“Your Daily Dose” is a quick two minute read packed with bite-sized wisdom from all the great teachers. But you could also choose to turn it into something more… a powerful daily practice for personal growth. Give it a try!
A message from today’s meditation:
To be human is to find ourselves entangled in the intricate web of human interaction, navigating a landscape of emotions and reactions. In some of these interactions, we may feel triggered, frustrated, or even angry. However, these very moments can be transformed into opportunities for profound self-discovery.
Every human around us, is a catalyst for our own evolution. When we are triggered by a person it is because that trigger already exists within us and we get to ask the question, “why am I not free from this? Why are my thoughts and emotions hijacked by what this person says or does?”
Your life becomes easier when you realise that the humans around you are all reacting from their OWN wounds, it’s not personal. And that your only job is to heal YOUR wounds and triggers, that are so clearly pointed out to you when the words or actions of someone else controls your emotional state.
Let EVERYONE be your teacher.
“We discover ourselves through others.” – Carl Jung
“We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of life.” – Carl Jung
“Everyone you meet knows something you don’t know but need to know. Learn from them.” – Carl Jung
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung
The wisdom of ancient teachings and modern psychology converges on a powerful truth: every person we encounter is, in essence, a mirror pointing out to us our own inner landscape. Each interaction becomes a canvas upon which our own subconscious patterns, fears, and desires are projected.
The more we cultivate self-awareness, the more we can detach from our own reactive patterns and respond with compassion and understanding. This doesn’t mean we tolerate abuse or abandon healthy boundaries. Rather, it means we recognize that other people’s behaviour is a reflection of their own inner world, not a verdict on our worth.
This principle is beautifully embodied in Tonglen, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation technique that offers a profound way of cultivating compassion and interconnectedness. Through this practice, we learn to understand the suffering of others as a part of the collective human experience, transforming it into a source of healing and liberation.
Mantras for Self-Reflection:
- Seek the Lesson: “Every encounter holds a valuable lesson for me to discover.”
- Cultivate Compassion: “I remind myself that everyone is doing their best with what they know.”
- Practice Non-Judgement: “I release the need to control others’ actions, and focus on my own growth.”
- Embrace Imperfection: “I embrace both myself and others with compassion, knowing we are all imperfect and learning.”
- Embrace the Mirror: “When I am triggered, I pause and ask, “Why is my attention captured by this? Why am I not free from this?”
In essence, every interaction is a chance to learn and evolve. By recognizing that everyone is fighting their own battles, we can extend empathy and forgiveness, even to those who may have caused us pain. This is a reminder to love, even when we don’t agree.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Tonglen.
Today’s LIVE meditation
https://youtu.be/NWfs3IK1_t4 2025
https://youtu.be/wG3kaqzWfEI 2024
https://youtu.be/LFU1NWEoSYA 2023
Practice the “Daily Dose”
Let’s put it into practice! Choose what works for you – daily, once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. Putting pen to paper wires the neural pathways that will create your new habits.
1 – Affirmation
Write down your favourite affirmation on a sticky note and place it somewhere that you’ll be able to see it the whole day.
- Seek the Lesson: “Every encounter holds a valuable lesson for me to discover.”
- Cultivate Compassion: “I remind myself that everyone is doing their best with what they know.”
- Practice Non-Judgement: “I release the need to control others’ actions, and focus on my own growth.”
- Embrace Imperfection: “I embrace both myself and others with compassion, knowing we are all imperfect and learning.”
- Embrace the Mirror: “When I am triggered, I pause and ask, “Why is my attention captured by this? Why am I not free from this?”
2 – A moment of reflection
Use today’s question as a journal prompt. If you don’t have the time to sit down and write, just take a moment to reflect on your response.
The Hijack Moment: Describe in detail the last time your emotions were hijacked by someone else’s words or actions. What physical sensations did you experience? What thoughts spiraled through your mind? What does it cost you – in energy, peace, relationships, or opportunities – to remain attached to these triggers? What becomes possible in your life when you are free from being controlled by others’ behaviours? Write from your wisest, most compassionate self about the version of yourself who is no longer hijacked by these reactions.
3 – Quotes to share
Send a quote to someone who needs it, or share them all on social media to spread the good vibes!
4 – Q&A for deeper learning
Read through the questions and answers and write down at least one “aha moment” that clicked for you.
Q1: Does this mean I should accept bad behaviour from others because “it’s their wound”?
