I have learned so many lessons - sometimes very painfully - that I could probably write a whole book about them....I feel like I've lived and died a thousand times in my 29 years...but here are some of the things that I have learned.

1. The main cause for suffering in life is our continual war with reality: this shouldn't be happening, this should but isn't, it shouldn't be raining, he should treat me with more respect, the dog should be quiet, my body should be thinner/stronger/healthier/better than it is, things should be easier, people should be kinder.....this perpetual war causes nothing but suffering. Acceptance of what is is the first step to peace I have found (although that doesn't mean you don't want to change certain things - but you're still at peace with how it currently is)

2. The past and future don't exist. All that ever has and ever will exist is the present moment. I used to spend way too much time and energy in things that didn't even exist. Most people go through life out of touch with the only thing that is real, the only thing that matters - the present moment.

3. Separation is ultimately an illusion, as Einstein said 'an optical illusion of consciousness'. I try to put myself in other people's shoes, realising that at a quantum and spiritual level, they are me...a droplet of water from the same ocean enclosed in an apparently separate vessel. If I had the same experiences and level of consciousness as that person, I'd probably behave in the exact same way that they do...that helps me to understand, accept and be compassionate toward others regardless of how they are behaving.

4. Most of the time we don't think - our thoughts think us. By being more selective about my 'mental diet' and the thoughts I allow to pass through my mind, I can make myself feel happier and freer and can uplift my consciousness. Reading positive books, watching positive and uplifting films or TV and listening to beautiful music elevate my consciousness, while indulging in negative input makes me feel depressed and deflated. The choice is always mine.

5. Too many people are trying to 'get' something out of life, but true fulfilment only comes from being able to GIVE something to life, to the world and other people. We are here to give, not to get. The world owes us nothing; we owe the world.

6. I don't "have" a life...life is not something I possess...life is something I AM. I AM life expressing itself as a unit of consciousness. Words are kind of inadequate to indicate that lesson, but it was a profound shift for me.

7. 'It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness'.

8. Truth is a multi-faceted jewel...it appears in different ways to different people depending on where they are standing. One way of looking at something might work for a time, but as you move through life your perspective changes and what's 'true' might appear to be slightly different.

9. A hard lesson has been to be more tolerant of intolerance and to allow people to be what they are, even if they are choosing to behave in ways that are unpleasant. It is their choice, their path, their growth and ultimately we are only responsible for ourselves and our behaviour.

10. Developing awareness of my thoughts and emotional patterns helps to stop me from unconscious patterns of reacting. It is always better to consciously RESPOND to a situation rather than unconsciously REACT.

11. 'It adds as much suffering to the world to take offence as it does to give offence.'

12. We usually take life, others and ourselves waaay too seriously. By lightening up, life becomes much easier, smoother and more fun.

13. I spent many years thinking I was somehow 'not good enough'...and I was kind of right. Because I was identifying myself as a little ego, a mind-constructed idea of who I thought I was...and the ego will always be inadequate because it's not real. I try to always embody my higher self, or the innate unconditioned consciousness that I truly am beyond all labels and fabrications of mind.

14. In spite of what the world tells you, it's alright not to be like everyone else. Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary??

15. Most the time we spend way too much time chasing after 'things' that we think will make us happy (possessions, better jobs, bigger cars, better relationships, more power and prestige). But if we can't be happy right here, right now, with what we've got and with who we are...we never will be. Our fixation with 'there' being better than 'here' is sad because whenever we finally do get 'there', we'll just find another 'there' that seems better than our 'here'.

16. It's all good. Even the bad stuff.