Gratutude:
Gratitude is the essence of a healthy mental life and spirituality
I shall leap! No matter what is ahead, God is there to catch me.
–Shelley
One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each other’s stories.
–Rebecca Falls
Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding is the third. –Marge Piercy
You get more than you give when you give more than you get.
–Cited in More of…The Best of BITS & PIECES
Much wisdom can be crowded into but four words:
In God we trust. This too shall pass. Live and let live. Still waters run deep. Bad news travels fast. Love laughs at locksmiths. Nothing succeeds like success. Charity begins at home. Politics make strange bedfellows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Man proposes, God disposes. Let sleeping dogs lie.
–Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES
INDIVIDUALITY
"I am one individual on a small
planet in a little solar system in
one of the galaxies."
– Roberto Assagioli
"Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next.
Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer."
–Denis Waitley
I pray to see the path God lights for me as I am at times blinded by my own lack of consciousness or lack of faith.
–Shelley
Spend 2 minutes a day reassuring yourself that you are made of loving thoughts. Spend the rest of the day acting on those thoughts. –unknown
"Those who walk with God always get to their destination."
–Unknown
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." –Charles Dickens
PREJUDICE
"I am the inferior of any man
whose rights I trample underfoot."
– Horace Greeley
Be still and listen to the stillness within.
You must look into people, as well as at them.
–Lord Chesterfield
There is one thing worse than waiting on God… it’s wishing you had.—unknown
God is never in a hurry.
–unknown
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."—Mother Teresa
"When you see the value of continued growth, the circumstances around you become stepping stones."
–Clyde M. Narrimore
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. –unknown
DISCOVERY
"I invent nothing. I rediscover."
– Auguste Rodin
A clear conscience is a good pillow.
–American Proverb
"It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up." –Vince Lombardi
There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
–John F. Kennedy
The first service one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love of God begins in listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His Word but lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him.
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together
"Often we seek to grow or change ourselves by adjusting the external aspects of our lives. … We all too often forget that permanent or real change only comes when the center of our being, our inner drives and motivations, undergoes transformation."
–Errol Strider
ART
"Art is not a thing; it is a way."
– Elbert Hubbard
"I do not accept any absolute formulas for living.
No preconceived code can see ahead to everything
that can happen in a man’s life. As we live,
we grow and our beliefs change.
They must change. So I think we should live
with this constant discovery.
We should be open to this adventure in heightened
awareness of living.
We should stake our whole existence
on our willingness to explore and experience."
– Martin Buber
"Should is an ordinary, everyday word —
except when it is used to indicate an order that may not be refused.
Then should becomes a finger waving under the nose. .
Should users build prison cells for themselves.
They are so focused on what they should do —
that they cannot think about what they can do, what they might do in the future."
– Dr. Arthur Freeman and Rose Dewolf
"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart." — Pearl S. Buck
Do not be wise in words - be wise in deeds.
–Jewish Proverb
Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.–Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing."
–Jim Rohn
To the rationally minded, the mental processes of the intuitive appear to work backward. His conclusions are reached before his premises.
–Frances Wickes
"If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children one of the greatest of all blessings." –Brian Tracy
"Wanting what I don’t have keeps me from having what I do have."anon
TOLERANCE
"Art, if it is to be reckoned with
as one of the great values of life,
must teach men . . . tolerance."
– Somerset Maugham
I have been given a new day to live, to grow, to give love and to feel love. –Ruth Fishel
Love is living in the spiritual heart.
–John-Roger
Today I choose to forgive instead of holding on to resentments.
Today I choose to let go of all feelings that block me from feeling love.
Today I choose to see everyone through the eyes of love.
–Ruth Fishel
"We must keep in mind that where the road is crooked, God makes it straight, and where our hearts are wounded, God makes us whole.
As we open our hearts in purity and simplicity, admitting to God that we are completely powerless in the area of our problem, His
illumination redeems us."
–Marianne Williamson
Today I know I’m just wasting my energy to try to change people,
places and things. By looking within I can really discover what needs
to be changed and then turn it over to my Higher Power to be
released.–Ruth Fishel
"The expression of praise as thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy is among the most powerful forms of affirmation."
–Catherine Ponder
Far too many people spend their lives reading the menu instead of enjoying the banquet.
–unknown
You can pray for a good crop, but don’t forget your hoe!
–unknown
"There are those who will tell you why it is wise to never forget the pain of the past.
But if you look closely at the anger, sorrow,
and bitterness that has hardened their faces,
then you will also see why learning to forgive
is the better of the two paths."……..Guy Finley
"The tragedy of life is what dies
in man while he lives."
– Albert Schweitzer
"I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives.
Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change."
– Jim Rohn
"Slowness to change usually means fear of the new."
– Philip Crosby
"Just as the tumultuous chaos of a thunderstorm brings a nurturing rain that allows life to flourish, so too in human affairs times of advancement are preceded by times of disorder. Success comes to those who can weather the storm."
– I Ching No. 3
"If you want things to be different,
perhaps the answer is to become different yourself."
– Norman Vincent Peale
"It is not helpful to help a friend by putting
coins in his pockets when he has got holes in his pockets."
– Douglas Hurd
"Few things help an individual more than to
place responsibility upon them and to let them know that you trust them."
– Booker T. Washington
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
We are more than the sum of our knowledge,
we are the products of our imagination. - Ancient Proverb
All music is what awakes from you when you
are reminded by the instruments.
–Walt Whitman
I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved . . .
the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave.
–George Eliot
I will exercise patience, as God would, with all others.
–Shelley
"Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.
Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."
–Samuel Butler
"The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
–Marcel Proust
UNDERSTANDING
"Intelligence is proved not by
ease of learning but by
understanding what we learn."
– Joseph Whitney
With God everyday,
I make my way.
I hold on to God’s hand
As I journey through this land.
–Tammy
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Do not let a desire for wealth cause you to become so consumed by your work that you prevent happiness for yourself and your family. Happiness is foremost. A look filled with understanding, and accepting smile, a loving word, a meal shared in warmth and awareness are the things which create happiness in the present moment. By nourishing awareness in the present moment, you can avoid causing suffering to yourself and those around you.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
"No matter how much you talk to your plant, if you don’t water it, it’s going to die."
–Mike Perry
Thoughts and beliefs are nothing without action"
–James A. Ray
POWER
"The first and great
commandment is ‘Don’t let them
scare you.’"
– Elmer Davis
Self importance is our greatest enemy.
Think about it - what weakens us is feeling
offended by the deeds and misdeeds of
our fellowmen. Our self importance
requires that we spend most of our
lives offended by someone.
–Carlos Castaneda
"It is while trying to get everything
straight in my head that I get confused."
– Mary Virginia Micka
"I have never been lost,
but I will admit to being confused for several weeks."
– Daniel Boone
Simplicity and greatness go together.
– Monty Cralley
Practicing the program, I learned to trust God, not just believe in Him. –Ron C.
Let your ears hear what your mouth says.
–Jewish Proverb
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.
–Mark Twain
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
–Stephen Covey
"Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest to all of us."
–Meister Eckhart
PATIENCE
"Prayer of the modern
American: ‘Dear God, I pray for
patience. And I want it right
now!’"
– Oren Arnold
Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.
–Benjamin Disraeli
Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just
sit there. –Will Rogers
First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
–Thomas A. Kempis
There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself.
–Anthony Rapp
I can repeat the past, or I can create new and better experiences.
–Shelley
Today I will take enough time to do something good for myself only.
I will buy myself a gift or spend worthwhile time doing something
pleasant and fulfilling. I have enough time today and I deserve this
time for myself.
–Ruth Fishel
"Children stand more in need of example than criticism."
–Joseph Joubert
What is not love is fear. Anger is one of fear’s most potent faces.
And it does exactly what fear wants it to do. It keeps us from
receiving love at exactly the moment when we need it most.
– Marianne Williamson
The spiritual path is not one of attainment, but return.
–Alan Cohen
CONFIDENCE
"There is no sort of work that
could ever be done well if you
minded what fools say."
– George Eliot
APHORISM: A SHORT, POINTED SENTENCE EXPRESSING A WISE OR CLEVER OBSERVATION OR A GENERAL TRUTH.
1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail..
3. If you don’t have a sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all.
4… Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water.
6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.
10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM.. Like this: It could be a right number.
13. No one ever says ‘It’s only a game’ when their team is winning.
14. I’ve reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15. Be careful reading the fine print. There’s no way you’re going to like it.
16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, there will be thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!)
18. Money can’t buy happiness — but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
19. After 60, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!
20. Always be yourself. Because the people that matter, don’t mind. And the one’s that mind, don’t matter.
Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift
=====
The divided self exists in all of us.
–Marie Lindquist
In making amends, we should be sensible, tactful, considerate, and humble without being servile or scraping. As God’s people, we stand on our feet; we don’t crawl before anyone.
1. 12 & 12, p.86 2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.83
I have held many things in my hands
and have lost them all, but whatever
I placed in God’s hands I still possess.
anon
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do…
but how much love we put in that action.
–Mother Teresa
Live your life and forget your age.
–Norman Vincent Peale
In a world that is constantly changing,
there is no one subject or set of
subjects that will serve you for the
foreseeable future, let alone for the
rest of your life. The most important
skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.
–John Naisbitt
"In helping others, we shall help ourselves,
for whatever good we give out completes
the circle and comes back to us."
–Flora Edwards
The moment one definitely commits one’s self,
and then providence moves too.
–W.H. Murray
FORGIVENESS
"Forgiveness is the key to action
and freedom."
– Hannah Arendt
I have held many things in my hands
and have lost them all, but whatever
I placed in God’s hands I still possess.
anon
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do…
but how much love we put in that action.
–Mother Teresa
Live your life and forget your age.
–Norman Vincent Peale
In a world that is constantly changing,
there is no one subject or set of
subjects that will serve you for the
foreseeable future, let alone for the
rest of your life. The most important
skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.
–John Naisbitt
"In helping others, we shall help ourselves,
for whatever good we give out completes
the circle and comes back to us."
–Flora Edwards
The moment one definitely commits one’s self,
and then providence moves too.