No, it means that we understand someone’s bad behaviour says something about their wounds, not about our worthiness. Recognising that a person is acting from their own pain doesn’t make their actions acceptable, and it doesn’t obligate us to absorb them. What changes is the place we respond from. When we take another person’s behaviour personally, we tend to set boundaries from reactivity, in the heat of hurt, defensiveness, or anger, which often escalates conflict or leaves us feeling depleted. When we see that their words or actions are a reflection of their inner world rather than a verdict on who we are, we can set boundaries from wisdom instead: calmly, clearly, and without needing them to change or approve. We can hold compassion for their struggle and still say, “This is not okay, and I will not participate in it.” Understanding their wound doesn’t mean we must stay close to it. Our only job is to heal our own wounds and protect our peace with clarity.
Q2: What does it mean practically to “let everyone be your teacher”?
Practically, it means that when someone triggers you, you treat the moment as an invitation rather than an attack. Instead of rushing to judge, defend, or blame, you pause and turn the focus inward, asking yourself, “Why am I not free from this? Why do their words and actions control how I feel? What is it that I need to heal to be free from this trigger?” The person in front of you becomes a teacher simply by showing you where an old wound is still active, something you might never have noticed in a calm moment. You don’t need to tell them they’re your teacher or wait for them to change. The learning happens within you, in the space between the trigger and your response. Each time you ask these questions honestly, you move a little closer to the freedom of no longer having your emotional state controlled by anyone else.
Q3: How do I practice this when I’m in the heat of an emotional reaction?
Being able to stay calm and respond with wisdom in the middle of an emotional interaction is exactly what we’re working towards, but it’s a skill we grow into with practise. The way we develop it is by practising on ourselves, in the moments after the fact. When we realise we’ve reacted in the same old way again – snapping, withdrawing, or replaying the conversation with a knot in our stomach – that moment is the training ground. If we meet ourselves with harshness and self-criticism, we reinforce the very reactivity we want to leave behind. If we meet our old patterns with calm and wisdom, gently asking, “Why am I not free from this? What did that touch in me?”, we begin building the capacity we’re after. Each time we respond to our own mistakes with patience and understanding, we strengthen the pathway that will eventually be available in the heat of the moment. Over time, the pause between trigger and response grows a little longer, and wisdom starts arriving earlier. Until then, every time we catch ourselves, even long after the event, counts as progress.
Q4: What is Tonglen meditation and how does it relate to this teaching?
Tonglen is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, often translated as “giving and taking,” in which we breathe in the suffering of others, whether one person’s or the pain of the world, and breathe out relief, compassion, and spaciousness. At its heart, it trains us to stop running from discomfort. Most of us spend our lives avoiding pain, by blaming, numbing, arguing, or turning away, and these are the very reactions that keep us stuck in our triggers. Tonglen teaches us to do the opposite: to stay present, soften, and let discomfort be there without needing to fix it or escape it. This connects directly to the teaching of letting everyone be our teacher. When someone triggers us, the instinct is to flee or fight, but if we can pause and hold a gentle space for the pain in the situation, including their wound and our own, we begin to see that suffering is a shared human experience rather than a personal attack. The ability to hold that space with kindness, especially for our own hurt, becomes a pathway to our own healing and awakening, because the wounds we stop running from are the ones that finally loosen their grip on us.
Q5: Won’t this perspective make me too passive or prevent me from standing up for myself?
Not at all, because this isn’t about avoiding action, it’s about not acting from a reactive place. Taking responsibility for our triggers doesn’t mean we stay silent, tolerate mistreatment, or let others walk over us. There is a big difference between a response that comes from a wounded, hijacked place and one that comes from clarity. When we react, we tend to lash out, shut down, or say things we later regret, and we often end up handing our power to the very person who triggered us. When we act from a calmer, wiser place, we can speak up, say no, set boundaries, or walk away, and do so with more strength and effectiveness because our emotions are no longer driving. Our actions come from a clear sense of what is true and what is needed, rather than from a need to defend ourselves, win, or be understood. Standing up for yourself and healing your own wounds are not opposing paths. The more free we become from our triggers, the more powerfully and skilfully we can take action when it’s called for.
Q6: How long does it take to shift from reactive patterns to conscious responses?
There’s no fixed timeline, because this is a lifelong practice rather than a destination. You may notice small shifts fairly quickly, such as catching a reaction a little sooner or recovering a little faster, but there is no finish line where you become permanently unshakeable. The biggest progress comes when you accept that you will probably fall into the same reactive trap again, and that this isn’t failure but simply part of being human. Many of us stall because we treat each relapse as proof that we aren’t growing, and the shame and self-criticism that follow keep the old pattern alive. Your only job is to meet yourself with kindness again, ask, “Where do I need to heal to be free of this trigger?”, and simply begin again. Each time you return to the practice without judgement, you strengthen your ability to do it. Over time the reactions become less intense, the pauses grow longer, and the recovery time shortens. So rather than asking how long it will take, it’s more helpful to ask whether you can be gentle with yourself the next time you stumble, because that willingness to begin again is the practice.