Here are sources of all the quotes used in Through God’s Eyes: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World.
IMPORTANT POINTS
• When an original source can’t be found, I list a book or website that contains the quote in question. Such sources are often unreliable, so I consider them simply as placeholders until the original source—or at least the earliest known appearance of the quote—is identified.
• Virtually all quotes in the book are presented verbatim as they appeared in the original sources. In rare instances, I’ve used popular or modern paraphrasings of original quotes.
• A misattributed quote often takes on a life of its own. Even if it bears little or no resemblance to the attributed source, it is worth including (with appropriate historical notes) if it offers insight and value. I did my best to honor the authenticity of every quote, but I am ultimately more concerned with content than authorship.
FOR EASE OF READING
• If the first word in a quote was not the start of a sentence, it has been capitalized anyway.
• If the last word in a quote was not the end of sentence, a period has been added anyway.
• Certain centuries-old quotes have been “updated” using modernized language and punctuation.
• When the author of the book listed is the person being quoted, I did not include the author’s name.
I NEED YOUR HELP
• This post will be updated frequently because identifying who said what, when, and where is a never-ending project.
• Any corrections (no matter how minor), new information, or better sources would be greatly appreciated. Let me emphasize that: I want to make this listing as perfect as possible, so your suggestions are expected and welcomed. Click here to e-mail me directly.
QUOTES FROM THE BOOK, SOURCED AND LINKED
Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment.
Abdu’l-Bahá
Paris Talks: Addresses Given by Abdul-Baha in 1911, Baha’i Publishing Trust, 2006, page 231
I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef, HarperCollins, revised and updated edition, November 2, 2004, page 11
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.
A Course in Miracles
Introduction
There are no idle thoughts. All thinking produces form at some level.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 2, Section 5: “The Correction for Lack of Love”
Only infinite patience can produce immediate effects.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 5, Section 9: “Time and Eternity”
The ego always seeks to divide and separate. The Holy Spirit always seeks to unify and heal.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 7, Section 4: “The Recognition of Truth”
There is no order of difficulty in miracles.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 7, Section 11: “The State of Grace”
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 16, Section 3: “Illusion and Reality of Love”
If you knew Who walks beside you on this way, which you have chosen, fear would be impossible.
A Course in Miracles
Chapter 18, Section 3: “Light in the Dream”
Every illusion carries pain and suffering in the dark folds of the heavy garments with which it hides its nothingness.
A Course in Miracles
Article: “Your Brother’s Sinlessness”
No one at one with himself can even conceive of conflict.
A Course in Miracles
Manual for Teachers: “What Are the Characteristics of God’s Teachers?”
I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.
Douglas Adams
Lentwise: Spiritual Essentials for Real Life by Paula Gooder, Church House Publishing, January 1, 2005, page 19
A good conscience is to the soul what health is to the body; it preserves a constant ease and serenity within us, and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can possibly befall us.
Joseph Addison
The Guardian by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, Desilver, Thomas & Co., 1837, Google eBook, page 183
Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.
Joseph Addison
The Spectator, Volume III by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, printed for J. and R. Tonson, 1726, Google eBook, page 218
Content thyself to be obscurely good. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, the post of honour is a private station.
Joseph Addison
The Miscellaneous Works, printed for T. Walker, 1773, Google eBook, page 156
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Joseph Addison
Mother India: Monthly Review of Culture, Volume 31, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1979, page 373
It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.
Joseph Addison
A Mind and Heart for Wellness by Louise Giroux, Wood Lake Publishing Inc., March 1, 1998, page 222
All the great and true spiritual masters offer their devotees a tangible spiritual realization of a greater reality, and a destiny greater than merely mortal, material existence. Divine realization itself—perfect happiness itself, complete awakening from the dream of mortal, limited existence—is the greatest of all human destinies, and the destiny for which every heart longs.
Adi Da Samraj
About Adidam and Adi Da website
For it is only face to face with the god enthroned in the innermost shrine of the other that the god hidden in me will consent to appear.
Felix Adler
An Ethical Philosophy of Life Presented in its Main Outlines, D. Appleton and Company, 1918, page 225
It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.
Aeschylus
Fragment 385
Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett, Little, Brown and company, 1897, Google eBook, page 696
When a match has equal partners then I fear not.
Aeschylus
Prometheus Bound
Exploring Psychology, Seventh Edition, in Modules by David G. Myers, Worth Publishers, seventh edition, October 24, 2007, page 637
There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.
Aeschylus
My Search for Meaning by Viola M. Jaynes, FriesenPress, 2011, page 229
God, whose law it is that he who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despite, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.
Aeschylus
Context: A Commentary on the Interaction of Religion and Culture by Martin E. Marty, Volumes 38-39, Claretian Publications, 2006, page 16
Truth is the vital breath of Beauty; Beauty the outward form of Truth.
Grace Aguilar
The Vale of Cedars, J. M. Dent, 1902, Google eBook, page 312
The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honours.
Akhenaton
Unto Thee I Grant, edited by Sri Ramatherio, Slusser Press, April 20, 2011, by page 85
Casteth he his eye towards the clouds, findeth he not the heavens full of his wonders? looketh he down to the earth, doth not the worm proclaim, “Less than omnipotence could not have formed me!”
Akhenaton
Unto Thee I Grant, edited by Sri Ramatherio, Slusser Press, April 20, 2011, by page 86
To suffer, is a necessity entailed upon thy nature, wouldst thou that miracles should protect thee from its lessons? or shalt thou repine, because it happeneth unto thee, when lo! it happeneth unto all? Suffering is the golden cross upon which the rose of the Soul unfoldeth.
Akhenaton
Unto Thee I Grant, edited by Sri Ramatherio, Slusser Press, April 20, 2011, by page 91
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them: but I can look up, and see their beauty; believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott
Work: A Story of Experience, Roberts Brothers, 1873, page 261
Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.
Alan Alda
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Random House Digital, September 9, 2008, page 18
You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. . . . What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.
Alan Alda
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Random House Digital, September 9, 2008, pages 21-22
There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.
Robert Alden
Mephibosheth: Transformation by a Covenant Love by Elias Yemane, Tate Publishing, September 1, 2007, page 15
Give all you are, all you have, nothing more is asked of you but also nothing less.
Mirra Alfassa (The Mother)
The Mother: Questions and Answers, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1973, page 13
He who does not desert his principles when threatened with the loss of every earthly thing, even to the loss of reputation and life, is the man of power.
James Allen
Mind is the Master: The Complete James Allen Treasury, Tarcher, December 24, 2009, page 60
All failures are apparent, not real. Every slip, every fall, every return to selfishness is a lesson learned, an experience gained, from which a golden grain of wisdom is extracted.
James Allen
Mind is the Master: The Complete James Allen Treasury, Tarcher, December 24, 2009, page 63
The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.
James Allen
Mind is the Master: The Complete James Allen Treasury, Tarcher, December 24, 2009, page 159
Mourning is not forgetting. . . . It is an undoing. Every minute tie has to be untied and something permanent and valuable recovered and assimilated from the knot.
Margery Allingham
The Tiger in the Smoke, Doubleday, 1952, page 33
Whenever conscience speaks with a divided, uncertain, and disputed voice, it is not yet the voice of God. Descend still deeper into yourself, until you hear nothing but a clear and undivided voice, a voice which does away with doubt and brings with it persuasion, light, and serenity.
Henri Frédéric Amiel
Amiel’s Journal, Macmillan and Co., 1885, page 14
The man who has no inner life is a slave of his surroundings, as the barometer is the obedient servant of the air at rest, and the weathercock the humble servant of the air in motion.
Henri Frédéric Amiel
Amiel’s Journal, Macmillan and Co., 1885, page 172
Every sort of mastery is an increase of one’s freedom.
Henri Frédéric Amiel
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 659
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, this is the only book in which I could find it. I am still hoping to source it to Amiel’s journals.
Mistakes are natural. Mistakes are how we learn. When we stop making mistakes, we stop learning and growing. But repeating the same mistake over and over is not continuous learning—it’s not paying attention.
Wally “Famous” Amos
Watermelon Magic: Seeds of Wisdom, Slices of Life by Wally Amos and Stu Glauberman, Simon and Schuster, April 8, 2008
My narrative:
As Indian saint Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi noted, offering God anything other than your love is like showing a candle to the sun.
• In Messages from Amma: In the Language of the Heart, edited by Janine Canan, Random House Digital, Inc., May 20, 2004, Amma’s poem, “Giver of Everything,” supports this statement:
God is the giver of everything
and does not need or want
anything form us.God is a giver,
who gives like the sun.
The sun does not need light
from a candle.
• As for the “offering God anything other than your love” part, the following quote by Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is on numerous websites:
Offering anything other than our love is like showing a candle to the sun.
It is so. It cannot be otherwise.
Inscription on the ruins of a fifteenth-century cathedral in Amsterdam
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, Simon and Schuster, October 5, 2004, page 74
Everything is in God’s hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as He pleases. Try to grasp the significance of “all is His”, and you will immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own, your Self.
Anandamayi Ma
Life and Teaching of Sri Anandamayi Ma, by Alexander Lipski, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, 1977, page 51
You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
My Baba by Naveen Joshi, AuthorHouse, December 4, 2009, page 87
• Shrii Shrii Anandamurti was affectionately called Baba by his disciples
Grief, I’ve learned, is really love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot give…. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes and in that part of your chest that gets empty and hollow feeling…. Grief is just love with no place to go.
Jamie Anderson
Originally posted on Anderson’s blog, “All my loose ends,” in a post titled, “As the lights wink out…,” on March 25, 2014; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
The full quote is:
Grief, I’ve learned, is really love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot give. The more you loved someone, the more you grieve. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes and in that part of your chest that gets empty and hollow feeling. The happiness of love turns to sadness when unspent. Grief is just love with no place to go.
My narrative:
As inspirational author and speaker Andy Andrews playfully reminds us, we are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading for a crisis.
In Mastering the Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success, Thomas Nelson Inc, April 15, 2008, Google eBook, page 70, Andrews writes:
It occurs to me that as you read this, you might be going through the worst time in your life. If that’s the case, know that it’s normal. We are all either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis. It’s just part of being on this planet.
If life teaches us anything, it may be that it’s necessary to suffer some defeats. Look at a diamond: It is the result of extreme pressure. Less pressure, it is crystal; less than that, it’s coal; and less than that, it is fossilized leaves or just plain dirt.
Maya Angelou
Conversations with Maya Angelou, edited by Jeffrey M. Elliot, University Press of Mississippi, 1989, page 96
When trust removes fear, faith flows in.
Ann-Margret
I believe this quote appeared in Guideposts magazine and was sent out as a Daily Guideposts e-mail
It is easy to say no. To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It is easy to say no, even if saying no means death.
Jean Anouilh
Antigone, Samuel French, Inc., 1974, page 52
We poison our lives with fear of burglary and shipwreck . . . and the house is never burgled, and the ship never goes down.
Jean Anouilh
From Anouilh’s play, The Rehearsal, which is included in Five Plays, Hill and Wang, first edition, September 28, 1990, page 232
You are spiritually whole, complete and perfect, and your success and happiness in life will be in direct proportion to your ability to accept this truth about yourself.
Dr. Robert Anthony
Beyond Positive Thinking: A No-Nonsense Formula for Getting the Results You Want, Morgan James Publishing, LLC, August 3, 2004, page 30
A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what a ship is for.
Thomas Aquinas
How We Grieve: Relearning the World by Thomas Attig, Oxford University Press, November 4, 2010, page 25:
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I have not been able to source it directly to Aquinas’ own writings
God is not in need of anything, but all things are in need of Him.
Marcianus Aristides
New Testament Words in Today’s Language by Wayne A. Detzler, Victor Books, December 1, 1986, page 145
The soul never thinks without an image.
Aristotle
De Anima, Book III, translated by R. D. Hicks, Cosimo, Inc., December 31, 2008, page 91
Friendship is a thing most necessary to life, since without friends no one would choose to live, though possessed of all other advantages.
Aristotle
Iolaus: An Anthology of Friendship by Edward Carpenter, Kessinger Publishing, May 15, 2006, page 56
• The following literal translation can be found in The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle, George Bell and Sons, 1889, page 202: “[Friendship] is most necessary for life: for without friends no one would choose to live, even if he had all other goods.”
Where your talents and the world’s needs cross, there lies your vocation.
Aristotle
Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love by Barbara J. Winter, Bantam, revised edition, August 25, 2009, page 127
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I have not been able to source it directly to Aristotle’s own writings
Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.
Aristotle
The Problem Behind All Problems by Michael Hansbury, Readworthy, January 1, 2009, page 126
• This is a modern paraphrasing of the following passage from Aristotle’s The Nichomachean Ethics as presented in Works, Volume 7, printed for the translator, by R. Wilks, 1811, Google eBook, page 314:
At the same time, however, even in these the beauty of good conduct shines forth, when a man bears many and great misfortunes easily, not through an insensibility of pain, but in consequence of being generous and magnanimous.
• Here is a second translation of the same passage, from Lectures in the Lyceum or Aristotle’s Ethics for English Readers, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1897, Google eBook, page 47:
Nevertheless even under these the force of nobility shines out, when a man bears calmly many great disasters, not from insensibility, but because he is generous and of a great soul.
Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from his or her neck saying, “Make me feel important!” Never forget this message when working with people.
Mary Kay Ash
The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur, with Yvonne Pendleton, John Wiley & Sons, July 8, 2008, page vii
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
Arthur Ashe
Congressional Record, V. 148, Pt. 1, January 23, 2002 to February 13, 2002, Government Printing Office, page 63
There is no such thing as can’t, only won’t. If you’re qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can’t blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.
Jan Ashford
21st Century Issues in America: An Introduction to Public Administration by James E. Pittman, AuthorHouse, September 22, 2009, page 287
One who has finally learned that it is in the nature of objects to come and go without ceasing, rests in detachment and is no longer subject to suffering.
Ashtavakra Gita
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 222
• Although this quote is listed on a handful of websites, this is the only book in which I could find it. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
The spirit of man is an inward flame; a lamp the world blows upon, but never puts out.
Margot Asquith
An Autobiography, George H. Doran Company, 1922, Google eBook, page 69
Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be.
W. H. Auden
Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher, Penguin, March 30, 2010, Chapter 3
Healing . . . is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing Nature.
W. H. Auden
Poem: “The Art of Healing”
Collected Poems, edited by Edward Mendelson, Modern Library, February 13, 2007, page 836
God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.
Rev. John Hill Aughey
Spiritual Gems of the Ages, Elm Street Printing Company, 1886, page 30
Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty billows of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, and pass themselves by.
Saint Augustine
The Confessions of St. Augustine, J. H. Parker, 1838, Google eBook, page 190
Faith is to believe what as yet you see not, of which faith the reward is to see what you believe.
Saint Augustine
The Confessions of St. Augustine, J. H. Parker, 1838, Google eBook, page 346
Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.
Saint Augustine
The Confessions, Hendrickson Publishers, August 15, 2005, page 152
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.
Saint Augustine
The Works of Aurelius Augustine: A New Translation, Volume 9, edited by Rev. Marcus Dods, T. and T. CLark, 1873, “On Christian Doctrine,” page 24
Love, and do what you will.
Saint Augustine
Homily 7 on the First Epistle of John, no. 8
God is not what you imagine or what you think you understand. If you understand you have failed.
Saint Augustine
The Idea of Catholicism: An Introduction to the Thought and Worship of the Church by Walter J. Burghardt and William F. Lynch, Meridian Books, 1964, page 20
Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God.
Saint Augustine
Finding God’s Will: Seek Him, Know Him, Take the Next Step by Gregg Matte, Gospel Light Publications, December 29, 2010, Google eBook, page 252
Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.
Saint Augustine
The Treasury, Volume 11, G. J. Palmer and Sons, 1908, Google eBook, page 364
Humility must accompany all our actions, must be with us everywhere; for as soon as we glory in our good works they are of no further value to our advancement in virtue.
Saint Augustine
Survival Notes for Graduates: Inspiration for the Ultimate Journey by Robert Stofel, Paulist Press, April 1, 2004, page 159
• In The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship edited by Kim S. Cameron and Gretchen M. Spreitzer, Oxford University Press, August 22, 2011, page 260, this quote is presented as:
Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues: hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.
Though defensive violence will always be “a sad necessity” in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men.
Saint Augustine
The Millennium Book of Cryptograms by Rene Cartry, Trafford Publishing, May 1, 2003, page 56
• Although this quote is on countless websites, I could find it in just this one book
Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.
Saint Augustine
• Although this quote is on countless websites, I could not find a book that included this exact phrasing
True, whole prayer is nothing but love.
Saint Augustine
Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster, HarperCollins, August 14, 1992, Google eBook, page 255
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
Saint Augustine
Who They Really Were: Preaching on Biblical Personalities by John R. Bodo, CSS Publishing, January 1, 2000, Google eBook, page 85
• According to Wikiquote, this quote is commonly attributed to Saint Augustine but it has not been sourced to his actual writings
He who is filled with love is filled with God himself.
Saint Augustine
The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations by Martin H. Manser, Westminster John Knox Press, June 1, 2001, page 236
• According to Wikiquote, this quote is commonly attributed to Saint Augustine but it has not been sourced to his actual writings
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
Saint Augustine
The Third Testament by John Eklund, iUniverse, 2010, page 121
• According to Wikiquote, this quote is commonly attributed to Saint Augustine but it has not been sourced to his actual writings
Then there are those who give without any remembrance of what they have done. They are like the vine that has brought forth a cluster of grapes, and having once borne its delicious fruit, seeks nothing more. As the horse that runs its race, the hound that tracks its game, and the bee that hives its honey, so should a man be when he has done an act of kindness—not seeking reward, not proclaiming his virtues, but passing on to the next act, as the vine passes on to bear another cluster of summer grapes.
Marcus Aurelius
This selection (which I have not personally confirmed) from Two Suns Rising: A Collection of Sacred Writings, edited by Jonathan Star, Book Sales, 1996, is a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 5:6, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, page 145:
One man, when he has done a service to another, is ready to set it down to his account as a favor conferred. Another is not ready to do this, but still in his own mind he think of the man as his debtor, and he knows what he has done. A third in a manner does not even know what he has done, but he is like a vine which has produced graves, and seeks for nothing more after it has once produced its proper fruit. As a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tracked the game, a bee when it has made the honey, so a man when he has done a good act, does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season.
Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?
Marcus Aurelius
This selection from The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle, New World Library, August 19, 2004, page 179, is a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 5:8, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, pages 146-147:
That which happens to [or, suits] every man is fixed in a manner for him suitably to his destiny.
Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear.
Marcus Aurelius
This is the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 5:18, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, page 154.
The one thing worth living for is to keep one’s soul pure.
Marcus Aurelius
This selection from Wisdom Through the Ages: Book Two, edited by Helen Granat, Trafford Publishing, 2003, page 119, appears to be a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 6:30, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, pages 171-172:
Keep thyself then simple, good, pure, serious, free from affectation, a friend of justice, a worshipper of the gods, kind, affectionate, strenuous in all proper acts. Strive to continue to be such as philosophy wished to make thee. Reverence the gods, and help men. Short is life. There is only one fruit of this terrene life, a pious disposition and social acts.
True understanding is to see the events of life in this way: “You are here for my benefit, though rumor paints you otherwise.” And everything is turned to one’s advantage when he greets a situation like this: “You are the very thing I was looking for.” Truly, whatever arises in life is the right material to bring about your growth and the growth of those around you. This, in a word, is art—and this art we call “life” is a practice suitable to both men and gods. Everything contains some special purpose and a hidden blessing. What then could be strange or arduous, when all of life is here to greet you like an old and faithful friend?
Marcus Auerlius
This selection (which I have not personally confirmed) from Two Suns Rising: A Collection of Sacred Writings, edited by Jonathan Star, Book Sales, 1996, is a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 7:68, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, pages 201-202:
It is in thy power to live free from all compulsion in the greatest tranquility of mind, even if all the world cry out against thee as much as they choose, and even if wild beasts tear in pieces the members of this kneaded matter which has grown around thee. For what hinders the mind in the midst of all this from maintaining itself in tranquility and in a just judgment of all surrounding things and in a ready use of the objects which are presented to it, so that the judgment may say to the thing which falls under its observation; This thou art in substance [reality], though in men’s opinion thou mayst appear to be of a different kind; and the use shall say to that which falls under the hand: Thou art the thing that I was seeking; for to me that which presents itself is always a material for virtue both rational and political, and in a word for the exercise of art which belongs to man or god. For everything which happens has a relationship either to god or man, and is neither new nor difficult to handle, but usual and apt matter to work on.
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.
Marcus Aurelius
This selection from Priests for the Third Millennium by Timothy Michael Dolan, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2000, page 118, appears to be a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 11:18, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, page 280:
It is not men’s acts which disturb us, for those acts have their foundation in men’s ruling principles, but it is our own opinions which disturb us. Take away these opinions then, and resolve to dismiss thy judgment about an act as if it were something grievous, and thy anger is gone.
Everything you wish to eventually achieve, you can have right now, if you don’t refuse it to yourself. And this means taking no notice of the past, trusting the future to providence, and living now in union with faith and justice.
Marcus Aurelius
This selection from The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius by Mark Forstater, Harper Perennial, June 5, 2001, page 187, is a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 12:1, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, page 289:
All those things at which thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous road, thous canst have now, if thou does not refuse them to thyself. And this means, if thou will take no notice of all the past, and trust the future to providence, and direct the present only conformably to piety and justice.
To them that ask, where have you seen the Gods, or how do you know for certain there are Gods, that you are so devout in their worship? I answer: Neither have I ever seen my own soul, and yet I respect and honor it.
