Rid yourself of all self-definitions. They block your awareness of yourself as the ever-perfect soul. You, as a manifestation of God, are unique. The Lord never makes even two snowflakes exactly alike. Self-definitions are like heavy luggage: difficult to carry about, and obstructive to free movement. The more completely you renounce your self-constructs, the easier you will find it, by your openness to soul-guidance, to advance toward freedom. Remember always, you are not this little ego: You are infinite!

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Even if you are not attached to anything, meet life with cheerful expectation. Whatever comes, greet it with a smile. A cheerful attitude will magnetically attract to you, in every circumstance, the best possible results.

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Not a thought that you think originates with you. Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, in Autobiography of a Yogi, “Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted.” Your most precious inspirations are not your own! You have merely caught a current of thought that was already flowing through the universe. Thoughts, in turn, are only manifestations of divine consciousness. Therefore Yogananda said also, “I suffer when you have moods, for I see then that Satan has a hold of you.” Think, when negativity wells up within you, “Satan is trying to catch me!” To rid yourself of such “possession,” chant to God and raise your level of energy in the spine. Soon you will find positive thoughts and feelings fairly pouring into your mind.

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Don’t worry about others’ opinions; don’t be concerned with what anyone says or thinks about you—unless you think you might learn something by listening. Think in terms of what you give out to others, not of what you receive from them in return.

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Learn when to stop whatever you are doing. If speaking, learn to stop when you’ve said enough. And if writing, don’t drag on beyond your point, once you’ve made it. People often think, “If I can say just a little more, I’ll succeed better in convincing them.” After leading your listeners to the top of a cliff, what more can you do except push them over the edge?

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Love all men—if not for themselves (many human traits, after all, are in themselves not lovable!), then for the pure joy of giving love. Everyone is seeking, whether blindly or with clear sight, final fulfillment in God.

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Non-attachment is the true wealth. One who identifies himself with things is always afraid of losing them. And if he fears the loss, he has, in a sense, lost it—at least in his own mind—already. Attachment is an attitude which many people carry to their graves. An old man on his deathbed once cried out to his son, “Trim that lamp wick, son! The oil is running low!” His own life was “running low,” and still he worried about saving money! The person of non-attachment wants nothing. And nothing is all anyone really needs, if he is rich in God.

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If you emanate peaceful thoughts, they’ll surround you with a protective aura, and create a barrier against all negativity. Any agitation around you, then, will no longer be able to touch you.

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If you are poor, remember, your karma can be improved. Poverty means that the normal flow of divine abundance has been blocked, in your case, by certain past actions—perhaps of avarice, or selfishness, or indifference to the needs of others, or by scattering your forces heedlessly. You can remove that block by offering your energy into the divine flow. Of course, bad karmic consequences cannot be easily nullified, but their effects can be mitigated. The more you allow God to flow through you, the more your every circumstance in life will improve.

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Wrap yourself in a cloak of calmness. A calm, wisely guided will is the best protection against adversity.

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