Silence and solitude are vital to our well-being. Time to be alone, without the clamor of a noisy world and the needs of others, is essential for creating physical, mental, and emotional harmony. In fact, silence and solitude may be the foundational practice for living as our true selves; as beings who are innately confident, peaceful, openhearted, kind and generous. Without periods of and places for silence and solitude, it's difficult to connect with the essence of who we really are. In truth, we must desire inner calm more than chaos and create an environment and a routine that allows us to access it on a regular basis. 

Today, how might you create space and opportunity for yourself to be restored by silence and solitude?

​©2025, Janice L. Lundy

​There is no way to annihilate the ego, nor should we strive to. There is only one way to loosen its grip upon us, by tapping into the most powerful "virtue" of all, compassion. We can cultivate compassion for the ego because it is so insecure, rooted in fear; compassion for others because they are struggling with their egos just as we are; compassion for ourself because, in our humanness, we will fall prey to the ego again and again. It is inevitable that this will happen. The ego holds the blueprint for what it means to be a human being. We cannot exist in a body without it.
 
The practice of mindfulness can help us notice when the ego is present; we can see it clearly for what it is—an ego. The practice of compassion enables us to let go of any self-negating feelings we may have about getting "caught" or stuck in ego once again. Compassion invites us to love ourself as we are, then to aim higher so we make the wisest of choices.

​©2025, Janice L. Lundy

Do you ever wonder how you can be more compassionate? Sometimes we get firmly stuck in our intellect trying to reason out how. When we let the ruminating go—especially the "shoulds" of compassion—we can drop into a softer, more welcoming place within us.
 
Compassion carries a slight smile with it, so put one on. Compassion sees through lenses of love, so place an imaginary pair on your face and try to see others with kind eyes. Compassion feels through arms and hands, so reach out and touch someone. This is what is meant by embodied compassion—active gestures of connection instead of simply thinking about how.

Kindness is a practice of inclining the mind, of intention," writes Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg. Do you believe this to be true? It has been demonstrated that human beings are genetically programmed for kindness, yet it must be cultivated too. 

If you incline your mind—turn it, train it—to focus even more on kindness, it will magically respond. The more you are able to do this, to lean into kindness, the more often your natural response to others will be one of empathy, caring, and compassion. 
 
Kindness is a habit that begs to be grown in a world that is filled with challenges.

©2025, Janice L. Lundy

How fast do you walk and talk? Are you rushing through your day to get things done? Are you living by the clock? 
 
Rushing creates stress and stress creates tension, which creates more problems than we can name. Rushing also makes us miss the magic of the moment, including the joy of intimate conversation between friends and family. 
 
Consciously slow the pace of your day. Walk more slowly. Speak more slowly, more intentionally. Remind yourself to "Breathe, go slowly, and smile," as Zen monk, Thich Nhat Hanh advocates. Take time to smell the roses.

Are you being a “soul friend” today? Are you holding someone's hand, embracing his or her heart as a representative of divine presence in the world? 
 
In difficult times, we all need someone who can offer us unconditional kindness. Let us never forget that our extension of kindness and compassion serves as a mirror of the Ultimate. Let us offer it regularly and serve others unreservedly.

​©2024, Janice L. Lundy

One way you can to begin to live the core value of peace and kindness to all is to begin with yourself, specifically, by noticing your internal dialogue. How do you speak to yourself? Do you berate, judge or ridicule yourself? In truth, how you speak to yourself is either an act of self-care or an act of hostility. 
 
Speaking unkindly in this way sets us up to carry it forward by speaking carelessly to others. We perpetuate our inner hurt out into the world and others then suffer. 
 
Today, begin to speak to yourself as kindly as you would your own precious child. 

​©2024, Janice L. Lundy

Each of us is exactly where we are supposed to be right now, in a growth pattern that is uniquely our own, on a path that is ours and ours alone.

​We cannot compare our spiritual growth to anyone else's. Each is unique, fashioned with sacred purpose.

©Janice L. Lundy, 2024

​Any interaction you have with another person, carefully examined, will reveal how well you are embodying your true self.
 
By noticing the feelings that come up when you are in the company of another, you are given a unique opportunity to take a closer look at yourself. Until now, your tendency may have been to focus on what he is doing wrong, what she is doing to make you feel badly about yourself. As long as you are in relationship, the invitation will consistently be offered to stop pointing the finger at someone else for making you feel less-than-wonderful and look in the mirror of your own perceptions.
 
Pointing a compassionate finger back at yourself is a powerful invitation to let go of false understandings and release them to love.

​Kindness toward yourself is an act of befriending. Kindness toward others is an act of altruism. Combine both and you'll cultivate a heart of compassion. Benevolence will be yours. 
 
By doing "the good work of self," you will create a life for yourself that is happier, healthier, more love-filled. It is this "inner progress" that can motivate you because it naturally follows that if you tend well to your inner landscape, constructive changes will take place in your outer world too. 
 
"As within, so without," the sages of the past have told us. And it's true. Whatever progress we make in our minds and hearts cannot help but be reflected throughout society.

​© 2024, Jan Lundy