angel 's Key Ideas from The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down
by Haemin Sunim

Our reality is created by what we choose to focus on.

Reality exists because our minds are aware of it; without our minds, the universe would not exist.

The world exists because we are aware of it. We cannot be aware of a reality we do not perceive.

Our minds create the world by focusing on parts of it, thus making the mind significant in creating our experience of the world.

Training our minds to focus wisely is crucial for shaping our desired reality. In other words we have the ability to choose our world.

Everyone appears as Buddhas in the eyes of the Buddha and everyone appears as pigs in the eyes of a pig.

When your mind is joyful and compassionate, the world is too. When your mind is filled with negative thoughts, the world appears negative too.”

I squeeze myself into the subway car. People are crowded all around me. 

I can either get annoyed or think it's fun that I don't have to grab a handrail. 

People react differently to the same situation. 

If we look at it more closely, we see it's not the situation that is troubling us, but our perspective on it

With love in our hearts, we find even the most mundane things sacred and beautiful.

With love in our hearts, we become kinder and gentler, even to complete strangers.

Without love in our hearts, we find the world meaningless and random.

Without love in our hearts, we become strangers even to our family and friends.”

Most people are completely absorbed in their emotions and have limited self-awareness. Being able to notice negative emotions is the first step to befriending them (awareness).

It is difficult to quickly control a strong negative emotion; the more we try to control it the more it becomes agitated and resurfaces.

Even if we control it, we may end up only suppressing it, only for it to reemerge later.

Don’t get stuck on labels i.e anger as emotions change whereas words stay static.

Watch them and see them slowly changing shape either revealing a deeper layer of emotion or disappearing on its own.

Pure attention without judgment is not only the highest form of human intelligence, but also the expression of love.

Observing your emotions means facing them, not avoiding them. This helps us see that negative feelings aren't a fixed reality but are temporary. Instead of fighting these emotions, just watch and accept them.

Some ask if swallowing your pride is conceding defeat. I don't think so.

Humility is a sign of inner strength and wisdom.

When you swallow your pride, real communication becomes possible. We can finally hear each other and eventually solve our problems

If I had to summarise the entirety of most people's lives in a few words, it would be endless resistance to what is. 

As we resist, we are in constant motion trying to adjust, and yet we still remain unhappy about what is.

If I had to summarise the entirety of an enlightened person's life in a few words, it would be complete acceptance of what is. 

As we accept what is,  our minds are relaxed and composed while the world changes rapidly around us.

Whether you like it or not, change is inevitable. Embrace it and welcome it.

Quietly observe the feeling without trying to change it, it will change on its own. As if watching the water flow by.

Do this for just 3 minutes and watch.

Watch the feelings as if they are external to you.

☁️ You cannot control the feelings in your body, they are just passing through like the clouds in the sky ☁️

Remember that you are neither your feelings nor the story your mind tells about you to make sense of them. You are the vast silence that knows of their emergence and their disappearance.

Do not try to get rid of your thoughts—it won't work.

Instead, witness the emergence of a thought.

Witness the disappearance of a thought.

The moment you become aware of it, the mind quiets and becomes clear.

Everything in this universe is evanescent.

Because it is evanescent, it is also precious. 

Spend this precious moment wisely and beautifully.

The mind cannot have two thoughts at once. See if you can think two thoughts at exactly the same time.

Well? Is it possible?