given to myself
i can only
understand
the world as much as
i understand myself
as she was swimming in the ocean of wisdom
that dwells in her heart, she understood deeply
that all was a part of her, that no one was
separate from her. she whispered lightly with
newfound peace, “i am everything.” that was
when she realized that her greatest power is,
and always was, her ability to love herself.
wholeness
is when lies
no longer stand
between you
and yourself
how to improve your life:
1. make self-love a top priority
2. learn a self-healing technique
3. create space for daily healing
4. know that everything changes
5. be kind, loving, and honest to all
i am not
here to
compete
i am here
to grow
and be free
every time we compete with others, we are already losing, because we are forgetting that life is not a race to be won but a journey we embark on to build our inner peace and wisdom. we create nonexistent competitions in our minds when we get carried away by the delusions of ego. the hierarchical conditioning of society combined with our attachment to “i,” “me,” and “my” creates a scenario in which only a few can succeed.
having a world built on competition has created a situation in which humanity is overflowing with misery—we thought we had to win, to harm each other to survive, but the moment we submitted ourselves to this scenario, we took a step away from our individual and collective freedom.
releasing these conditioned habits is difficult but essential, because happiness and internal security grow as we release the “i” of ego and the delusion of competition. the wisdom of love shows us that individual and collective life need to be reborn and reorganized in a way that supports the well-being of all, not the few. love teaches us that we are here not to compete but to support each other’s growth and happiness.
unconditional love sees no one as an enemy
my faith
for a better future
is in the people
who are turning the idea
of unconditional love
into a way of life
if you want to know
how free you are,
ask yourself,
“how far does
my love extend?”
there is a path
we can walk
where we no longer
allow anyone to harm us
while also loving
all beings unconditionally
fear seeks control
revenge prolongs pain
animosity disrupts peace
compassion ignites healing
honesty releases burdens
happiness is letting go
loneliness
will not
go away
if we remain
far away
from ourselves
repeat daily:
notice the stories you hold in your mind
let go of the ones that cause tension
sometimes people are simply meant to
teach you how not to act in the future
everyone is a teacher, but that does not mean everyone is correct.
there have been times in our lives when we have been a good example for those around us, while at other times we have not been a good example. if we recognize our own imperfections, it helps us have compassion for all people and look upon all as equals.
just because someone was wrong once, it doesn’t mean they are going to be wrong forever. similarly, just because we may perceive someone as wrong, it does not necessarily mean that we are right. in most cases we lack the perfect information required to form an objective and universal perspective.
it is important to remember that we are all imperfect and that we all live through the limited perspective of ego.
striving to learn as much as we can from one another without making harsh and permanent judgments is a sign of wisdom.
part of
being human
is having
opportunities
to give and
receive forgiveness
i am not sure when i will
be completely free and healed,
but i do know i will feel it
more clearly than anything else
i have ever felt in my life
she’s an explorer,
unafraid to travel
within her heart and mind,
ready to discover new spaces
to heal—releasing burdens
and planting wisdom wherever
her awareness takes her
the strongest
people
i have met
are the ones
who do not
harm themselves
the idea that
when you let go
of what you want,
it comes to you
working toward our goal and simultaneously letting it go may seem paradoxical, but it is the fastest way to achieve what we want. letting go is not giving up; it is the graceful walk between continuing to put effort into making our preferred reality come true and not allowing our happiness to be controlled by something we do not have. if we remain attached, we tend to feel agitation or even misery. this creates tension in our being that blocks us from fulfilling our desires.
sometimes we may still get what we want, even if we do not know how to let go; but in these cases, we may be less capable of keeping what we want, and it may even cause us more misery because we never addressed the root of our tension, which is our inability to appreciate what we already had to begin with.
what do we get when we let go of the past and the future? inner peace. realizing peace within ourselves no matter our external circumstance is a high form of freedom that allows blessings, miracles, and success to flow into our lives. happiness and gratitude are attractive forces; their lack of wanting is what clears the road so that new things may come with greater ease.
water teaches flexibility and power
earth expresses firmness and balance
air sings of intelligence and bravery
fire speaks of action and growth
the mind
is a garden;
what we decide
to grow there will
determine our prosperity
bad vibes
can’t hurt you
when your balance
and love are strong
sometimes
we go back and repeat
an old mistake
just so we can remember
why we moved forward
giving yourself
the space and time
to respond
instead of reacting blindly
is an important way
to reclaim your power
the body knows what it requires;
listen to it—not the cravings of
the mind but the needs of the body—
let it guide you into well-being
your friends
who have the courage
to expand their
wisdom and self-awareness—
they are speci
al;
keep them close
the forces
of the universe
support those
who work at
healing themselves
peaceful minds
have the power
to create
a peaceful world
when the mind feels wild and cloudy,
it may be that something from deep within
has come to the surface, an old burden
seeking release. breathe, relax, and let it go.