Marcus Aurelius
This selection from The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes, Hazelden Publishing, December 4, 1980, page 130, is a more modern translation of the literal translation of Aurelius’ Meditation 12:28, found in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, translated by George Long, Comelius H. Shaver, 1882, Google eBook, pages 300-301:
To those who ask, Where hast thou seen the gods or how dost thou comprehend that they exist and so worshippest them, I answer, in the first place, they may be seen even with the eyes; in the second place neither have I seen even my own soul and yet I honor it.
• A footnote on page 300 explains that the phrase, “seen even with the eyes,” may be explained by the Stoic doctrine that the universe is a god (Meditation 4:23) and that the celestial bodies are gods (Meditation 8:19).
Start learning to love God by loving those whom you cannot love.
Meher Baba
Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: A Collection of 10,000 Inspirational Quotations by Andy Zubko, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, January 1, 2000, page 311
A day dawns, quite like other days; in it a single hour comes, quite like other hours; but in that day and in that hour the chance of a lifetime faces us.
Maltbie D. Babcock
The Unitarian Register, Volume 98, American Unitarian Association, 1919, Google eBook, page 89
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 71
If you learn what this world is, how it works, you automatically start getting miracles, what will be called miracles. But of course nothing is miraculous. Learn what the magician knows and it’s not magic anymore.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 91
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 100
You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 120
Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 144
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 159
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
Richard Bach
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Dell Publishing, 1977; softcover edition 1989, page 177
Your highest right knows all futures. Listen to its whisper and find that the prize ahead is your own greatest happiness.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
The less you know about the game, and the less you remember you’re a player, the more senseless living becomes.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
Every turn in your life, every time you decide, you become parent to all your alternate selves who follow.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
• This quote also appears in One, Dell, October 2, 1989, page 79 as:
Every turn in our lives, every time we decide, we become parents to all our alternate selves who follow.
Look into your fears, dare them to do their worst and cut them down when they try. If you don’t, they’ll clone themselves, mushroom till they surround you, choke the road to the life you want. Every turn you fear is empty air, dressed to look like jagged hell.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
Anger is always fear, and fear is always fear of loss.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
Clouds don’t worry about falling into the sea because they can’t (a) fall or (b) drown. But they are free to believe they can, and they may fear if they wish.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
How others deal with gifts you’ve given is not your decision, but theirs.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
When you live by the highest you know, the outcome of the game doesn’t matter. However it comes out, it came out right.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
Whatever inspires, also guides and protects.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
You don’t have to fight to live as you wish. Live as you wish and pay whatever price is required.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
If you want to meet someone who can fix any situation you don’t like, who can bring you happiness in spite of what other people say or believe, look in a mirror, then say this magic word: “Hello.”
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
Not being known doesn’t stop the truth from being true.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
No one can solve problems for someone whose problem is that they don’t want their problems solved.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
• This quote also appears in One, Dell, October 2, 1989, pages 114-115 as:
No one can solve problems for someone whose problem is that they don’t want problems solved.
Shop for security over happiness and you buy it, at that price.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
• This quote also appears in Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 244 as:
Shop for security over happiness and we buy it at that price.
You know nothing till intuition agrees.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
• This quote also appears in >Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 244 as:
We know nothing till intuition agrees.
If it’s never your fault, you can’t take responsibility for it. If you can’t take responsibility for it, you’ll always be its victim.
Richard Bach
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2004, book has no page numbers
• This quote also appears in Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 245 as:
If it’s never our fault, we can’t take responsibility for it. If we can’t take responsibility for it, we’ll always be its victim.
No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it.
Richard Bach
One, Dell, October 2, 1989, page 115
We are each given a block of marble when we begin a lifetime, and the tools to shape it into sculpture. . . . We can drag it behind us untouched, we can pound it to gravel, we can shape it into glory.
Richard Bach
One, Dell, October 2, 1989, page 118
There’s no disaster that can’t become a blessing, and no blessing that can’t become a disaster.
Richard Bach
One, Dell, October 2, 1989, page 121
One way to pick a future is to believe it’s inevitable.
Richard Bach
One, Dell, October 2, 1989, page 251
You have given your life to become the person you are today. Was it worth it?
Richard Bach
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 173
• The closest version I could find in Bach’s own books was in the front matter of One, Dell, October 2, 1989
I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?
Overcome fear, behold wonder.
Richard Bach
Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 83
Do the meanings of the heart swim in the streams of our conversations, and do they matter most when they’re glimpsed through deep water, and never caught?
Richard Bach
Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 146
Running from safety is the only way to make your last word Yes!
Richard Bach
Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 196
Don’t tell me that my security comes from somebody else! Tell me I’m responsible. Tell me security is a by-product of the gift I give of my skill and my learning and my love into the world. Tell me security comes from an idea given time and care.
Richard Bach
Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit, Delta, November 1, 1995, page 214
When a marriage comes to an end, we’re free to call it a failure. We’re also free to call it a graduation.
Richard Bach
Soul Flight: An Interview with Richard Bach by Gail Hudson of Amazon.com
It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion: for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity.
Francis Bacon
Sir Francis Bacon: The Essayes or Counsels Civil and Moral, Whittaker and Co., 1851, Essay XVI: “Of Atheism,” page 81
Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does good not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it.
Mikhail Bakunin
According to The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, compiled by Robert Andrews, Columbia University Press, 1993, page 377, this quote is from God and the State, 1871, and reprinted in Bakunin on Anarchism, edited by Sam Dolgoff, Black Rose Books Ltd., December 1, 1980. However, I could not find this quote in either book.
To work in the world lovingly means that we are defining what we will be for, rather than reacting to what we are against.
Christina Baldwin
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.
James Baldwin
The Fire Next Time, Random House Digital, Inc., 1963, page 95
I imagine that one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, that they will be forced to deal with pain.
James Baldwin
Notes of a Native Son, Beacon Press, September 7, 1984, page 101
Who knows how many fleshly forms the heir of heaven occupies before he can be brought to understand the value of that silence and solitude whose starry plains are but the vestibule of Spiritual Worlds? . . . The virtues we acquire, which develop slowly within us, are the invisible links that bind each one of our existences to the others,—existences which the spirit alone remembers, for Matter has no memory for spiritual things.
Honoré de Balzac
Seraphita , Roberts Bros., 1889, page 176
To live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws, to be led by permanent ideals— that is what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him, and calm and unspoiled when the world praises him.
Honoré de Balzac
New Outlook, Volume 58, edited by Alfred Emanuel Smith, Outlook Publishing Company, Inc., 1898, page 272
Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn’t, bleed, like colors, on the whole of our existence.
Honoré de Balzac
Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment by Marc Gafni, Simon and Schuster, January 29, 2002, page 194
Joy has nothing to do with material things, or with a man’s outward circumstances. It is the simple fact of human experience that a man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched, and a man in the depths of poverty can overflow with joy.
William Barclay
The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, Saint Andrew Press, 1959, page 88
Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.
Amelia Barr
The Bow of Orange Ribbon: A Romance of New York by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, Dodd, Mead and company, 1886, page 61
Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
J. M. Barrie
Pride & Humility by Neilsons & D, Xulon Press, April 30, 2008, page 90
We are all failures—at least, all the best of us are.
J. M. Barrie
Rectorial address, May 3, 1922, St. Andrew’s University, Scotland
If it is your time, love will track you down like a cruise missile.
Lynda Barry
Wild Women Talk About Love by Varla Ventura, Conari Press, February 1, 2007, page 43
Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside themselves was superior to circumstance.
Bruce Barton
The Man and the Book Nobody Knows, Bobbs-Merrill, 1959, page 24
Making a success of the job at hand is the best step toward the kind you want.
Bernard Baruch
Ladies’ Home Journal, Volume 64, LHJ Publishing, Inc., 1947, page 37
Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.
J. Sidlow Baxter
Going Public With Your Faith: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work by William Carr Peel, Zondervan, September 25, 2003, page 193
We look too much to museums. The sun coming up in the morning is enough.
Romare Bearden
Ebony, November 1975, Published by Johnson Publishing Company, page 122
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie
The Language of Letting Go: A Meditation Book and Journal for Daily Reflection, Hazelden Publishing, January 3, 2003, August 1 entry
I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for the truth; and truth rewarded me.
Simone de Beauvoir
All Said and Done, Deutsch and Weidenfeld and Nicolson, May 23, 1974, page 16
The point of relationship is the added power that life gets in working with it as a channel. A good relationship gives life more power. If two people are strong together, then life has a more powerful channel than it has with two single people. It’s almost as though a third and larger channel has been formed.
Charlotte Joko Beck
Everyday Zen: Love and Work, HarperOne, first edition, March 22, 1989, pages 95-96
You cannot avoid paradise. You can only avoid seeing it.
Charlotte Joko Beck
Everyday Zen: Love and Work, HarperOne, first edition, March 22, 1989, page 151
The process of practice is to see through, not to eliminate, anything to which we are attached. We could have great financial wealth and be unattached to it, or we might have nothing and be very attached to having nothing. Usually, if we have seen through the nature of attachment, we will tend to have fewer possessions, but not necessarily.
Charlotte Joko Beck
Everyday Zen: Love and Work, HarperOne, first edition, March 22, 1989, page 188
We never lose an attachment by saying it has to go. Only as we gain awareness of its true nature does it quietly and imperceptibly wither away; like a sandcastle with waves rolling over, it just smooths out and finally—where is it? What was it?
Charlotte Joko Beck
Everyday Zen: Love and Work, HarperOne, first edition, March 22, 1989, page 188
No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward Beecher
Life Thoughts, Ballantyne and Company, 1858, Google eBook, page 48
Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.
Henry Ward Beecher
Life Thoughts, Ballantyne and Company, 1858, Google eBook, page 62
”I can forgive, but I cannot forget,” is only another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” A forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note—torn in two and burned up, so that it never can be shown against the man.
Henry Ward Beecher
Life Thoughts, Ballantyne and Company, 1858, Google eBook, page 67
The unthankful heart . . . discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find in every hour some heavenly blessings.
Henry Ward Beecher
Life Thoughts, Ballantyne and Company, 1858, Google eBook, page 72
Of all earthly music, that which reaches the furthest into heaven is the beating of a loving heart.
Henry Ward Beecher
Life Thoughts, Ballantyne and Company, 1858, Google eBook, page 111
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. . . . Never excuse yourself to yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself; be lenient to everybody else.
Henry Ward Beecher
Letter to his son Herbert, October 18, 1878
Our Paper, Volume 10, Massachusetts Reformatory, Concord, Massachusetts, 1894, page 461
Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.
Betty Bender
From a set of pop-up cards made by Compendium, Inc.; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.
Betty Bender
From a set of pop-up cards made by Compendium, Inc.; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
We are literally God exploring God’s Self in an infinite Dance of Life.
Mellen-Thomas Benedict
Earth 2012: The Violet Age by Aurora Juliana Ariel, AEOS, Inc., June 22, 2010, page 193
To the artist is sometimes granted a sudden, transient insight which serves in this matter for experience. A flash, and where previously the brain held a dead fact, the soul grasps a living truth! At moments we are all artists.
Arnold Bennett
The Journal of Arnold Bennett, Garden City Publishing Company, 1933, page 38
The moment that any life, however good, stifles you, you may be sure it isn’t your real life.
Arthur Christopher Benson
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 32
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, this is one of only two books in which I could find it. I am still hoping to source it to Benson’s writings.
• The closest passage I could find in Benson’s own writings was in Father Payne, Putnam, 1917, page 14, in which Benson quotes his tutor at school as saying:
The moment you feel stifled with anyone, whatever the subject is—art, books, religion, life—there is something wrong.
In whatever way people are devoted to Me, in that measure I manifest Myself to them.
Bhagavad Gita 4:11
God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1995; hardcover edition 2005, Chapter 4, “The Supreme Science of Knowing God,” Verse 11, page 452
The sages call that man wise whose pursuits are all without selfish plan or longings for results, and whose activities are purified by the fire of wisdom.
Bhagavad Gita 4:19
God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1995; hardcover edition 2005, Chapter 4, “The Supreme Science of Knowing God,” Verse 19, page 471
My narrative:
In the Bhagavad Gita, Hinduism’s definitive guide to the science of Self-realization, devotion is referred to as shraddha, the natural inclination of the heart quality to turn toward its Source in faith and surrender.
Bhagavad Gita 17:1
God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1995; hardcover edition 2005, Chapter 17, “Three Kinds of Faith,” Verse 1, page 987, states:
Many men, ignorant of scriptural injunctions, prohibitions, and rituals, nevertheless possess great faith, or devotion (shraddha)—the natural inclination of the heart toward righteousness—and thus lead deeply religious lives.
But they for whom I am the supreme goal, who do all work renouncing self for me and meditate on me with single-hearted devotion, these I will swiftly rescue from the fragment’s cycle of birth and death, for their consciousness has entered into me.
Bhagavad Gita 12:6-7
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, second edition, May 17, 2007, pages 207-208
Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.
Bhagavad Gita 12:8
God Makes the Rivers to Flow: An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry and Prose by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, fourth edition, December 1, 2009, page 111
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace.
Bhagavad Gita 12:12
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, second edition, May 17, 2007, page 208
If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive.
Bhagavad Gita
The Peace Bible: Words from the Great Traditions, edited by Steven Scholl, Kalimat Press, 2002, page 23
Although this quote is widely attributed to the Bhagavad Gita, I cannot find it in the Bhagavad Gita itself. It was used in Alan Cohen’s Daily Quotes e-mail, July 31, 2012.
My narrative:
To paraphrase the Bhagavad Gita, the holiest of ancient Hindu scriptures, the eternal soul cannot be burned by fire, drowned by water, or pierced by any weapon.
• In The Living Age, Volume 114, by Eliakim Littell and Robert S. Littell, Littell, Son and Co., 1872, page 82, it states:
. . . in the Bhagavad-Gita . . . Krishna says, “Immortality and death, being and not being, am I, O Arjuna” He is everything, its source, its goal, father and mother of this world, whence all things and beings come, whither all return. The soul is immutable, impenetrable, incombustible, can neither be pierced by darts, nor burned by fire, nor drowned by water, nor dried by wind.
If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer.
Frank Bianco
A Treasury Of Inspirational Thoughts by S.P. Sharma, Pustak Mahal, January 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 109
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Bible passage: Exodus 23:20
King James Version
Be still, and know that I am God.
Bible passage: Psalms 46:10
King James Version
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.
Bible passage: Ecclesiastes 9:10
King James Version
Ye have not, because ye ask not.
Bible passage: James 4:2
King James Version
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Bible passage: Isaiah 55:8-9
King James Version
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Bible passage: Psalms 118:24
King James Version
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Bible passage: 1 John 4:12
King James Version
An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.
Bible passage: Proverbs 24:26
New Living Translation
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Bible passage: Philippians 4:8
New American Standard Bible
And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Bible passage: Romans 8:28
New English Translation
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
Ambrose Bierce
Songs of the Dragonfly: Begging for Enlightenment by Duston Anderten, Trafford Publishing, November 1, 2003, page 18
Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up, depends on the stuff he’s made of.
Josh Billings
Forbes, Volumes 10-11, Forbes Inc., October 14, 1922, Google eBook, page 28
Forgetfulness of self is remembrance of God.
Bayazid al-Bistami
The Simple Feeling of Being: Embracing Your True Nature by Ken Wilber, edited by Mark Palmer, Shambhala Publications, July 13, 2004, page 158
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite.
William Blake
The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, Anchor, March 5, 1997, page 39
Where others see but the dawn coming over the hill, I see the sons of God shouting for joy.
William Blake
Complete Writings of Oscar Wilde: The House of Pomegranates. De Profundis., Nottingham Society, 1905, page 161
We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.
Alice Bloch
It’s All About You: Live the Life You Crave by Mary Goulet and Heather Reider, Simon and Schuster, October 9, 2007, page 50
Love at first sight is easy to understand; it’s when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.
Amy Bloom
God’s Guest List: Welcoming Those Who Influence Our Lives by Debbie Macomber, Simon and Schuster, July 26, 2011, page 200
The moment you place your happiness in the fulfillment of any want or wish, that is, outside yourself, outside the Way, in anything but the thing as it is, as it is becoming, at that moment your balance is lost and you fall straight from Heaven to Hell.
Reginald Horace Blyth
Zen and Zen Classics, Volume 1, Hokuseido Press, 1970, page 57
All know the way, few actually walk it.
Bodhidharma
The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl, New Directions Publishing, March 1, 1976, page 12
I am but a finger pointing at the moon. Don’t look at me; look at the moon.
Bodhidharma
This translation is but one of many that express the same idea. I have not found a credible source for it other than miscellaneous blogs.
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
Paul Boese
The Forgiveness Formula: How to Let Go of Your Pain and Move On With Your Life by Kathleen Griffin, Da Capo Press, August 23, 2004, page 48
• This quote was first published in the February 19, 1967 issue of Quote: The Weekly Digest, (Vol. 53, No. 8, p. 146), published by Droke House, Inc.
My narrative:
Medieval Roman philosopher Boethius wrote in Consolation of Philosophy that the wheel of life, which represents the mercurial nature of fortune, is always in motion. The only changeless portion is the wheel’s center where God presides, offering you protection from the vagaries of life on earth.
• Wikipedia states:
“The Boethian Wheel” is a model for Boethius’ belief that history is a wheel, that Boethius uses frequently in the Consolation; it remained very popular throughout the Middle Ages, and is still often seen today. As the wheel turns those that have power and wealth will turn to dust; men may rise from poverty and hunger to greatness, while those who are great may fall with the turn of the wheel. It was represented in the Middle Ages in many” relics of art depicting the rise and fall of man. Descriptions of “The Boethian Wheel” can be found in the literature of the Middle Ages from the “Romance of the Rose” to Chaucer.
Helping someone else takes you out of your head—where fear and doubt dwell—and puts you back into your heart. You’ll discover . . . that you are part of a larger family that needs you.
Ariane de Bonvoisin
Guideposts, October 2009, page 77
Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.
Louis Eugene Boone
Insights on Leadership, Volume 3: Executives by Russ Volckmann, page 17
Time is the substance of which I am made. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which mangles me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire.
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges: A Personal Anthology, Grove Press, January 14, 1994, “A New Refutation of Time,” page 64
No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips its turn.
Hal Borland
Sundial of the Seasons, Lippincott, 1964, page 49
Praying men must be strong in hope, and faith, and prayer.
E. M. Bounds
E. M. Bounds on Prayer, Hendrickson Publishers, June 30, 2006, page 205
Our praying, to be strong, must be buttressed by holy living. The life of faith perfects the prayer of faith.
E. M. Bounds
E. M. Bounds on Prayer, Hendrickson Publishers, June 30, 2006, page 238
Security is a false god; begin making sacrifices to it and you are lost.
Paul Bowles
Travels, HarperCollins, August 30, 2011, page 220
Self-denial is a kind of holy association with God; and by making him your partner interests him in all your happiness.
Robert Boyle
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 513
If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.
Ray Bradbury
The Journey Called You: A Roadmap to Self-Discovery and Acceptance by Julie Fuimano, Nurturing Your Success Publications, 2005, page 162
The Quantum Hologram has always been here; it is everywhere all the time; and it appears to have what Western scientists are now calling “intelligence.” Except for the language, this field sounds very similar to what the ancients called God.
Gregg Braden
Adapted from remarks from the essay, “Oneness and the Quantum Hologram“; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
As Western science would put it, coherent human emotion, which occurs when what we are thinking, feeling, and expressing are all in alignment, produces a chemical change in our bodies, and that chemical change has quantum effects that extend beyond our bodies and bring about changes in our physical world (and now it’s no longer a “miracle”).
Gregg Braden
Adapted from remarks from the essay, “Oneness and the Quantum Hologram“; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Ego is to the true self what a flashlight is to a spotlight.
John Bradshaw
Bradshaw On: The Family: a New Way of Creating Solid Self-Esteem by John Bradshaw, HCI, November 1, 1996, page 249
We need more than love to make love last.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 19
Knowing how to keep our excitement for another person alive is not different from knowing how to keep alive our excitement for life.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 33
Love is for people who know who they are.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 53
Joy is a nutrient of love: it makes love grow.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 61
Four of the most loving words in the world are : “Tell me about it.”
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 90
Love is for those who understand that it is now or never.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 166
If we have the self-confidence and the wisdom to be the friend of our partner’s growth, then growth is no threat. If we set ourselves against it, we invite tragedy.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 178
The value of a relationship lies in the joy it affords, not in its longevity. . . . The ending of a relationship does not mean that someone has failed. It means only that someone has changed, perhaps for the better.
Nathaniel Branden
The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book, coauthored by E. Devers Branden, J.P. Tarcher, 1982, page 206
When something is missing in your life, it usually turns out to be someone.
Robert Brault
Originally posted on Brault’s blog on February 12, 2010; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is at their heels.
Bertolt Brecht
Success Intelligence: Essential Lessons and Practices from the World’s Leading Coaching Program on Authentic Success by Robert Holden, Hay House, Inc., May 6, 2008, page 109
From the perspective of a healer, illness is the result of imbalance. Imbalance is a result of forgetting who you are. Forgetting who you are creates thoughts and actions that lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and eventually to illness. . . . Illness can thus be understood as a lesson you have given yourself to help you remember who you are.
Barbara Ann Brennan
Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field, Random House Digital, Inc., May 1, 1988, Introduction
If you want to put yourself on the map, publish your own map.
Ashleigh Brilliant
Pot-shot epigram #651 from Ashleigh Brilliant’s website; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.
