Diane Ackerman Quotes

I think over time you learn to know a bit more about yourself - you develop a certain amount of self-insight and self-awareness, and you know what you can absorb, and what you cannot; what gets to you and what doesn't.

It sounds clichéd, but I think the greatest lesson is to not take things personally.

We can stop thinking that good practice is when it’s smooth and calm, and bad practice is when it’s rough and dark. If we can hold it all in our hearts, then we can make a proper cup of tea.

When we are angry, our anger is our very self. To suppress or chase away our anger is to suppress or chase away ourselves. When anger is born, we can be aware that anger is an energy in us, and we can change that energy into another kind of energy. If we want to transform it, first we have to know how to accept it.

Many people don't know about the power of good feelings, and so their feelings are reactions or responses to what happens to them. They have put their feelings on automatic pilot, instead of deliberately taking charge of them.

I don't let the hate go to my heart, and I don't let the praise go to my head.

When you feel the rise of unpleasant emotions, take a moment and make an effort to identify their source. The answers are far more available than you may have previously believed. Accept such feelings as your own in the moment. Do not shove them underneath, ignore them or try to substitute what you think of as good thoughts.

If you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.

Be aware that what you think, to a large extent, creates the emotions that you feel. See the link between your thinking and your emotions. Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them.

Everyone has emotions; you just learn to use then and be comfortable with them.

We are not a victim of our emotions or thoughts. We can understand our triggers and use them as tools to help us respond more objectively.

I'm very emotional. I do feel stuff, for better or worse.

When you stop resisting your emotions, you will quickly realize that your feelings are your friends. They are your soul's way to communicate with you and are meant to guide and inform you.

When we are fully conscious and aware, we actually know when we are about to overreact. When we are mindful, we have the mental space and are aware of when our moods change. When we are mindful, we are aware of when our mental models are being challenged and when expectation does not meet with reality, which can trigger an emotional response.

There are times I am happy. There are times I am sad. But I always try to separate emotion from the need to reach for something stronger, deeper. And then no matter the emotion, I can reach for a stability that helps me accomplish what is the goal.

Generally speaking, I think it's a good idea to stay conscious of any kind of energy or emotion that you're generating, whether it's at the end of a work day or just in your everyday life.

We think too much and feel too little.

Don't believe everything you think - or feel.

Part of growing up is learning to live with your emotions; today’s shortcut is to believe whatever your feelings are, they’re justified.

You need to know that you cannot control your feelings, and you cannot control your feelings about your feelings, but, as best as you can, intellectually understand that your feelings are valid and they're okay and don't try to stifle them or feel shame about them.

Discipline yourself. Be conscious of what you think, and what you like. What gets you mad? What gets you in your feelings? Figure that stuff out and take control of it so nobody else can control you.

I'm honest with myself how I feel. If I feel good, I feel good. If I don't - if I'm tight - I don't just try to muscle through everything, because you've got to be a little bit smarter.

Awareness is the key. Do we see the stories that we're telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by strong emotion, do we remember that it is our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can't practice when distracted but KNOW we can't, we are still training well. Never underestimate the power of compassionately recognizing what's going on.