Quotes by G. Scott Graham

“A well-tended fire doesn’t just burn for a night—it provides warmth, light, and sustenance long after it has been carefully maintained. The same is true for psychedelic experiences.”
— G. Scott Graham, Engagement: The Missing Component in Psychedelic Therapy
Tags: psychedelic-experience, psychedelic-therapy, psychedelics

“The wisdom of the Mangala Sutta reminds us that avoiding negative influences is not about judgment or superiority—it is about protecting your mind, your peace, and your growth.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Maṅgala Sutta
Tags: 38-blessings, buddhist-quotes, life-design, mangala-sutta, maṅgala-sutta

“One of the great myths of meditation practice is that once it’s established, it becomes self-sustaining. That’s rarely true.”
— G. Scott Graham, Now what? After Your Vipassana Course Is Over
Tags: vipassana, vipassana-meditation

“Psychedelic experiences hold the potential to be deeply transformative, guiding individuals toward healing, insight, and personal growth. However, transformation is not an automatic process. It does not occur merely through the ingestion of a substance or the act of journeying—it is cultivated through engagement. True engagement requires an individual to meet the experience with openness, presence.”
— G. Scott Graham, Engagement: The Missing Component in Psychedelic Therapy

“If they aren’t asking for information, what are they asking for? They are saying they are stuck and can’t gather enough traction to get unstuck. They are saying that they are not able to choose because they lack the wherewithal to take action. They need a charge, a spark, an incentive, and they need it from within themselves. A well-placed why provides this spark.”
— G. Scott Graham, Motivational Interviewing Made Easy: A Simple, 5-week Program to Build Motivational Interviewing Skills

“Choose the Right Paddleboard for Stability and Performance: The width of the board directly impacts stability. Select a board that aligns with your paddling skills and your dog’s needs.”
— G. Scott Graham, SUP with your Pup: A Guide to Paddleboarding with your Dog
Tags: dog-training, paddleboarding, sup

“Grief is not a problem. Grief is a reality. It is a landscape you are required to walk through when someone you love dies. And yathā bhūta is your flashlight. Your compass. Your only real defense against the erosion of your truth.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Five Years Later
Tags: grief, yathā-bhūta

“A late payment isn’t a crisis if you have 90 days of cash. A staff departure isn’t catastrophic if you’ve cross-trained your team. A software crash isn’t fatal if your systems are backed up and redundant. Risk is always a combination: Hazard × Vulnerability = Impact.”
— G. Scott Graham, Early Warning Signals
Tags: business, strategic-planning

“Empathy is not just a quality. It is also a skill. One of the core techniques in the most popular and most powerful counseling techniques in use today, Motivational Interviewing, is Express Empathy... Empathy is not some airy-fairy thing you only get when you walk in another person’s shoes. It is something that can be learned.”
— G. Scott Graham, Determining Marijuana Use in the Age of Legalization
Tags: grief

“If there’s one thing I want to say to the person who finds this book in their own version of year one, or year three, or year twelve, it’s this: You don’t have to be finished to be okay. You don’t have to understand everything to keep going. You don’t have to let go of the past to embrace what’s here. You just have to keep coming as you are. Again. And again. And again. That’s the whole thing. That’s the whole path. And for today — just today — that’s enough.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Five Years Later
Tags: grief-and-healing, grief-ins, grief-inspirational, grief-support

“You don’t want to pour all this effort into preparation only to make a wrong turn on the day of your psychedelic experience.”
— G. Scott Graham, Psychedelic Preparation Workbook: Sixty Days to Engagement
Tags: psychedelic-preparation

“Grief returning doesn’t mean you’re broken.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Five Years Later
Tags: grief-and-loss-quotes, grief-quotes

“The second precept, traditionally phrased as ‘To refrain from stealing,’ can be reimagined as a positive ideal: I cultivate generosity and find contentment in what I have.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Eight Precepts
Tags: atthasīla, buddhist-ethics, eight-precepts, eightfold-ethical-conduct, uposatha-vows

“You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight. Start small. Adjust your environment. Make a conscious choice to cultivate goodness. Train your mind to return to the present moment, again and again.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Maṅgala Sutta
Tags: 38-blessings, buddhist-quotes, life-design, mangala-sutta, maṅgala-sutta

“Each of the thirty-eight blessings in the Mangala Sutta isn’t an abstract concept—it’s a concrete invitation to shift your life toward clarity, purpose, and peace.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Maṅgala Sutta
Tags: 38-blessings, buddhist-quotes, life-design, mangala-sutta, maṅgala-sutta