David Brinkley
The Heart of a Mother: Life Lessons That My Mother Taught Me by Patrick K. Lombule, AuthorHouse, August 19, 2009, page 28
Ego has a voracious appetite, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets.
Nathaniel Bronner, Jr.
Who Stole My Soul?: A Dialogue with the Devil on the Meaning of Life by Vishwa Prakash, BookPros, LLC, November 1, 2009, page 119
Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire
Of watching you.
Rupert Brooke
The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke, IndyPublish, July 11, 2008, hardcover, “Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire,” page 18
If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth, we must still march on.
Rev. Stopford A. Brooke
Christ in Modern Life: Sermons Preached in St. James’ Chapel, York Street, St. James’ Square, London, 1882, Google eBook, page 235
O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks!
Phillips Brooks
Twenty Sermons: Fourth Series, Volume 4, E.P. Dutton, 1894, Google eBook, page 330
The true way to be humble is not to stoop till you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that shall show you what the real smallness of your greatest greatness is.
Phillips Brooks
Sermons, E.P. Dutton, 1888, Google eBook, page 340
Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger; which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is the child of God.
Phillips Brooks
Addresses, Mershon, 1900, Google eBook, page 76
Be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you and every life a life like yours, this earth would be God’s Paradise.
Phillips Brooks
Herald of Gospel Liberty: General Convention of the Christian Church, Volume 107, Issues 1-26, Christian Pub. Association, 1915, Google eBook, page 619
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.
Phillips Brooks
Machinists’ Monthly Journal, Official Organ of the International Association of Machinists, Volumes 44-45, 1932, page 368
I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back.
Phillips Brooks
Prayer in America: A Spiritual History of Our Nation by James P. Moore, Jr., Random House Digital, Inc., September 18, 2007, Google eBook, page 201
The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
Phillips Brooks
Success by Orison Swett Marden, W. A. Wilde & company, 1897, Google eBook, page 140
That in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.
Brother Lawrence
The Practice of the Presence of God, and the Spiritual Maxims, Cosimo, Inc., December 31, 2006, Google eBook, page 7
There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.
Brother Lawrence
The Practice of the Presence of God, and the Spiritual Maxims, Cosimo, Inc., December 31, 2006, Google eBook, page 26
Think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected?
Brother Lawrence
The Practice of the Presence of God, and the Spiritual Maxims, Cosimo, Inc., December 31, 2006, Google eBook, page 33
The best proof of love is trust.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
Good Housekeeping, Volume 181, Hearst Corp., 1975, page 45
My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.
Joseph Brotherton
A Homiletical Commentary on the Book of Esther by Rev. William Burrows, Dickinson, 1881, Google eBook, page 213
Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
The Parent You Want to Be: Who You Are Matters More Than What You Do by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, Zondervan, September 18, 2007, page 113
The best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Life’s Little Instruction Book: 511 Suggestions, Observations, and Reminders on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life, Rutledge Hill Press, May 1, 1991
• I have been unable to track down the correct page number
A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.
Rita Mae Brown
A Restored Vessel: A Guide to Overcoming Trauma by Nicole C. Barber, Xulon Press, 2008, page 29
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Aurora Leigh, Oxford University Press, USA, Reissue edition, October 15, 2008, Book VII, page 246
She knows Omnipotence hath heard her prayer,
And cries, “It shall be done, sometime, somewhere.”
Ophelia G. Browning
Heart throbs, Chapple Pub. Co., 1911, Google eBook, page 359
We have been too content with allocating the high places of spirituality to the few names of a far-off past, and with assigning the muddy depths to humanity in general. We forget our own divine nature. For we too can approach Jesus, become Buddha-like or win the wisdom of a Plato.
Paul Brunton
The Secret Path: A Technique of Spiritual Self-Discovery for the Modern World, Rider, 1969, page 40
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
William Jennings Bryan
The Second Battle: or, The New Declaration of Independence, W.B. Conkey Company, 1900, Google eBook, page 109
I have observed the power of the watermelon seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight. When you can tell me how it takes this material and out of it colors an outside surface beyond the imitation of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within that again a red heart, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its weight—when you can explain to me the mystery of the watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God.
William Jennings Bryan
Id: The True You by Mark Batterson, Xulon Press, 2004, page 186
Difficulty, my brethren, is the nurse of greatness; a harsh nurse, who roughly rocks her foster-children into strength and athletic proportion.
William Cullen Bryant
Delivered at a banquet given by the press of New York, December 15, 1851
Famous American Statesmen and Orators, Past and Present, compiled by Alexander Kelly McClure and Byron Andrews, F. F. Lovell Pub. Co., 1902, page 63
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.
Martin Buber
The Legend of the Baal-Shem, Princeton University Press, April 17, 1995, page 36
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Buddha
A Cup of Buddha by Thomas D. Craig, O Books, May 27, 2011, page 73
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
Buddha
A Cup of Buddha by Thomas D. Craig, O Books, May 27, 2011, page 74
Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.
Buddha
The Dhammapada by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, April 13, 2007, page 45
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
Buddha
The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn by Richard Wesley Hamming, Taylor & Francis, 1997, Google eBook, page 13
In the search for truth there are certain questions that are not important. Of what material is the universe constructed? Is the universe eternal? Are there limits or not to the universe? . . . If a man were to postpone his search and practice for Enlightenment until such questions were solved, he would die before he found the path.
Buddha
Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: A Collection of 10,000 Inspirational Quotations by Andy Zubko, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, January 1, 2000, page 410
Love is beauty and beauty is truth, and that is why in the beauty of a flower we can see the truth of the universe.
Buddha
Visions from Earth by James R. Miller, Trafford Publishing, 2004, page 99
In this world, hate never yet dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate.
Buddha
The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present in the Life You Have by Mark Nepo, Conari Press, October 1, 2011, page 413
However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?
Buddha
Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics, written, compiled, and edited by Eric H. Roth and Toni Aberson, Chimayo Press, October 29, 2010, page 50
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
Buddha
The Subtlety of Emotions by Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, MIT Press, October 1, 2001, page 471
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddha
The Authentic Heart: An Eightfold Path to Midlife Love by John Amodeo, John Wiley and Sons, January 22, 2001, page 240
If you endeavor to embrace the Way through much learning, the Way will not be understood. If you observe the Way with simplicity of heart, great indeed is this Way.
Buddha
Zen for Americans by Sōen Shaku, Dorset Press, 1906, page 8
There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.
Buddha
The Buddha’s Way of Happiness: Healing Sorrow, Transforming Negative Emotion, and Finding Well-Being in the Present Moment by Thomas Bien, New Harbinger Publications, January 1, 2011, page xiii
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
Buddha
Walking the Path: The Cree to the Celtic by Shirley Laboucane, O Books, 2012, page 23
On life’s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
Buddha
Spiritual Quest of a Baby Yogi: Journey Through Islam, Christianity, and Beyond by Dev Prana, iUniverse, December 16, 2010, page 27
The wind cannot shake a mountain. Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man.
Buddha
The World in a Phrase: A History of Aphorisms by James Geary, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, October 17, 2006, page 34
If it is not truthful and not helpful, don’t say it.
If it is truthful and not helpful, don’t say it.
If it is not truthful and helpful, don’t say it.
If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time.
Buddha
Inspiration Peak website
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Buddha
This quote has been attributed to various sources, including Thai monk Achann Chaa of Wat Po Pong (1918-1992); Charles Reade (1814-1884); Patrick Overton; a mysterious character named Frank Outlaw; and “Elizabeth C.,” who purportedly wrote it and e-mailed it to her lupus support group in 1998 and later claimed credit for it in July 2003. However, it seems clear that the quote is a derivation of the following quote by Buddha:
The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love,
Born out of concern for all beings . . .
As the shadow follows the body,
as we think, so we become.
Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World by Lama Surya Das, Random House Digital, Inc., June 15, 1998, Google eBook, page 130
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha
The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz, Rodale, February 16, 2010, page 130
Nowhere! Not in the sky, Nor in the midst of the sea, Nor deep in the mountains, Can you hide from your own mischief.
Buddha
Freeing the Buddha: Diversity on a Sacred Path—Large Scale Concerns by Brian Ruhe, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, 2005, page 457
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
Buddha
The Artist’s Way at Work: Riding the Dragon by Mark Bryan, Julia Cameron and Catherine Allen, HarperCollins, May 19, 1999, page 27
If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
Buddha
Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield, Shambhala Publications, March 6, 2001, page 10
There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.
Buddha
Exodus III: Great Joy and Glory to the Most High as You by Orest Bedrij, Xlibris Corporation, September 6, 2011, page 173
When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
Buddha
Silver Linings: Meditations on Finding Joy and Beauty in Unexpected Places by Mina Parker, Conari Press, September 1, 2008, page 32
Just as a tree, though cut down, can grow again and again if its roots are undamaged and strong, in the same way if the roots of craving are not wholly uprooted sorrows will come again and again.
Buddha
The Dhammapada: The Path of Perfection, translated by Juan Mascaro, Penguin Classics, May 30, 1973, page 83
The followers of the Way are like dry straw, and must be protected against the fires of desire. One must put distance between oneself and the object of his desire.
Buddha
Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings by Richard Hooper, Sanctuary Publications, Inc., September 25, 2008, page 37
Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening.
Buddha
Buddha’s Little Instruction Book, edited by Jack Kornfield, Bantam, May 1, 1994, page 4
Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
Buddha
The Healing Power of the Deep Heart: A Guide to Healing Disharmony and Disease by Anne Bertolet Rice, Wheatmark, Inc., 2009, page 71
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
Buddha
Awaken Your Power!: The Secret of Life Revealed—How Your Thoughts Create Your Reality by Joe Rapisarda, Balboa Press, Noemberv 2, 2011, page 141
My narrative:
Buddha stated that the core message of his teaching was, “Nothing should be clung to as me or mine.” Indian guru Nisargadatta Maharaj sagely added that enlightenment was also reachable through the mindset of “Everything should be clung to as me or mine.”
• In Twilight of the Clockwork God: Conversations on Science and Spirituality at the End of an Age by John David Ebert, Council Oak Books, 1999, page 136, Ebert writes:
If you read the writings of Gautama Buddha, he basically says, “in the path to enlightenment, nothing should be clung to as me or mine.”
• In I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, The Acorn Press, Second American Edition, August 7, 2012, page 79, Nisargadatta is quoted as saying:
Everything is me, everything is mine.
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
Frederick Buechner
Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Harper & Row, March 14, 1973, page 95
They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
Frederick Buechner
Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads by Roy H. Williams, Bard Press, September 25, 1999, page 115
• This quote is commonly attributed to Maya Angelou and Bonnie Jean Wasmund among others. Indeed, Angelou did include a longer version of this quote in a longer quote, but Williams’ book is the earliest usage of this quote that I can find.
Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.
Lois McMaster Bujold
A Civil Campaign, Baen, September 15, 1999, page 293
When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words without a heart.
John Bunyan
The Complete Works of John Bunyan, Bradley, Garretson and Co., 1871, page 80
There is work that is work, and there is play that is play; there is play that is work, and work that is play. And in only one of these lies happiness.
Gelett Burgess
Theosophical outlook, Volume 4 by Theosophical Society in America, Blavatsky Lodge of Theosophists, 1919, page 383
O would some power the gift to give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
Robert Burns
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 39 by Mark P. Zanna, Academic Press, May 14, 2007, page 8
• What Burns actually wrote is:
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
• Strangely enough, these famous lines by Burns were written in response to an insect. The name of the poem they appear in is: To a Louse: On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church. According to the World Burns Club website:
It was one Sunday while sitting behind a young ‘lady’ in the church, that he noticed a head louse roaming over its domain in the bows and ribbons of her hat, and I assume her hair. Poor woman, little did she know that she would, with her head companion, be the subject of one of Burns’ poems, on how we see ourselves, and how we think other people see us.
A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.
John Burroughs
Saturday Review, Volume 29, Saturday Review Co., 1946, page 36
Why do some people always see beautiful skies and grass and lovely flowers and incredible human beings while others are hard-pressed to find anything or any place that is beautiful?
Leo Buscaglia
Living, Loving and Learning, Ballantine Books, October 12, 1985, page 124
To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.
Leo Buscaglia
Living, Loving and Learning, Ballantine Books, October 12, 1985, page 202
Love is always open arms. With arms open you allow love to come and go as it wills, freely, for it’ll do so anyway. If you close your arms about love you’ll find you are left only holding yourself.
Leo Buscaglia
Love: What Life Is All About, Ballantine Books, August 27, 1996, page 65
Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it kindles the great.
Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, edited by Susan Ratcliffe, Oxford University Press, October 5, 2006
• There is some sort of connection between Bussy-Rabutin’s quote and François de La Rochefoucauld’s Maxim no. 276, which is literally translated as:
Absence extinguishes small passions and increases great ones, as the wind will blow out a candle, and blow in a fire.
Reflections, or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, S. Low, Son, and Marston, 1871, page 35
Bussy-Rabutin and La Rochefoucauld were contemporaries in 17th-century France.
Don’t go through life, grow through life.
Eric Butterworth
Realizing Your Potential by Gary McGuire, Epitome Books, 2009, page 105
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
Edmund Burke
Reflections on the revolution in France, and on the proceedings of certain Societies in London Relative to That Event, Seeley, 1872, Google eBook, page 158
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
Robert Byrne
The Problem Behind All Problems by Michael Hansbury, Readworthy, January 1, 2009, page 102
There is no instinct like that of the heart.
Lord Byron
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 222
What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.
Julius Caesar
Distant Voices: Listening to the Leadership Lessons of the Past: Military Commentaries of Julius Caesar by Michael B. Colegrove, iUniverse, October 24, 2007, page 276
The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul.
John Calvin
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 84
We must be willing to give up the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell
A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living, Joseph Campbell Foundation, Google eBook
I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.
Joseph Campbell
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers, Random House Digital, Inc., June 1, 1991, page 150
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.
Joseph Campbell
Increasing Wholeness: Jewish Wisdom and Guided Meditations to Strengthen and Calm Body, Heart, Mind and Spirit by Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, Jewish Lights Publishing, March 2, 2015, page 65
Integrity has no need of rules.
Albert Camus
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, Random House Digital, Inc., 1955, “The Absurd Man,” page 66
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
Albert Camus
Lyrical and Critical Essays, Vintage Books, 1970, page 101
In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
Albert Camus
Lyrical and Critical Essays, Vintage Books, 1970, “Return to Tipasa,” page 169
Whatever keeps you from your work is your work.
Albert Camus
Laura by Larry Watson, Simon and Schuster, June 26, 2001, page 256
Nothing is true that forces me to exclude.
Albert Camus
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 531
• Although this quote is listed on a handful of websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
Sandra Carey
Those Who Can, Teach by Kevin Ryan and James Michael Cooper, Cengage Learning, 2006, page 272
When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze.
Thomas Carlyle
The London Quarterly Review, Volume 50 by John Telford and Benjamin Aquila Barber, J.A. Sharp, 1878, Google eBook, page 316
My narrative:
Motivational pioneer Dale Carnegie observed that when you have identified and accepted the worst that can happen in a given situation, you have nothing more to lose, which automatically means that you have everything to gain.
• In How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, Simon and Schuster, October 5, 2004, page 16, Carnegie writes:
When we have accepted the worst, we have nothing more to lose. And that automatically means—we have everything to gain!
When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil.
Dale Carnegie
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, Simon and Schuster, October 5, 2004, pages 111-112
Instead of looking at life as a narrowing funnel, we can see it ever-widening to choose the things we want to do, to take the wisdoms we’ve learned and create something.
Liz Carpenter
Better All the Time, Texas A&M University Press, 1993, page 259
Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality.
Alexis Carrel
Reflections on Life, Hawthorn Books, 1953, page 153
Those who do not love feel superior to everyone else.
Those who love feel equal to everyone else.
Those who love much gladly take the lower place.
Carlo Carretto
In Search of the Beyond, Orbis Books, 1976, page 152
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.
Jim Carrey
Make the Best of the Rest of Your Life by Geri O’Neill, DoctorZed Publishing, October 1, 2010, page 24
My narrative:
Romantic partners view each other like Jim Carrey’s character in Bruce Almighty learned to do. He had taken his girlfriend for granted but when God asks him if he wants her back, he selflessly replies, “I want her to meet someone who will see her always as I do now, through your eyes.”
• Quotes on IMDb from the 2003 movie, Bruce Almighty
A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn’t indulge in it.
Carlos Castenada
Tales of Power, Washington Square Press, January 1, 1991, page 289
The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
Carlos Castaneda
Journey to Ixtlan, Simon and Schuster, February 1, 1991, page 184
Where there is great love there are always miracles.
Willa Cather
Death Comes for the Archbishop, Random House Digital, Inc., August 24, 2011, Google eBook, page 50
Miracles . . . rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always.
Willa Cather
Death Comes for the Archbishop, Random House Digital, Inc., August 24, 2011, Google eBook, page 50
All the way to heaven is heaven.
St. Catherine of Siena
Heroes and Saints: More Stories of People Who Made a Difference by Max LeRoy Christensen, Westminster John Knox Press, April 15, 1997, page 45
God speaks to all individuals through what happens to them moment by moment.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
You Are Not Your Illness: Seven Principles for Meeting the Challenge by Linda Noble Topf with Hal Zina Bennett, Simon and Schuster, May 8, 1995, page 30
• This quote appears to be a modern paraphrasing of the following passage from de Caussade’s book, Abandonment to Divine Providence, Ignatius Press, October 1, 2011, Google eBook, page 55:
We can only be well instructed by the words which God utters expressly for us. . . . That which instructs us is what happens from one moment to another.
The more and more each is impelled by that which is intuitive, or the relying upon the soul force within, the greater, the farther, the deeper, the broader, the more constructive may be the result.
Edgar Cayce
The Psychic Sense: How to Awaken Your Sixth Sense to Solve Life’s Problems and Seize Opportunities by Edgar Cayce with John Van Auken, ARE Press, May 1, 2006, Google eBook, page 101
There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering that leads to more suffering and the suffering that leads to the end of suffering. If you are not willing to face the second kind of suffering, you will surely continue to experience the first.
Ajahn Chah
A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah by Jack Kornfield and Paul Breiter, Quest Books, September 1, 1985, page 33
• Achaan is an alternative spelling of Ajahn
You say, “But He has not answered.” He has, He is so near to you that His silence is the answer. His silence is big with terrific meaning that you cannot understand yet, but presently you will.
Oswald Chambers
If You Will Ask: Reflections on the Power of Prayer, Discovery House Publishers, January 1, 1994, page 45
We impoverish God in our minds when we say there must be answers to our prayers on the material plane; the biggest answers to our prayers are in the realm of the unseen.
Oswald Chambers
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 204
It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man’s disposition.
Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest, Discovery House, 1993, page 28
Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
Coco Chanel
The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman by Karen Karbo, Globe Pequot, March 1, 2011, page 79
• This quote is also commonly attributed to Dr. Laura Schlessinger
How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach, Hachette Digital, Inc., November 15, 1995, Google eBook, page 25
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common—this is my symphony.
William Henry Channing
Editorials from the Hearst Newspapers by Arthur Brisbane, Albertson Publishing Co., 1906, Google eBook, page 18
• This quote by Channing grew in popularity after Arthur Brisbane, one of the best-known newspaper editors of the twentieth century, commented on it in his syndicated editorial column in the Hearst newspapers. However, Brisbane had expertly trimmed and rearranged Channing’s original words, which came from an April 15, 1841 letter to Margaret Fuller:
My scheme of life is so simple that it needs still sunshine, like a harvest field. To be a workingman, poor, humble; to perform without show or shunning menial services; to live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to have an oratory in my own heart, and present spotless sacrifices of dignified kindness in the temple of humanity; to spread no opinions glaringly out like show-plants, and yet leave the garden gate ever open for the chosen friend and the chance acquaintance; to make no pretenses to greatness; to seek no notoriety; to attempt no wide influence; to have no ambitious projects; to let my writings be the daily bubbling spring flowing through constancy, swelled by experiences, into the full, deep river of wisdom; to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never; . . . in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. A pretty dream? A sober prophecy!
Memoir of William Henry Channing by Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1886, page 166
Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.
Edwin Hubbell Chapin
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 4
Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.
Edwin Hubbell Chapin
The Sacred Art of Forgiveness: Forgiving Ourselves and Others through God’s Grace by Marcia Ford, SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2006, page 142
Someday when men have conquered the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, they will harness for God the energies of love, and then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“The Evolution of Chastity,” 1934 essay
A Moer Perfect Union: Holistic Worldviews and the Transformation of American Culture After World War II by Linda Sargent Wood, Oxford University Press, September 23, 2010, page 258
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Pierre Teillhard de Chardin
Fifty Self-Help Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, March 1, 2003, page 121
It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though limits to our abilities do not exist.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Think Like a Winner! by Dr. Walter Doyle Staples, Pelican Publishing, 1991, page 83
You are as old as God and as young as the morning.
Hilda Charlton
Alan Cohen’s website; Hilda Charlton was Cohen’s mentor
For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.
Stuart Chase
Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violini, Weiser Books, October 1, 2009, page 132
• Wikiquote attributes this quote to Chase but without a source
Reality divided by reason always leaves a remainder. After everything has been said about the universe, after the entire world has been transformed on the basis of scientific knowledge into a hierarchical structure of ever-widening systems, we are still left with a profound sense of mystery. . . . This luminous experience of the impenetrable mystery is common to all the scientists, philosophers, and mystics of the highest rank. The scientist calls it the mystery of Nature. The philosopher calls it the mystery of Being. The mystic calls it the mystery of the Spirit.