–W.H. Murray
FORGIVENESS
"Forgiveness is the key to action
and freedom."
– Hannah Arendt
Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.
–M. Scott Peck
Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.
–Amelia Barr
"You cannot give to people what they are incapable of receiving."
–Agatha Christie
"I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself."
–Walter Anderson
If I love with my Spirit, I don’t have to think so hard with my head.
–unknown
"For many people, change is more threatening than challenging. They see it as the destroyer of what is familiar and comfortable rather than the creator of what is new and exciting."
–Nido Qubein
Often when we’re being tough and strong, we’re scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft.
–Dudley Martineau
Heaven and hell is right now. . .You make it heaven or you make it hell by your actions.
–George Harrison
TOGETHERNESS
"A man who thinks of himself as
belonging to a particular national
group in Americas has not yet
become an American."
– Woodrow Wilson
Today, I will focus on practicing one recovery behavior on one of my issues, trusting that this practice will move me forward. I will
remember that acceptance, gratitude, and detachment are a good
place to begin. –Melody Beattie
"God gives us abundance in all things, that we might use it on behalf of the healing of the world." –Marianne Williamson
"We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among
those who don’t." –Frank A. Clark
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." –Carl Rogers
He that gives should never remember, he that receives should never forget. –Talmud
"With every prayer and every thought of love, we release the light
that will cast out darkness. One light alone seems small and weak, but no one’s light is ever alone, for all our lights are part of God."
–Marianne Williamson
All time spent angry is time lost being happy.
– Mexican Proverb
Progress comes from caring more about what needs to be done than
about who gets the credit.
–Dorothy Height
To enjoy freedom, we have to con troll ourselves. Virginia Woolf
"Ideas shape the course of history."
–John Maynard Keynes
In the rush and noise of life, as you have intervals, step within
yourselves and be still. Wait upon God and feel His good presence;
this will carry you through your day’s business.
–William Penn
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
–Thomas Paine
God is gentle with me. I am gentle with myself. I am in awe of God’s
power; however it is God’s gentleness that moves me. God’s will for
me is that which is best for me; yet God does not force anything upon me. Patiently, God waits for me to be still, to turn within and listen.
God’s gentle spirit is my foundation. When the cares of the world
seem to overwhelm me and when challenges cause me to forget the
truths that support me, God’s spirit gently caresses me, uplifting
and sustaining me. Because God is gentle with me, I am gentle with myself and others. I do not condemn or speak hurtful words to others. My actions are ones that encourage the unfoldment of God’s divine plan in myself and others. Through gentleness and love, God’s work is done. –unknown
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies
inside of us while we live."
– Norman Cousins
"Worry is like a rocking chair it gives you something to do but it
doesn’t get you anywhere."
–Dorothy Galyean
There’s as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something.
–Trammell Crow
The future starts today, not tomorrow.
–Pope John Paul II
Don’t live in the past…you have already been there.
–Cited in BITS & PIECES
The secret lies in how we handle today, not yesterday or
tomorrow. Today…that special block of time holding the key that
locks out yesterday’s nightmares and unlocks tomorrow’s dreams.
–Charles Swindoll
Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds
something new to his life, something with which nothing can be
compared.
–Mahatma Gandhi
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize
they were the big things."
–Robert Brault
As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in
his way. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
The paradox of control is simple. The more we try to control life, the less control we have.
–Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.
"Whatever you may be sure of,
be sure of this — that you are
dreadfully like other people."
–James Russell Lowell
Spirit has placed a dream in your
heart for a better world, starting
with your family, extending to your
work, community, country and
stretching beyond your nation.
Speak your truth and inspire others,
for you are meant to make a
significant and sizable difference.
–Mary Manin Morrissey
"Guidance isn’t being told which action
to take or not to take.
Guidance is God’s gift of peace -
from which we proceed. The peace
dissolves the question, and we
simply do what we do in peace."
–Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself
Today, I will ask my Higher Power for
what I want and need. I will not
demand — I will ask. Then I will let go.
–Melody Beattie
Spiritual community is created when
we come together on a regular basis with a common intention: to extend love beyond our immediate
families. Through this shared affinity, we encourage, challenge and
remind one another that nothing is impossible.
–Mary Manin Morrissey
Be gentle with yourself. Don’t force it. But don’t run away from your feelings, either. You might feel like cooked spaghetti for a while, but what’s really softening up is your heart. God, help me face and feel any feelings.
–Melody Beattie
Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
–American Proverb
"Know that every struggle holds a blessing. Uncover the blessing and say thanks."
–Unknown
If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page.
–Mark Houlahan
To love is to be patient, thoughtful, kind and meek. Lord, increase my ability to love so that I can see You working in my life.
–unknown
"Love is not blind - It sees more, not less. But because it sees more, It is willing to see less."
–Julius Gordon
A friend should be radical;
He should love you when you’re unlovable,
Hug you when you’re unhuggable,
And bear you when you’re unbearable.
A friend should be fanatical;
He should cheer when the whole world boos,
Dance when you get good news,
And cry when you cry, too.
But most of all a friend should be mathematical,
He should multiply the joy, divide the sorrow,
Subtract the past, and add to tomorrow,
Calculate the need deep in your heart,
And always be bigger than the sum of all their parts. (Anon)
I walk in and out of many worlds.
Joy Harjo Creek-Cherokee
This day was appointed by the Great Spirit for us
to see one another. It makes my heart as glad to
enter your house as it does when I enter my own home.
Chief Lowrey Cherokee
"All things are connected. Whatever befalls
the earth befalls the children of the earth."
–Chief Seattle, SUQWAMISH AND DUWAMISH
"The mystery of life is not a problem
to be solved but a reality to be experienced."
– Aart Van Der Leeuw
"I believe there is no source of deception
in the investigation of nature which can
compare with a fixed belief that certain
kinds of phenomena are impossible."
– William James
"Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true."
– Niels Bohr
"To know that we know what we know,
and to know that we do not know what
we do not know, that is true knowledge."
– Copernicus
"Curiouser and curiouser!"
– Lewis Carroll
"Problems exist only in the human mind."
– Anthony de Mello
"Don’t water your weeds."
– Harvey Mackay
"When I look back on all these
worries, I remember the story of
the old man who said on his
deathbed that he had had a lot
of trouble in his life, most of
which never happened."
–Winston Churchill
Truth gives a short answer;
lies go round about.
–German Proverb
People who soar are those who
refuse to sit back, sigh and wish
things would change. They neither
complain of their lot nor passively
dream of some distant ship coming in.
Rather, they visualize in their minds
that they are not quitters; they will
not allow life’s circumstances to push
them down and hold them under.
–Charles Swindoll
An eye for eye only ends up
making the whole world blind.
–Mahatma Gandhi
He that cannot forgive others,
breaks the bridge over which he
himself must pass if he would
ever reach heaven; for everyone has
need to be forgiven.
–George Herbert
One doesn’t recognize in one’s
life the really important moments….
not until it’s too late.
–Agatha Christie
We can’t all be heroes because
someone has to sit on the curb and clap
as they go by.
–Will Rogers
Man is a creature whose substance
is faith. What his faith is, he is.
–Bhagavad Gita
"Learn to see in another’s calamity
the ills which you should avoid."
–Publius Syrus
………… that is what learning is.
You suddenly understand something
you’ve understood all your life,
but in a new way.
–Doris Lessing
"Someone’s opinion of you does
not have to become your reality."
–Les Brown
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
If we’re looking for outer
conditions to bring us
contentment, we’re looking in vain.
-Ayya Khema,
"Be an Island"
Native American
"Our fathers gave us many laws which
they had learned from their fathers.
These laws were good."
–Chief Joseph, NEZ PERCE
"What does it matter how long I pray,
so long as my prayers are answered?"
Sitting Bull Hunkapapa Lakota
Joshu asked Nansen:
"What is the path?"
Nansen said:
"Everyday life is the path." anon
"The man who removes a mountain
begins by carrying away small stones."
– William Faulkner
"Enlightenment must come little by little
– otherwise it would overwhelm."
– Idries Shah
"The deep root of failure in our lives is to think,
‘Oh how useless and powerless I am.’
It is essential to think strongly and forcefully,
‘I can do it,’ without boasting or fretting."
– Dalai Lama
"A man’s true state of power
and riches is to be in himself."
– Henry Ward Beecher
"We are no longer puppets being
manipulated by outside powerful forces;
we become the powerful force ourselves."
– Leo Buscaglia
"Faith supplies staying power…
Anyone can keep going when the
going is good, but some extra ingredient
is needed to keep you fighting when it
seems that everything is against you."
–Norman Vincent Peale
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
All the wealth you’ve acquired
from beginningless time until now
has failed to fulfill all your desires.
Cultivate therefore this wish-granting gem
of moderation, O fortunate ones.
-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream"
Native American
"My friends, how desperately
do we need to be loved and to love."
–Chief Dan George, SKOKOMISH
Let your desires bloom. And bring great joy to all.
– Ralph Marston
Let us put our minds together and see
what life we can make for our children.
Sitting Bull Lakota
My workshop stands on a hill back of our home.
Looking over the valley, I see the village community
house where our local group meets.
Beyond the circle of my horizon lies the whole world of A.A.
AA Today "The Language of the Heart"
"One must still have chaos in oneself to be
able to give birth to a dancing star."
– Nietzsche
"When you do the common things in life
in an uncommon way, you will command
the attention of the world."
George Washington Carver
Seldom will we remember next week what bothers us so much today.—Karen Casey
Words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.
–Hazrat Inayat Khan
"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
–Elbert Hubbard
"The impossible is often the untried."
–Jim Goodwin
"There is no point at which you can say, `
Well, I’m successful now. I might as well take a nap.’"
–Carrie Fisher
Present-moment living, getting in touch with your "now,"
is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it,
there really is no other moment you can live.
Now is all there is, and the future is just another
present moment to live when it arrives.
One thing is certain, you cannot live it until it does appear.
–Wayne Dyer
Man Plans….. God Laughs!
–unknown
With love and patience, nothing is impossible.
–Daisaku Ikeda
This is the way of peace. Overcome evil with good.
