrusion on our awareness. For instance; it is estimated that each of us receives two thousand advertising impressions daily, of which we register about ten. We see our world and we respond to stimuli based on our sense of what is relevant and important to us. Since each of us is a unique individual, unlike any other, our criteria of value and importance will be unique to each one of us. It's helpful not to waste time, attention or energy by trying to relate to someone else's sense of relevance. If the message doesn't speak to our hearts, it just doesn't. If we don't connect with some communication, we just don't connect. When we attend seriously to what is relevant for us, there is always a feeling of fulfillment.

Intuition is a sort of sixth sense. It's a kind of feeling or premonition that is beyond our ordinary ways of knowing. In Zen they have a saying, "Can you hear the bell ring, before the bell rings?" Intuition seems to be a faculty that we can develop and strengthen within ourselves. We can test our intuition by checking it against the outer world. When we have the feeling we should call so-and-so, even though there seems to be no good reason to do so, and we follow through and call him, and he says, "I was just thinking of you"—this seems to be away we can validate our intuition—at least for ourselves. When we follow through on our intuitive feelings and discover that many times we are being guided and directed to appropriate actions which harmonize with our world, we begin to trust that there is indeed more to each of us than meets the eye. We can allow ourselves to be receptive to the possibility of intuitive knowledge by just being open and following our inner promptings. 

Descartes, the great 17th century Rationalist philosopher, said, "I think, therefore, I am." A modern 20th century wit said, "I think, therefore, I am single." We do seem to spend much of our waking hours in the pursuit of thought. We might wonder at how deep and how creative our thinking really is. Referring to this kind of activity, George Bernard Shaw once said, "Few people think at all— I have made a great success in life by just a small amount of thinking." All that we need is one creative, transformative thought to revolutionize our lives. Perhaps we can cultivate the activity of creative thinking by setting aside a little time each day to allow ourselves, in Robert Schuller's words, to "possibility think" about some area of our life. As Schuller says, "Write out a list from 1 to 10 solutions" to a problem that is blocking us. Or, as Schuller suggests, we can ask ourselves, "What would we do next if we had the money, the time and we knew we couldn't fail?" We can choose to be creative in our thoughts now and watch major breakthroughs begin to happen in our lives. 

J. Krishnamurti used to say, "The depth is not comparable to the surface; depth is one thing, surface is another." When we live on the surface of life, we seem to feel like we're always missing something— there's no purpose or significance to our days. When we decide to discover the meaning of our lives, we begin to live from a deeper understanding; the patterns and contours of our lives begin to reveal themselves to us. We feel a sense of inner clarity regarding our existence on this earth. A spiritual perspective on things dawns on our hearts, and we are free to follow inner guidance and direction. Let's dive deeply into our life and learn to live from the depth of who we are. 

A middle-aged woman from New York, carrying two shopping bags, got off a plane in New Delhi, India and took a taxi to the ashram of a famous guru. When she arrived at the ashram, the person in charge at the front door told her, "When you are ushered into the Great Guru's presence, you can only say three words." "OK, OK," the woman said. Once inside, she stood in a long line waiting to see the guru. Another ashram official came up to her and said in a stern, solemn voice, "Remember, when you meet the Great Guru, you are permitted only three words." "Alright, Aright," shrugged the lady. After a very long wait, the woman was finally at the head of the line. The guru's chief assistant whispered to her, "Remember when you see the guru, only three words." "OK, OK," said the woman. Finally it was her turn. She walked up to a very high throne on which was seated the Great Guru himself. The woman looked up at the Great Guru and shouted, "Sheldon, come home!" This is a good time of year to remind ourselves to come home to our innermost self. 

A wise friend once gave me this advice: "When you don't know what to do, do nothing until it becomes obvious, and then put your whole being into it, holding nothing back." Too often, when we really don't know what to do, we dissipate our energy in sporadic attempts at trial and error— just to feel like we are at least trying to do something. We want to reassure ourselves that we are accomplishing something even if, in reality, we are just spinning our wheels. It may be far better and ultimately more productive to simply take the time (when we don't know the next step) to relax and let ourselves be inwardly and outwardly quiet, open and receptive. We can allow ourselves the time to listen so that we can hear what our real next step is. Sometimes the message comes from deep within our hearts and, when we hear it, we are galvanized into creative action. Sometimes the message comes from the outer world, and suddenly we spring into action. Either way, the message— when we are open, non-resisting and receptive— is always clear and unmistakable, and it is always a call to new life. 

When we attend a concert, sometimes we are listening so intently that we actually become aware of the pauses within the music. For the music to be meaningful, there have to be sequences of pauses juxtaposed with the sound. Usually we think of music as merely the sounds. But the pauses are as important as the sounds themselves— and, in some compositions, the silences may be even more thematically important than the notes themselves. In our life, there are times of great activity, in which we seem to be moving ahead with speed and dexterity. And there are also times of pause, when we need to relax and listen to the silence within our hearts to tell us of our next step. 

