Jennifer Lauck
Jennifer Lauck
Jun 14, 2013
It would be an understatement to say that New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lauck, 49, had her share of challenges growing up. She was adopted at birth, then her adopted parents died, the first when she was 7 years old and the second when she was 9 years old. Her adopted brother killed himself when she was 20. It was a lot of loss and heartache for a young girl.
“I have been continually orphaned throughout my life,” Jennifer said. “But like the Dalai Lama has said, when you are faced with really difficult situations like that you either sink or swim. I have tried to use those hard experiences in the proper way, taking the grit and making myself into a pearl.”
In Jennifer’s quest to make the best out of her challenging life circumstances, she has turned to Buddhism and introspection. It is through those 2 practices that she has learned to see the world through more forgiving eyes, question her perception of reality, and learn a great life lesson in the process.
“My greatest life lessons have all come out of my tragedies,” she said. “But I would have to say that my all-time greatest life lesson has been to not trust my thinking. I’ve learned that thinking is largely based on habits, situations, judgements, and perceptions. Now, I question my thoughts and my perceptions.”
According to Jennifer, her questions have taught her that things are not always as they seem.
“We have so many thoughts like, ‘I’m no good,’ or ‘That person is bad,’” she said. “But those are just things we have been conditioned to think. I ask myself all the time, is everything as real as it seems? And it’s not.”
Lately, Jennifer has been using her process of questioning to get to the root of nagging thoughts such as: Do I have value? And, am I good enough?
“I follow those thoughts back like an investigative reporter,” she said. “I ask myself all sorts of questions: Why am I not happy with myself? Where are my thoughts coming from? What does that particular thought look like? Taste like? I follow those thoughts until I get to the place where there are no more questions. And then I usually realize my thoughts, those thoughts, are all an illusion.”
Jennifer has found a lot of freedom in questioning her own mind. And even though she is focused on changing little things within herself, she knows those things can alter how she interacts with the world in a big way.
“I can’t change the world,” she said. “I can only change Jennifer. But by changing Jennifer I can change the world.”
Things you can do:
-Jennifer recommends finding an enlightened spiritual teacher to help you on the path of questioning your thoughts on yourself and reality.
-Try a daily yoga practice to stretch your pre-conceived thoughts of what your body is capable of.
-Call on something bigger than yourself (i.e. God, the universe) to help you achieve your goals of enlightenment.
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