Haridas Chaudhuri
Being, Evolution, and Immortality: An Outline of Integral Philosophy, Theosophical Publishing House, August 1, 1974
• Numerous sources state that the above quote is from this book. I have yet to confirm that.
The value of moments, when cast up, is immense, if well employed; if thrown away, their loss is irrevocable.
Philip Lord Chesterfield
The Beauties of Chesterfield: Consisting of Selections from His Works, C. Ewer, 1828, Google eBook, page 245
Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.
G. K. Chesterton
Orthodoxy, John Lane Company, 1909, page 72
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
G. K. Chesterton
Original source: The Illustrated London News, April 29, 1922
Generally Speaking, Books for Libraries Press, 1968, “On Holland,” page 137
You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.
G. K. Chesterton
Essay: “The Maxims of Maxim,” Daily News, February 25, 1905
In Defense of Sainty: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton, selected by Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, and Aidan Mackey, Ignatius Press, October 1, 2011, page 90
Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all.
G. K. Chesterton
Wisdom from World Religions: Pathways Toward Heaven on Earth by John Templeton, Templeton Foundation Press, March 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 200
• The closest passage I could find in Chesterton’s own writings is the Introduction he wrote for Charles Dickens’ novel, Hard Times. Even so, the passage below is only vaguely related to the above quote:
Real conviction and real charity are much nearer than people suppose. Dickens was capable of loving all men; but he refused to love all opinions. The modern humanitarian can love all opinions, but he cannot love all men; he seems sometimes, in the ecstasy of his humanitarianism, even to hate them all. He can love all opinions, including the opinion that men are unlovable.
Hard Times by Charles Dickens, Introduction by G. K. Chesterton, J. M. Dent, 1912, page vii
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
G. K. Chesterton
Miracles Abound: When We Open Our Hearts to God by Antoinette Bosco, Twenty-Third Publications, 2004, page 60
Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel’s face.
Lydia M. Child
Letters from New York, C.S. Francis, 1843, Google eBook, Letter XXXIX dated April 27, 1843, page 267
This quote is often attributed to Saint Jerome
Prefer a loss to a dishonest gain; the one brings pain at the moment, the other for all time.
Chilon of Sparta
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius, translated by Robert Drew Hicks, Harvard University Press, original translation 1925; this edition 1970, page 71
When the power of love
Replaces the love of power,
Man will have a new name: God.
Sri Chinmoy
The Garland of Nation-Souls: Complete Talks at the United Nations, HCI, 1995, page 116
To my extreme happiness,
My Lord has come to tell me
That from now on
I must stand apart from my actions,
Divine and undivine.
He alone is the Doer;
I am a mere observer.
Sri Chinmoy
This quote is reportedly from Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, a series of aphorisms by Sri Chinmoy
We don’t sit in meditation to become good meditators. We sit in meditation so that we’ll be more awake in our lives.
Pema Chödrön
When Things Fall Apart, Shambhala, September 17, 2002, hardcover, page 21
Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on.
Frédéric Chopin
Forbes, Volumes 10-11, Forbes Inc., January 6, 1923, Google eBook, page 365
It is not difficult to find God. It is impossible to avoid God. There is nowhere (now here) where God is not.
Deepak Chopra
Twitter tweet, November 15, 2009, confirmed by the author via Twitter
However good or bad you feel about your relationship, the person you are with at this moment is the “right” person, because he or she is a mirror of who you are inside.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 4
The reason that ego and love are not compatible comes down to this: you cannot take your ego into the unknown, where love wants to lead. If you follow love, your life will become uncertain, and the ego craves certainty.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 116
As you ascend, your love will turn to ecstasy. . . . Ecstasy is the final stage of intimacy with yourself.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 273
You will be in love when you know that you are love.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 306
Love is based not on how you act or feel but on your level of awareness.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 307
Loving another person is not separate from loving God. One is a single wave, the other is the ocean.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 307
Forgiveness is born of increased awareness. The more you can see, the easier it is to forgive.
Deepak Chopra
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., January 12, 1998, page 311
When you struggle against this moment, you’re actually struggling against the entire universe.
Deepak Chopra
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams, New World Library / Amber-Allen Publishing, November 9, 1994, page 32
In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty . . . in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.
Deepak Chopra
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams, New World Library / Amber-Allen Publishing, November 9, 1994, page 51
Your soul is the part of you that is universal and individual at the same time, and it is a reflection of all other souls.
Deepak Chopra
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, Three Rivers Press, August 12, 2004, page 86
Love is the ultimate force at the heart of the universe.
Deepak Chopra
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, Three Rivers Press, August 12, 2004, page 267
Self-knowledge is an anchor that makes unpredictability tolerable.
Deepak Chopra
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old, Random House Digital, Inc., December 27, 1994, page 78
The quality of one’s life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you pay attention to will grow more important in your life. There is no limit to the kinds of changes that awareness can produce.
Deepak Chopra
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old, Random House Digital, Inc., December 27, 1994, page 95
The essence of love isn’t a feeling—it is a state of being. Or to be more exact, it is the state in which you are in contact with Being.
Deepak Chopra
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old, Harmony Books, 1998, page 329
My narrative:
It is your intuition that is your lifeline to Spirit, to the ever-alert, ever-present observer within you. Deepak Chopra describes this “observer in the midst of observation” as “the timeless factor in every time-bound experience.”
• In The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, Random House Digital, Inc., December 26, 1995, page 39, Chopra writes:
In all these cases, you will immediately sense an awareness that is alert, awake, uninvolved, silent, yet intensely alive. What have you actually done? You have interrupted the act of observation to catch a glimpse of the observer. This trick gives insight into an absolute certainty of your existence, for beyond all observation lies the unchanging observer. This seer is the timeless factor in every time-bound experience, and this seer is you.
There is a force of love present everywhere, and it can be trusted to bring your own life into order and peace.
Deepak Chopra
The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, Random House Digital, Inc., December 26, 1995, page 61
• The actual passage from the book is: “What is the basis of the mind’s new viewpoint? Simply that there is a force of love present everywhere, that it can be trusted to bring your own life into order and peace.” The construction of the sentence made it awkward to use it as a standalone quote, so for the sake of readability, I changed “that it can be trusted” to “and it can be trusted.”
Maps are useless where you’re going, because the territory ahead is constantly shifting. You might as well try to map flowing water.
Deepak Chopra
The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, Random House Digital, Inc., December 26, 1995, page 82
Desire is what leads you through life until the time comes when you desire a higher life. So do not be ashamed that you want so much, but do not fool yourself into thinking that what you want today will be enough tomorrow.
Deepak Chopra
The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, Random House Digital, Inc., December 26, 1995, page 131
If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It’s very important to be aware of them every time they come up.
Deepak Chopra
Ignite Your Life!: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Anrea Woolf, Morgan James Publishing, March 1, 2011, Google eBook, page 98
• I am still hoping to source this to Chopra’s own writings
A person desperately searching for love is like a fish desperately searching for water.
Deepak Chopra
The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, Random House Digital, Inc., December 26, 1995, page 60
• This passage actually reads: “A person desperately searching for love,” Merlin said, “reminds me of a fish desperately searching for water.”
• It seems clear that Chopra based Merlin’s comment on the first line of a Kabir poem from Songs of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore, Macmillan, 1916, Google eBook, page 91
I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty.
My narrative:
Alternative medicine pioneer Deepak Chopra describes the conscious energy field that sustains us as “literally an expression of the mind of God.”
• I believe I heard Chopra say this in a talk, but I cannot recall the details
Everyone has a special purpose, a special talent or gift to give to others, and it is your duty to discover what it is. Your special talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with your talent is your gift to God.
Gautama Chopra
Child of the Dawn: A Magical Journey to Awakening, Amber-Allen Publishing, 1996, page 150
Confucius said, “Men cannot see their reflection in running water but only in still water. Only that which is still in itself can still the seekers of stillness.” . . . If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe.
Chuang Tzu
Quoted in Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 647, as follows:
Men cannot see their reflection in running water, but only in still water. Only that which is itself still can still the seekers of stillness. . . . If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe.
• Although Wisdom for the Soul includes this as one quote, it appears to be made up of two separate quotes.
A passage in Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters, Amber Lotus, January 1, 2000, page 95, reads: “Confucius said, “Men cannot see their reflection in running water but only in still water. Only that which is still in itself can still the seekers of stillness. . . . ” (I used this wording and punctuation for the first half of the quote rather than what is printed in Wisdom for the Soul)
• The second half of the quote is sourced to Chuang Tzu in Creative Power of Silence by Swami Paramananda, Kessinger Publishing, May 15, 2006, page 27
• Alternate spellings of Chuang Tzu include, among others, Chuang Tsu, Zhuangzi, Zhuang Tze, and Zhuang Zhou
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill
Alchemy of the Heart: How to Give and Receive More Love by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Patricia R. Spadaro, Summit University Press, November 1, 2000, page 88
Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill
I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis by Jerry White, Macmillan, April 29, 2008, page 111
It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
Winston Churchill
Uncertain Science . . . Uncertain World by Henry N. Pollack, Cambridge University Press, February 13, 2003, page 171
If you’re going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill
The Emotional Struggle by Brandon Ryan, AuthorHouse, November 30, 2007, Google eBook, page 93
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Cicero
The Subtlety of Emotions by Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, MIT Press, October 1, 2001, page 427
• Wikiquote sources this quote to Pro Plancio
If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
Frank A. Clark
Achieve Anything in Just One Year: Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals by Jason Harvey, Amazing Life Press, 2010, page 194
You meet someone and you’re sure you were lovers in a past life. After two weeks with them, you realize why you haven’t kept in touch for the last two thousand years.
Al Cleathen
Men Are Slobs, Women Are Neat: And Other Gender Lies That Damage Relationships by Kimberly Alyn, Bob Phillips, Harvest House Publishers, January 15, 2010, page 25
Fear is the fire that melts Icarian wings.
Florence Earle Coates
Poem: “The Unconquered Air”
The Unconquered Air and Other Poems, c1913, page 4
What we do from joy expresses love; what we do from fear calls for love.
Alan Cohen
A Daily Dose of Sanity: A Five-Minute Soul Recharge for Every Day of the Year, Hay House, Inc., February 15, 2010, Google eBook, page 1
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
365 Prescriptions for the Soul: Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope, and Love by Dr. Bernie Siegel, ReadHowYouWant.com, September 4, 2010, page 336
If you give more power and attention to your destiny rather than your history, doors will open in amazing ways.
Alan Cohen
Relax Into Wealth: How to Get More by Doing Less, Penguin, December 28, 2006, Google eBook
• The passage in the book starts, “If, on the other hand, you give more power and attention . . .” I omitted “on the other hand” and did not substitute an ellipsis for it, both for the sake of appearance and because I believe that this quote was offered in Cohen’s daily e-mail without “on the other hand” included
Love attracts love, and when you cultivate love from the inside out, the universe will deliver it from the outside in.
Alan Cohen
Cohen’s October 2007 newsletter, Good Enough to Be True, excerpted from Don’t Get Lucky, Get Smart: Why Your Love Life Sucks–and What You Can Do About It
Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows.
Alan Cohen
A Bang Into Gentleness: A Psychic’s Journey Through Spiritual Transformations by Heather Clockedile, AuthorHouse, August 20, 2009, page 172
• I am still hoping to source this to Cohen’s own writings
Sometimes when things seem to be going wrong, they are going right for reasons you are yet to understand.
Alan Cohen
Daily Quotes e-mail, June 26, 2010
Unworthiness is simply a case of mistaken identity.
Alan Cohen
Daily Quotes e-mail, July 29, 2010
What is genius but the mind, heart, and art of God shining to the world through an open window?
Alan Cohen
Daily Quotes e-mail, October 8, 2010
Everything will change when your desire to move on exceeds your desire to hold on.
Alan Cohen
Daily Quotes e-mail, October 22, 2010
You only live once—but it’s forever.
Alan Cohen
Daily Quotes e-mail, October 28, 201
Love is heaven and fear is hell. Where you place your attention is where you live.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Forget everything you have learned and you will remember everything you have forgotten.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Let a benevolent universe have its way, and you will recognize a bigger plan than you understood when you looked through the eyes of fear.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Knowledge is power, but wisdom is peace.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
There are two kinds of people: Those who believe their lives are determined by forces outside themselves, and those who believe that their lives are determined by a Force inside themselves.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
The turning point of life is when you recognize the relationship between consciousness and results.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
The only reason the same thing keeps happening is that you keep focusing on what happened.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
The best time to practice being rich is when you’re feeling poor.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Prayer is not a substitute for action. Action is not a substitute for prayer.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Use pain as a stepping stone, not a campground.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
One moment of true forgiveness can erase years of guilt, pain, or fear.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
You change the past when you change the way you see it.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Celebrate another’s gain as your own, and yours will soon follow.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
When you touch a moment of pure love, you touch all the love that has ever been given and received, and you have access to it.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Life is eager to prove your limits false.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
If you need it, you can’t have it. Claim it, and it’s yours.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Your greatest contribution to helping other people live their destiny is for you to live your own.
Alan Cohen
I believe this quote was from Cohen’s daily e-mail but I no longer have the original. I am still hoping to source it more definitively
What comes from the heart goes to the heart.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Seven Lectures on Shakespeare and Milton, Chapman and Hall, 1856, page xlv
How like herrings and onions our vices are in the morning after we have committed them.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, edited by Robert Andrews, Columbia University Press, 1989, page 310
No man can purchase his virtue too dear; for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us. Our integrity is never worth so much, as when we have parted with our all to keep it.
Charles Caleb Colton
Lacon; or Many Things in Few Words; Addressed to Those Who Think, Volume 1, M. Sherman, 1828, page 30
The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm.
Charles Caleb Colton
Lacon; or Many Things in Few Words; Addressed to Those Who Think, Volume 1, M. Sherman, 1828, page 32
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.
Confucius
Armour Plated by Jill Devine, iUniverse, 2003, page 64
He who is in harmony with Nature hits the mark without effort and apprehends the truth without thinking.
Confucius
Inleiding Comparatieve Filosofie II: Culturen in Het Licht Van Een Comparatief Model by Ulrich Libbrecht, Uitgeverij Van Gorcum, December 19, 1999, page 169
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
Confucius
Thoughts for Meaningful Life by Pano George Karkanis, AuthorHouse, January 7, 2009, page 69
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucius
Work: The World in Photographs by Ferdinand Protzman, National Geographic Books, April 15, 2008, page 91
To be wronged or robbed is nothing unless you continue to remember it.
Confucius
The Anger Management Sourcebook by Glenn R. Schiraldi and Melissa Hallmark Kerr, McGraw-Hill Professional, June 12, 2002, page 138
Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river.
Cyril Connolly
The Unquiet Grave: A Word Cycle by Palinurus, Harper & Brothers, 1945, page 103
Facing it—always facing it—that’s the way to get through. Face it!
Joseph Conrad
It’s All in Your Head: Thinking Your Way To Happiness by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine, HarperCollins, April 1, 2007, page 177
Intelligence complicates; wisdom simplifies.
Mason Cooley
The Big Book of Small Business: You Don’t Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants by Tom Gegax, HarperCollins, February 6, 2007, Google eBook, page 289
My narrative:
Affirmations were popularized by Émile Coué, a French pharmacist and self-trained psychologist whose book, Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion, was published in 1920. Known as the “Father of Autosuggestion,” Coué instructed his patients to repeat the following affirmation twenty times, three times a day: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” Coué observed that “whatever we think becomes true for us.”
• The first quote can be found in How To Practice Suggestion And Autosuggestion, Health Research Books, March 1, 2003, page 126
• The second quote can be found in The Method and Practice of Autosuggestion, DoctorZed Publishing, June 13, 2011, Google eBook
Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out of his conscience, thus helping to bring the collective conscience to life.
Norman Cousins
Human Options, Penguin Group, August 1, 1986, page 62
The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of the body to heal itself—but that force is not independent of the belief system, which can translate expectations into physiological change.
Norman Cousins
Human Options, Penguin Group, August 1, 1986, page 205
Belief becomes biology.
Norman Cousins
Head First: The Biology of Hope, Thorndike Press, 1990, page 369
A man does not have to be an angel in order to be a saint.
Norman Cousins
Saturday Review, Volume 40, Part 4, Saturday Review Associates, 1957, page 20
• This quote is commonly attributed to Albert Schweitzer. However, in the May 18, 1957, Saturday Review article, A Declaration of Conscience, it appears that Norman Cousins, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, originated the line while writing about Schweitzer.
• Schweitzer’s impassioned essay against nuclear weapons, A Declaration of Conscience, was broadcast worldwide on April 24, 1957, from Oslo, Norway, under the auspices of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. It was first published in the Saturday Review in the May 18, 1957 article noted above.
Until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”
Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster, November 2, 2004, page 72
To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.
Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press, revised edition, November 9, 2004, page 258
The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are.
Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Personal Workbook, Simon and Schuster, December 23, 2003, page 154
Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.
Stephen R. Covey
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, Simon and Schuster, January 17, 1996, page 32
Knowledge is proud that he has learn’d so much;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.
William Cowper
The Task, printed for bookseller Thomas Dobson, 1787, Google eBook, page 154
We are never more in danger than when we think ourselves most secure, nor in reality more secure than when we seem to be most in danger.
William Cowper
The Works of Cowper and Thomson, J. Grigg, 1832, page 225
Oh, the comfort—the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person—having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.
Dinah Maria Craik
A Life for a Life, 1859, Google eBook, page 84
A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.
Crazy Horse
Encyclopedia of Social Work, Volume 1 by Terry Mizrahi, Oxford University Press, 2008, page 427
Not only strike while the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.
Oliver Cromwell
Golden Thoughts on Mother, Home and Heaven, Bradley, Garretson, 1882, Google eBook, page 363
• This quote has been attributed to William Butler Yeats, but Yeats was no more than seventeen at the time this book was published. The quote has also been attributed to Charles Lamb (1775-1834), but given the plethora of books published before 1900 that attribute it to Cromwell (1599-1658), I’m going with Cromwell.
People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.
Mary C. Crowley
Think Mink!, F. H. Revell Co., 1976, page 23
To be enjoyable, a relationship must become more complex. To become more complex, the partners must discover new potentialities in themselves and in each other. To discover these, they must invest attention in each other—so that they can learn what thoughts and feelings, what dreams reside in their partner’s mind. This in itself is a never-ending process, a lifetime’s task. After one begins to really know another person, then many joint adventures become possible: traveling together, reading the same books, raising children, making and realizing plans all become more enjoyable and more meaningful.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper Perennial, first edition, February 1, 1991, page 103
Be thankful that God’s answers are wiser than your answers.
William Culbertson
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 206
We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
E.E. Cummings
Becoming an Invitational Leader: A New Approach to Professional and Personal Success by William W. Purkey and Betty L. Siegel, Humanics Publishing Group, September 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 152
Every time I’ve done something that doesn’t feel right, it’s ended up not being right.
Mario Cuomo
In God’s Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery by Karen Casey, Hazelden Publishing, July 1, 1996, Google eBook, page 7
True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one’s own self being fully realized.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Doctor Chopra Says: Medical Facts and Myths Everyone Should Know by Sanjiv Chopra, Alan Lotvin, and David Fisher, Macmillan, December 21, 2010, page 429
A man who dares waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin: A New Life by John Bowlby, W. W. Norton & Company, October 1, 1992, page 174
• Although the passage from this book includes a comma after the word “time,” I am not including the comma because it strikes me as an error in judgment to have used it
Any life truly lived is a risky business, and if one puts up too many fences against the risks one ends by shutting out life itself.
Kenneth S. Davis
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Soldier of Democracy, Konecky & Konecky, 1945, page 56
The very foundation of the spiritual life is humility. Without humility the cup of one’s consciousness is so filled with “I, I, I” that there is no room for “Thou, Thou, Thou.”
Sri Daya Mata
Finding the Joy Within You by Sri Daya Mata, 1990; hardcover edition 2008, “Death: Mystery Portal to a Better Land,” page 143
Humbly seeking the will of God does not imply idleness or lack of initiative and action: God helps him who helps himself. It means rather to surrender to God, that He may use you as His instrument to do good on earth according to His divine will.
Sri Daya Mata
Only Love, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1976; hardcover edition 2006, “The Only Way to Happiness,” page 145
Your willingness to do your part opens the floodgates of God’s blessings.
Sri Daya Mata
Self-Realization magazine, Self-Realization Fellowship, Winter 2002, back-page letter
Cultivate the desire to do for others as you would do for your own loved ones. Expand the little cup of your love into an ocean of love divine for all beings.
Sri Daya Mata
Self-Realization magazine, Self-Realization Fellowship, Winter 2006, “Christmas in the Spirit of Yoga,” page 25
It is only when you go deep within, in meditation, that you suddenly realize how completely you had forgotten what you really are. You will be astonished to find what a tremendous gap there is beyond ordinary consciousness, which is of the world, and that consciousness in which you feel that just behind the restless mind, just behind the limited physical awareness, is a vast realm of divine awareness, of divine bliss.
Sri Daya Mata
Self-Realization magazine, Self-Realization Fellowship, Spring 2009, “Pranayama: Bridge to Divine Consciousness,” page 20
The essence of spirituality is to love God supremely and to love all souls as a part of Him.
Sri Daya Mata
Christmas 2006 letter to Self-Realization Fellowship devotees
If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give them that you aren’t even giving to yourself.
Barbara De Angelis
Real Moments for Lovers: The Enlightened Guide for Discovering Total Passion and True Intimacy, Random House Digital, Inc., January 2, 1997, Google eBook
I knew that everything that was happening to me was up to God, that He was the only healer. I felt safe, knowing I was surrounded by the overarching mantle of His perfect care. Whatever God brought to me, I wanted. Even if I retained all of the mobility of a flower pot, it didn’t matter. “I” was still the same, the vehicle of expression had changed, that’s all. A flower pot can still hold a beautiful flower.