Falsehood with truth, And hatred with love.
–Peace Pilgrim
"Better keep yourself clean and bright;
you are the window through which
you must see the world."
–George Bernard Shaw
The purpose of man is in action not thought.
–Thomas Carlyle
Thanks, but I won’t need your help today.
–GOD
To attain Knowledge, add things every day.
To attain Wisdom, remove things every day.
–Lao Tzu
"The measure of a life,
after all, is not its duration,
but its donation. "
–Corrie Ten Boom
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Generosity begins with our
recognition of our debt to others.
-Master Hsing Yun,
"Describing the Indescribable"
Native American
"Grandfather says…you must not hurt
anybody or do harm to anyone.
You must not fight. Do right always.
It will give you satisfaction in life."
–Wovoka, PAIUTE
Love consists in this,
that two solitudes protect
and touch and greet each other.
–Rainer Maria Rilke
Always, success is yours to
define and create.
Choose now to make it happen.
– Ralph Marston
"One must not lose desires.
They are mighty stimulating to creativeness,
to love, and to long life."
–Alexander A. Bogomoletz
Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands
and take it when it runs by.
–Carl Sandburg
You can have fun and still be efficient.
In fact, you will be more efficient.
–Stress Fractures, p.155
Don’t judge each day by the harvest
you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
–Robert Louis Stevenson
It is easy to sit up and take notice.
What is difficult is getting upand
taking action. –Al Batt
Too often we underestimate the
power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest
compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential
to turn a life around.
–Leo Buscaglia
Let there be spaces in your togetherness. — Kahil Gilran
"We are nothing compared to His power, and we feel and know it."
–Black Hawk, SAUK
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
He who treads the Path in earnest
Sees not the mistakes of the world;
If we find fault with others
We ourselves are also in the wrong.
-The Sutra of Hui Neng
Love is the ability and willingness to allow
those that you care for to be what they
choose for themselves, without any
insistence that they satisfy you.
–Dr. Wayne Dyer
"Reflection is one of the most
underused yet powerful tools
for success."
– Richard Carlson
"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.
From the quiet reflection will
come even more effective action."
– James Levin
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
There is only one time when
it is essential to awaken.
That time is now.
Native American
"Each soul must meet the morning sun,
the new, sweet earth, and the great silence alone."
–Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX
It is important that we plan for the future,
imperative that we accept an outcome unplanned.
– Molly McDonald
Crisis changes people and turns ordinary
people into wiser or more responsible ones.
Wilma Mankiller Cherokee
"Self-respect is one of the qualities my people
stress and try to nurture, and one of the
controls an Indian has as he grows up.
Once you lose your self-respect, you just go down."
–Henry Old Coyote,
Educator and Member of the Crow Tribe
A bird that you set free may be caught again,
but a word that escapes your lips will not return.
–Jewish Proverb
Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
–unknown
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
–Mother Teresa
Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn here. The
spiritual journey is the relinquishment - or unlearning - of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.
–Marianne Williamson
In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.
–Friedrich Nietzsche
The chains of alcohol were to soft
to feel till they were to hard to
break. –heard at a meeting
Pay attention to the little things.
Sometimes the greatest rewards are
behind something small.
–unknown
The actions and comments of
others can only "get to you" if YOU
allow them to.
–unknown
Love is caring for another human
being and allowing them to be who
they are and make their own
choices without any demand that they
meet yours.
–Vickie Dishner
Love is like a brilliantly glowing candle.
If you step into its presence
and ignite your own candle from
the flame, there is not less light, but
more.
We are not meant to hoard light,
but to shine and share it by becoming
love in action.
–Mary Manin Morrissey
"To behave with dignity is
nothing less than to allow others
freely to be themselves."
–Sol Chaneles
If you wish to make an apple pie
truly from scratch,
you must first invent the universe.
–Carl Sagan
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
[The] defilements are like a cat.
If you feed it, it will keep coming around.
Stop feeding it, and eventually it will
not bother to come around anymore.
-Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"
Native American
"Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit."
–Sitting Bull, TETON SIOUX
Likewise I will forget what you have done to me,
in order to think of nothing but good.
Pontiac Ottawa
"It’s precisely the disappointing stories,
which have no proper ending and therefore
no proper meaning, that sound true to life."
– Max Frisch
"Hope is the companion of power,
and the mother of success;
for who so hopes has within
him the gift of miracles."
– Samuel Smiles
"The very least you can do in your life
is to figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance
but live right in it, under its roof."
– Barbara Kingsolver
Faith isn’t faith until it’s
all you’re holding on to.
–unknown
Who dares to teach must
never cease to learn.
–John Cotton Dana
I have lived in this world just long
enough to look carefully the second
time into things that I am most
certain of the first time.
–Josh Billings
A lot of growing up takes place
between "It fell" and "I dropped it."
–Cited in BITS & PIECES
The goal in marriage is not to
think alike, but to think together.
–Robert C. Dodds
During the time of the darkest night,
act as if the morning has already come.
–The Talmud
The spiritual journey involves going beyond
hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory,
continually moving forward. The most important
aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep
moving.
–Pema Chodron
God is my life, I express health, God is my supply,
I express abundance, God is trust, I express faith.
–SweetyZee
No one gives me worry, nothing causes me fear,
I release them, and trust Gods outcomes.
–SweetyZee
I am steadfast in my loyalty to God and truth.
–SweetyZee
"There is no sadder sight
than a young pessimist."
–Mark Twain
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
–unknown
LIVE and let live
EASY does it
BUT for the grace of God
THINK think think
FIRST things first
When put in this order five of
our sayings produce a sixth
saying by taking the first
word of each one to make
the sixth:
LIVE EASY BUT THINK FIRST.
–unknown
An old timer had shared in the meeting
about praying for something,
and that God had answered
her request. Someone asked her,
"How do you know it was God
who granted your request?"
She replied… "I didn’t ask anyone else."
–unknown
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
If happiness hasn’t been recognized when alone,
a group of people will be a cause of distraction.
- Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"
"It does not require many words to speak the truth."
–Chief Joseph, NEZ PERCE
Hear me; a single twig breaks, but the bundle of sticks is strong.
Tecumseh Shawnee
"You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late."
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Silence is the cornerstone of character."
–Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX
Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.
You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve.
You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have always in view, not only the present
but the coming generations.
The unborn of the future nation.
Dekanawidah Iroquois
Have always in view, not only the present but
the coming generations.
The unborn of the future nation.
Dekanawidah Iroquois
"Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be achieved."
–William Jennings Bryan
I want to be free I don’t want any ready-made
systems I am here to find within my being what
belongs to me. Only what is me can make me
happy, can fulfill my life.
Dharma
In the morning, give thanks to the Great Spirit
for the return of day and the light of the sun;
at night renew your thanks to him, that his
ruling power has preserved you from harm
during the day and that night has again
come in which you may rest your wearied bodies.
Handsome Lake Iroquois
Random Thoughts
A human is a handshake between
spirit and matter.
——-
If faith can move mountains,
just imagine what knowledge can do.
——-
A magnet can convert a piece of
steel into another magnet,
but what made the magnet a magnet?
——-
If we could just trust the universe to
know what it is doing,
we would have more joy and less fear.
——-
Money is the essence of matter;
it never leaves the earth.
——-
The universe is a great magnet teaching
us little pins to act like it.
——-
A loving thought is as deep as the night sky.
——-
The "Great Books of the Western World"
are like newspapers next to the Book of Life.
——-
When wealth speaks, greed listens.
——-
Computers can be mirrors in which we admire
our minds and forget our souls.
——-
We crawl through life like caterpillars,
fearing the final cocoon that alone leads
to freedom and glory.
Alan Harris
=====
When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we
do not see the one which has been opened for us.
–Helen Keller
I don’t believe in the life afterlife, although
I am bringing a change of underwear.—Woody Allen
A hug is a great gift. One size fits all, it can be given for any occasion
and it’s easy to exchange.
–Anon
"When you’ve got one foot in yesterday and the other in tomorrow,
you can only piss on today."
–unknown
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look
so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been
opened for us.
–Helen Keller
Life’s short. If you don’t look around once in a while you might miss it.
–unknown
The butterfly often forgets it was a caterpillar.
–Swedish Proverb
Don’t reckon your eggs before they are laid.
–Italian Proverb
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
precious gift of God;
so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.
–Amelia Barr
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"Having a resentment is like drinking poison
and expecting someone else to die." –unknown
Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.
–Anonymous
The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the
giving of oneself to others that we truly live.
– Ethel Percy Andrus
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong,
which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was
yesterday.
–Jonathan Swift
"You can’t fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight
to keep it from turning somersaults. The same with man. No man will
succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and is
prepared to assume responsibilities."
–William J. H. Boetcker
"Write down the thoughts of the
moment. Those that come
unsought are commonly the most
valuable." Francis Bacon
Order is heaven’s first law.—Alexander Pope
"Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf."
–Native American Proverb
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
In my own experience, the period of greatest gain
in knowledge and experience is the most difficult
period in one’s life. …Through a difficult period,
you can learn, you can develop inner strength,
determination, and courage to face the problem.
Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
LEARNING
"Anyone who stops learning is old,
whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays
young. The greatest thing in life is
to keep your mind young."
–Henry Ford
The memories of tomorrow depend on your attitude today.
–Dave Weinbaum
"Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for."
–Charles Mayes
"I have a special purpose!"
–Steve Martin
"When we become aware of our humility, we’ve lost it."
–Anonymous
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
–Joseph Campbell
Injure others, injure yourself.
–Chinese Proverb
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I
can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
–Helen Keller
"I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep
down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline… I firmly
believe that any man’s finest hour - this greatest fulfillment to all he
holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a
good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious."
–Vince Lombardi
Things turn out best for the people who make
the best out of the way things turn out.
–Art Linkletter
It is in the silence of the heart that God speaks.
–Mother Teresa
"Our entire life–consists ultimately in accepting
ourselves as we are."
–Jean Anouilh
"You are infinitely lovable, infinitely desirable, because
the One who most desires and loves you is also infinite."
