Reality is threatening when we try to live in our stories and preconceived notions. But when the mind is free of the falsity of delusion, things that are real pose no danger to the mind.

What you’re doing right now is very important—a principle that applies to any “right now,” because what you’re doing right now is always shaping “right now” as well as the future.

In one breath you’ve got everything you need for the practice, so be fully aware right here, and the fullness of your awareness will develop over time without your having to pace yourself or to plan ahead.

As meditators, we can easily slip into the attitude that we’re like people watching T.V.—passive consumers, watching a reality that’s ready-made—but that’s not what’s really going on. We’ve always active, always shaping things, even when we seem to be perfectly still. The purpose of the meditation is to be more careful about our intentions, more alert about how we’re shaping things.

The simple things we already have in the present can be put together in such a way that they can lead to true happiness. We don’t have to go searching outside. All we need is to develop what’s right here.