Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.

Each of us needs periods in which our minds can focus inwardly. Solitude is an essential experience for the mind to organize its own processes and create an internal state of resonance. In such a state, the self is able to alter its constraints by directly reducing the input from interactions with others. (p. 235)

Adolescents who are absorbing negative messages about who they are and what is expected of them may sink to that level instead of realizing their true potential. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being.

...not all encounters with the world affect the mind equally. Studies have demonstrated that if the brain appraises an event as meaningful, it will be more likely to be recalled in the future.

While the days of parenting may seem so long, the years are so short.

We are always in a perpetual state of being created and creating ourselves. (p. 221)

Grief allows you to let go of something you have lost only when you begin to accept what you now have in its place. As our mind clings to the familiar, to our established expectations, we can become trapped in feelings of disappointment, confusion, anger, that create our own internal worlds of suffering.

For full emotional communication, one person needs to allow his state of mind to be influenced by that of the other.

Too often we forget that discipline really means to teach, not to punish. A disciple is a student, not a recipient of behavioural consequences.

Mindfulness has never met a cognition it didn't like.

We must keep in mind that only a part of memory can be translated into the language-based packets of information people use to tell their life stories to others. Learning to be open to many layers of communication is a fundamental part of getting to know another person's life.

When we begin to know ourselves in an open and self-supportive way, we take the first step to encourage our children to know themselves

The amygdala, along with related areas..., plays a crucial role in coordinating perceptions with memory and behavior. These regions are especially sensitive to social interactions.

From early infancy, it appears that our ability to regulate emotional states depends upon the experience of feeling that a significant person in our life is simultaneously experiencing a similar state of mind.