Roger Delano
Self-Realization magazine, Self-Realization Fellowship, Fall 1999, “A Healing Gift,” pages 70-71
No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
Agnes de Mille
The Young Actor’s Workbook by Judith Roberts Seto, Grove Press, January 18, 1994, page 274
True stillness comes naturally through moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle. Just as water seeks its own level, the mind will gravitate toward the holy. Muddy water will become clear if allowed to stand undisturbed, and so too will the mind become clear if it is allowed to be still.
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao: Daily Meditations, HarperCollins, July 17, 1992, page 4
Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.
René Descartes
Herald of Gospel Liberty, Volume 102, Issues 1-26 by General Convention of the Christian Church, Christian Pub. Association, 1910, Google eBook, page 144
Like water, which can clearly mirror the sky and the trees only so long as its surface is undisturbed, the mind can only reflect the true image of the Self when it is tranquil and wholly relaxed.
Indra Devi
The Woman’s Book of Soul: Meditations for Courage, Confidence, and Spirit by Sue Patton Thoele, Conari Press, March 1, 2000, page 78
Each relationship you have with another person reflects the relationship you have with yourself.
Alice Deville
1998 Moon Sign Book, Llewellyn Publications, August 1, 1997, page 114
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe.
Peter DeVries
Let Me Count the Ways, Little, Brown & Company, 1965, page 307
A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
Charles Dickens
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 222
That Love is all there is
Is all we know of Love.
Emily Dickinson
Thematic Patterns Of Emily Dickinson’s Poetry by Neeru Tandon and Anjana Trevedi, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, April 1, 2008, page 69
Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.
Joan Didion
We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction, Random House Digital, Inc., October 17, 2006, page 111
The mind fits the world and shapes it as a river fits and shapes its own banks.
Annie Dillard
Living by Fiction, HarperCollins, 1988, Google eBook, page 15
Medicine is dealing with what’s wrong with you. Healing is dealing with what’s right with you.
Ingrid Dilley
Verbally used in Dilley’s Renewing Life curriculum; confirmed and approved by the author via a phone call
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.
Benjamin Disraeli
The Power Principle: Influence With Honor by Blaine Lee, Simon and Schuster, June 4, 1998, page 153
Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.
Benjamin Disraeli
Coningsby Or the New Generation, Echo Library, August 28, 2007, page 89
If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.
Jack Dixon
Breakthrough Teams for Breakneck Times: Unlocking the Genius of Creative Collaboration by Lisa K. Gundry and Laurie LaMantia, Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2001, page 26
When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language.
John Donne
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions: Together with Death’s Duel, Echo Library, July 21, 208, page 97
People who give are given to.
Mike Dooley
From Dooley’s daily Notes from the Universe e-mail. September 9, 2010
Nothing is ever lost. Not time; for what seems to have passed, lives on in the wisdom of future decisions. Not money; for what seems to have been spent, was only invested. And not love; for what seems to have vanished, has only moved so close you must look within your heart to see it.
Mike Dooley
This quote was from Dooley’s daily Notes from the Universe e-mail. I no longer have the original, but according to this website, it was sent on or around December 18, 2008
One of the goals of authentic spiritual work is to embrace our inner divinity and embody a sense of the transcendent. To the extent that we can do this, we diminish any potential conflict between God’s will and our own.
Dr. Larry Dossey
Adapted from my 9/13/10 interview with the author on intercessory prayer; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Scores of experiments have verified that our thoughts and prayers do have an impact at a distance, but without the transfer of any known form of physical energy. Because mind and consciousness are nonlocal, which means they’re everywhere in space and time, there’s no reason for anything to go anywhere or for anything to be sent because it’s already there.
Dr. Larry Dossey
Adapted from my 9/13/10 interview with the author on intercessory prayer; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
My brother asked the birds to forgive him; that sounds senseless, but it is right; for all is like an ocean, all is flowing and bending; a touch in one place sets up movement at the other end of the earth. It may be senseless to beg forgiveness of the birds, but birds would be happier at your side—a little happier anyway— and children and all animals, if you were nobler than you are now.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Brothers Karamazov, Plain Label Books, 1950, page 831
To love someone means to see him as God intended him.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, October 4, 2011, page 167
Why always, “not yet”? Do flowers in spring say, “Not yet”?
Norman Douglas
An Almanac, Chatto & Windus, in association with M. Secker & Warburg, 1945, page 59
Security can only be achieved through constant change, through the wise discarding of old ideas that have outlived their usefulness, and through the adapting of others to current facts.
William O. Douglas
Evolution and the Common Law by Allan C. Hutchinson, Cambridge University Press, 2005, page 268
• This book lists the original source of Douglas’ quote as:
W. Douglas, Stare Decisis, 49 Colum. L. Rev. 735 (1949)
• State decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions.
• “Colum. L. Rev.” refers to the Columbia Law Review
I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.
Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Harvard University Press, April 15, 2009, Google eBook, page 42
To say my fate is not tied to your fate is like saying, “Your end of the boat is sinking.”
Hugh Downs
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
It is more important to do the right thing than to do things right.
Peter Drucker
Leadership: Personal Development and Career Success by Cliff Ricketts and John C. Ricketts, Cengage Learning, May 18, 2010, page 110
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.
Henry Drummond
The Greatest Thing in the World, Branden Books, June 1, 1936, page 31
The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.
Charles Du Bos
Approximations, 1922
• I have been unable to track down the correct page number
I wasn’t concerned about the hardships, because I always felt I was doing what I had to do, what I wanted to do and what I was destined to do.
Katherine Dunham
My Soul Looks Back, ‘Less I Forget: A Collection of Quotations by People of Color, edited by Dorothy Winbush Riley, HarperCollins 1993, page 96
• Dunham apparently said this in “American Visions” in February 1987. I suspect that “American Visions” was a regular feature on PBS.
If one does not wish bonds broken, he should make them elastic and thereby strengthen them.
Charles Jean Jacques Joseph Ardant du Picq
Battle Studies: Ancient and Modern Battle, The Macmillan Company, 1921, Google eBook, page 22
All that you fight weakens you. All that you are for empowers you.
Wayne Dyer
Real Magic: Creating Miracles in Everyday Life, HarperCollins, June 7, 2001, page 52
You can never get enough of what you don’t want.
Wayne Dyer
Real Magic: Creating Miracles in Everyday Life, HarperCollins, June 7, 2001, page 108
Prosperity in the form of wealth works exactly the same as everything else. You will see it coming into your life when you are unattached to needing it.
Wayne Dyer
Real Magic: Creating Miracles in Everyday Life, HarperCollins, June 7, 2001, page 202
When you judge another person, you do not define him or her, you define yourself.
Wayne Dyer
You’ll See It When You Believe It: The Way to Your Personal Transformation, HarperCollins, August 21, 2001, Google eBook, page 33
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love, there is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.
Wayne Dyer
You’ll See It When You Believe It: The Way to Your Personal Transformation, HarperCollins, August 21, 2001, Google eBook, page 148
You cannot fail, you can only produce results!
Wayne Dyer
Wisdom of the Ages: 60 Days to Enlightenment, HarperCollins, April 30, 2002, page 154
Forgiveness is an act of self-love.
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom, Hay House, Inc., March 1, 2005, page 16
Authentic empowerment is the knowing that you are on purpose, doing God’s work, peacefully and harmoniously.
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom, Hay House, Inc., March 1, 2005, page 115
The choice is up to you: It can either be “Good morning, God!” or “Good God, morning.”
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom, Hay House, Inc., March 1, 2005, page 177
Forgiveness is humanity’s highest achievement because it shows true enlightenment in action.
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom, Hay House, Inc., March 1, 2005, page 284
Judgment means that you view the world as you are, rather than as it is.
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom, Hay House, Inc., March 1, 2005, page 285
The elevator to success is out of order today. You’re going to have to take the stairway, one step at a time.
Wayne Dyer
Everyday Wisdom for Success, Easyread Large Edition, ReadHowYouWant.com, December 11, 2009, page 66
Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.
Wayne Dyer
The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, Hay House, Inc., October 1, 2010, page 185
There are no failed relationships. Every person who enters and exits your life does so in a mutual sharing of life’s divine lessons.
Wayne Dyer
Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free, HarperCollins, June 5, 2001, page 47
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 ever live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives.
Wayne Dyer
Your Erroneous Zones, HarperCollins, September 30, 1993, page 28
Self-worth comes from one thing—thinking that you are worthy.
Wayne Dyer
How to Create Inner Beauty: The Secret Revealed by Stephanie Lintz, Vantage Press, Inc., May 1, 2007, page 95
We are Divine enough to ask and we are important enough to receive.
Wayne Dyer
365 Prescriptions for the Soul: Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope, and Love by Dr. Bernie S Siegel, ReadHowYouWant.com, September 4, 2010, page 647
Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.
Wayne Dyer
Real Prosperity: Using the Power of Intuition to Create Financial and Spiritual Abundance by Lynn A. Robinson, Andrews McMeel Publishing, September 1, 2004, page 138
You can’t get sick enough to make another person healthy. You can’t get sad enough to make another person happy. You can’t get poor enough to help one person on the planet get rich. You can’t get hungry enough to feed one starving child.
Wayne Dyer
• Dyer has made similar statements in a number of places, including this Tweet. Numerous websites also list these statements, as do a handful of books. The best way to describe this quote is that it’s an amalgam of Dyer’s comments from a number of different sources.
• Oprah has made similar statements. On this website, she states:
Unhealthy sacrifice is often perpetuated by an erroneous fear that your happiness is selfish. If you believe this fear, then too much happiness will feel wrong, bad, illegal, blasphemous and harmful to others. Is this really true? Here’s what I believe: You can’t get depressed enough to make somebody happy; you can’t get ill enough to make someone else well; you can’t get poor enough to make somebody rich; and you can’t betray your heart to save someone else.
How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.
Wayne Dyer
Robert Collier’s The Secret of the Ages: A Modern Day Interpretation of a Self-Help Classic by Karen McCreadie, Infinite Ideas, May 15, 2010, page 112
When you move from ego to spirit, you go from striving to arriving.
Wayne Dyer
• I believe I heard Dyer say this. The closest thing I can find to it in his books are:
Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free, HarperCollins, June 5, 2001, page 288, and
Wisdom of the Ages: 60 Days to Enlightenment, HarperCollins, April 30, 2002, page 212
A belief system is nothing more than a thought you’ve thought over and over again.
Wayne Dyer
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
My narrative:
The Universe, as a clever observer so poetically noted, is “one song”—uni (one) verse (song)—and every atom sings from the same songbook.
• This word play has been referenced by many authors, including Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra
My narrative:
Gradually, it dawns on you that luck has nothing to do with it. You are in sync with life’s rhythms and, as Wayne Dyer put it, “collaborating with fate.”
• In The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, Hay House, Inc., October 1, 2010, page 16, Dyer writes:
For example, when I write, I open myself to the possibilities of universal Spirit and my own individual thoughts collaborating with fate to produce a helpful, insightful book.
Courage is the price which life exacts for granting peace.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia, My Courageous Sister: Biography of Amelia Earhart by Muriel Earhart Morrissey and Carol L. Osborne, Osborne Publisher, 1987, page 74
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.
Amelia Earhart
Kindness and Joy: Expressing the Gentle Love, edited by Harold G. Koenig, Templeton Press, first edition, October 1, 2006, page 96
A physicist would remind us that the things we see “out there” are not ultimately separate from each other and from us; we perceive them as separate because of the limitations of our senses. If our eyes were sensitive to a much finer spectrum, we might see the world as a continuous field of matter and energy.
Eknath Easwaran
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2010, page xix
The mind looks at unity and sees diversity; it looks at what is timeless and reports transience. And in fact the percepts of its experience are diverse and transient; on this level of experience, separateness is real. Our mistake is in taking this for ultimate reality, like the dreamer thinking that nothing is real except his dream.
Eknath Easwaran
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2010, page xxiv
The law of karma states simply that every event is both a cause and an effect. Every act has consequences of a similar kind, which in turn have further consequences and so on; and every act, every karma, is also the consequence of some previous karma.
Eknath Easwaran
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, second edition, May 17, 2007, page 33
We try to cling to pleasure, we try to hug joy, and all we succeed in doing is making ourselves frustrated because, whatever it promises, pleasure simply cannot last. But if I am willing to kiss the joy as it flies, I say, “Yes, this moment is beautiful. I won’t grab it. I’ll let it go.” And I live with a mind at peace and a heart untroubled. Pleasure comes and it goes. When it goes, we don’t need to cling to memories of past happiness or dwell on when it may come again.
Eknath Easwaran
Take Your Time: Finding Balance in a Hurried World, Nilgiri Press, October 13, 1994, pages 109-110
• When Easwaran writes “if I am willing to kiss the joy as it flies,” he is referring to the following poem by WIlliam Blake, which he quotes on page 109:
He who binds to himself a Joy,
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the Joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.
When we turn to the past in yearning, we are running away from the present. When we propel ourselves into the future in anticipation, we are running away from the present. This is the secret of what the world’s spiritual traditions call detachment: if we don’t cling to past or future, we live entirely here and now, in “Eternity’s sunrise.”
Eknath Easwaran
Take Your Time: Finding Balance in a Hurried World, Nilgiri Press, October 13, 1994, page 110
• When Easwaran writes “Eternity’s sunrise,” he is referring to the following poem by WIlliam Blake, which he quotes on page 109:
He who binds to himself a Joy,
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the Joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.
Detachment is not apathy or indifference. It is the prerequisite for effective involvement. Often what we think is best for others is distorted by our attachment to our opinions; we want others to be happy in the way we think they should be happy. It is only when we want nothing for ourselves that we are able to see clearly into others’ needs and understand how to serve them.
Eknath Easwaran
Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World, Nilgiri Press, April 11, 2011, page 126
• This quote is commonly attributed to Gandhi himself
Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Nanotechnology: Ethics and Society by Deb Bennett-Woods, CRC Press, April 29, 2008, page 87
The bodily food we take is changed into us, but the spiritual food we receive changes us into itself, hence love divine is not preserved in us, otherwise there would be two. Divine love preserves us in itself as one in the same.
Meister Eckhart
Works of Meister Eckhart by Franz Pfeiffer, Kessinger Publishing, 1992, page 26
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart
A Bucket of Surprises, compiled by by J. John and Mark Stibbe, Monarch Books, 2002, page 199
The external world of physics has thus become a world of shadows. In removing our illusions we have removed the substance, for indeed we have seen that substance is one of the greatest of our illusions.
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington
The Nature of the Physical World, Kessinger Publishing, May 4, 2005, page xiv
Something unknown is doing we don’t know what.
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington
Commenting on the nature, form, and movement of electrons
The Nature of the Physical World, Kessinger Publishing, May 4, 2005, page 291
If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.
Maria Edgeworth
Tales and Novels, Volumes 3-4, J. & J. Harper, 1832, page 150
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Thomas Edison
An Enemy Called Average by John L. Mason, Insight International, Inc., June 1, 1990, page 55
I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.
Thomas Edison
Conquer Your Food Addiction: The Ehrlich 8-Step Program for Permanent Weight Loss by Caryl Ehrlich, Simon and Schuster, May 27, 2003, Google eBook, page 27
As a human being, one has been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly how utterly inadequate that intelligence is when confronted with what exists.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, The Human Side: New Glimpses From His Archives, Princeton University Press, May 1, 1981, Selected and Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffmann, page 48
• Letter dated September 19, 1932, to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium
For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 73
• Letter dated March 21, 1955, to the son of Einstein’s lifelong friend, Michele Angelo Besso, six days after Besso’s death and just four weeks before Einstein’s own death.
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 120
• Aphorism in Essays Presented to Leo Baeck on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, East and West Library, 1954, page 26. Leo Baeck was a rabbi and philosopher who led the Jewish community in Germany during the time of Hitler.
A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires will sooner or later always lead to bitter disappointment.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 144
• Letter dated January 16, 1954, to T. Lee
The scientist is possessed by a sense of universal causation. . . . His religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection. . . . It is beyond question closely akin to that which has possessed the religious geniuses of all ages.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 201
• From “The Religious Spirit of Science,” published in Mein Weltbild, 1934, page 18
My narrative:
In response to a letter from a child who asked if scientists pray, iconic physicist Albert Einstein wrote that “Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man.”
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 202
• Letter dated January 24, 1936, to Phyllis Wright, a child who asked if scientists pray
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 206
• Original source: Letter dated February 12, 1950, to a distraught father who had lost his young son and had asked Einstein for some comforting words
• The following oft-quoted yet unconfirmed variation can be sourced to The New York Times (29 March 1972) and The New York Post (28 November 1972):
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
It is hard to sneak a look at God’s cards. But that he would choose to play dice with the world . . . is something I cannot believe for a single moment.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 237
• Letter dated March 21, 1942, to Cornelius Lanczos, expressing his reaction to quantum theory, which refutes relativity theory by stating that an observer can influence reality, that events do happen randomly
The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility. . . . The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 259
• Original source: “Physics in Reality,” Journal of the Franklin Institute 221, No.3, March 1936, pages 349-382
• Popularly paraphrased as “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.”
Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 259
• Quoted in Einstein’s obituary in Saturday Review, April 30, 1955
Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.
Albert Einstein
The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, February 22, 2005, page 279
• Quoted by William Miller in Life magazine, May 2, 1955
The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.
Albert Einstein
As quoted by Harald Anderson in the essay, Reinventing Failure: Designing Success
Most people see what is, and never see what can be.
Albert Einstein
Choices That Change Lives: 15 Ways to Find More Purpose, Meaning, and Joy by Hal Urban, Simon & Schuster, December 27, 2005, page 104
• Although this quote is attributed to Einstein on numerous websites and a handful of books, I have been unable to confirm that it his
Whoever does not see God in every place does not see God in any place.
Rabbi Elimelech
Educating Artists for the Future: Learning at the Intersections of Art, Science, Technology, and Culture by Mel Alexenberg, Intellect Books, June 16, 2008, page 329
Deep, unspeakable suffering may well be called a baptism, a regeneration, the initiation into a new state.
George Eliot
Adam Bede, Belford, Clarke, 1888, Google eBook, page 384
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
George Eliot
Middlemarch, Volume 1, Diginovus, 1930, Google eBook
• I believe that this book is the source of the quote but I have been unable to verify that and identify the page number
The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.
George Eliot
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers: a Cyclopædia of Quotations from the Literature of All Ages, compiled and edited by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, W.B. Ketcham, 1895, Google eBook, page 563
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot
Poem: “Little Gidding”
Four Quartets, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1943, page 59
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
T. S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot and Prejudice by Christopher Ricks, page 171
• Original source: Transit of Venus by Harry Crosby, 1931, Preface, page ix (I have not verified this page number myself)
Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself.
T. S. Eliot
Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F.H. Bradley, Columbia University Press, 1964, page 166
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot
Getting a Clue in a Clueless World: Hope, Encouragement, and Challenge for Students by Ross Campbell and David Lambert, Zondervan, November 14, 1996, page 233
The world looks like a multiplication-table, or a mathematical equation, which, turn it how you will, balances itself. Take what figure you will, its exact value, nor more nor less, still returns to you. Every secret is told, every crime is punished, every virtue rewarded, every wrong redressed, in silence and certainty.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Compensation,” page 9
Love, and you shall be loved. All love is mathematically just, as much as the two sides of an algebraic equation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Compensation,” page 19
The good man has absolute good, which like fire turns every thing to its own nature, so that you cannot do him any harm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Compensation,” page 19
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Self-Reliance,” page 91
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Friendship,” page 244
We must be our own before we can be another’s.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, selected and edited by Mary A. Jordan, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904, Essays: First Series, “Friendship,” page 249
Within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, United States Book Co., Essays: First Series, “The Over-Soul,” page 239
People wish to be settled: only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, United States Book Co., Essays: First Series, “Circles,” page 283
God enters by a private door into every individual.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, United States Book Co., Essays: First Series, “Intellect,” page 291
Silence is a solvent that destroys personality, and gives us leave to be great and universal.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, United States Book Co., Essays: First Series, “Intellect,” page 304
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, United States Book Co., Essays: First Series, “Art,” page 317
We permit all things to ourselves, and that which we call sin in others is experiment for us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1876, Essays: Second Series, “Experience,” page 68
Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1876, Essays: Second Series, “Gifts,” page 132
See only that thou work, and thou canst not escape the reward: whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought: no matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A lecture read before the Society in Amory Hall in Boston, on Sunday, March 3, 1844
Essays, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1876, Essays: Second Series, “New England Reformers,” page 227
If the single man plant himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays and Lectures: Nature: Addresses and Lectures, Essays: First and Second Series, Representative Men, English Traits, and the Conduct of Life, Digireads.com Publishing, January 30, 2009, Google eBook, page 41
• This quote was part of “The American Scholar,” an oration delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge on August 31, 1837
The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Nature,” “Spirit,” page 325
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Nature,” “Prospects,” page 328
If you would lift me, you must be on higher ground.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Society and Solitude,” “Eloquence,” page 426
The days . . . come and go like muffled and veiled figures, sent from a distant friendly party; but they say nothing; and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Society and Solitude,” “Works and Days,” page 443
Nature magically suits the man to his fortunes, by making these the fruit of his character.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Conduct of Life,” “Fate,” page 503
Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Conduct of Life,” “Wealth,” page 521
People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Conduct of Life,” “Worship,” page 547
What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Letters and Social Aims,” Social Aims,” page 596
None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kessinger Publishing, July 31, 2006, “Letters and Social Aims,”Greatness,” page 645
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Complete Prose Works, Adamant Media Corporation, 2006, page 652
• This Elibron Classics Replica Edition is an unabridged facsimile of the edition published in 1891 by Ward, Lock and Company
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson in His Journals, edited by Joel Porte, Harvard University Press, 1982, November 8, 1838 entry, page 206
We are very near to greatness: one step and we are safe; can we not take the leap?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson in His Journals, edited by Joel Porte, Harvard University Press, 1982, October-November, 1841 entry, page 271
Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Conduct of Life, Harvard University Press, 2003, “The Conduct of Life,” “Considerations by the Way,” page 139
If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
According to Wolfgang Mieder in the book, Making a Way Out of No Way: Martin Luther King’s Sermonic Proverbial Rhetoric (page 118) the above statement was ascribed to Emerson in the Atlanta [Georgia] Constitution on May 11, 1882, and in the Decatur [Illinois] Daily Republican on May 19, 1882. Sarah Yule and Mary Keane ascribed the quote to Emerson on page 38 of the anthology, Borrowings: A Compilation of Helpful Thoughts from Great Authors, which was originally published in 1889. Yule later said that she heard Emerson make this remark during a lecture in San Francisco or Oakland in 1871, a claim that has not been substantiated.