–Deepak Chopra
You will find that the spiritual energy will permit you to perform tasks
far beyond your conditioned capacity in terms of time and
accomplishment.
–John-Roger
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
–Italian Proverb
God, help me stay serene, confident, and joyful as I go through my
day.
–Melody Beattie
"For fast-acting relief try slowing down."
–Lily Tomlin
We must love them, both, those whose opinions
we share and those whose opinions we reject.
For both have labored in the search for truth
and both have helped us in the finding of it.
Thomas Aquinas
Remember how we’d talk every night at bedtime? I miss that.
–God
If you think clothes make no difference, try walking down the street
without any.
–unknown
"The greatest treasures of your life are associated with the people
you love and who love you in return."
–Brian Tracy
Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is
leaping.
–Augustus Hare
The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called
love and feel the depth and delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that
your world is transformed.
– Krishnamurti
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the
past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live
the present moment wisely and earnestly.
–Buddha
"Tis grace that brought me safe thus far.
Tis grace will lead me home."
–John Newton ("Amazing Grace")
"Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it
alive."
–Elbert Hubbard
The reason why worry kills more people than
work is that more people worry than work.
— Robert Frost
A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step. –unknown
"Anger is that powerful internal force that
blows out the light of reason."
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
"At the core of all anger is a need that
is not being fulfilled."
– Marshall B. Rosenberg
"How much more grievous are the
consequences of anger than the causes of it."
– Marcus Aurelius
The vision must be followed by the venture.
It is not enough to stare up the steps;
we must step up the stairs.–Vance Havner"
Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."
–Fools Crow, LAKOTA
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"…conflict is the primary engine of creativity
and innovation. People don’t learn by
staring into a mirror; people learn by
encountering difference."
– Ronald Heifetz
"Homogeneity makes for healthy
milk but anemic friendships. We
need relationships that cross culturally
imposed lines to enlarge our hearts
and expand our vistas."
– Dan Schmidt
The most beautiful emotion we can
experience is the mystical.
It is the sower of all true art and science.
He to whom this emotion is a
stranger… is as good as dead.
Albert Einstein
It’s what you learn after
you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"We are called hollow bones for our people
and for anyone else we can help, and we
are not supposed to seek power for our
personal use and honor."
Fools Crow Lakota
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"Never answer an angry word with an angry word.
It’s the second one that makes the quarrel."
–W.A. Nance
Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses.
Don’t argue for your own.
When you make a mistake, admit it,
correct it, and learn from it–immediately.
–Stephen Covey
"Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day."
–Sandra Little
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is
committing another mistake.
–Confucius
"He who angers you conquers you."
–Elizabeth Kenny
Set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their
highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.
–Melody Beattie
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of
patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change.
Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we
can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
–Melody Beattie
"Forgiving is not forgetting, it’s letting go of the hurt."
–Mary McLeod Bethune
"Life holds so much–so much to be so happy about always. Most
people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if
you don’t set conditions."
–Artur Robinstein
Applaud others when they run. Console them when they fall. And
cheer them when they recover.
As water is to a flower so is praise to the heart of another.
–Unknown
Abundance comes from your gifts of love.
–unknown
"When you take charge of your life, there is
no longer need to ask permission of other
people or society at large. When you ask permission,
you give someone veto power over your life."
–Albert F. Geoffrey
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Take away your opinion and there is taken away the complaint ,
‘I have been harmed.’ Take away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed,’
and the harm is taken away. (Aurelius)
THE FOUR BLESSED LOOKS
Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Declaration of Independence - 1776
"We have met the enemy, and it is us." - Pogo
It is as impossible for peace to come by waging war as it
is impossible for love to come by hating. The only fruit of
war is war and any seeming peace is but a
TRUCE OF FEAR BETWEEN WARS.
So it is with our inner-self wars. - Barefoot, a few years ago.
"Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can
get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he
Trust in God and clean house." - Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 98, BigBook
"On the other hand-and strange as this may seem to those who do not
understand-once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person
who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever
solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able . . . ,
the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules."
- William D. Silkworth, MD (1873-1951) - Page xxvii, BigBook
"The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep
and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our
whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s
universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty
that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way
which is indeed miraculous." - Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 25, BigBook
We are "rocketed" into a fourth dimension of existence,
the spiritual, when the dimensions of the physical, the mental,
and the emotional are in harmony and balance, each with the others,
occasioned by our total surrender with complete abandon to the
diligent disciplined practice of the 12 steps of A.A. - Barefoot
I have tried describing it, as did Bill, in totally inadequate words,
in many ways…. "Seeing the white light and hearing the angel feathers"
or "Knowing" that I was living and being in the presence of total and
complete LOVE or "An electric moment, like moving out from
behind a jet engine into a sound proof room, the silence is so deafening." - Barefoot
The Touch of the Master’s Hand…….
"Bob, for those of us that know, no explanation is necessary.
For those of you who don’t, no explanation is possible,
and only a damn fool would attempt to define "it".
I don’t propose to be a damn fool,
but I can show you how to find "it" for yourself!"
Joe Quinn (March 11, 1974)
And he grabbed a Bigbook, opened it to page 59
and stuck it under my nose and said
"This is how you will find "IT"." T
hat page in the BigBook has the Steps of the Path Upward.
Grandfather says the Eagle taught him that,
"In all living beings there is a courage, a strength, a daring
that we do not know we have until suddenly we need them.
And then, when we find out we’re no longer the cowards
that we thought we were, our hearts and minds are open
and eager for what you might call ~~~ a miracle!"
"For all of us, Grandfather?"
"For All Of Us!!!" - Grandfather in the movie
"Heidi" from the book by Johanna Spyri
"In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."
Albert Schweitzer
"The flowering of man’s spiritual nature is as natural and as strict
a process of evolution as the opening of a rose or a morning glory.
But there is this difference: While the plant must have a
congenial environment . . . the human flowering often takes place
amid the most adverse surroundings . . . " - John Burroughs (1837-1921)
"We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality . . .
Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials . . .
But these are indispensable." - Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 570, BigBook
"We are told early on that the Serenity Prayer is a key to success.
But most folks simply parrot the words without understanding its meaning,
a mantra that gets them through their turmoil." - Barefoot
We have all heard the dictums "Turn It Over," and "Let Go And Let God."
– I have found, from bitter experience, that if you Turn It Over and
Don’t Let Go, you soon find yourself Up-side Down!! — Barefoot
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
But…..
"With all your science can you tell how it is, and whence
it is that light comes into the soul?" - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Yet, grace, if thou repent, thou canst not lack,
but who shall give thee that grace to begin?" - John Donne (1572-1631)
"What is all science then but pure religion seeking everywhere
the true commandments" - Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)
"Science prospers exactly in proportion as it is religious; and
religion flourishes in exact proportion to the scientific depth
and firmness of its bases." - Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895)
"The fact that there is a religious movement upon which many brilliant
minds have worked over a period of many centuries is sufficient reason
for at least venturing a serious attempt to bring such processes
within the realm of scientific understanding." - Carl Jung (1875-1961)
It helps to know about old theories. They are useful.
They remind you that your own theories about life can be
outgrown as soon as more facts become available. - James Austin, M.D.
"From my experience, seeing into the nature of God
does not lay in scholarship, philosophy, in doctrines,
and not even in meditation . . . It lies in one thing alone,
namely seeing into the God-nature that is in each person and thing.
We learn to do this by following the discipline of a few simple rules.
I suggest the 12 Steps." - Barefoot
"To study the way of the Creator is to study your own self.
To study your own self is to forget yourself. To forget yourself is
to have the objective world prevail in you." - Master Dogen (1200-1253)
"Jesus said, If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the (Father’s)
kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you.
Rather, the (Father’s) kingdom is within you and it is outside you.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will
understand that you are children of the living Father.
But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty,
and you are the poverty." - Gospel of Thomas 3
"One thing is everything, all things are One.
If you know only this, then don’t worry about
attaining perfect knowledge." - Master Seng-ts’an’
"Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face,
and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.
For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed."
Gospel of Thomas 5
"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things,
what sort of a universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit." - William James
Unwilling to disregard greed and anger, you trouble
yourself in vain to read the teachings.
You see the prescription, but don’t take the medicine —
How then can you do away with your illness?" - Layman P’ang (740-808)
"The power of true center must be the most frequently mislaid
artifact of human wisdom. It is as if the same message keeps
washing ashore, and no one breaks the bottles, much less the code."
Marilyn Ferguson
"Jesus said, If you bring forth what is within you,
what you have will save you. If you do not bring
forth that from within you, what you do not bring
forth [will] kill you." - Gospel of Thomas 70
"The mystical experience is a natural form of knowledge in
the sense that one need postulate no special intervention of
the deity to explain it. Nevertheless, in the mystic experience,
the person makes contact with the Way Things Are." - Andrew Greeley
"All power of fancy over reason is a degree of insanity."
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
"Human understanding is like an irregular mirror,
which distorts and discolors the nature of things by
mingling its own nature with it." - Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
On Meditation. . . .
"It is like the pacification of turbulent waters by pouring oil over them;
no waves are roaring, no foams are boiling, no splashes are spattering,
but a smooth, glossy mirror of immense dimension, and it is in this perfect
mirror of consciousness that myriads of reflections, as it were, come and
go without ever disturbing its serenity." - Soyen Shaku
"The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention,
over and over again, is the very root of judgement, character, and will." - William James
"The whole point of meditation may be summed up as living in the present." - Dhiravamsa
"How can you even hope to approach the truth through words? . . .
full understanding can come to you only through an inexpressible mystery.
The approach to it is called the Gateway of the Stillness beyond all Activity.
If you wish to understand, know that a sudden comprehension comes
when the mind has been purged of all the clutter of conceptual and
discriminatory thought-activity. Those who seek the truth by means
of intellect and learning only get further and further away from it.
Not until you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not
until your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the
right road to the Gate." - Master Huang-Po (died 850)
"Be Still and Know that I AM"
"The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening;
the smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening.
No doubt, no awakening." - C.C. Chang
"My only fear is that a little gain will suffice you." - Master Hakulin (1685-1768)
If you would make a man happy, add not to his wants,
but subtract from the sum of his desires." - Seneca (4 B.C.E.-65 A.C.E.)
