By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: January 15, 2020
In the year 2020, how will you move forward with confidence and energy to create a good life and learn from past hurts and troubles? In his profound and inimitable way, spiritual master and founder of Art of Living, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, shares how to do just that. These 20 inspirational quotes will have you feeling motivated and inspired to live your best life!
“It's not just the year that’s changing. Your appearance, thoughts, and feelings have all been changing. In fact, there isn't a single cell in you that you were born with. So what makes you 'you'? If you find this out, your life becomes an eternal celebration.”
“Time changes things. Almost everything. Every cell in your body is changing and in one year your thoughts and emotions change. So time changes your body, but you have the capacity to change the time. Make the time better.”
“Don’t wait for something to happen to you. You make things happen to the world!”
“This year, think about what we can do to spread the maximum amounts of love, light, wisdom, and knowledge. How we can reach every village. We must reach more than mobile phones, but reach every corner where there’s no mobile phone, also.”
“When an event passes, either you hold on to the impressions of the event, and burn yourself, or you just take a lesson from it and move on. The ignorant person holds onto those events and makes them into trauma, and projects the incidents into the future and becomes paranoid. Trauma is holding onto an event in your mind and projecting it into the future.”
“Learning a lesson means you just take it and move on. Keep that information in your library. You have a lesson that an incident has taught you. You receive it, honor it, and then you move on into the future. It’s a book in your library, not the glasses. Don’t make an event into your glasses, otherwise you’ll see everything through a colored glass. That’s paranoia and prejudice.”
“You’re on a conveyor belt and the belt is moving very fast. Time is that conveyor belt.”
“Knowledge shouldn’t be too serious. It should bring the lightness in you.”
“Some feel the year went by too fast and others feel it was too slow. If you keep your gifts to yourself, life drags. If you share them, life flows smoothly.”
“This year, plan your calendar so that you can spend enough time in meditation, in acquiring knowledge and in serving the society.”
“All kinds of abundance come with devotion. Devotion becomes complete with knowledge. You get both devotion and knowledge through meditation. Those who meditate have an unshakable smile in their hearts and on their faces.”
“Resolve that you’re a glowing flame. Each being is a light and this divine creation is a perpetual festival of lights. The glow of this physical life goes out but the glow of the soul is eternal. This resolution, even if for a moment, brings lasting peace.”
“Whenever you start new ventures, it is wise to consider pros and cons. Having said that, unless the wheels roll, you can never check the brakes of a car. Have the courage to start.”
“Nature compels you to go into silence unconsciously and that’s sleep. This gives you energy. When you choose to be silent consciously, that’s meditation. It gives you more energy and can help open doors to subtle dimensions.”
“Life presents a million opportunities to be grateful and a billion opportunities to grumble. It’s one’s good fortune to go beyond the guilt and pride of the past and the fear and feverishness of the future, to the inner sanctum of unconditional love.”
“Love is that which you can't fully express or hide. Beauty is that which you can't possess or renounce. Truth is that which you can't avoid.”
“The concept that things should be a certain way causes pain in the mind. The cause of distress is set concepts in the mind.”
“When individuals become peaceful, communities become peaceful. When world leaders have a broad vision, world peace is a possibility.”
“The mind has a tendency to doubt the positive things in life. Doubt the negative and put your trust in the positive.”
“Do not let adverse situations leave impressions in your mind and take your happiness away. Shrug them off and stand tall.”
All the best to you for a wonderful year during 2020 and a beautiful life full of joy and wisdom in the years beyond! For more wisdom and practical techniques from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, find a Happiness Program near you!
Elizabeth Herman writes, offers writing support to clients, teaches, and volunteers for a better world. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition and Literature. Find her on Facebook or Twitter.
