Today’s Practice: Feeling Spaciousness Beneath Discontent

One of the most common yet easily overlooked negative mental states is that of so-called “discontent.”

Underlying the feeling of discontent are certain unconsciously held beliefs—that is, thoughts. We sometimes don’t realize when we are thinking thoughts that create the feeling of discontent. The ego creates stories to convince you that you cannot be at peace now. For example, the ego says, “Maybe at some point in the future, I can be at peace—if this, that, or the other happens, or I obtain this or become that.” Or it says, “I can never be at peace because of something that happened in the past.”

Once you have made peace with the present moment, see what happens. When you accept this moment as it is, you can feel a sense of spaciousness within you that is deeply peaceful.

—Eckhart Tolle