Many of us are concerned about our well-being,
and mainly focus on our physical health, as can be seen from the number health clubs and gyms everywhere you look. It is true that we should all be health-conscious due to the amount of chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis in our food supply and environment. For example, the moment we get step out our front doors, we might inhale dangerous air pollution. Although it is important to take care of our physical health, many of us overlook one of the most critical components of well-being, which is protecting ourselves against the inner pollution of our negative emotions. We can safeguard ourselves by first maintaining mindfulness so that we can immediately recognize any negative emotions that arise, such as anger, attachment, jealousy, pride, and malicious intent, all of which gradually eat away at our happiness and well-being. The next step is to apply an effective antidote to diminish the power of these afflictions. Unfortunately, many people fail to notice the hidden danger of toxic emotions which inflict tremendous pain, anxiety, and worry in our everyday lives. These poisons might look innocent at first, but as time goes by, we will doubtlessly see their ill-effects grow, like a cat transforming into tiger. In fact, Asian medicine explains the root cause of illnesses are the three poisons. Therefore, I sincerely request you all to be watchful for the presence of any such toxic emotions and try your level best to recognize and eliminate them. It is important to not only be health conscious when it comes to our physical well-being, but more importantly to raise our awareness of these inner poisons, which are destructive, dangerous, and harmful to our peace of mind and our successful journey to spiritual development.