Pacific Northwest Theosophist

centered thoughts

December 1995


worryworryworryworry

Worry is brooding over fear of the future, and is unnecessary. We run a thousand scenarios through our mind trying to discern what the actual outcome will be; usually a negative one. What we need to do is to perform our duties as they come to us giving no thought to their outcome (which we have no present control over - except to live free from worry so to give our best in each situation). Worry is intimately connected with anxiety, doubt, and regret. All of these can be avoided by concentrating on what is directly in front of us and giving our full effort toward doing the right thing in that situation, no matter what the results. -- PNT


In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble. -- Yun-men

There is never any need to worry. The good law looks out for all things, and all we have to do is our duty as it comes along from day to day. Nothing is gained by worrying about matters and about the way people do not respond. In the first place you do not alter people, and in the second, by being anxious as to things, you put an occult obstacle in the way of what you want done. It is better to acquire a lot of what is called carelessness by the world, but is in reality a calm reliance on the law, and a doing of one's own duty, satisfied that the results must be right, no matter what they may be. Think that over and try to make it a part of your inner mind that it is no use to worry; that things will be all right, no matter what comes, and that you are resolved to do what you see before you, and trust to Karma for all the rest. -- W.Q. Judge

Haven't you ever planned something down to the last detail - done everything you could to make sure nothing goes wrong - and then had the whole affair turn out completely differently? Doesn't that show you that there is a power in the universe that encompasses us all, that it is not possible to ordain our lives the way we will? -- The Ramayana

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. -- John Lennon

Every moment is unique and discrete. When our concentration is complete, we rest like a king in the present, not concerned with what happened in the past, not anxious over what might happen in the future. Completely absorbed in the present, we are able to give our best concentration to everyone we deal with and everything we do. -- Eknath Easwaran

Love God and do what you will. -- St. Augustine

There is no punishment - there is nothing to fear except what we create in ourselves. The essence of Theosophical teaching is that we should kill out fear and in its place plant love. -- Katherine Tingley

Worry is an addiction that interferes with compassion. -- Deng Ming-Dao

So often I worry about a decision before it has to be made. I will always know more than I do now about both the situation and my own feelings, when the time comes to decide. And interestingly, one remaining phenomenon is that the very information needed to make the best choice often doesn't arrive until it is time for a decision. -- Hugh Patterson

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. -- Shunryu Suzuki

If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark. -- St. John of the Cross

Worrying about results not only makes us less effective, it is futile. By our very nature we see only a small part of the total picture, and we make our plans on an appropriately narrow and egocentric scale. When we learn simply to do our best and leave the question of success or failure to the Lord, the result can be spectacular. -- Eknath Easwaran

Be a master of mind rather than mastered by mind. -- Zen Saying

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