People with good (and not-so-good) intentions can offer us advice that only reflect their truth or understanding. That teaching might be limited to their life path and not yours. To protect ourselves, we must return to the True teachings that transcend time and circumstance. These are Eternal Truths, not temporal or personal truths.

Our need for perfection can often constrict our prayer lives. We tell ourselves that we must have this posture, this sequence without interruption in order for our prayers to “work.” In reality, when we have a perfect intention—aligning our will to God’s—then it’s perfect.

Our emotions can often delude us into thinking that what we’re experiencing is eternal. Our emotions will fixate on a thought—good or bad—to the extent that we miss the uniqueness of each moment. Every moment something new is born. Every moment something dies or fades. We must learn to welcome what’s new and let go of what is fading.

When you plug in a lamp into the electric socket, does the lamp shine brighter if the energy is “positive?” It’s just energy. How we channel our energy through our emotions and thoughts can make it seem positive or negative. Even if energy is “positive” or “negative,” are we spreading lovingkindness when a Reiki master tells us to exhale “negative energy”?

Meditation techniques teach you how to train your mind, direct your thoughts, or simply observe your thoughts. Contemplation is about letting go of techniques and surrendering to God. We use the discipline of meditation to handle the chattering mind or craving senses so that our spirits can rest in contemplation.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt caught a lot of heat during her State of the Union response, particularly with her story about the woman who suffered from sex trafficking. Yet there are so many people suffering at this moment, including ourselves. We pray, “Have mercy on us and on the whole world” to ask God for mercy not only for us, but also for those who have no one to pray for us.

We can travel to exotic places to learn how to meditate, but what happens when we return? We sit in meditation and get disrupted by the many stirrings in our lives. We become reactive, demanding that the world caters to our demand for silence. Practicing meditation amidst the interruptions of our everyday lives cultivates non-reactivity. We learn how to be calm with the small disruptions so we can remain calm when our lives erupt in chaos.

When you experience something new, your senses and attention are engaged. It’s like falling in love. A spiritual awakening or born again experience can feel like that. But then the honeymoon ends, and you yearn for that sensation. You can grow bored and search for other methods to give you that same feeling. Rather than search for something new, that boredom is a call for a deeper relationship with God beyond the senses.

Everyone experiences things differently. You might have 10 people witness an event, yet each person extracts what they choose to see. We can easily miss new opportunities or paths when we only pay attention to the familiar or the grand. Something new might be waiting for you to notice it.

Self-care practices are critical to help us heal the wounds the world inflicts upon us. But turning in towards ourselves—incurvatus in se—can leave us closed off, stuck, and isolated from the world. As we begin to heal, we open ourselves up so we can do our part in healing the world.