(storms)
sanity is the unwillingness to do harm
i held my fear by the hand,
honored its existence, and
thanked it for teaching me
that happiness exists beyond
the boundaries it creates
free
people
have no
masters
but themselves
movements change the world, but just as it is important to be a part of and build movements to create a world where human rights are a reality for all—a world where systemic forms of social and economic oppression no longer exist—so it is equally important to build our own intimate internal movement that focuses on healing the greed, hatred, and fear within ourselves that cause so much chaos in our lives and are the actual underlying roots of the societal chaos we experience.
every society is simply a composition of its individuals believing, consenting to, and perpetuating particular stories that come together to create the world we know. if the stories we choose to believe in change, if we begin to understand that when we harm another we are actually harming ourselves—not in a fictional sense but in a literal sense, similar to the way that water is good for the body and poison is bad—then we will quickly shift into a new world.
pleasure cannot fill the heart
hate cannot keep you safe
anger cannot set you free
only love can fill voids
only love can create peace
only love can liberate
love
is the most
potent and versatile
form of magic
love
is the strongest
building material
in the universe
not just
the love
between people
but the love
that gives you
the power
to heal yourself
and change the world
they both know that they are not together to complete each other, that their happiness is their own to create. nevertheless, their ethereal bond serves a great purpose; it gives them the time and space to love each other well enough to release the tension of their unloved hearts. their love for one another is not the end but rather a means to an end. it is a humble tool of healing and nourishment that can strengthen their minds and make their spirits mighty, so that they may both travel as far within themselves as possible, so that they may both release all that limits the flow of their happiness, so that they may both swim freely in the waters of wisdom and universal understanding.
(love is a key)
“‘strength’? what do you mean by ‘strength’?”
“what i mean is how firm is your inner peace, how honestly can you observe yourself without judgment, how limitless is your love for yourself and all beings, and how willing are you to change yourself for the better?”
courage
letting go
self-love
a growing awareness
as our ability to
know and heal ourselves
deepens, we will be better
equipped to examine the
world more carefully
and heal it more
effectively
healing yourself with love
is a long-term process
healing the world with love
is a long-term process
i rebel by loving more
whenever we are asked to limit our love, to be selective with our love, to reserve our love for some parts of ourselves and not others or to reserve our love for some people and not others, we do a disservice to ourselves by following along, because any love withheld becomes tension in our being.
the normality of perpetual war, the rising tide of poverty, the varying forms of violence our economy requires to stay afloat, and the indifference that we are expected to feel toward it all are stifling and ever present. when we think of happiness, it is important to remember that, generally speaking, we fall together and we rise together. those of us alive today have never lived in a world where a large portion of humanity was not struggling to meet its material needs or fighting for the right to be treated as human beings—we humans have the uncanny ability, whether we are aware of it or not, to feel and be affected by the plight and struggle of others. energy sees no barriers.
whenever we are asked to keep our eyes and hearts closed, and we do just that, because it is easier than accepting the responsibility of a world and humanity that need healing, because it is easier than understanding that to heal the world will require a heroic effort on our part to heal our own inner world, we are dimming the light of our own future. it is in the challenge of allowing our love to flow actively and limitlessly that we come to find greater degrees of our own personal liberation and global liberation for all beings.
the dalai lama once stated, “compassion is the radicalism of our time.” this is true. today we rebel by loving more. when we can see and treat each other as family, we will know a global peace.
do not forget
to send your love
into the earth
into the water
into the sky
how will you help heal the world?
by healing myself and supporting
the healing of those around me.
by allowing love to fill my very
being and guide my every action.
by understanding that if it causes
harm, it must not be the right way.
observe.
accept.
release.
transform.
because being calm in the midst
of chaos is a sign of true power
measure
your success
by the growth
of your freedom
the mind is a lot more vast than conscious thought can comprehend. the conscious part of the mind—the part where we feel and hear the movements of our emotions, memories, and thoughts—may seem large, but it is quite small in comparison to the subconscious. an iceberg’s small peak floats above water while the great majority of its mass sits silently and unseen underneath—the top is visible and prominent, but what is unseen is much bigger and has a massive effect on the part that is seen, largely dictating its movements. the mind works in a similar manner; the subconscious and the reactive patterns that have accumulated there over time, though they remain mostly unknown or forgotten, have a strong effect on our daily behavior.
this is why there is a lot more to freedom than simply having unrestricted mobility or having our material needs met or the removal of all forms of external oppression. freedom is deeper than believing that we are free on the conscious level of the mind—the conscious may think this to be so, but if the subconscious is still burdened with patterns that cause us misery, delusion, and the pain that comes with unceasing reactions, then we are not yet wholly free. the greatest oppressor is the untrained mind.
freedom grows when we begin the mental healing and training that teaches u
s how to let go and interact with the ocean of life in a way that no longer causes us misery; our freedom grows as we observe deep within ourselves and begin letting go of our attachments and burdens that clog up the subconscious mind. freedom is happening every moment when we are not craving something more.
the mind is purified as we release the weight of the past and the yearnings for specific things in the future—especially if our happiness is dependent on obtaining these things. the mind is clear, powerful, and effectively decisive when we can truly observe the present moment without projecting our ego onto it. freedom is something we build within. freedom is a habit.
find yourself
free yourself
goals:
develop my calmness
cultivate my wisdom
expand my freedom
help heal the world
releasing,
learning,
expanding—
i am happily a
work in progress
sending love to all beings
may all beings continue reclaiming their power
may all beings heal themselves and the world
may all beings be happy and free
about the author
diego perez is the writer behind the pen name yung pueblo. the name yung pueblo means “young people.” it serves to remind him of his ecuadorian roots, his experiences in activism, and that the collective of humanity is in the midst of important growth. his favorite word, “liberation,” took on a deeper meaning once he started meditating vipassana, as taught by s.n. goenka. through writing and speaking, he aims to support the healing of the individual, realizing that when we release our personal burdens, we contribute to a global peace.
Inward copyright © 2018 by Diego Perez Lacera. Cover by Anders Villomann. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.