Here is a similar passage that appears in Emerson’s Journals:
If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives or crucibles or church organs than any body else, you will find a broad hard beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson in His Journals, edited by Joel Porte, Harvard University Press, 1982, February 1855 entry, page 458
Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Transcendalist, Forgotten Books, from the Publisher’s Preface, page viii
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Constitution of Our Soul: Destiny’s Deliverance of Our Soul’s Rights by Kristy Kaye, Balboa Press, November 18, 2011, page 74
• Although this quote is attributed to Emerson in numerous books, I have not been able to source it directly to Emerson’s own writings
You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Forgotten Fundamentals: The Answers Are in the Box by Dan Clark, Cedar Fort, March 1, 2007, page 249
• Although this quote is attributed to Emerson in numerous books, I have not been able to source it directly to Emerson’s own writings
Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Techniques in Prayer Therapy by Joseph Murphy, Hay House, Inc., February 1, 2007, page 132
• Although this quote is attributed to Emerson in numerous books, I have not been able to source it directly to Emerson’s own writings
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Life Less Anxious: Freedom from Panic Attacks and Social Anxiety Without Drugs or Therapy by Steve Pavilanis and Patricia Alma Lee, Alpen Publishing Company, 2009, page 57
• Although this quote is attributed to Emerson in numerous books, I have not been able to source it directly to Emerson’s own writings
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
• The authorship of this quote is disputed. It was attributed to Emerson in Promotion of Pharmaceuticals: Issues, Trends, Options by Dev S. Pathak, Alan Escovitz, and Suzan Kucukarslan, Psychology Press, May 6, 1993, page 74, and to Henry David Thoreau, in The Life You Were Born to Live: A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose by Dan Millman, Preface, H J Kramer, February 1, 1995. According to Wikiquote, no occurrence of this quote prior to the 1990s has been located.
It’s not only injustice that causes problems; often our vengeful response to injustice creates even greater and more enduring problems.
Robert Enright
Self-Realization magazine, Summer 2007, “Science Looks at the Healing Power of Forgiveness,” by Alice Feinstein, page 37
• Enright is the author of Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope, American Psychological Association, May, 2001. His quote from Feinstein’s article is related to the following passage from page 42 of his book:
In some cases, the victim commits acts in retaliation that are greater than the original offense.
When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Nora Ephron
Billy Crystal’s character, Harry Burns, spoke this line of dialogue in When Harry Met Sally, which Ephron wrote the screenplay for
Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.
Epictetus
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion, translated by George Long, Echo Library, August 31, 2009, page 95
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
Epictetus
My Life by Anthony Fomuso, Xlibris Corporation, 2010, page 66
• This quote appears to be a paraphrasing of the following passage from A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion, translated by George Long, Echo Library, August 31, 2009, page 98:
Has any man been preferred before you at a banquet, or in being saluted, or in being invited to a consultation? If these things are good, you ought to rejoice that he has obtained them; but if bad, be not grieved because you have not obtained them. And remember that you cannot, if you do not the same things in order to obtain what is not in our own power, be considered worthy of the same (equal) things.
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn that which he thinks that he knows.
Epictetus
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion, translated by George Long, Echo Library, August 31, 2009, page 45
He who doesn’t find a little enough, will find nothing enough.
Epicurus
Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations, edited by Hugh Percy Jones, J. Grant, 1908, page 181
It is not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us.
Epicurus
Hope in the Age of Anxiety by Anthony Scioli and Henry B. Biller, Oxford University Press, September 3, 2009, page 167
What I spent, I had; what I kept, I lost; what I gave, I have still.
Old epitaph
Go Up Higher by James Freeman Clarke, Lee & Shepard, 1877, Google eBook, page 235
We can live our lives either acting out of circumstances or acting out of a vision.
Werner Erhard
The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife by Marianne Williamson, Hay House, Inc., first edition, January 1, 2008, page v
This passage was excerpted on Erhard’s official website
Become peace, for that is the attractor of peace to the world.
The Essenes
This was quoted by author Gregg Braden in an interview with Miriam Knight for the January/February issue of New Connexion magazine. The interview can be found on a handful of websites. I cannot find any other source for this quote.
The buried talent is the sunken rock on which most lives strike and founder.
Frederick William Faber
Notes on Doctrinal and Spiritual Subjects, Richardson, 1866, page 343
Deep down, even the most hardened criminal is starving for the same thing that motivates the innocent baby: love and acceptance.
Lily Fairchilde
Voices from the Afterlife, Macmillan, April 15, 1998, page 114
All earthly delights are sweeter in expectation than enjoyment; but all spiritual pleasures more in fruition than expectation.
François Fénelon
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 417
If we had strength and faith enough to trust ourselves entirely to God and to follow Him simply wherever He should lead us, we would have no need of any great effort of mind to reach perfection.
François Fénelon
The Best of Fenelon, edited by Harold J. Chadwick, Bridge-Logos Publishers, July 31, 2002, page 33
Faith is letting down our nets into the transparent deeps at the Divine command, not knowing what we shall draw.
François Fénelon
Forty Thousand Quotations, Prose and Poetical, George G. Harrap, 1917, page 689
When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much.
Fen-Yang
The Seeker, the Search, the Sacred: Journey to the Greatness Within by Guy Finley, Weiser Books, October 1, 2011, page 14
Much of our inner turbulence reflects the fear of loss: our dependence on people, circumstances, and things not really under our control. On some level we know that death, indifference, rejection, repossession, or high tide may leave us bereft in the morning. Still, we clutch desperately at things we cannot finally hold. Nonattachment is the most realistic of attitudes. It is freedom from wishful thinking, from always wanting things to be otherwise.
Marilyn Ferguson
The Aquarian Conspiracy, J.P. Tarcher, 1987, pages 104-105
At some point early in our lives, we decide just how conscious we wish to be. We establish a threshold of awareness. We choose how stark a truth we are willing to admit into consciousness, how readily we will examine contradictions in our lives and beliefs, how deeply we wish to penetrate. Our brains can censor what we see and hear, we can filter reality to suit our level of courage. At every crossroads we make the choice again for greater or lesser awareness.
Marilyn Ferguson
The Aquarian Conspiracy, J.P. Tarcher, 1987, page 112
To the transformed self, as to the artist, success is never a place to stay, only a momentary reward. Joy is in risking, in making new.
Marilyn Ferguson
The Aquarian Conspiracy, J.P. Tarcher, 1987, page 117
Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.
Marilyn Ferguson
A Bang Into Gentleness: A Psychic’s Journey Through Spiritual Transformations by Heather Clockedile, AuthorHouse, August 20, 2009, page 30
It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear . . . . It’s like being between trapezes. It’s Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There’s nothing to hold on to.
Marilyn Ferguson
The Change Book: Change the Way You Think about Change by Tricia Emerson and Mary Stewart, American Society for Training and Development, March 16, 2011, page 138
The prudence of the best heads is often defeated by the tenderness of the best hearts.
Henry Fielding
Best Thoughts of Best Thinkers, edited by Hialmer Day Gould and Edward Louis Hessenmueller, Best Thoughts Publishing Company, 1904, Google eBook, page 581
Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.
Henry Fielding
Encyclopedia of Wit and Wisdom, edited by Henry Hupfeld, David McKay, Publisher, 1897,Google eBook, page 608
Integrity is not something that you should have to think about, nor consider doing, but something in the heart that is already done.
Doug Firebaugh
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Nobody has ever measured, even the poets, how much a heart can hold.
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda: a Biography by Nancy Milford, HarperCollins, November 3, 1983, page 367
Forgiveness is a rebirth of hope, a reorganization of thought, and a reconstruction of dreams. Once forgiving begins, dreams can be rebuilt. When forgiving is complete, meaning has been extracted from the worst of experiences and used to create a new set of moral rules and a new interpretation of life’s events.
Beverly Flanigan
Forgiving the Unforgivable: Overcoming the Bitter Legacy of Intimate Wounds by Beverly Flanigan, Wiley, June 1, 1994, page 29
A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time.
Anne Taylor Fleming
The Bells! the Bells! by Mark Stibbe, Monarch Books, January 23, 2009, page 186
One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness—it is usually returned.
Cort R. Flint
Worth Repeating: More Than 5000 Classic and Contemporary Quotes by Bob Kelly, Kregel Academic, June 1, 2003, page 196
The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.
Ferdinand Foch
Strengthening the Pastor’s Soul: Developing Personal Authenticity for Pastoral Effectiveness by Rick Ezell, Kregel Publications, June 1, 1995, page 94
Experience may be hard but we claim its gifts because they are real, even though our feet bleed on its stones.
Mary Parker Follett
Creative Experience, Longmans, Green and Co., 1924, page 302
Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.
Malcolm Forbes
Know Your Limits-Then Ignore Them by John Mason, Insight International, Inc., 2000, page 75
Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.
Malcolm Forbes
Framework for Leadership: Tools and Resources by Sergio Chiappetta and Daron Sandbergh, iUniverse, November 16, 2004, page 66
God loves me so much he will accept me just as I am, but he loves me too much to leave me that way.
Leighton Ford
Good News Is for Sharing: A Guide to Making Friends for God, D.C. Cook Publishing Company, 1977, page 37
Though outwardly a gloomy shroud,
The inner half of every cloud
Is bright and shining:
I therefore turn my clouds about
And always wear them inside out
To show the lining.
Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler
Shrouds of the Night: Masks of the Milky Way and our Awesome New View of Galaxies by David Block, Ken Freeman and Google eBook, page 39
• This poem is presumably from Fowler’s book, The Wisdom of Folly, but I have been unable to find it there
The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God Himself.
Emmet Fox
Power Through Constructive Thinking, HarperCollins, June 16, 2009, Google eBook, page 29
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
Anne Frank
Change the World, Change Your Life: Discover Your Life Purpose Through Service by Angela Perkey, Conari Press, March 1, 2010, page 96
• Although numerous books and websites source this quote to Anne Frank’s diary, I have been unable to find it there
My narrative:
One person’s suffering cannot be compared to another’s. As Viktor Frankl wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, an individual’s suffering is similar to the behavior of gas. If gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Likewise, suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter the size of the suffering.
I based the above paragraph on the following excerpt from Frankl’s book:
To draw an analogy: a man’s suffering is similar to the behavior of gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the “size” of human suffering is absolutely relative.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 44
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, pages 65-66
My narrative:
Stronger still is faith bolstered not only by action but by purpose as well. In Man’s Search for Meaning, psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl explained that prisoners whose minds were fixated on an all-consuming reason to live—reuniting with loved ones, completing unfinished work, alerting the world to atrocities—were most apt to survive.
I based the above paragraph on the following excerpt from Frankl’s book:
There is much wisdom in the words of Nietzsche: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” I can see in these words a motto which holds true for any psychotherapy. In the Nazi concentration camps, one could have witnessed that those who knew that there was a task waiting for them to fulfill were most apt to survive. The same conclusion has since been reached by other authors of books on concentration camps, and also by psychiatric investigations into Japanese, North Korean and North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camps.
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 104
What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.
Victor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 105
Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 109
In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 113
What is demanded of man is not, as some existential philosophers teach, to endure the meaninglessness of life, but rather to bear his incapacity to grasp its unconditional meaningfulness in rational terms.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 118
Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determining. Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment.
Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning, Beacon Press, June 1, 2006, page 131
To be thrown upon one’s own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune, for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously unsusceptible.
Benjamin Franklin
Thoughts That Inspire, Personal Help Publishing Company, 1910, page 65
Change occurs when one becomes what she is, not when she tries to become what she is not.
Ruth P. Freedman
Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey, Hazelden Publishing, 1982, November 25 entry
I love you not only for who you are,
but for what you are when I am with you.
I love you not only for what you have made of yourself,
but what you are making of me.
Erich Fried
• This poem is commonly attributed to Roy Croft, which is apparently a pseudonym for someone who published a twenty-eight page collection of poetry—including the poem “Love,” which is the source of this quote—with Blue Mountain Arts Press (a vanity press) in 1979. However, it appears that this quote was derived from the German-language poem “Ich liebe Dich” by Austrian poet Erich Fried.
• Here is a translation of Fried’s poem:
I love you
Not because you are as you are
Rather because I am as I am
When I can be with you.
I love you not due to all that
you make of yourself,
Rather for what you make out of me.
I love you
For the sake of my better self
That you know how to bring out…
I love you because you lay your hand on my overflowing heart
And overlook all my foolishness and weaknesses
That cannot be overlooked
And instead bring all
That is beautiful and good into the light,
That which no other looked deep enough to find,
Because you closed your ears to my wrong notes
And instead
Through reverent listening, strengthened the music in me
I love you because you help me
Build, on the foundation of my life, not a tavern,
Rather a temple
As you also help me
That my daily words are not reproach
But rather song
I love you
Because you have brought with you more for my happiness
When to it any other could have done
And you did it without a touch,
Without a word, without a sign.
You did it simply through your being you.
And that is most likely
What one understands of friendship.
• Here is a summary of the controversy from Wikipedia:
Roy Croft is a poet (or translator; see below) frequently credited with writing a poem titled “Love” and beginning “I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” This poem, which is commonly used in wedding speeches and readings and is quoted frequently, is nearly identical in meaning to a German-language poem titled Ich liebe Dich (“I Love You”) and composed by Austrian poet Erich Fried; the main difference is that Croft’s version stops at the third-from-last line of Fried’s poem, with the effect that Fried’s poem contains two final lines for which Croft’s version has no equivalent. Croft’s version appears without further attribution in The Family Book of Best Loved Poems, edited by David L. George and published in 1952 by Doubleday & Company, Inc., then of Garden City, New York.
Little is known about the poet himself: A poet by this name had a 28-page collection published in 1979 by vanity publishers Blue Mountain Arts Press (now known as Blue Mountain Arts Inc. and specializing in “inspirational” books and greeting cards). Investigators such as Ted Nesbitt have surmised that if this Roy Croft is the same poet whose work appears in the Doubleday anthology above, his nationality was American and he lived at some time between the years 1905 and 1980. Some amateur investigators have speculated that “Roy Croft” is a pseudonym used by a translator who wanted to keep all royalties from publication (rather than sharing them with Fried’s estate) or who simply did not want to go through the trouble of obtaining a license from a foreign entity. Whatever the translator’s motive for using the Roy Croft pseudonym, the pseudonym itself may have been inspired by the early 20th century Roycroft publishing company.
Success based on anything but internal fulfillment is bound to be empty.
Dr. Martha Friedman
Assessment Strategies for Self-directed Learning by Arthur L. Costa, Corwin Press, 2004, page 150
If I am what I have and if what I have is lost, who then am I?
Erich Fromm
To Have or to Be?, Continuum International Publishing Group, September 23, 2005, page 89
Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
Robert Frost
The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations by Hugh Rawson and Margaret Miner, Oxford University Press, 2006, page 392
My narrative:
Architect and visionary Buckminster Fuller explained the value of mistakes through the analogy of a ship’s rudder. A ship tends to continue moving in the direction it is angled. The helmsman has to steer the ship back toward the intended destination, acting and reacting, adjusting and reorienting, in a never-ending process of course correction.
• In Your Private Sky: Discourse, Springer, July 1, 2001, Google eBook, page 294, Fuller offers a long discourse on the importance of facing and correcting mistakes
• In Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement, Simon and Schuster, December 22, 1997, Google eBook, page 74, Anthony Robbins references and comments on Fuller’s rudder analogy
If your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be so too.
Thomas Fuller
Forbes, Volume 145, Issues 1-4, Forbes, Inc., 1990, page 204
Between our birth and death we may touch understanding,
As a moth brushes a window with its wing.
Christopher Fry
Play: “The Boy with a Cart”
Our Universes by Denys Haigh Wilkinson, Columbia University Press, October 15, 1991, page 20
If a man sin against thee, speak peaceably to him, and in thy soul hold not guile; and if he repent and confess, forgive him. . . . But if he be shameless and persisteth in his wrong-doing, even so forgive him from the heart, and leave to God the avenging.
Gad, the ninth son of Jacob and Zilpah
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, translated by Robert Henry Charles, Adam and Charles Black, 1908, pages 156-158
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
Johannes A. Gaertner
Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert A. Emmons, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 1, 2008, page 90
Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do.
Don Galer
The Intangibles of Leadership: The 10 Qualities of Superior Executive Performance by Richard A. Davis, John Wiley and Sons, August 10, 2010, Google eBook, page 69
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.
Galileo Galilei
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Simon and Schuster, November 3, 2009, page 130
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.
Indira Gandhi
The Quotable Woman, 1800-1975, compiled and edited by Elaine Partnow, Corwin Books, January 1, 1978, page 348
• Gandhi said this during an October 19, 1971 press conference in New Delhi
In matters of conscience the Law of Majority has no place.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 21, online database, page 114
• This quote appeared in a 1920 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 21, online database, page 134
• This quote appeared in a 1920 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 33, online database, page 237
• This quote appeared in a 1925 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
Prayer is not an asking. It is a longing of the soul.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 36, online database, page 343
• This quote appeared in a 1926 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
Involuntary thought is an affection of the mind, and curbing of thought, therefore, means curbing of the mind which is even more difficult to curb than the wind.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 44, online database, page 248
Also: Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth, Courier Dover Publications, 1983, page 184
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 51, online database, page 302
• This quote appeared in a 1931 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
• Gandhi spoke these words in an interview with the press in Karachi on March 26, 1931 about the execution of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh three days earlier
I cannot think of permanent enmity between man and man, and believing as I do in the theory of rebirth, I live in the hope that if not in this birth, in some other birth I shall be able to hug all humanity in friendly embrace.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 51, online database, page 305
• This quote appeared in a 1931 edition of Young India, a weekly journal published in English by Gandhi from 1919 to 1932
Faith is not a thing to grasp, it is a state to grow to.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 67, online database, page 31
• From a letter dated May 3, 1935
• From the diary of Mahadev Desai, an Indian independence activist and nationalist writer who was best known for being Gandhi’s personal secretary
By detachment I mean that you must not worry whether the desired result follows from your action or not, so long as your motive is pure, your means correct.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 88, online database, page 408
• A discussion on or after December 1, 1945 with Ian Stephens, a correspondent for The Statesman, a daily newspaper published in India
Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 90, online database, page 195
• Also: Non-Violence in Peace and War, Volume 2, Navajivan Publishing House, 1960, page 75
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean. If a few drops are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 96, online database, page 296
• Letter dated August 29, 1947, to Amrit Kaur
Don’t listen to friends when the Friend inside you says, “Do this.”
Mahatma Gandhi
The Gandhi Reader: A Source Book of His Life and Writings, edited by Homer A. Jack, Grove Press, January 5, 1994, page 348
• Conversation in 1939 with Dr. Toyohiko Kagawa, the eminent Japanese Christian, social worker, and leader of the cooperative movement
If you don’t find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further.
Mahatma Gandhi
Ten Commitments to Your Success by Steve Chandler, Maurice Bassett, January 30, 2005, page 21
I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Simplicity Connection: Creating a More Organized, Simplified and Sustainable Life by C. B. Davis, Trafford Publishing, August 14, 2009, page 35
When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it—always.
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi: The Screenplay by John Briley, for the 1982 film
• While it is unlikely that Gandhi uttered these exact words in life, there is no question that they were entirely consistent with his outlook.
What we have before us are breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.
John W. Gardner
Living, Leading, and the American Dream, Jossey-Bass, May 7, 2003, page 11
Some people strengthen the society just by being the kind of people they are.
John W. Gardner
No Easy Victories, Harper & Row, 1968, page 117
I shut my eyes in order to see.
Paul Gauguin
Gauguin: Biographical and Critical Studies by Charles Estienne, Skira, 1953, page 17
• Gauguin’s complete quote is:
I shut my eyes in order to see, without understanding the dream in infinite space which recedes before me.
To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.
Théophile Gautier
Pacific Monthly, Volumes 4-6, edited by William Bittle Wells, Pacific Monthly Publishing Company, 1900, page 116
Often, people attempt to live their lives backward: They try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.
Shakti Gawain
Creative Visualization, New World Library, Nataraj, 25th anniversary edition, September 19, 2002, page 48
The more willing you are to surrender to the energy within you, the more power can flow through you.
Shakti Gawain
Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation by Shakti Gawain and Laurel King, New World Library, September 15, 1998, Google eBook, page 49
When I’m trusting and being myself as fully as possible, everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily and working smoothly.