Who is with us in this life? Sometimes we ask ourselves, is there anyone who is really for me? In our complex world, it is easy at times to feel as if we are doing what we do all by ourselves. Does anyone really understand us? We think of our family, friends and associates— but do any of them really comprehend how we are feeling right now? There's a book entitled How to Be Your Own Best Friend which provides a key to our dilemma. In this life, when we feel as if no one can really understand what we are going through, who better to befriend us than ourself? After all, we are in the best position to know what is going on within the depths of our being— so why not turn to ourselves for inner understanding and support? While it's helpful to turn to our friends for support at times, we can also be our own best friend. 

Lawrence Leshan once said, "The definition of 'normal' is someone I don't know very well." Are we trying to be normal, or are we being ourselves in this life. When we were children, our parents would say to us, "Oh, that's not like you to do such and such," and we would think, "Uh, oh, I'm not normal." And we would try to behave more normally from then on. It's interesting how people's images and opinions of us can sometimes cause us to shape our behavior. We try so hard sometimes to fit in, to be liked, to win approval. But achieving outer approval does not give us inner peace or fulfillment. John Quincy Adams, second president of the U.S., indicated in his diaries that, regardless of his public achievements, inwardly his life had been a disappointment to him. Perhaps we can release our concern for outer approval and really begin to trust our inner convictions to guide us to a life of value and serenity. 

An East Indian visitor to America said that he was surprised that so many people in this, the richest and most powerful country on earth, feel a lack of self-esteem. While my Indian friend was baffled, it is easy for many of us to understand our self-esteem issues. We live in transitionary times. Not only economic issues, but our relationships, value systems and even lifestyles may be in a state of flux and transition. Ours is a culture of change. We change jobs and careers; we change cars and houses, and often even our significant relationships may change. If we look to the outer life for our sense of self-worth and self-esteem, we may be doomed to disappointment and frustration. However, once we see clearly that outer conditions do not really provide a stable source for our self-esteem, we begin to look within ourselves, and we discover an intrinsic self-value. As Blake, Whitman, Emerson and others have pointed out, there is an inherent goodness in each of us, wherein lies the true source of our self-esteem. 

Jean-Paul Sartre said that we always seek out the advisors who will tell us what we want to hear. It's true that when we give advice to people that they don't want, they never come to us for advice again. A lady once went to the doctor who told her she had appendicitis. She went to another doctor for second opinion. The second doctor said she had heart trouble. The woman started to leave. "Where are you going?" the doctor asked. "I'm going back to the first doctor— I'd rather have appendicitis." At times we all need advice, and we need to get the best advice we can. At times we even need to seek out and receive encouraging advice from those we know who will affirm us and encourage us in the direction in which we are moving. But there are also times when we need to turn within ourselves and listen to our own intuition, our innermost self, for guidance and direction. While outer advice is good and useful in its time, the best advice we can receive, many times, comes from deep within our own hearts. 

In our hurry-scurry world, it's helpful to take a pause for peace and quiet. We can take a meditation break during our day, a time out from anxiety and pressure. We just take a moment to relax, release our mental grip on things, let go and let ourselves feel at peace with ourselves and at home in our world. There is no effort or struggle or strain. We simply and easily let go and let ourselves be at peace. Meditation isn't something awkward or difficult to do. We've all had quiet moments in nature or when looking at an art work or when listening to a beautiful piece of music. Our busy mind simply becomes quiet, our body and our emotions become peaceful— we feel a restful inner stillness that is somehow alert, open and receptive. Meditation is waking rest. We simply take our minds off of our tasks and concerns, and we find ourselves renewed and refreshed, with a new enthusiasm and joy for what we do. Take time out during your day for a moment of peace. 
 

A man went to a dentist and refused novocaine or any pain medicine because he wanted to transcend dental medication. As a nation we are so accustomed to taking various pills to alleviate the stresses of modern life that we hardly think about it. There are pills to calm us, soothe us, ease our pain and to put us to sleep at night. Yet there are natural ways to find peace and calm in the midst of this hectic life. Meditation is a simple act of allowing ourselves to quiet down each day, letting our bodies quiet down, letting our minds, with their racing thoughts, quiet down, letting our whole being become inwardly quiet and at ease and at peace. Meditation isn't something foreign; it has been practiced in all times and by all peoples. It's not something difficult to do. It's as easy as taking a few moments to just let go of all the worry and hurry of our life each day. Yet the results of these few moments of quiet calm have lasting benefit for all areas of our life. 

The Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu said, "I once dreamt that I was a butterfly— now I don't know if I'm a man who dreamt he was a butterfly or if I am a butterfly dreaming that I am a man." We all go through times of uncertainty when we feel unclear about who we are and what we are supposed to do in this life. During these times of inner or outer unsettledness, we are tempted to try to find a quick solution or answer to resolve our uncertain feelings. Yet the way of wisdorn may be to relax and realize that we may just be going through a time of inner reassessment. If we are too anxious to arrive at a conclusive answer to our situation, we may not give our innermost being a chance to unfold in a natural way. There is a process of inner realization that brings forth a solution in its own time and its own way if we but let it. When you feel insecure, relax and let your inner self bring forth your solution which will always be the right solution for you.