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." - William James (1842-1910)
"Patience was the hardest of the virtues for me to attain, and the more successful
I became in life, the more I needed it. It can take forever, especially when
I knew what the idiots around me were going to do or say. No man controls
his fate, a knowledge that comes late in life. All you can do is muddle from
one situation to another, making as few mistakes as possible." - Barefoot
"The wise man knows that success in life is achieved by simply putting
a whole lot of mistakes together in a way that works." - Barefoot
"A wise man’s education toward understanding his own universe and reality
(and to some extent yours) will embrace as much folly as he can afford.
It is only to the degree that he can afford it that he will be able to laugh
at himself. If he embraces more folly than he can afford, he will cry."
- Barefoot
"Seeing is deceiving. It is eating that is believing."
- James Thurber (1864-1961)
"Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,
but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat."
Henry Longfellow (1807-1882)
"Let not the sun go down on your wrath"
Paul, Ephesians 4:26 (Remember Steps 10 and 11?)
"A pearl is produced only through the pearl-oyster’s enduring the pain
of having a grain of sand bore into its flesh, fighting against it, and
protecting itself from it. We, also, by fighting all kinds of difficulties
and overcoming them, strive to develop the jewel of spiritual cultivation." - Isshu-roshi
"The things that we see are only the mind’s
best bet as to what is out in front." - Adelbert Ames (1835-1933)
"We are as much as we see. Faith is sight and knowledge.
The hands only serve the eyes." - Henry Thoreau (1817-1862)
"While with an eye made quiet by the power of harmony,
and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things." -
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
"It is not that something different is seen, but that one sees differently.
It is as though the spatial act of seeing were changed by a new dimension."
- Carl Jung (1875-1961)
You observe a lot by watching! - Yogi Berra
"Do not craze yourself with thinking, but go about your business anywhere.
Life is not intellectual and critical, but sturdy." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
"A genuine spiritual life is not one consisting of a series of
disconnected and undefined experiences occurring at random;
it is a constant, dynamic process incorporating every element of our being." - Steven Batchelor
"Experience is never limited . . . it is an immense sensibility,
a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken thread suspended
in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every
air-borne particle in its tissue." - Henry James (1843-1916)
"Time flies like an arrow, so be careful not to
waste energy on trivial matters. Be Attentive!
Be Attentive!" - Master Daito Kokushi (1283-1337)
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said . . .
"It means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice,
"whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpthy Dumpty,
"which is to be the master - that’s all." - Lewis Carrol (1832-1898)
Shall we be the slave of our mind or its master?
"The roots of humanity’s troubles run very deep.
There are no simple prescriptions to overcome them . . .
What is needed are changes in consciousness, in relations
between people, between nations, and in their attitudes toward nature." - Mikhail Gorbachev
"Had the teachings of the messengers of Allah, such as Jesus Christ and
Moses among the Jews and the Holy Prophet of Islam among
the Muslims been realized the way they wished, the present,
existing problems of human beings would have never existed."
- Ayatullah Khomeini (December 23, 1979)
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
And with all thy getting, get understanding." - Proverbs 4:7
"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts;
Wisdom lies in their simplification." - Martin Fischer (1879-1962)
SEEDS FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR MIND
"True, at birth, we were still essentially unconditioned. But gradually,
life’s events conditioned us. [Our mind's] circuitry soon learned to
make us blush with shame, flush with anger, glow with pride, blanch
with fear, and clutch with desire. Are these the conditionings which
[the 12 Steps and meditation] would have us shed? Yes, indeed.
This is what is implied in getting back to our unconditioned self."
"The word may sound scary, but "unconditioned" remains an excellent term. . . .
[When we speak metaphorically about being "reborn" let us not misunderstand]
. . . It bears re-emphasis that enlightenment, {the rebirth] does not return a
person’s mind literally to the primitive state. Rather does the word point to
the ways in which a mature [mind] enters into the direct, comprehensive
experience of the world as it now is. Now, rinsed free of inappropriate
conditioning, the mature mind responds creatively, drawing on its adult resources.
The keyword is inappropriate. For it is out of this ripened state that
fresh responses again flow in an unqualified fashion." - James H. Austin, M.D.
"True illumination, like all real and vital experience, consists rather
in the breathing of a certain atmosphere, the living at certain levels
of consciousness, than in the acquirement of specific information." - Evelyn Underhill
"Bob, you cannot think your way into better living, but you can live
your way into better thinking." - "Tex" Robertson - (1908-1992)
"No strain, no pain. No pain, no gain." - Old Saying
"Abominating Hell, longing for Heaven, you make yourself suffer in a joyful world." - Master Bankei (1622-1693)
"The light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." - John 1:5
"Wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness." - Ecclesiastes 2:13
"Believe in the simple "magic" of life, in service in the universe,
and the meaning of that waiting, that alertness, that "craning
of the neck" in creatures, will dawn upon you." - Martin Buber (1878-1965)
"That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change.
But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent." - Chinese Proverb
"The vast flood [of life] rolls onward, but yield yourself,
and it floats you upon it." - Ikkuyi (1393-1481)
"Within a wall a clay bowl is molded, but the use of the bowl will
depend on the part of the bowl that is void . . . so advantage is
had from whatever is there, but usefulness rises from whatever is not."
- Lao Tzu (604-531 B.C.E.)
"The true meaning of the process of LIVING the Steps is to see things
as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.
We have ceased fighting anything and everything." - Barefoot (A few years ago)
"One truth is clear, whatever is, is right. Know then thyself,
presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man."
- Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
"Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find.
When they find, they will be disturbed.
When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign
over all. And after they have reigned they will rest." - Gospel of Thomas 2
"The greatest fruit of justice is serenity." - Epicurus (341 B.C.E - 270 B.C.E)
"Look within. Within is the fountain of good,
and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig."
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 A.C.E - 180 A.C.E)
"Every day go into the calm quiet where you really belong,
face the other way and turn your gaze back; if you do this
over the long years, that which is not illusion will of itself
reveal itself to you." - Master Daikaku (1203-1268)
"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives,
as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which
secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus
on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the
abundance that’s present —
love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and
personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland
of illusion falls away and we experience
Heaven on earth." - Sarah Ban Breathnach
Remember this - and tend your garden well.
"Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant." –Robert Louis Stevenson
"All final spiritual reference is to the silence beyond sound . . .
it can be spoken of as the great silence, or as the void,
or as the transcendent absolute." - Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
"An electric moment, like moving out from behind
a jet engine into a sound proof room, the silence is so deafening." - Barefoot (1974)
"I know not who you are, but that your Father and Mine are ONE." - Barefoot (1974)
"Nothing hinders the soul’s knowledge of God as much as time and space,
for time and space are fragments, whereas God is One.
Therefore, if the soul were to know God, it must know
Him above time and outside space." - Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof
against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance -
– that principle is contempt prior to investigation." — Herbert Spencer
"It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble. It’s what we know that ain’t so." - Will Rogers
can get more out of God by believing Him
for one minute than by shouting at Him all night.
–Smith Wigglesworth
I have been driven many times to my knees
by the overwhelming conviction that
I had absolutely no other place to go.
–Abraham Lincoln
LORD, Let me want what I have.
–Anonymous
"A positive attitude is like a fire -
Unless you continue to add fuel, it goes out."
–Alexander Lockhart
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
–John Lubbock
All I have seen teaches me to trust
the Creator for all I have not seen.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
When life seems just a dreary grind;
and things seem fated to annoy;
say something nice to someone
else and watch the world light up with
joy.–Unknown
Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on earth!
–George W. Crane
The closest to perfection a person ever comes is
when he fills out a job application form. –Stanley J. Randall
Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands
and take it when it runs by.
–Carl Sandburg
You can have fun and still be efficient.
In fact, you will be more efficient.
–Stress Fractures, p.155
Don’t judge each day by the harvest
you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
–Robert Louis Stevenson
It is easy to sit up and take notice.
What is difficult is getting upand
taking action. –Al Batt
Too often we underestimate the
power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest
compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential
to turn a life around.
–Leo Buscaglia
Let there be spaces in your togetherness. — Kahil Gilran
"We are nothing compared to His power, and we feel and know it."
–Black Hawk, SAUK
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
He who treads the Path in earnest
Sees not the mistakes of the world;
If we find fault with others
We ourselves are also in the wrong.
-The Sutra of Hui Neng
Love is the ability and willingness to allow
those that you care for to be what they
choose for themselves, without any
insistence that they satisfy you.
–Dr. Wayne Dyer
"Reflection is one of the most
underused yet powerful tools
for success."
– Richard Carlson
"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.
From the quiet reflection will
come even more effective action."
– James Levin
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
There is only one time when
it is essential to awaken.
That time is now.
Native American
"Each soul must meet the morning sun,
the new, sweet earth, and the great silence alone."
–Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX
It is important that we plan for the future,
imperative that we accept an outcome unplanned.
– Molly McDonald
Crisis changes people and turns ordinary
people into wiser or more responsible ones.
Wilma Mankiller Cherokee
"Self-respect is one of the qualities my people
stress and try to nurture, and one of the
controls an Indian has as he grows up.
Once you lose your self-respect, you just go down."
–Henry Old Coyote,
Educator and Member of the Crow Tribe
A bird that you set free may be caught again,
but a word that escapes your lips will not return.
–Jewish Proverb
Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
–unknown
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
–Mother Teresa
Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn here. The
spiritual journey is the relinquishment - or unlearning - of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.
–Marianne Williamson
In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.
–Friedrich Nietzsche
The chains of alcohol were to soft
to feel till they were to hard to
break. –heard at a meeting
Pay attention to the little things.
Sometimes the greatest rewards are
behind something small.
–unknown
The actions and comments of
others can only "get to you" if YOU
allow them to.
–unknown
Love is caring for another human
being and allowing them to be who
they are and make their own
choices without any demand that they
meet yours.
–Vickie Dishner
Love is like a brilliantly glowing candle.
If you step into its presence
and ignite your own candle from
the flame, there is not less light, but
more.
