“Too many of us succumb to a weak internal story informed by flawed but popular beliefs. We are reactionary to objective events, easily buffeted by the winds of change. Pop culture, people we interact with daily, and external events shape and reinforce this subjective reality. In these instances, we end up being extras in someone else’s story, reacting our way through life, lacking integrity and out of balance.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Comfort imprisons us in a low-grade fear of suffering. We naturally shy from things that hurt, not understanding how much this pattern debilitates us and keeps us from experiencing life at its fullest. We must define our comfort zone, and then get the heck out of it!” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard, via The Way of the Seal
“When it’s obvious that a goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goal, adjust the action steps.” ~ Chinese Proverb, via The Way of the Seal
“Success doesn’t come to you… you go to it.” ~ Marva Collins, via The Way of the Seal
“Though we’d like to believe our thoughts are under our control, guess again. Thoughts arise constantly, and many have no business being in our minds, nor do they have a positive purpose in our lives. Road rage, what goes through your mind when someone cuts you off in traffic, is a good example of an emotion-driven thought.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“To win anything, we must first win control over our minds.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Even though you may not feel or look the part now, you must envision yourself in your ideal state, activating your personal power and living in alignment with your stand and purpose. I learned in the SEALs that there’s no such thing as perfection, only perfect effort. Through practicing a ‘perfect’ version of ourselves mentally, we’ll slowly become that person in real life.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“The perpetual winds of pleasure blow you in one direction. The gusts of pain push you in another. The problem is this keeps you from living your ideal life. You’re simply bouncing around. By defining your stand and purpose, you will be able to use them as an internal GPS. When the winds of pain and pleasure blow, you won’t change course.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.” ~ T.E. Lawrence via The Way of the Seal
“Ultimately, we need to develop what the Japanese call kokoro, which means to merge our heart and mind in action. It implies that we are balanced and centered, allowing us to operate in synchronicity with our inner selves, with others, and with nature. When we commit to integral development and lead with kokoro, we will be 100 percent authentic, present, and powerful.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Bottom line: If you lack an underlying commitment to self-mastery and growth, even the best theory won’t help you lead yourself or a team to success.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Our consciousness is like a television with many channels. When we push the button on the remote control, the channel we choose appears. When we sit by the bedside of a dying person, we have to know which channel to call up. Those who are closest to the dying person are in the best position to do this. If you are accompanying someone who is dying, use those sounds and images from the life of the person that will water the seeds of their greatest happiness. In the consciousness of everyone are the seeds of the Pure Land and of nirvana, of the kingdom of God and of paradise.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“We have to live with peace and joy right away and not wait for the future to do it. We have to be well right now, right here, peaceful and joyful in the present moment. There is no way to happiness—happiness is the way.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“When you are about to die, you may not be very aware of your body. You may experience some numbness, and yet your are caught in the idea that this body is you. You are caught in the notion that the disintegration of this body is your own disintegration. That is why you are fearful. You are afraid you are becoming nothing. The disintegration of his body cannot affect the dying person’s true nature. You have to explain to him that he is life without limit. This body is just a manifestation, like a cloud. When a cloud is no longer a cloud, it is not lost. It has not become nothing; it has transformed; it has become rain. Therefore we should not identify our self with our body.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“Watering the seeds of happiness is a very important practice for the sick or dying. All of us have seeds of happiness inside us, and in difficult moments when we are sick or when we are dying, there should be a friend sitting with us to help us touch the seeds of happiness within. Otherwise seeds of fear, of regret or of despair can easily overwhelm us.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“We try to direct the mind toward recognizing reality. This is a chant that is recited daily in Buddhist monasteries: ‘Breathing in and out, I am aware of the fact that I am of the nature to die; I cannot escape dying. I am of the nature to grow old; I cannot escape old age. I am of the nature to get sick. Because I have a body, I cannot avoid sickness. Everything I cherish, treasure and cling to today, I will have to abandon one day. The only thing I can carry with me is the fruit of my own action. I cannot bring along with me anything else except the fruit of my actions in terms of thought, speech and bodily acts.'” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“If you have difficulties with your son or daughter, you may have the tendency to say: “You are not my daughter. My daughter would not behave like that” or “You are not my son. My son would never do things like that.” If you look deeply at yourself, you will see that these negative seeds are in you also. When you were young you made mistakes and you learned from your suffering. When your child makes mistakes, you need to help him understand so he will not do it again. When you can see your own weaknesses, you can say: “Who am I not to accept my son?” Your son is you. With this insight into non-duality, you can reconcile with your children.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“To accept others as they are, we must begin with ourselves. If we cannot accept ourselves as we are, we will never be able to accept others. When I look at myself, I see positive, admirable and even remarkable things, but I also know that there are negative parts of me. So first I recognize and accept myself.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
“Look into a plum tree. In each plum on the tree there is a pit. That pit contains the plum tree and all previous generations of plum tree. The plum pit contains an eternity of plum trees. Inside the pit is an intelligence and wisdom that knows how to become a plum tree, how to produce branches, leaves, flowers and plums. It cannot do this on its own. It can only do this because it has received the experience and heritage of so many generations of ancestors. You are the same. You possess the wisdom and intelligence of how to become a full human being because you inherited an eternity of wisdom not only from your blood ancestors but from your spiritual ancestors, too.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear