Some kind of honour

It’s only possible to live your life well if you have some ability to direct yourself.  You need to be able to see things through; to be able to go through difficulties and not turn back.  You need some kind of honour.

p192, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

Cheerfully and without resenting yourself

Silent sitting is essential.  All you need to do is accept what you are feeling and stop fighting.  You can relax with the situation – and take whatever happens as it comes.  Decisions made on the basis of accepting yourself—albeit temporarily—‘as you are’, can be made more cheerfully and without resenting yourself.  You need to be at ease with how you are at the same time as moving on – and that requires space, the space of silent sitting.    

p137, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

If I knew that this was the last year of my life

  You could,  occasionally, simply ask yourself: “What decision would I make if I knew that this was the last year of my life?”  This could be a practice of looking at your life; especially in terms of major decisions.  For certain other decisions you could reduce the time scale to one month.  Having the support of your Lama and vajra family, can be really crucial in this.  Your vajra brothers and sisters are very important in terms of actualising your own courage when life gets a little too ferocious.

p240, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4