We are not meant to hoard light,
but to shine and share it by becoming
love in action.
–Mary Manin Morrissey
"To behave with dignity is
nothing less than to allow others
freely to be themselves."
–Sol Chaneles
If you wish to make an apple pie
truly from scratch,
you must first invent the universe.
–Carl Sagan
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
[The] defilements are like a cat.
If you feed it, it will keep coming around.
Stop feeding it, and eventually it will
not bother to come around anymore.
-Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"
Native American
"Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit."
–Sitting Bull, TETON SIOUX
Likewise I will forget what you have done to me,
in order to think of nothing but good.
Pontiac Ottawa
"It’s precisely the disappointing stories,
which have no proper ending and therefore
no proper meaning, that sound true to life."
– Max Frisch
"Hope is the companion of power,
and the mother of success;
for who so hopes has within
him the gift of miracles."
– Samuel Smiles
"The very least you can do in your life
is to figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance
but live right in it, under its roof."
– Barbara Kingsolver
Faith isn’t faith until it’s
all you’re holding on to.
–unknown
Who dares to teach must
never cease to learn.
–John Cotton Dana
I have lived in this world just long
enough to look carefully the second
time into things that I am most
certain of the first time.
–Josh Billings
A lot of growing up takes place
between "It fell" and "I dropped it."
–Cited in BITS & PIECES
The goal in marriage is not to
think alike, but to think together.
–Robert C. Dodds
During the time of the darkest night,
act as if the morning has already come.
–The Talmud
The spiritual journey involves going beyond
hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory,
continually moving forward. The most important
aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep
moving.
–Pema Chodron
God is my life, I express health, God is my supply,
I express abundance, God is trust, I express faith.
–SweetyZee
No one gives me worry, nothing causes me fear,
I release them, and trust Gods outcomes.
–SweetyZee
I am steadfast in my loyalty to God and truth.
–SweetyZee
"There is no sadder sight
than a young pessimist."
–Mark Twain
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
–unknown
LIVE and let live
EASY does it
BUT for the grace of God
THINK think think
FIRST things first
When put in this order five of
our sayings produce a sixth
saying by taking the first
word of each one to make
the sixth:
LIVE EASY BUT THINK FIRST.
–unknown
An old timer had shared in the meeting
about praying for something,
and that God had answered
her request. Someone asked her,
"How do you know it was God
who granted your request?"
She replied… "I didn’t ask anyone else."
–unknown
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
If happiness hasn’t been recognized when alone,
a group of people will be a cause of distraction.
- Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"
"It does not require many words to speak the truth."
–Chief Joseph, NEZ PERCE
Hear me; a single twig breaks, but the bundle of sticks is strong.
Tecumseh Shawnee
"You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late."
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Silence is the cornerstone of character."
–Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX
Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.
You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve.
You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have always in view, not only the present
but the coming generations.
The unborn of the future nation.
Dekanawidah Iroquois
"Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be achieved."
–William Jennings Bryan
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
I want to be free I don’t want any ready-made
systems I am here to find within my being what
belongs to me. Only what is me can make me
happy, can fulfill my life.
Dharma
In the morning, give thanks to the Great Spirit
for the return of day and the light of the sun;
at night renew your thanks to him, that his
ruling power has preserved you from harm
during the day and that night has again
come in which you may rest your wearied bodies.
Handsome Lake Iroquois
Random Thoughts
A human is a handshake between
spirit and matter.
——-
If faith can move mountains,
just imagine what knowledge can do.
——-
A magnet can convert a piece of
steel into another magnet,
but what made the magnet a magnet?
——-
If we could just trust the universe to
know what it is doing,
we would have more joy and less fear.
——-
Money is the essence of matter;
it never leaves the earth.
——-
The universe is a great magnet teaching
us little pins to act like it.
——-
A loving thought is as deep as the night sky.
——-
The "Great Books of the Western World"
are like newspapers next to the Book of Life.
——-
When wealth speaks, greed listens.
——-
Computers can be mirrors in which we admire
our minds and forget our souls.
——-
We crawl through life like caterpillars,
fearing the final cocoon that alone leads
to freedom and glory.
Alan Harris
=====
When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we
do not see the one which has been opened for us.
–Helen Keller
I don’t believe in the life afterlife, although
I am bringing a change of underwear.—Woody Allen
A hug is a great gift. One size fits all, it can be given for any occasion and it’s easy to exchange.
–Anon
"When you’ve got one foot in yesterday and the other in tomorrow, you can only piss on today."
–unknown
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
–Helen Keller
Life’s short. If you don’t look around once in a while you might miss it.
–unknown
The butterfly often forgets it was a caterpillar.
–Swedish Proverb
Don’t reckon your eggs before they are laid.
–Italian Proverb
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
precious gift of God;
so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.
–Amelia Barr
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"Having a resentment is like drinking poison
and expecting someone else to die." –unknown
Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind. –Anonymous
The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.
– Ethel Percy Andrus
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
–Jonathan Swift
"You can’t fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight to keep it from turning somersaults. The same with man. No man will succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and is prepared to assume responsibilities."
–William J. H. Boetcker
"Write down the thoughts of the
moment. Those that come
unsought are commonly the most
valuable." Francis Bacon
Order is heaven’s first law.—Alexander Pope
"Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf."
–Native American Proverb
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
In my own experience, the period of greatest gain
in knowledge and experience is the most difficult
period in one’s life. …Through a difficult period,
you can learn, you can develop inner strength,
determination, and courage to face the problem.
Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
LEARNING
"Anyone who stops learning is old,
whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays
young. The greatest thing in life is
to keep your mind young."
–Henry Ford
The memories of tomorrow depend on your attitude today.
–Dave Weinbaum
"Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for."
–Charles Mayes
"I have a special purpose!"
–Steve Martin
"When we become aware of our humility, we’ve lost it."
–Anonymous
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
–Joseph Campbell
Injure others, injure yourself.
–Chinese Proverb
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
–Helen Keller
"I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep
down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline… I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour - this greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious."
–Vince Lombardi
Things turn out best for the people who make
the best out of the way things turn out.
–Art Linkletter
It is in the silence of the heart that God speaks.
–Mother Teresa
"Our entire life–consists ultimately in accepting
ourselves as we are."
–Jean Anouilh
"You are infinitely lovable, infinitely desirable, because
the One who most desires and loves you is also infinite."
–Deepak Chopra
You will find that the spiritual energy will permit you to perform tasks far beyond your conditioned capacity in terms of time and
accomplishment.
–John-Roger
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
–Italian Proverb
God, help me stay serene, confident, and joyful as I go through my
day.
–Melody Beattie
"For fast-acting relief try slowing down."
–Lily Tomlin
We must love them, both, those whose opinions
we share and those whose opinions we reject.
For both have labored in the search for truth
and both have helped us in the finding of it.
Thomas Aquinas
Remember how we’d talk every night at bedtime? I miss that.
–God
If you think clothes make no difference, try walking down the street without any.
–unknown
"The greatest treasures of your life are associated with the people
you love and who love you in return."
–Brian Tracy
Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is leaping.
–Augustus Hare
The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth and delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that your world is transformed.
– Krishnamurti
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
–Buddha
"Tis grace that brought me safe thus far.
Tis grace will lead me home."
–John Newton ("Amazing Grace")
"Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it alive."
–Elbert Hubbard
The reason why worry kills more people than
work is that more people worry than work.
— Robert Frost
A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step. –unknown
"Anger is that powerful internal force that
blows out the light of reason."
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
"At the core of all anger is a need that
is not being fulfilled."
– Marshall B. Rosenberg
"How much more grievous are the
consequences of anger than the causes of it."
– Marcus Aurelius
The vision must be followed by the venture.
It is not enough to stare up the steps;
we must step up the stairs.–Vance Havner"
Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."
–Fools Crow, LAKOTA
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"…conflict is the primary engine of creativity
and innovation. People don’t learn by
staring into a mirror; people learn by
encountering difference."
– Ronald Heifetz
"Homogeneity makes for healthy
milk but anemic friendships. We
need relationships that cross culturally
imposed lines to enlarge our hearts
and expand our vistas."
– Dan Schmidt
The most beautiful emotion we can
experience is the mystical.
It is the sower of all true art and science.
He to whom this emotion is a
stranger… is as good as dead.
Albert Einstein
It’s what you learn after
you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"We are called hollow bones for our people
and for anyone else we can help, and we
are not supposed to seek power for our
personal use and honor."
Fools Crow Lakota
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"Never answer an angry word with an angry word.
It’s the second one that makes the quarrel."
–W.A. Nance
Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses.
Don’t argue for your own.
When you make a mistake, admit it,
correct it, and learn from it–immediately.
–Stephen Covey
"Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day."
–Sandra Little
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is
committing another mistake.
–Confucius
"He who angers you conquers you."
–Elizabeth Kenny
Set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.
–Melody Beattie
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of
patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change.
Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
–Melody Beattie
"Forgiving is not forgetting, it’s letting go of the hurt."
–Mary McLeod Bethune
"Life holds so much–so much to be so happy about always. Most
people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if
you don’t set conditions."
–Artur Robinstein
Applaud others when they run. Console them when they fall. And
cheer them when they recover.
As water is to a flower so is praise to the heart of another.
–Unknown
Abundance comes from your gifts of love.
–unknown
"When you take charge of your life, there is
no longer need to ask permission of other
people or society at large. When you ask permission,
you give someone veto power over your life."
–Albert F. Geoffrey
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Take away your opinion and there is taken away the complaint ,
‘I have been harmed.’ Take away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed,’ and the harm is taken away. (Aurelius)
I never think of the future.
It comes soon enough. — Albert Einstein
=====
Random Thoughts
A human is a handshake between
spirit and matter.
——-
If faith can move mountains,
just imagine what knowledge can do.
——-
A magnet can convert a piece of
steel into another magnet,
but what made the magnet a magnet?
——-
If we could just trust the universe to
know what it is doing,
we would have more joy and less fear.
——-
Money is the essence of matter;
it never leaves the earth.
——-
The universe is a great magnet teaching
us little pins to act like it.