“The potential of MDMA around what I would label as dark emotions like PTSD, anxiety, depression, and grief comes from the increased ability to open up about emotions that people have under the influence of the drug. That creates an environment to reflect on feelings of grief and loss.”
— G. Scott Graham, MDMA and Grief
Tags: grief-and-loss, mdma

“The sixth precept, traditionally stated as ‘To refrain from eating at the wrong times,’ can be reframed into a positive and expansive ideal: I cultivate mindful nourishment and a balanced relationship with food.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Eight Precepts
Tags: atthasīla, buddhist-ethics, eight-precepts, eightfold-ethical-conduct, uposatha-vows

“If your meditation schedule becomes another way to feel like a disappointment, it’s no longer a practice — it’s a punishment.”
— G. Scott Graham, Now what? After Your Vipassana Course Is Over
Tags: vipassana, vipassana-meditation

“Life's true aim is not happiness. We are told otherwise and sold a fleeting dream. Life’s true aim lies in equanimity—in perfect balance. It is a state of being where the relentless chase for happiness ceases, and the resistance against sorrow dissolves. It is a harmonious dance with the present, unburdened by the pursuit or avoidance of things that are ultimately transient.”
— G. Scott Graham, Psychedelic Preparation Workbook: Sixty Days to Engagement
Tags: equanimity, happiness

“The blessings of the Mangala Sutta are not achieved through fleeting moments of inspiration but through intentional design—structuring our environment, habits, and mindset in a way that allows wisdom, detachment, and peace to arise naturally.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Maṅgala Sutta
Tags: 38-blessings, buddhist-quotes, life-design, mangala-sutta, maṅgala-sutta

“Commands are essential for helping your dog navigate the unique challenges of paddleboarding… For example, ‘STEADY’ encourages stability, while ‘HOLD ON’ alerts them to an imminent shift.”
— G. Scott Graham, SUP with your Pup: A Guide to Paddleboarding with your Dog
Tags: dog-training, paddleboarding, sup

“Expect people to not support you and then you can be grateful when they do. Expect people to support you and then you risk being saddened if they don’t. Find steadiness not from the outside but from the inside. Find steadfastness in the power of your grief.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Three Years Later
Tags: grief

“Months later, as I write this, I find it curious how people tend toward expecting those who are struggling to be forthright with their struggle... It’s like handing a person who is mute some sheet music and then blaming them when they don’t sing.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Three Years Later
Tags: grief-and-loss

“Many business owners avoid naming their hazards. Not because they don’t know what could go wrong — but because naming it feels like weakness. Like admitting failure. Like inviting bad luck.”
— G. Scott Graham, Early Warning Signals
Tags: business, strategic-planning

“Your intention is not a goal. It is much different. Goals are rigid; intentions are fluid. Goals are firm; intentions are adaptable. Goals are structured; intentions are pliable.”
— G. Scott Graham, Psychedelic Preparation Workbook: Sixty Days to Engagement
Tags: intention

“Suffering is waiting. Equanimity is optional. Presence is the path.”
— G. Scott Graham, Now what? After Your Vipassana Course Is Over
Tags: vipassana, vipassana-meditation

“Vipassanā isn’t about becoming perfectly calm. It’s about becoming real — moment by moment. Grief doesn’t ask you to get over it. Love doesn’t require you to be fearless. Vipassanā says: just notice what’s here… and stay. That is more than enough.”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Five Years Later
Tags: grief, vipassana

“Over the last two years, I have had both knees replaced. People ask about my knees all the time... This is in comparison to my grief. When people did (past tense) ask, they never just acknowledged it. They never just moved on. Advice and platitudes flowed like the water of Niagara Falls... Now the well is dry. Everyone has moved on. From my grief. Not my knees. Why can’t people treat my grief like they treat my knees?”
— G. Scott Graham, Come As You Are: Three Years Later
Tags: grief-and-loss

“The blessings of the Maṅgala Sutta are not rules to follow; they are invitations to live with greater intention.”
— G. Scott Graham, Living the Maṅgala Sutta
Tags: 38-blessings, buddhist-quotes, life-design, mangala-sutta, maṅgala-sutta

“By setting your intention, you create a focused and purposeful mindset to guide your journey.”
— G. Scott Graham, Psychedelic Preparation Workbook: Sixty Days to Engagement
Tags: psychedelic-preparation