Shakti Gawain
Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation by Shakti Gawain and Laurel King, New World Library, September 15, 1998, Google eBook, page 65
We always attract into our lives whatever we think about most, believe in most strongly, expect on the deepest level, and imagine most vividly!
Shakti Gawain
Reflections in the Light: Daily Thoughts and Affirmations, New World Library, 1988, page 32
My narrative:
In his book, Vibrational Medicine, Dr. Richard Gerber describes all matter as “frozen light,” light which has been slowed down and become solid. This light, the light of Divine Consciousness, can be compared to the light emanating from a movie projector.
• In Vibrational Medicine, Bear & Company, March 1, 2001, page 56, Gerber use the subhead: “News from the World of Particle Physics: Matter as Frozen Light & Its Implications for Medicine”
• In A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine: Energy Healing and Spiritual Transformation, HarperCollins, August 7, 2001, page 357, Gerber writes:
A number of scientists have studied the nature of matter at the subatomic level and have concluded that all subatomic particles are essentially miniature energy fields of frozen light, as well as tiny energy-interference patterns.
Religion is a house; spirit is the air that flows through and around it.
Tom Gegax
Winning in the Game of Life, RH Publishng, July 1, 2003, page 79
When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.
Maha Ghosananda
Religion, Politics, And International Relations: Selected Essays by Jeffrey Haynes, Routledge, 2011, page 268
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 11
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, pages 15-16
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 16
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 20
You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. . . .
For in truth it is life that gives unto life—while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, pages 21-22
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 25
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 28
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 29
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 29
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board,
remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 30
Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master?
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 32
You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, pages 47-48
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 52
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 52
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 58
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 61
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 62
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 80
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
And in this lies my honour and my reward,—
That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty;
And it drinks me while I drink it.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 88
Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone,
And a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, Alfred A. Knopf, 1923; this edition August 2001, page 89
God made Truth with many doors to welcome every believer who knocks on them.
Kahlil Gibran
The Kahlil Gibran Reader, Citadel Press, August 1, 2006, page 30
Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.
Kahlil Gibran
The Kahlil Gibran Reader, Citadel Press, August 1, 2006, page 38
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.
Kahlil Gibran
The Kahlil Gibran Reader, Citadel Press, August 1, 2006, page 42
The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose.
Kahlil Gibran
The Kahlil Gibran Reader, Citadel Press, August 1, 2006, page 45
One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 170
There is a space between man’s imagination and man’s attainment that may only be traversed by his longing.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 172
We are all prisoners but some of us are in cells with windows and some without.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 198
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 200
They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold;
And I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 201
I would be the least among men with dreams and the desire to fulfill them, rather than the greatest with no dreams and no desires.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 201
Solitude is a silent storm that breaks down all our dead branches;
Yet it sends our living roots deeper into the living heart of the living earth.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 203
How narrow is the vision that exalts the busyness of the ant above the singing of the grasshopper.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 203
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 209
When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 209
I said to Life, “I would hear Death speak.”
And Life raised her voice a little higher and said, “You hear him now.”
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 211
My friend, you and I shall remain strangers unto life,
And unto one another, and each unto himself,
Until the day when you shall speak and I shall listen
Deeming your voice my own voice;
And when I shall stand before you
Thinking myself standing before a mirror.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 212
Yes, there is a Nirvanah; it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture, and in putting your child to sleep, and in writing the last line of your poem.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 217
We choose our joys and our sorrows long before we experience them.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 217
Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 217
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran: The Collected Works, Alfred A. Knopf, October 23, 2007, page 218
Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
Kahlil Gibran
Sand and Foam, Sterling Publishers Private Limited, September 15, 2009, page 30
The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom.
Kahlil Gibran
The Vision: Reflections on the Way of the Soul, translated and edited by Robin H. Waterfield and Juan R. I. Cole, Penguin (Non-Classics), January 1, 1998, page 43
The appearance of things changes according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.
Kahlil Gibran
The Broken Wings, the Earth Gods, the Forerunner, Echo Library, June 1, 2009, page 16
It is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship
and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual
affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it
will not be created in years or even generations.
Kahlil Gibran
The Broken Wings, the Earth Gods, the Forerunner, Echo Library, June 1, 2009, page 17
Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.
André Gide
The Authentic Heart: An Eightfold Path to Midlife Love by John Amodeo, John Wiley and Sons, January 22, 2001, page 94
One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
André Gide
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach, Hachette Digital, Inc., November 15, 1995, Google eBook, page 24
Each of us really understands in others only those feelings he is capable of producing himself.
André Gide
Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought by Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black, Basic Books, 1995, page 229
Don’t ruin the present with the ruined past.
Ellen Gilchrist
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 295
You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.
Jan Glidewell
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail: After Glidewell wrote this line in one of his St. Petersburg Times columns in the early 1990s, Reader’s Digest printed it in its “Towards More Picturesque Speech” feature
It is familiarity with life that makes time speed quickly. When every day is a step in the unknown, as for children, the days are long with gathering of experience.
George Gissing
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, Boni and Liveright, 1918, page 248
The task of making sense of ourselves and our behavior requires that we acknowledge there can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.
Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Hachette Digital, Inc., January 11, 2005, Google eBook, Introduction
Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to.
Arnold H. Glasow
Everlasting Wisdom by Daniel Weis, Paragon Publishing, 2010, page 79
Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.
Arnold H. Glasow
Nine To Five Or Something Like That: Finding Work/life Balance And Fulfillment for Women by Charmaine Augustin, AuthorHouse, January 30, 2005, page 1
Being ungrateful for what you get never gets you more.
Arnold H. Glasow
Think: Volumes 16-17, International Business Machines Corp., 1950, page 97
You’ll break the worry habit the day you decide you can meet and master the worst that can happen to you.
Arnold H. Glasow
Letting Go of Worry: God’s Plan for Finding Peace and Contentment by Linda Mintle, Harvest House Publishers, October 1, 2011, page 177
I am so fully convinced that the soul is indestructible, and that its activity will continue through eternity. It is like the sun, which seems to our earthly eyes to set in night, but is in reality gone to diffuse its light elsewhere.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Conversations with Goethe in the Last Years of his Life by Johann Peter Eckermann, Hilliard, Gray and Company, 1839, page 108w
Everyone hears only what he understands.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sourced by the Goethe Society of North America as: Maximen und Reflexionen 887; GA 9: 615.
• Here is a translated version of Maxims and Reflections that lists the quote as:
For surely everyone only hears what he understands.
A life without love, without the presence of the beloved, is nothing but a mere magic-lantern show. We draw out slide after slide, swiftly tiring of each, and pushing it back to make haste for the next.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe’s Works, Part One: Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen, G. Barrie, 1885, pages 334-335
• The actual quote is:
A life without love, without the presence of the beloved, is but poor comédie à tiroir. We draw out slide after slide, swiftly tiring of each, and pushing it back to make haste for the next.
• The translation of the French phrase “comédie à tiroir” is literally “comedy drawer.” Replacing “is but poor comédie à tiroir” with “is nothing but a mere magic-lantern show” seems to be a suitable translation.
Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe’s Works, Part One: Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen, G. Barrie, 1885, page 335
We are our own devils; we drive ourselves out of our Edens.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe: The History of a Man by Emil Ludwig, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1928, page 18
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Allowing: A Portrait of Forgiving and Letting Life Love You by Holly Riley, iUniverse, November 15, 2010, page 172
Every second is of infinite value.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 311
Someday perhaps the inner light will shine forth from us, and then we’ll need no other light.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Cracking the Code of Our Physical Universe: The Key to a World of Enlightenment and Enrichment by Matthew M. Radmanesh, AuthorHouse, May 30, 2006, page 180
As long as you are not aware of the continual law of Die and Be
Again, you are merely a vague guest on a dark Earth.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Materialistic Wall by Bud Carroll, Trafford Publishing, February 1, 2002, page 156
Be above it! Make the world serve your purpose, but do not serve it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Passion, Purpose, and Principles by Sharon Miranda, Xlibris Corporation, 2011, page 33
He who is plenteously provided for from within needs but little from without.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Evangelical Episcopalian, Volume 16, 1904, Google eBook, page 275
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Spiritual Renewal: Transforming the Mind by Bob Perry, iUniverse, July 30, 2004, page 20
Too many parents make life hard for their children by trying, too zealously, to make it easy for them.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Key Journey to Success: Thinking Ahead Will Get You Ahead by Arnaud Romeo Noume, Xlibris Corporation, July 27, 2011, page 26
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Christian Professor in the Secular University by Duane Victor Keilstrup, Xulon Press, September 30, 2010, page 76
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Those Who Can, Teach by Kevin Ryan and James M. Cooper, Cengage Learning, January 1, 2012, page 172
• If Goethe did say this, he didn’t say it quite this way. According to Wikiquote, Goethe was quoted in Human Development: A Science of Growth by Justin Pikunas, 1961, page 311 as follows:
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
• Conclusion: The quote in Pikunas’ book might be based on a translation or a paraphrasing by Viktor Frankl, to whom the quote is also sometimes attributed.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Although this quote can be considered Goethe’s, it owes its existence to a liberal translation of Goethe’s play Faust, which is based on a classic (and anonymously authored) German legend. The quote first appeared in John Anster’s 1835 translation of Faust. Here are three sources from the nineteenth century, in which the two lines are spoken by the “Manager” in the “Prelude at the Theatre”:
• The Foreign Quarterly Review, edited by John George Cochrane, 1840, Google eBook, page 94
• Faust, Tauchnitz, 1867, Google eBook, page 14
• The First Part of Goethe’s Faust: The Henry Irving Edition, George Routledge and Sons, 1887, Google eBook, page 22
• Courtesy of the Goethe Society of North America, here is Stuart Atkins’ literal translation of the lines in question from Faust:
What’s left undone today, is still not done tomorrow;
to every day there is a use and purpose;
let Resoluteness promptly seize
the forelock of the Possible,
and then, reluctant to let go again,
she’s forced to carry on and be productive.
• Thie quote owes its popularity to its inclusion in The Scottish Himalayan Expedition by William H. Murray in 1951. At the end of a paragraph on page 7 that begins, “There is one elementary truth” (a quote, by the way, that is also included in Through God’s Eyes and hence, on this post), Murray writes:
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
As you open your awareness, life will improve of itself, you won’t even have to try. It’s a beautiful paradox: the more you open your consciousness, the fewer unpleasant events intrude themselves into your awareness.
Thaddeus Golas
The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment, Gibbs Smith, December 1, 1995, page 72
As we persist in judging one another by what we appear to be, we are all taking part in a great masquerade.
Joel Goldsmith
Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: A Collection of 10,000 Inspirational Quotations by Andy Zubko, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, January 1, 2000, page 280
Courage, in its final analysis, is nothing but an affirmative answer to the shocks of existence.
Dr. Kurt Goldstein
The Organism, Zone Books, April 19, 1995, page 240
If you tell the truth, you have infinite power supporting you; but, if not, you have infinite power against you.
Charles Gordon
Letters of General C.G. Gordon to his Sister, M.A. Gordon, Macmillan, 1888, page 32
Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.
Baltasar Gracian
The Natural Life: How to Change the World by Just Being Natural by Matthew Minarik and Margaret Minarik, Tate Publishing, August 16, 2011, page 126
You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.
Sheila Graham
The Personal Companion: A Workbook for Singles by Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt, Simon and Schuster, December 1, 1995, Day 248
See where your own energy wants to go, not where you think it should go. Do something because it feels right, not because it makes sense. Follow the spiritual impulse.
Maye Hayes Grieco
The Kitchen Mystic: Spiritual Lessons Hidden in Everyday Life, Hazelden, 1992, page 83
A life uncommanded now is uncommanded; a life unenjoyed now is unenjoyed; a life not lived wisely now is not lived wisely.
David Grayson
Great Possessions, Echo Library, 2006, page 17
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Vivian Greene
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Security is when everything is settled, when nothing can happen to you; security is the denial of life.
Germaine Greer
The Female Eunuch, McGraw-Hill, 1980, page 237
Start some kind word on its travels. There is no telling where the good it may do will stop.
Wilfred Grenfell
Know Your Limits-Then Ignore Them by John Mason, Insight International, Inc., 2000, page 69
To be able to stand in the midst of darkness and live as though all about you was light is the final test of the human spirit.
Edward H. Griggs
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 226
• Although this quote is listed on a handful of websites, this is the only book in which I could find it
We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.
Martha Grimes
A Woman’s Guide to Finding Joy in Your Job by Pat Healey, Advantage Media Group, 2008, page 51
What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approve ours.
Helga Bergold Gross
Healing the Heart of Emotional Wounds by C. P. Varkey, The Bombay Saint Paul Society, 1997, page 74
If you’re going to do something different with your life because you’ve found out you’ve got a disease, then you’re not living as you should be.
Arlo Guthrie
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dean Ornish, Random House Digital, Inc., December 30, 1995, Google eBook, page 114
It usually happens that the more faithfully a person follows the inspirations he receives, the more does he experience new inspirations which ask increasingly more of him.
Joseph de Guibert
The Theology of the Spiritual Life, Sheed and Ward, 1953, page 116
Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer.
Terri Guillemets
Quotations by Terri Guillemets, founder of The Quote Garden website.
• This quote is commonly attributed to Verbena Woods, a pen name used by Guillemets; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
I see rejection in my skin, worry in my cancers, bitterness and hate in my aching joints. I failed to take care of my mind, and so my body now goes to hospital.
Terri Guillemets
• This quote is commonly attributed to Astrid Alauda, a pen name used by Terri Guillemets, founder of The Quote Garden website; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Admitting errors clears the score and proves you wiser than before.
Arthur Guiterman
Know Your Limits-Then Ignore Them by John Mason, Insight International, Inc., 2000, page 25
Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself—only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.
Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff
Views from the Real World: Early Talks in Moscow, Essentuki, Tiflis, Berlin, London, Paris, New York, and Chicago, Dutton, September 10, 1975, page 273
If you help others, you will be helped, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in one hundred years, but you will be helped. Nature must pay off the debt. . . . It is a mathematical law and all life is mathematics.
Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff
Spirituality for Dummies by Sharon Janis, John Wiley & Sons, January 22, 2008, page 260
You can never outdream God.
Melissa Guyton
Guideposts magazine, September 2007
• Confirmed and approved by the author’s mother via e-mail
Change no circumstance of my life. Change me.
Sri Gyanamata
God Alone: The Life and Letters of a Saint, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1984; hardcover edition 2013, page 91
The things that happen to us do not matter; what we become through them does.
Sri Gyanamata
Only Love by Sri Daya Mata, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1976; hardcover edition 2006, “The View of the Wise Toward Life’s Experiences,” page 74
Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I would like to see you living in better conditions.
Hafiz
Poem: “Your Mother and My Mother”
The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, gift edition, August 1, 1999, page 39
When all your desires are distilled
You will cast just two votes:
To love more, and be happy.
Hafiz
Poem: “Your Seed Pouch”
The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, gift edition, August 1, 1999, page 41
This sky where we live
Is no place to lose your wings
So love, love, love.
Hafiz
Poem: “This Sky”
The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, gift edition, August 1, 1999, page 169
Everyone is God speaking.
Why not be polite and listen to him?
Hafiz
Poem: “Why Not Be Polite”
The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, gift edition, August 1, 1999, page 269
Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly.
Let it cut more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
As few human or even divine ingredients can.
Hafiz
Poem: “My Eyes So Soft”
The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, gift edition, August 1, 1999, page 277
I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The Astonishing Light of your own Being.
Hafiz
Poem: “My Brilliant Image”
I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz, Sufism Reoriented, first edition, January 1996, page 13
For I can see in your eyes
That you are exquisitely woven with the finest silk and wool
And that Pattern upon your soul has the signature of God
And all your moods and colors of love
Come from His Divine vats of dye and gold.
Hafiz
Poem: “Exquisitely Woven”
I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz, Sufism Reoriented, first edition, January 1996, page 35
Ever since happiness heard your name,
It has been running through the streets
Trying to find you.
Hafiz
Poem: “Several Times in the Last Week”
I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz, Sufism Reoriented, first edition, January 1996, page 123
Pure Divine Love is no meek priest
Or tight banker.
It will smash all your windows
And only then throw in the holy gifts.
Hafiz
Poem: “It Cuts the Plow Reins”
I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz, Sufism Reoriented, first edition, January 1996, page 135
This place where you are right now
God circled on a map for you.
Hafiz
Poem: “This Place Where You Are Right Now”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin, January 1, 2003, page 12
Time is a factory where everyone slaves away
Earning enough love to break their own chains.
Hafiz
Poem: “Purpose”
The Soul in Love: Classic Poems of Ecstasy and Exaltation compiled by Deepak Chopra, Harmony, April 10, 2001, page 53
All a sane man can ever think about is giving love.
Hafiz
Why Your Life Sucks: And What You Can Do About It by Alan Cohen, Bantam, November 29, 2005, page 188
It is not known how far is the destination, but so much I know:
That music from afar is coming to my ears.
Hafiz
The Mysticism of Sound and Music by Hazrat Inayat Khan, Shambhala, revised edition, September 3, 1996, page 20
May the gratitude in my heart kiss all the universe.
Hafiz
• Although this quote is on numerous websites, I cannot find it in any book
Some people have a hard time understanding how God can exist. They don’t seem to have a problem believing that everything started with an explosion from a tiny point at the center of the universe. But, where did that tiny point come from? It takes as much faith to believe that the universe came from nothing as it does to believe that an intelligent eternal being created it.
Duane Alan Hahn
RandomTerrain.com; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Faith does not change your destination.
Duane Alan Hahn
RandomTerrain.com; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
There will never be conclusive proof that God exists because that would take away your freedom to believe that there is no God.
Duane Alan Hahn
RandomTerrain.com; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
It is the will of our heavenly Father that we should come to Him freely and confidently and make known our desires to Him, just as we would have our children come freely and of their own accord and speak to us about the things they would like to have.
Ole Hallesby
Prayer, Augsburg Fortress Publishing, 1975, page 136
As impossible as it is for us to take a breath in the morning large enough to last us until noon, so impossible is it to pray in the morning in such a way as to last us until noon. . . . Let your prayers ascend to Him constantly, audibly or silently, as circumstances throughout the day permit.
Ole Hallesby
Prayer, Augsburg Fortress Publishing, 1975, page 146
As white snow flakes fall quietly and thickly on a winter day, answers to prayer will settle down upon you at every step you take, even to your dying day. The story of your life will be the story of prayer and answers to prayer.
Ole Hallesby
Prayer: A World Famous Classic to Deepen and Enrich Your Prayer Life, Augsburg Books, March 1, 1994, page 172
When faith is supported by facts or by logic it ceases to be faith.
Edith Hamilton
Witness to the Truth: Christ and his Interpreters, W.W. Norton, 1948, page 213
Life only demands from you the strength you possess.
Dag Hammarskjöld
Markings, translated by Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden, Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1964, page 33
We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours.
Dag Hammarskjöld
Markings, Ballantine Books, April 12, 1985, page 45
We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.
Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hammarskjöld: A Biography by Emery Kelen, Meredith Press, 1969, page 35
It is not possible to judge any event as simply fortunate or unfortunate, good or bad. It is like the old story about the farmer and the horse. You must travel throughout all of time and space to know the true impact of any event. Every success contains some difficulties, and every failure contributes to increased wisdom or future success. Every event is both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate and unfortunate, good and bad, exist only in our perceptions.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals, 1962-1966, Riverhead Trade, December 1, 1999, pages 104-105
Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Wisdom Walk: Nine Practices for Creating Peace and Balance from the World’s Spiritual Traditions by Sage Bennet, New World Library, March 8,, 2007, page 34
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace in Our Hearts, Peace in the World: Meditations of Hope and Healing by Ruth Fishel, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., October 7, 2008, page 133
True Dharma seekers who live in the world use their daily activity as a polishing tool. Outwardly they may appear to be very busy, like flint striking steel, making sparks everywhere. But inwardly they silently grow, for although they may be working very hard, they are working for the sake of the work and not for the profits it will bring them. Unattached to the results of their labor, they transcend the frenetic to reach the Way’s essential tranquility. Doesn’t a rough and tumbling stream also sparkle like striking flints—while it polishes into smoothness every stone in its path?
Hanshan Deqing
Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, H.K. Buddhist Book Distributor, 1995, page 65
Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.
Julius Charles Hare
Guesses at Truth by Julius Charles Hare and Augustus William Hare, Macmillan and Co., 1884, page 502
We act in such a way that people finally comply and act in the way we feared they would act. You fear a person will leave you, and because of that fear, you act in such a way that finally causes the person to actually leave.
Bill Harris
Adapted from the essay: “Nine Principles for Conscious Living”
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Forgiveness does not equal forgetting. It is about healing the memory of the harm, not erasing it.
Ken Hart
First Aid for the Betrayed by Richard Alan, Trafford Publishing, November 20, 2006, page 128
• This quote apparently originated in the October 2000 issue of the UK magazine, Zest
Intuition speaks without emotion and with no value judgment attached to it. I am able to receive an intuitive message as if I am watching a movie that doesn’t involve me.
Kathryn Harwig
Adapted from the essay, “Intuition Versus Self Talk”; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
The truth is not simply what you think it is; it is also the circumstances in which it is said, and to whom, why, and how it is said.
Vaclav Havel
Disturbing the Peace: A Conversation with Karel Huizdala by Vaclav Havel, Vintage, April 3, 1991, page 67
Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Vaclav Havel
Disturbing the Peace: A Conversation with Karel Huizdala by Vaclav Havel, Vintage, April 3, 1991, page 181
Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.