——-
A loving thought is as deep as the night sky.
——-
The "Great Books of the Western World"
are like newspapers next to the Book of Life.
——-
When wealth speaks, greed listens.
——-
Computers can be mirrors in which we admire
our minds and forget our souls.
——-
We crawl through life like caterpillars,
fearing the final cocoon that alone leads
to freedom and glory.
Alan Harris
=====
When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we
do not see the one which has been opened for us.
–Helen Keller
I don’t believe in the life afterlife, although
I am bringing a change of underwear.—Woody Allen
A hug is a great gift. One size fits all, it can be given for any occasion
and it’s easy to exchange.
–Anon
"When you’ve got one foot in yesterday and the other in tomorrow,
you can only piss on today."
–unknown
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look
so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been
opened for us.
–Helen Keller
Life’s short. If you don’t look around once in a while you might miss it.
–unknown
The butterfly often forgets it was a caterpillar.
–Swedish Proverb
Don’t reckon your eggs before they are laid.
–Italian Proverb
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
precious gift of God;
so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.
–Amelia Barr
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"Having a resentment is like drinking poison
and expecting someone else to die." –unknown
Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.
–Anonymous
The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the
giving of oneself to others that we truly live.
– Ethel Percy Andrus
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong,
which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was
yesterday.
–Jonathan Swift
"You can’t fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight
to keep it from turning somersaults. The same with man. No man will
succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and is
prepared to assume responsibilities."
–William J. H. Boetcker
"Write down the thoughts of the
moment. Those that come
unsought are commonly the most
valuable." Francis Bacon
Order is heaven’s first law.—Alexander Pope
"Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf."
–Native American Proverb
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
In my own experience, the period of greatest gain
in knowledge and experience is the most difficult
period in one’s life. …Through a difficult period,
you can learn, you can develop inner strength,
determination, and courage to face the problem.
Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
LEARNING
"Anyone who stops learning is old,
whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays
young. The greatest thing in life is
to keep your mind young."
–Henry Ford
The memories of tomorrow depend on your attitude today.
–Dave Weinbaum
"Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for."
–Charles Mayes
"I have a special purpose!"
–Steve Martin
"When we become aware of our humility, we’ve lost it."
–Anonymous
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
–Joseph Campbell
Injure others, injure yourself.
–Chinese Proverb
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I
can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
–Helen Keller
"I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep
down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline… I firmly
believe that any man’s finest hour - this greatest fulfillment to all he
holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a
good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious."
–Vince Lombardi
Things turn out best for the people who make
the best out of the way things turn out.
–Art Linkletter
It is in the silence of the heart that God speaks.
–Mother Teresa
"Our entire life–consists ultimately in accepting
ourselves as we are."
–Jean Anouilh
"You are infinitely lovable, infinitely desirable, because
the One who most desires and loves you is also infinite."
–Deepak Chopra
You will find that the spiritual energy will permit you to perform tasks
far beyond your conditioned capacity in terms of time and
accomplishment.
–John-Roger
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
–Italian Proverb
God, help me stay serene, confident, and joyful as I go through my
day.
–Melody Beattie
"For fast-acting relief try slowing down."
–Lily Tomlin
We must love them, both, those whose opinions
we share and those whose opinions we reject.
For both have labored in the search for truth
and both have helped us in the finding of it.
Thomas Aquinas
Remember how we’d talk every night at bedtime? I miss that.
–God
If you think clothes make no difference, try walking down the street
without any.
–unknown
"The greatest treasures of your life are associated with the people
you love and who love you in return."
–Brian Tracy
Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is
leaping.
–Augustus Hare
The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called
love and feel the depth and delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that
your world is transformed.
– Krishnamurti
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the
past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live
the present moment wisely and earnestly.
–Buddha
"Tis grace that brought me safe thus far.
Tis grace will lead me home."
–John Newton ("Amazing Grace")
"Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it
alive."
–Elbert Hubbard
The reason why worry kills more people than
work is that more people worry than work.
— Robert Frost
A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step. –unknown
"Anger is that powerful internal force that
blows out the light of reason."
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
"At the core of all anger is a need that
is not being fulfilled."
– Marshall B. Rosenberg
"How much more grievous are the
consequences of anger than the causes of it."
– Marcus Aurelius
The vision must be followed by the venture.
It is not enough to stare up the steps;
we must step up the stairs.–Vance Havner"
Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."
–Fools Crow, LAKOTA
"Integrity has no need of rules."
–Albert Camus
"…conflict is the primary engine of creativity
and innovation. People don’t learn by
staring into a mirror; people learn by
encountering difference."
– Ronald Heifetz
"Homogeneity makes for healthy
milk but anemic friendships. We
need relationships that cross culturally
imposed lines to enlarge our hearts
and expand our vistas."
– Dan Schmidt
The most beautiful emotion we can
experience is the mystical.
It is the sower of all true art and science.
He to whom this emotion is a
stranger… is as good as dead.
Albert Einstein
It’s what you learn after
you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"We are called hollow bones for our people
and for anyone else we can help, and we
are not supposed to seek power for our
personal use and honor."
Fools Crow Lakota
When a man points a finger at someone else,
he should remember that three of his fingers
are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
–John Wooden
"Never answer an angry word with an angry word.
It’s the second one that makes the quarrel."
–W.A. Nance
Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses.
Don’t argue for your own.
When you make a mistake, admit it,
correct it, and learn from it–immediately.
–Stephen Covey
"Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day."
–Sandra Little
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is
committing another mistake.
–Confucius
"He who angers you conquers you."
–Elizabeth Kenny
Set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their
highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.
–Melody Beattie
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of
patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change.
Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we
can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
–Melody Beattie
"Forgiving is not forgetting, it’s letting go of the hurt."
–Mary McLeod Bethune
"Life holds so much–so much to be so happy about always. Most
people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if
you don’t set conditions."
–Artur Robinstein
Applaud others when they run. Console them when they fall. And
cheer them when they recover.
As water is to a flower so is praise to the heart of another.
–Unknown
Abundance comes from your gifts of love.
–unknown
"When you take charge of your life, there is
no longer need to ask permission of other
people or society at large. When you ask permission,
you give someone veto power over your life."
–Albert F. Geoffrey
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Take away your opinion and there is taken away the complaint ,
‘I have been harmed.’ Take away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed,’
and the harm is taken away. (Aurelius)
THE FOUR BLESSED LOOKS
Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!
”Silence is often misunderstood but rarely misquoted “
Frank Hunnicutt
“ A person never so much describes their own character as when they describe that of another.” anon
”God is eternal, is in all of us, is in everything, is one without second.” Sufi Song
” I am whole , perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy. “ anon
” I am not a body, I am free, for I am as God created me. “ A Course in Miracles
” The one thing that I have that has never been broken is my forgetter, no matter what happens in my life, I must remember that.” Ron Richey
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Declaration of Independence – 1776
"We have met the enemy, and it is us." – Pogo
It is as impossible for peace to come by waging war as it
is impossible for love to come by hating. The only fruit of
war is war and any seeming peace is but a
TRUCE OF FEAR BETWEEN WARS.
So it is with our inner-self wars. - Barefoot, a few years ago.
"Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can
get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he
Trust in God and clean house."
- Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 98, BigBook
"On the other hand-and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand-once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able . . . ,
the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules."- William D. Silkworth, MD (1873-1951) - Page xxvii, BigBook
"The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep
and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our
whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s
universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous."
- Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 25, BigBook
We are "rocketed" into a fourth dimension of existence,
the spiritual, when the dimensions of the physical, the mental,
and the emotional are in harmony and balance, each with the others, occasioned by our total surrender with complete abandon to the diligent disciplined practice of the 12 steps of A.A. – Barefoot
I have tried describing it, as did Bill, in totally inadequate words,
in many ways…. "Seeing the white light and hearing the angel feathers" or "Knowing" that I was living and being in the presence of total and complete LOVE or "An electric moment, like moving out from behind a jet engine into a sound proof room, the silence is so deafening." – Barefoot
The Touch of the Master’s Hand…….
For those of us that know, no explanation is necessary.
For those of you who don’t, no explanation is possible,
and only a damn fool would attempt to define "it".
I don’t propose to be a damn fool,
but I can show you how to find "it" for yourself!"
Joe Quinn (March 11, 1974)
And he grabbed a Bigbook, opened it to page 59
and stuck it under my nose and said
"This is how you will find "IT"."
That page in the BigBook has the Steps of the Path Upward.
Grandfather says the Eagle taught him that,
"In all living beings there is a courage, a strength, a daring
that we do not know we have until suddenly we need them.
And then, when we find out we’re no longer the cowards
that we thought we were, our hearts and minds are open
and eager for what you might call ~~~ a miracle!"
"For all of us, Grandfather?"
"For All Of Us!!!" - Grandfather in the movie
"Heidi" from the book by Johanna Spyri
"In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." Albert Schweitzer
"The flowering of man’s spiritual nature is as natural and as strict
a process of evolution as the opening of a rose or a morning glory.
But there is this difference: While the plant must have a
congenial environment . . . the human flowering often takes place
amid the most adverse surroundings . . . " - John Burroughs (1837-1921)
"We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality . . .
Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials . . .
But these are indispensable." - Bill Wilson (1898-1971) - Page 570, BigBook
"We are told early on that the Serenity Prayer is a key to success.
But most folks simply parrot the words without understanding its meaning, a mantra that gets them through their turmoil." - Barefoot We have all heard the dictums "Turn It Over," and "Let Go And Let God." — I have found, from bitter experience, that if you Turn It Over and Don’t Let Go, you soon find yourself Up-side Down!! – Barefoot
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
But…..
"With all your science can you tell how it is, and whence
it is that light comes into the soul?" - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Yet, grace, if thou repent, thou canst not lack, but who shall give thee that grace to begin?" - John Donne (1572-1631)
"What is all science then but pure religion seeking everywhere
the true commandments" - Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)
"Science prospers exactly in proportion as it is religious; and
religion flourishes in exact proportion to the scientific depth
and firmness of its bases." - Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895)
"The fact that there is a religious movement upon which many brilliant minds have worked over a period of many centuries is sufficient reason for at least venturing a serious attempt to bring such processes within the realm of scientific understanding."
