An Awakened Life

I have this book "An Awakened Life - uncommon wisdom from everyday experience" by Christopher Titmuss

It's a book that a borrowed 15 years ago from the friend of a friend. No no i didn't steal it:) I just never saw the person again.

I have been reading this book for 15years...highlighting sections that inspire me...going back and reading sections when i need a little insight. This books helps me to unlock the answers within my soul. I read some of my highlighted sections today...they spoke to me... so i thought i'd share.

enjoy and my you have all the happiness your hearts can hold:)

-g

"Why so some people find it easy to live with an open heart and others cannot? It comes out of awareness and deep sensitivity, and from looking direly at the actualities of life. True friendship extends itself in all directions, knowing no boundaries. It is a powerful force for healing and change."

"Authentic love comes from a mind that doesn't turn away. It comes from a mind that faces the possibility of not getting what we want, of losing what we have and being separated fro whom and what we love. It does not require any special method, or technique or training. Nor does it require adopting a religious or philosophical message. What love requires is the willingness to know and understand intimately the conditions for the arising of suffering and a commitment to resolving a problematic existence."

"It is letting go of, or overcoming, negativity that paves the way for the resolution of problems." "We want step-by-step tools, and we want them to work quickly, or we give up. work on ourselves might be a lifelong undertaking."

"Acts of loving kindness keep the heart open" "Where there is kindness, we are willing to struggle with difficult decisions out of respect for other and ourselves. Some people get the idea that living with kindness is a mistake. Kind people always get walked over, they claim, and so they harden their hearts so that nobody can reach them. that same defensive wall also stops them from reaching deep within themselves. There are risks in kindness. The most obvious one is being taken advantage of by the selfish and unscrupulous. Yes, that happens, but authentic kindness, tempered with equanimity, will not wither under such exploitation." "There is a well-known saying, 'you need to be cruel to be kind'. Parents use it to justify their strictness with their children. We sometimes imagine that if we shout or yell abuse we will provoke deeper resources within a person into action. We are deceiving ourselves, however, and are likely to do more harm than good. If we sincerely wish to inspire others, we need first to know them, to respect and understand them."

"The power of loving kindness is its ability to reach deep into a person, motivate them and inspire them towards greater things. It is the ability to help a person know their sense of worth and their capacities. This skill is born from awareness."