3.10.25

Thought

Nagarjuna, the second century Buddhist teacher, said, "Thanks to emptiness, everything is possible." Emptiness is another term for non-self; when we say things are empty, it means they are without a separate self.

Non-self and impermanence are two sides of reality; impermanence is looking at reality in terms of time, and non-self is looking at reality in terms of space. When we look deeply into our fears, we can see our desire for permanence and our fear of change. But impermanence and non-self are not something negative. 

Impermanence means transformation at every moment. Therefore we can say, "Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

Quote

Jon Kabat-Zinn on presence: 

“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to stay present and fully engaged in whatever I’m doing today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

3.3.25

Thought

If we are wreaking havoc on ourselves and the world, and if our best intentions lead to paradoxical outcomes, it is because we have become mesmerised by a mechanistic, reductionist way of thinking, the product of a brain system which evolved not to help us understand, but merely to manipulate the world: that of the left hemisphere. We have become blind to what the subtler, more intelligent and more perceptive right hemisphere sees.

Consequently we no longer seem to have the faintest idea who we are, what the world is, or how we relate to it. Indeed there is a sense in which we no longer live in a world at all, but exist in a simulacrum of our own making.

–Iain McGilchrist, The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World

Quote

Cicero on gratitude: 

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for challenges that push me to be better and work harder.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

2.17.25

Thought

The arts can do a better job than psychology of educating us in the archetypal realm, because the arts can portray the mysterious import of the archetype without reducing it to an explanation or a method. A good movie showing a scene of Western settlers, for instance, caught in the ford of a river and surrounded by an attacking enemy, could impress upon our imaginations the emotions, thoughts, and meanings attached to that archetypal situation better than an abstract theory of entrapment. We may find ourselves in such a 'ford' one day, in a shallow passage through a career or a relationship, with similar emotions and dilemmas, and we may be guided by the movie scene not to get out of our predicament, but to remain trusting and confident in the challenge. ... Just as the so-called primitive is educated into ancient patterns of behaviour through story and ritual, so the arts offer us a way through our predicaments with the tempered light of imagination instead of the blazing lamp of enlightenment.

– Thomas Moore, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life

Quote

Osho on flow: 

“Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand—relax. If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, you start vibrating with it.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for every step towards realization on my projects.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

2.10.25

Thought

There is in every person an inward sea, and in that sea there is an island and on that island there is an altar and standing guard before that altar is the "angel with the flaming sword." Nothing can get by that angel to be placed upon that altar unless it has the mark of your inner authority. Nothing passes "the angel with the flaming sword" to be placed upon your altar unless it be a part of "the fluid area of your consent." This is your crucial link with the Eternal.

– Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart  

Quote

Joyce Meyer on patience: 

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to prioritize what really matters today and to let go of distractions.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

2.3.25

Thought

Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world.

– Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching  

Quote

Buddha on presence: 

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for random acts of kindness.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

1.27.25

Thought

“When someone is seeking,” said Siddhartha, “it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.”

– Herman Hesse, Siddhartha  

Quote

Mark Twain on courage: 

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to deepen my relationships through genuine communication today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

1.20.25

Thought

Ideas are like fish.

If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper.

Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They're huge and abstract. And they're very beautiful.

I look for a certain kind of fish that is important to me, one that can translate to cinema. But there are all kinds of fish swimming down there. There are fish for business, fish for sports. There are fish for everything.

– David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish  

Quote

Martin Luther King, Jr.: 

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to approach myself and others with compassion today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

1.13.25

Thought

When we create goals out of inspiration versus desperation, it is a completely different story. In this state, we are creating because we feel deeply moved, inspired, and expansive. It feels like a calling rather than an obligation. It is like there’s a powerful force of life coming from within us, wanted to be expressed through us to be made manifested into the physical world. This is why painters paint, why dancers dance, why writers write and why singers sing, even if they never get paid or make a living from it. We feel pulled by a force to create something. We gravitate towards it. We feel compelled to do it. When we feel like this, we are creating from a place of abundance instead of lack.

– Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think  

Quote

Napoleon Hill on limitation: 

“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention today is to release things that aren’t serving me and to live in the moment.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val