Five more things I learned from plant medicine.

1) Don’t get fixated on thoughts.  Learn to witness your thoughts like any other experience.  Let them pass like so many other fleeting sensations.  They come and they go, informing us of the goings on around us, what we need to do, etc.  When we attach to them and let them take us for a ride, they no longer serve their purpose.  I heard somewhere to think of your mind as a train station.  Thoughts are the trains going in an out of the station.  Your job is to not get on any of the trains. 

2) Forgive your parents.  The did the best they could.  When we are little, we idolize our parents, even if they aren’t in our lives, and we wish they could have done better because of this idolization.  See you parents as humans, fallible like any other humans and wanting to find happiness in life like any other.  Forgive them.  Do your best to make peace with your parents if they are still alive, and if they are not, make peace with their souls.  They did the best they could given what they knew. 

3) You experience the world as you are in it.  If you are ashamed, you will project shame onto others.  If you are angry, others will seem angry.  If you are sad, the world will seem tragic.  If you are kind, pleasant, joyful and loving, the world will reflect this back at you.  Try it! Next time you walk by a stranger, smile at them, say hello, and see how they smile back at you.  Now repeat.

4) The only person you should compare yourself to is who you were yesterday.  Never compare yourself to another person nor to some future version of yourself. It is all you can do to be kinder than yesterday, healthier than yesterday, more connected, meditate more, give more gratitude etc. In this way, you will see that you are progressing without getting bogged down in the false idols of others’ achievements or wished-for outcomes.  Real self-improvement lies in making small changes from one day to the next.

5) Make an alter in you home.  This needn’t be an alter to a god or goddess, unless you feel connected in some special way to a particular deity.   Put things that remind you of important qualities in your life, photos of people you love, teachers you respect, mementos from friends and items that remind you of special times. Place the altar in a prominent place in your home so as to be continually reminded of all the wonderful things that are important to you. Tend to it often, rearrange it, change items out.  Make your altar something you enjoy connecting with.