Dear Seeker,

"If a person writing a letter misspells a word, the error starts in his mind, after which it appears on paper. He cannot possibly correct the paper until his mind is corrected first."

~ Guy Finley

Excerpted from "The Secret of Letting Go" (p. 20)

Special exercise: Mistaken identity

Why is it so painful to make a mistake? Certainly the consequences for some mistakes are greater than others. But consequences aside, what is at the root of resisting our flub-ups? Could it be a case of mistaken identity? I wouldn't suffer over tripping in public unless I thought I was always poised and graceful. I wouldn't resent having my "facts" corrected unless I thought I was an expert. Any mistake we make, big or small, actually presents us with a golden opportunity to see where we have a mistaken idea about ourselves. By working in these moments to see yourself as you are -- instead of resisting what you see by denying, defending, or blaming -- you make room for instant, effortless self-correction.