Begin Within

"It's not the events of today that happened to you that matter (such as you lost something or something went wrong or someone forgot you or spoke to you harshly, etc.) but how you reacted to it all -- that is what states of yourself you were in -- for it is here that your inner life lies, and if our inner states were right, nothing in the nature of external states could overcome us."

-- Maurice Nicolll

Convoluted sentence structure aside, Maurice was onto something. The external events of the day can't touch you, if you are centered within yourself.

Aldous Huxley said, "It is not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond to what happens to you." Or words to that effect. And he, too, was right, as far as it goes.

But it's not just your external response that matters. It's the state of consciousness within you, out of which that response springs. Someone can snub you, and you can respond with a smile. But if that smile is tension-filled and phony, if you are restraining your true feelings and creating turmoil and stress inside yourself, then you are still miles away from Paradise.

State of consciousness is everything. It is what empowers, or disempowers, our actions. We can all tell the difference between a phony smile and a genuine one. We all know what real joy feels like-- both in ourselves and when expressed by others. It's a very different state than forced friendliness or facile fun.

So, today, focus not upon the events that transpire all around you. Give up your knee jerk reactions to them. Instead, look within. See what state of consciousness you are bringing to the events, and how that state, not the events themselves, creates the quality of life your experience.

Remember: Your true point of power always lies within.