Our two large suitcases lay partially full on the floor. For the past two weeks, we’d been slowly filling them with clothes and travel items for our trip to Ananda centers in Italy and India. We’ll be gone for three and a half months, so planning what to bring for different climes and times has been a bit challenging.

Every time you discover your mind caught in the negative loop, mentally repeat, “Let it Go, Let it Go.” After a time—two weeks according to neuroscientists — you will have created a new neural pathway. Now, when something triggers your negative pattern, you can choose to Let it Go.

“Are you there, God? Are you listening to my prayers? Do you even know what I’m going through?” I think we all have thoughts like these from time to time—especially when we’re facing challenges in life. To keep our faith strong, it’s important to remember those times—and we’ve all had them—when our prayers have in fact been answered.

Have you ever lost something and searched for it everywhere? Of course you have! So have we all. You may hunt here and there, but finally a moment comes when you realize, “I’ve been looking in the wrong place.” Unfortunately, we look in the wrong place not only for things but, more importantly, for the answers to our deepest questions.

There is a story about a saint who was peacefully meditating under a tree along the banks of the Ganges. At a certain point he heard a rustling overhead and opened his eyes to see a large scorpion moving along a branch overhanging the river.