- Carl Jung (1875-1961)
It helps to know about old theories. They are useful.
They remind you that your own theories about life can be
outgrown as soon as more facts become available.
- James Austin, M.D.
"From my experience, seeing into the nature of God
does not lay in scholarship, philosophy, in doctrines,
and not even in meditation . . . It lies in one thing alone,
namely seeing into the God-nature that is in each person and thing.
We learn to do this by following the discipline of a few simple rules. I suggest the 12 Steps." – Barefoot
"To study the way of the Creator is to study your own self.
To study your own self is to forget yourself. To forget yourself is
to have the objective world prevail in you."
- Master Dogen (1200-1253)
"Jesus said, If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the (Father’s)
kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you.
Rather, the (Father’s) kingdom is within you and it is outside you.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will
understand that you are children of the living Father.
But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty,
and you are the poverty." - Gospel of Thomas 3
"One thing is everything, all things are One.
If you know only this, then don’t worry about
attaining perfect knowledge." - Master Seng-ts’an’
"Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face,
and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.
For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed."
Gospel of Thomas 5
"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things,
what sort of a universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit." - William James
Unwilling to disregard greed and anger, you trouble
yourself in vain to read the teachings.
You see the prescription, but don’t take the medicine —
How then can you do away with your illness?"
- Layman P’ang (740-808)
"The power of true center must be the most frequently mislaid
artifact of human wisdom. It is as if the same message keeps
washing ashore, and no one breaks the bottles, much less the code." Marilyn Ferguson
"Jesus said, If you bring forth what is within you,
what you have will save you. If you do not bring
forth that from within you, what you do not bring
forth [will] kill you." - Gospel of Thomas 70
"The mystical experience is a natural form of knowledge in
the sense that one need postulate no special intervention of
the deity to explain it. Nevertheless, in the mystic experience,
the person makes contact with the Way Things Are."
- Andrew Greeley
"All power of fancy over reason is a degree of insanity."
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
"Human understanding is like an irregular mirror,
which distorts and discolors the nature of things by
mingling its own nature with it." -
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
On Meditation. . . .
"It is like the pacification of turbulent waters by pouring oil over them; no waves are roaring, no foams are boiling, no splashes are spattering, but a smooth, glossy mirror of immense dimension, and it is in this perfect mirror of consciousness that myriads of reflections, as it were, come and go without ever disturbing its serenity." - Soyen Shaku
"The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention,
over and over again, is the very root of judgement, character, and will." - William James
"The whole point of meditation may be summed up as living in the present." – Dhiravamsa
"How can you even hope to approach the truth through words? . . .
full understanding can come to you only through an inexpressible mystery. The approach to it is called the Gateway of the Stillness beyond all Activity. If you wish to understand, know that a sudden comprehension comes when the mind has been purged of all the clutter of conceptual and discriminatory thought-activity. Those who seek the truth by means of intellect and learning only get further and further away from it.
Not until you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not
until your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the
right road to the Gate."
- Master Huang-Po (died 850)
"Be Still and Know that I AM"
"The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening;
the smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening.
No doubt, no awakening." - C.C. Chang
"My only fear is that a little gain will suffice you." - Master Hakulin (1685-1768)
If you would make a man happy, add not to his wants,
but subtract from the sum of his desires." - Seneca (4 B.C.E.-65 A.C.E.)
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." - William James (1842-1910)
"Patience was the hardest of the virtues for me to attain, and the more successful I became in life, the more I needed it. It can take forever, especially when I knew what the idiots around me were going to do or say. No man controls his fate, a knowledge that comes late in life. All you can do is muddle from one situation to another, making as few mistakes as possible." – Barefoot
"The wise man knows that success in life is achieved by simply putting a whole lot of mistakes together in a way that works." - Barefoot "A wise man’s education toward understanding his own universe and reality (and to some extent yours) will embrace as much folly as he can afford. It is only to the degree that he can afford it that he will be able to laugh at himself. If he embraces more folly than he can afford, he will cry."- Barefoot
"Seeing is deceiving. It is eating that is believing."
- James Thurber (1864-1961)
"Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng,
but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat."
Henry Longfellow (1807-1882)
"Let not the sun go down on your wrath"
Paul, Ephesians 4:26 (Remember Steps 10 and 11?)
"A pearl is produced only through the pearl-oyster’s enduring the pain of having a grain of sand bore into its flesh, fighting against it, and protecting itself from it. We, also, by fighting all kinds of difficulties and overcoming them, strive to develop the jewel of spiritual cultivation." - Isshu-roshi
"The things that we see are only the mind’s
best bet as to what is out in front." - Adelbert Ames (1835-1933)
"We are as much as we see. Faith is sight and knowledge.
The hands only serve the eyes." - Henry Thoreau (1817-1862)
"While with an eye made quiet by the power of harmony,
and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things." -
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
"It is not that something different is seen, but that one sees differently. It is as though the spatial act of seeing were changed by a new dimension." - Carl Jung (1875-1961)
You observe a lot by watching! - Yogi Berra
"Do not craze yourself with thinking, but go about your business anywhere. Life is not intellectual and critical, but sturdy." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
"A genuine spiritual life is not one consisting of a series of
disconnected and undefined experiences occurring at random;
it is a constant, dynamic process incorporating every element of our being." - Steven Batchelor
"Experience is never limited . . . it is an immense sensibility,
a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken thread suspended
in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every
air-borne particle in its tissue." - Henry James (1843-1916)
"Time flies like an arrow, so be careful not to
waste energy on trivial matters. Be Attentive!
Be Attentive!" - Master Daito Kokushi (1283-1337)
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said . . .
"It means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice,
"whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpthy Dumpty,
"which is to be the master - that’s all." - Lewis Carrol (1832-1898)
Shall we be the slave of our mind or its master?
"The roots of humanity’s troubles run very deep.
There are no simple prescriptions to overcome them . . .
What is needed are changes in consciousness, in relations
between people, between nations, and in their attitudes toward nature." - Mikhail Gorbachev
"Had the teachings of the messengers of Allah, such as Jesus Christ and Moses among the Jews and the Holy Prophet of Islam among
the Muslims been realized the way they wished, the present,
existing problems of human beings would have never existed."
- Ayatullah Khomeini (December 23, 1979) “
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
And with all thy getting, get understanding." - Proverbs 4:7
"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts;
Wisdom lies in their simplification." - Martin Fischer (1879-1962)
"True, at birth, we were still essentially unconditioned. But gradually, life’s events conditioned us. [Our mind's] circuitry soon learned to make us blush with shame, flush with anger, glow with pride, blanch with fear, and clutch with desire. Are these the conditionings which [the 12 Steps and meditation] would have us shed? Yes, indeed.
This is what is implied in getting back to our unconditioned self."
"The word may sound scary, but "unconditioned" remains an excellent term. . . .
[When we speak metaphorically about being "reborn" let us not misunderstand]
. . . It bears re-emphasis that enlightenment, {the rebirth] does not return a person’s mind literally to the primitive state. Rather does the word point to the ways in which a mature [mind] enters into the direct, comprehensive experience of the world as it now is. Now, rinsed free of inappropriate conditioning, the mature mind responds creatively, drawing on its adult resources.
The keyword is inappropriate. For it is out of this ripened state that
fresh responses again flow in an unqualified fashion."
- James H. Austin, M.D.
"True illumination, like all real and vital experience, consists rather in the breathing of a certain atmosphere, the living at certain levels of consciousness, than in the acquirement of specific information." - Evelyn Underhill
"Bob, you cannot think your way into better living, but you can live
your way into better thinking." - "Tex" Robertson - (1908-1992)
"No strain, no pain. No pain, no gain." - Old Saying
"Abominating Hell, longing for Heaven, you make yourself suffer in a joyful world." - Master Bankei (1622-1693)
"The light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." - John 1:5
"Wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness."
- Ecclesiastes 2:13
"Believe in the simple "magic" of life, in service in the universe,
and the meaning of that waiting, that alertness, that "craning
of the neck" in creatures, will dawn upon you."
- Martin Buber (1878-1965)
"That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent." - Chinese Proverb
"The vast flood [of life] rolls onward, but yield yourself,
and it floats you upon it." - Ikkuyi (1393-1481)
"Within a wall a clay bowl is molded, but the use of the bowl will
depend on the part of the bowl that is void . . . so advantage is
had from whatever is there, but usefulness rises from whatever is not."- Lao Tzu (604-531 B.C.E.)
"The true meaning of the process of LIVING the Steps is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.
We have ceased fighting anything and everything." - Barefoot (A few years ago) "One truth is clear, whatever is, is right. Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man." - Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
"Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed.
When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign
over all. And after they have reigned they will rest."
- Gospel of Thomas 2
"The greatest fruit of justice is serenity."
- Epicurus (341 B.C.E - 270 B.C.E)
"Look within. Within is the fountain of good,
and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig."
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 A.C.E - 180 A.C.E)
"Every day go into the calm quiet where you really belong,
face the other way and turn your gaze back; if you do this
over the long years, that which is not illusion will of itself
reveal itself to you." - Master Daikaku (1203-1268)
"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives,
as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which
secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus
on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the
abundance that’s present —
love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and
personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland
of illusion falls away and we experience
Heaven on earth." - Sarah Ban Breathnach
Remember this - and tend your garden well.
"Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant." –Robert Louis Stevenson
"All final spiritual reference is to the silence beyond sound . . .
it can be spoken of as the great silence, or as the void,
or as the transcendent absolute."
- Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
"An electric moment, like moving out from behind
a jet engine into a sound proof room, the silence is so deafening." - Barefoot (1974)
"I know not who you are, but that your Father and Mine are ONE." - Barefoot (1974)
"Nothing hinders the soul’s knowledge of God as much as time and space, for time and space are fragments, whereas God is One.
Therefore, if the soul were to know God, it must know
Him above time and outside space." - Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - — that principle is contempt prior to investigation." — Herbert Spencer
"It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble. It’s what we know that ain’t so." - Will Rogers