One day, a troubled man named Ravi came to see Venerable Chandra, The head monk at the Buddhist temple. Ravi was feeling trapped in a cycle of unhealthy habits and negative thoughts that had plagued him for years. Ravi believed it was too late for him to change these samskaras.

The monk Chandra listened patiently and then led Ravi to a dimly lit room in the monastery, where a single clay lamp stood, unlit and covered in dust. The monk struck a match and lit the wick, filling the room with a warm, comforting glow. “It doesn’t matter how long this room has been dark,” Venerable Chandra said, “the moment we lit the lamp, the light banished the darkness and revealed the beauty within. Your ability to change doesn’t depend on how long you’ve been in the dark. When you flip the switch, it doesn’t matter if it’s been ten minutes, ten years, or ten decades. The light will still illuminate your path and reveal what you could not see before.”

He continued, “Your future is like a lump of clay, sitting on the spinning potter’s wheel of time. You are the potter, Ravi. You have the power to shape it into something beautiful, no matter how long it has been since you last touched the wheel.” Ravi felt a surge of hope, realizing that his past did not define him and that he held the power to change his future. With gratitude in his heart, he left the monastery, knowing that it was never too late to take a moment to look, turn on the light, and shape his life with his own hands.”

“You are a cosmic flower. Om chanting is the process of opening the psychic petals of that flower. Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divine within you. Self-observation is the first step of inner unfolding.” – Amit Ray

“What should be done with all the time that awaits us? Unshaped; lite like a feather, but heavy as lead with certainty. It is a blank and empty canvas, awaiting the brush strokes of your soul.” – David Scott

“Silence is a fence around wisdom.” – German Proverb

“One breath can change a moment, one moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world.” – David Scott

“The mind is responsible for the feelings of pleasure and pain. Control of the mind is the highest Yoga.” – Swami Sivananda

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

“Be the master OF mind rather than mastered BY mind.” – Japanese Proverb

“Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.”– Swami Muktananda

“Thoughts are like birds in mind; some fly in, some fly out. Some stay at water hole to drink. Beware of birds that linger.” – Natalie Wright

“As gold purified in a furnace loses its impurities and achieves its own true nature, the mind gets rid of the impurities of the attributes of delusion, attachment and purity through meditation and attains Reality.” – Adi Shankara

“If the mind falls asleep, awaken it. Then if it starts wandering, make it quiet. If you reach the state where there is neither sleep nor movement of mind, stay still in that, the natural (real) state.”– Ramana Maharshi

“Samsara is mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections. Nirvana is mind turned inwardly, recognizing its nature.” – Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

“There is to path to happiness, happiness is the path itself. You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.” – Buddha

“Whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. What is soft is strong.” – Lao Tzu

“Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger. One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head. This means that you no longer take the content of your mind all that seriously, as your sense of self does not depend on it.” – Eckhart Tolle

“He who lives in harmony with himself, lives in harmony with the universe.” – Marcus Aurelius

“Angry people want you to see how powerful they are. Loving people want you to see how powerful you are.” Chief Red Eagle

“Meditation is intermittent fasting for the mind. Too much sugar leads to a heavy body, and too many distractions lead to a heavy mind. Time spent undistracted and alone, in self-examination, journaling, meditation, resolves the unresolved and takes us from mentally fat to fit.” – Naval Ravikant

“Nobody can say anything about you that matters. Whatever people say is about you is a reflection of how they feel about themselves. But you become very shaky, because you are still clinging to a false center. That false center depends on others, so you are always looking to what people are saying about you. And you are always following other people, you are always trying to satisfy them. You are always trying to be respectable, you are always trying to decorate your ego. This is suicidal. Rather than being disturbed by what others say, you should start looking inside yourself…Whenever you are self-conscious you are simply showing that you are not conscious of the self at all. You don’t know who you are. If you had known, then there would have been no problem— then you are not seeking opinions. Then you are not worried what others say about you— it is irrelevant! When you are self-conscious you are in trouble. When you are self-conscious you are really showing symptoms that you don’t know who you are. Your very self-consciousness indicates that you have not come home yet.” – Osho

“It is easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled.”” – Mark Twain

Avidya

Mark Twain: ‘It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.’ This idea resonates deeply with Buddhist teachings about ignorance and self-deception.

In Buddhism, ignorance (avidya) is considered one of the primary kleshas, or mental afflictions, that cloud our understanding and keep us from seeing the true nature of reality. We often cling to false perceptions and beliefs, even when they cause us suffering, because it feels safer than facing the truth.

During our practice today, let’s bring awareness to this tendency. As we move through our asanas, notice if any false beliefs or self-deceptions arise. Acknowledge them with compassion and gently guide your focus back to the breath and the present moment.

By cultivating mindfulness, we can begin to peel away the layers of illusion and see things as they truly are. This path requires patience and honesty with ourselves, but it leads to a deeper understanding and inner peace.

So today, let’s embrace the challenge of seeing beyond our illusions, and practice with an open heart and mind.”

“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” – Buddha

“Untrained warriors are soon killed on the battlefield; so also persons untrained in the art of preserving their inner peace are quickly riddled by the bullets of worry and restlessness in active life.” – Paramahansa Yogananda

“Inner stillness is the key to outer strength.” – Jared Brock

“Happiness is part of who we are. Joy is the feeling” – Tony DeLiso

“If you want to find God, hang out in the space between your thoughts.” – Alan Cohen

“Let the mind come as it wants; just you don’t go with it. The greatest salesman in the world cannot sell you if you don’t buy.” – Mooji

“While meditating we are simply seeing what the mind has been doing all along, hidden from view by the fog of our ego’s ignorance.” – David Scott

“Through meditation, the Higher Self is experienced.” – Bhagavad Gita

“The nature of illusion is that, when you see through it, it disappears.” – Mooji

“If you cultivate the attitude of indifference towards the mind, gradually you will cease to identify with it. If you can resist the impulse to claim each and every thought as your own, you will come to a startling conclusion: you will discover that you are the consciousness in which the thoughts appear and disappear.” – Annamalai Swami

“When you know that everything that is happening is only appearing on the screen of consciousness, and that you yourself are the screen on which it all appears, nothing can touch you, harm you or make you afraid. If you can be continuously aware of each thought as it rises, and if you can be so indifferent to it that it doesn’t sprout or flourish, you are well on the way to escaping from the entanglements of mind.” – Annamalai Swami

“The great masters of the past taught: “Water, if you don’t stir it, will become clear”. Likewise, the mind left unaltered will find its own natural peace and clarity.” – David Scott.