Vaclav Havel
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen, Penguin, 2001, page 20
For it’s only the illusion of individuality that is the origin of all suffering—when one realizes that one is the universe, complete and at one with all that is, forever without end, then no further suffering is possible.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, Hay House, Inc., 1995, page 16
Time, then, is much like a hologram . . . There’s no beginning or end to a hologram, it’s already everywhere, complete—in fact, the appearance of being “unfinished” is part of its completeness. . . . Our perception of events happening in time is analogous to a traveler watching the landscape unfold before him. But to say that the landscape unfolds before the traveler is merely a figure of speech—nothing is actually unfolding; nothing is actually becoming manifest. There’s only the progression of awareness.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, Hay House, Inc., 1995, page 232
My narrative:
Your next loving thought may tip the scales. In his groundbreaking book, Power vs. Force, Dr. David R. Hawkins scientifically substantiates how the most enlightened 15 percent of the world’s population counterbalances the negativity of the remaining 85 percent of the world’s people.
In Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, Hay House, Inc., 1995, page 282, Hawkins writes:
Although only 15 percent of the world’s population is above the critical consciousness level of 200, the collective power of that 15 percent has the weight to counterbalance the negativity of the remaining 85 percent of the world’s people. Because the scale of power advances logarithmically, a single avatar at a consciousness level of 1,000 can, in fact, totally counterbalance the collective negativity of all of mankind.
Spiritual truth, then, is universally true and without variation through time or place. It always brings peace, harmony, accord, love, compassion, and mercy. Truth can be identified by these qualities. All else is the invention of the ego.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
The Eye of the I, Veritas Publishing, 2001, page 40
We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of what we have become. Thus, every spiritual aspirant serves the world.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
The Eye of the I, Veritas Publishing, 2001, page 69
Ask to be the servant of the Lord, a vehicle of divine love, a channel of God’s will. Ask for direction and divine assistance, and surrender all personal will through devotion. Dedicate one’s life to the service of God. Choose love and peace above all other options. Commit to the goal of unconditional love and compassion for all life in all its expression and surrender all judgment to God.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
The Eye of the I, Veritas Publishing, 2001, page 201
It is the ultimate human paradox that man’s dependence on perception precludes his being able to know his own identity.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
The Eye of the I, Veritas Publishing, 2001, page 220
The world of the ego is like a house of mirrors through which the ego wanders, lost and confused, as it chases the images in one mirror after another. Human life is characterized by endless trials and errors to escape the maze. At times, for many people, and possibly for most, the world of mirrors becomes a house of horrors that gets worse and worse. The only way out of the circuitous wanderings is through the pursuit of spiritual truth.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
I: Reality and Subjectivity, Veritas Publishing, January 30, 2003, page 393
Out of an unrestricted love for God arises the willingness to surrender all motives, except to serve God completely. To be the servant of God becomes one’s goal rather than enlightenment.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
Dissolving the Ego, Realizing the Self: Contemplations from the Teachings of David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., edited by Scott Jeffrey, Hay House, Inc., August 1, 2011, page 109
My narrative:
Given that psychiatrist and author Dr. David. R. Hawkins defines consciousness as “an impersonal quality of Divinity expressed as awareness,” think of God as an acronym for Governing Omnipresent Divinity.
• In Dissolving the Ego, Realizing the Self: Contemplations from the Teachings of David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., edited by Scott Jeffrey, Hay House, Inc., August 1, 2011, page 211, Hawkins writes:
Consciousness is an impersonal quality of Divinity expressed as awareness.
The difference in power between a loving thought and a fearful thought is so enormous as to be beyond the capacity of the human imagination to easily comprehend.
Dr. David R. Hawkins
Creativity Revealed: Discovering the Source of Inspiration by Scott Jeffrey, Creative Crayon Publishers, 2008, pages 85-86
• Foreword by Dr. David R. Hawkins
A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1878, Google eBook, page 166
We sometimes congratulate ourselves at the moment of waking from a troubled dream: it may be so the moment after death.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Passages From the American Notebooks of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Volume 1, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1896, Google eBook, page 26
Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 215
Your thoughts are like the seeds you plant in your garden. Your beliefs are like the soil in which you plant these seeds.
Louise Hay
Life!: Reflections on Your Journey, Easyread Large Edition, ReadHowYouWant.com, December 9, 2009, page xi
My narrative:
As Louise Hay explained in You Can Heal Your Life, your beliefs and ideas about yourself are often the cause of your emotional problems and physical maladies.
• This is Hay’s foundational philosophy. It’s expressed in “Some Points of My Philosophy” on page 5 in You Can Heal Your Life, Easyread Large Edition, ReadHowYouWant.com, December 21, 2009
As is our confidence, so is our capacity.
William Hazlitt
Characteristics: in the Manner of Rochefoucault’s Maxims, C. and W. Reynell, 1837, Google eBook, page 37
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
William Hazlitt
The Round Table: A Collection of Essays on Literature, Men, and Manners, Volume 1, Archibald Constable and Co., 1817, Google eBook, page 23
No truly great man ever thought himself so.
William Hazlitt
The Collected Works of William Hazlitt: Fugutive Writings, edited by William Ernest Henley, J. M. Dent & Co., 1904, Google eBook, page 542
The seat of knowledge is in the head; of wisdom, in the heart.
William Hazlitt
Treasury of Thought, J. R. Osgood and Co., 1872, Google eBook, page 275
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William Hazlitt
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 6
• Wikiquote sources this quote to “On the Conversations of Lords,” New Monthly Magazine, April 1826
Remember: one lie does not cost you one truth but the truth.
Friedrich Hebbel
The Attitude of Leadership: Taking the Lead and Keeping It by Keith D. Harrell, John Wiley and Sons, August 7, 2003, Google eBook, page 29
Every man is his own ancestor, and every man his own heir. He devises his own future, and he inherits his own past.
Dr. H. F. Hedge
The Annals of Hygiene, Volumes 3-4, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1888, Google eBook, page 622
You can’t recover from what you do not understand.
Lillian Hellman
Dancing at the River’s Edge: A Patient and Her Doctor Negotiate Life With Chronic Illness by Alida Brill and Michael D. Lockshin, IPG, January 1, 2009, Google eBook, page 115
• This quote apparently originated in Hellman’s 1980 novel, Maybe: A Story
The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms, Google eBook, HarperCollins, January 31, 2012, chapter 29
None live so easily, so pleasantly, as those that live by faith.
Matthew Henry
Many Thoughts of Many Minds, compiled and edited by Henry Southgate, Griffin, Bohn, and Company, 1862, Google eBook, page 208
An active faith can give thanks for a promise even though it be not yet performed, knowing that God’s bonds are as good as ready money.
Matthew Henry
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers: a Cyclopædia of Quotations from the Literature of All Ages, compiled and edited by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, W.B. Ketcham, 1895, Google eBook, page 241
Prayers not felt by us, are seldom heard by God.
Philip Henry
The Miscellaneous Works of the Rev. Matthew Henry by Matthew Henry and Philip Henry, Joseph Ogle Robinson, 1833, Google eBook, page 142
Let prayer be the key of the morning, and the bolt at the night.
Philip Henry
The life of the Rev. Philip Henry, A.M.: With Funeral Sermons for Mr. and Mrs. Henry by Matthew Henry, printed for B. J. Holdsworth, 1825, Google eBook, page 71
• At the bottom of page 71, Matthew Henry quotes from Thomas Fuller’s Fuller’s Abel Redivivus that Bishop Ridley “used to make his religious addresses unto God, both as a key to open the door in the morning to his daily employments, and as a bolt, to shut and close them up all at evening again.” If I understand this note correctly, the quote attributed to Philip Henry (1631-1696), who was Matthew’s father, originated in longer form from Thomas Fuller (1608-1661).
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
Fight Fair: Winning at Conflict Without Losing at Love by Tim Downs and Joy Downs, Moody Publishers, July 1, 2010, Google eBook, page 77
Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart. . . .
Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.
George Herbert
Poem: “Gratefulness”
The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, Pickering, 1838, Google eBook, pages 125-126
Then comes the faith and the insight that All is God. And the darkness of “the world of confusion,” of the confusion of good and evil, retreats from our sight. One still realizes that the world is as it was, but it does not matter, it does not affect one’s faith.
Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel
Man’s Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism, Scribner, 1954, page 7
Self-respect is the fruit of discipline, the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say No to oneself.
Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel
The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 1, 1965, page 44
Awe is an intuition for the dignity of all things, a realization that things not only are what they are but also stand, however remotely, for something supreme. Awe is a sense for the transcendence, for the reference everywhere to mystery beyond all things. It enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple; to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal. What we cannot comprehend by analysis, we become aware of in awe.
Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel
Who Is Man?, Stanford University Press, June 1, 1965, pages 88-89
You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation, and a single happiness, and that is called loving. Well, then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it. Taste how sweet it is in its essence, give yourself to it, do not meet it with aversion. It is only your aversion that hurts, nothing else.
Herman Hesse
Celebrating Life: Catching the Thieves That Steal Your Joy by Luci Swindoll, NavPress, August 1, 1989, page 54
Suffering is magnificent music—the moment you give ear to it. But you never listen to it: you always have a different, private, stubborn music and melody in your ear which you will not relinquish and with which the music of suffering will not harmonize.
Herman Hesse
Celebrating Life: Catching the Thieves That Steal Your Joy by Luci Swindoll, NavPress, August 1, 1989, page 54
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know: God answers prayer.
I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the guise I thought.
I leave my prayer to him alone
Whose will is wiser than my own.
Eliza M. Hickok
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 198
• While the above six-line version of this poem is widely used today, the original poem had at least four additional lines. The poem appeared in a number of publications in the late nineteenth century, often without attribution, and in slightly different versions. This publication from 1887 does include the four extra lines and attributes it to Hickok:
I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers prayer.
I know not when he sends the word
That tells us fervent prayer is heard.
I know it cometh soon or late;
Therefore, we need to pray and wait.
I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the guise I thought.
I leave my prayers with him alone
Whose will is wiser than my own.
Here’s a book that added two lines at the end:
Assured that he will grant my quest,
Or send an answer far more blest.
Good feels good.
Esther Hicks
A popular phrase in the Abraham-Hicks teachings
The only thing that holds you back from getting what you want is paying attention to what you don’t want.
Esther Hicks
• Although this quote is listed on a number of websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
The mere possession of a vision is not the same as living it, nor can we encourage others with it if we do not, ourselves, understand and follow its truths. The pattern of the Great Spirit is over us all, but if we follow our own spirits from within, our pattern becomes clearer. For centuries, others have sought their visions. They prepare themselves, so that if the Creator desires them to know their life’s purpose, then a vision would be revealed. To be blessed with visions is not enough . . . we must live them!
High Eagle
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Saints and Scholars: Be More, Do More, Have More by Gavin G. Gregan, AuthorHouse, 2010, page 291
Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.
Highlander: The Series
• Dialogue spoken by Midori Koto, a character played by actress Tamlyn Tomita, in “The Samurai,” the September 26, 1994 episode of the American drama/adventure TV show, Highlander: The Series. I have not been able to identify who wrote the script for this episode.
Blood Sacrifice by Maria Lima, Simon and Schuster, August 30, 2011, page 39
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.
Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich, Arc Manor LLC, July 30, 2007, page 95
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
And if I am for myself alone, what am I?
And if not now, when?
Rabbi Hillel
The Life and Teachings of Hillel by Yitzhak Buxbaum, Rowman & Littlefield, September 1, 2008, Google eBook, page 268
Believe in the nature within you, the divine nature, that you are in very deed a son or daughter of the living God. There is something of divinity with you, something that stands high and tall and noble.
Gordon B. Hinckley
• Although this quote is listed on a handful of websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Failure is God’s own tool for carving some of the finest outlines in the character of his children.
Thomas Hodgkin
Seasons of the Spirit: Daily Meditations for Adults in Mid-Life by Sally Coleman and Maria Porter, Hazelden Publishing, March 1, 1994, page 5
Don’t rush into any kind of relationship. Work on yourself. Feel yourself, experience yourself and love yourself. Do this first and you will soon attract that special loving other.
Russ von Hoelscher
How to Achieve Total Success: How to Use the Power of Creative Thought, George Stern Profit Ideas, June 1, 1990, page 234
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
Eric Hoffer
The Passionate State of Mind, Harper & Brothers, first edition, 1955, aphorism 123, page 77
The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
Eric Hoffer
The Passionate State of Mind, Harper & Brothers, first edition, 1955, aphorism 280, page 151
How much easier is self sacrifice than self-realization!
Eric Hoffer
Essay: “Reflections on the Human Condition”
The American Spectator, Volumes 6-7, Saturday Evening Club, 1972, page 27
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer
The Optimism Advantage: 50 Simple Truths to Transform Your Attitudes and Actions into Results by Terry L. Paulson, John Wiley and Sons, March 22, 2010, page 54
As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy rent-free space in your mind.
Isabelle Holland
The Long Search, Thorndike Press, 1991, page 223
Every man who becomes heartily and understandingly a channel of the Divine beneficence, is enriched through every league of his life. Perennial satisfaction springs around and within him with perennial verdure. Flowers of gratitude and gladness bloom all along his pathway, and the melodious gurgle of the blessings be bears is echoed back by the melodious waves of the recipient stream.
Josiah Gilbert Holland
Complete Works: Gold-foil, C. Scribner’s & Sons, 1901, page 109
There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
John Andrew Holmes
15 Minutes of Peace with God by Emilie Barnes, Harvest House Publishers, January 1, 2003, page 6
Fighting any adverse condition only increases its power over us.
Ernest Holmes
The Science of Mind, Penguin, August 1, 1998, Glossary entry for “Nonresistance”
Almost every type and condition of illness has been in some way or other related to our pattern of thinking, a pattern of thinking that apparently is contradictory to the spiritual pattern of a perfect and healthy body. . . . We must get ourselves and our limited human thinking out of the way so that the Divine pattern of perfection can fully express itself in us. . . . The doctor can assist the body mechanically through surgery and medication; we can assist through how we think and act.
Ernest Holmes
A New Design for LIving by Ernest Holmes and Willis Hayes Kinnear, Prentice-Hall, 1959, pages 158-159
Every calling is great when greatly pursued.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Speeches by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Little, Brown and Company, 1900, Google eBook, page 17
A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes, edited by John T. Morse, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1896, page 264
Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, John Camden Hotten, Google eBook, pages 201-202
Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them!
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Poem: “The Voiceless”
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, John Camden Hotten, Google eBook, page 229
It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Poet at the Breakfast-Table, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1872, Google eBook, page 310
Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you.
Gerald Holton
Einstein, History, and Other Passions: The Rebellion against Science at the End of the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press, second edition, September 15, 2000, page 197
• Holton here paraphrases Albert Einstein’s thoughts on thoughts, but the phrasing is Holton’s. He writes:
Here Einstein is saying: Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you.
Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.
Horace
A Real Life Christian Spiritual Journey: A Story of Real Life Spiritual Experiences on the Way Back to God by Richard Ferguson, AuthorHouse, January 20, 2010, page 170
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
Horace
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 6
The test of character is the amount of strain it can bear.
Charles Houston
Groundwork: Charles Hamilton Houston and the Struggle for Civil Rights by Genna Rae McNeil, University of Pennsylvania Press, August 1, 1984, page 191
A cheery relaxation is man’s natural state, just as nature itself is relaxed. A waterfall is concerned only with being itself, not with doing something it considers waterfall-like.
Vernon Howard
The Power of Your Supermind, Prentice Hall, 1990, page 166
Just as surely as distress must follow self-deceit, healing must follow self-honesty.
Vernon Howard
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 425
• Chang attributes this quote to the 1967 edition of Howard’s book, The Power of Your Supermind. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
Any negative state, like worry, is like your shadow. If you run away, it pursues, but by standing still you see that it has no movement except that which you give it by running away.
Vernon Howard
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 645
A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.
Edgar Watson Howe
Plain People, Dodd, Mead & Company, January 1, 1929, page 305
Men substitute tradition for the living experience of the love of God. They talk and think as though walking with God was attained by walking in the footsteps of men who walked with God.
William Charles Braithwaite
The Message and Mission of Quakerism, The John C. Winston Company, 1912, page 28
To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
Elbert Hubbard
She Inc.: A Woman’s Guide to Maximizing Her Career Potential by Kelley Keehn, Insomniac Press, October 31, 2008, page 83
A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.
Charles Evans Hughes
Ethics and Citizenship byJohn Walter Wayland, The McClure Company, Inc., 1924, page 208
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Langston Hughes
Hold Fast to Dreams, edited by Arna Bontemps, Silver Burdett, 1979, page 19
• Wikiquote states that this poem was first published in Golden Slippers: An Anthology of Negro Poetry for Young Readers, edited by Arna Bontemps, Harper & Row, 1941. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.
Victor Hugo
Les Misérables, translated by Charles Edwin Wilbour, Carleton, Publisher, 1863, Google eBook, page 98
There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees.
Victor Hugo
Les Misérables, Volume 2, Penguin Books, 1980, page 108
There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.
Victor Hugo
Les Misérables: Fantine, Carleton, 1862, Google eBook, page 127
To love another person is to see the face of God.
Victor Hugo
The Musical World of Boublil & Schönberg by Margaret Vermette, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006, page 135
• From the musical Les Misérables, based on Hugo’s 1862 novel
Be like the bird that, halting in her flight
Awhile, on boughs too slight,
Feels them give way beneath her and yet sings,
Knowing that she hath wings.
Victor Hugo
The Critic, Volume 4, Good Literature Publishing Co., 1885, Google eBook, page 216
To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.
Victor Hugo
The Enlightened Savage: Using Primal Instincts for Personal & Business Success by Anthony Hernandez, Morgan James Publishing, April 1, 2006, page 119
It is almost more important how a person takes his fate than what it is.
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Pearls of Wisdom: A Harvest of Quotations from All Ages, compiled and edited by Jerome Agel and Walter D. Glanze, HarperCollins, September 16, 1987, page 107
To receive a present handsomely and in a right spirit, even when you have none to give in return, is to give one in return.
Leigh Hunt
The Indicator, and the Companion: A Miscellany for the Fields and the Fire-side, E. Moxon, 1840, page 34
Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers.
Leigh Hunt
The Religion of the Heart: A Manual of Faith and Duty, John Chapman, 1853, page 27
You know you have forgiven someone when he or she has harmless passage through your mind.
Rev. Karyl Huntley
Leading from the Lions’ Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible by Tom Harper, B&H Publishing Group, 2010, page 173
Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.
Aldous Huxley
Essay: “Variations on a Philosopher”
Themes and Variations, Books for Libraries Press, 1970, page 69
Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unhewn marble of great sculpture.
Aldous Huxley
Point Counter Point, Dalkey Archive Press, 1928, page 10
The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.
Aldous Huxley
Proper Studies: The Proper Study of Mankind Is Man, Chatto & Windus, 1957, page 178
A person’s single most important task is to discover the divinity of ordinary things, ordinary lives, and ordinary minds.
Aldous Huxley
The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living by Janet Luhrs, Random House Digital, Inc., November 3, 1997, page 155
• Luhrs and others attribute this quote to the 1945 edition of Huxley’s book, The Perennial Philosophy. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
Men make use of their illnesses at least as much as they are made use of by them.
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley: Complete Essays 1920-1925, Ivan R. Dee, 2000, page 74
And what if I did run my ship aground; oh, still it was splendid to sail it!
Henrik Ibsen
The Discoverer by Jan Kjærstad, translated by Barbara Haveland, Open Letter Books, 2009, page 38
One must not lose sight of practical matters in order to pursue spiritual ones. The superior person maintains a proper balance.
I Ching
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 79
• Chang attributes this quote to the 1997 edition of The Photographic I Ching. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
The only true wisdom lives far from mankind, out in the great loneliness, and can be reached only through suffering. Privation and suffering alone open the mind of a man to all that is hidden from others.
Igjugarjuk
Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell, Joseph Campbell Foundation, April 30, 2011, Google eBook
Receive, O Lord, my entire liberty, memory, understanding, and my whole will. All that I have and possess, thou hast given me, and to thee I restore them. Give me only your love and your grace, and I will be satisfied; I desire nothing more.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, with Meditations and Prayers by Father Liborio Siniscalchi, Dublin: James Duffy, 1864, page 29
Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 624
There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments—there are consequences.
Robert G. Ingersoll
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume 6, C. P. Farrell, 1909, page 18
The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.
Robert G. Ingersoll
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume 12, C. P. Farrell, 1909, page 270
If we wish to live honorable lives—we will give to every other human being every right that we claim for ourselves.
Robert G. Ingersoll
• Wikiquote sources this quote to The Trial of C.B. Reynolds, for Blasphemy, Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1887
Just come to see that everything is passing on,
That nothing in your mind remains the same for even the span of a breath.
If you see like that for even a moment,
Then for that moment you are free.
Ji Aoi Isshi
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 390
The noblest worship is to make yourself as good and as just as you can.
Isocrates
Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture Volume III: The Conflict of Cultural Ideals in the Age of Plato by Werner Jaeger, translated by Gilbert Highet, Oxford University Press, April 24, 1986, page 99
You cannot be too active as regards your own efforts; you cannot be too dependent as regards Divine grace. Do every thing as if God did nothing; depend upon God as if He did every thing.
John Angell James
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers: a Cyclopædia of Quotations from the Literature of All Ages, compiled and edited by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, W.B. Ketcham, 1895, Google eBook, page 241
God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.
P. D. James
Devices and Desires, Vintage, May 11, 2004, page 350
Need and struggle are what excite and inspire us; our hour of triumph is what brings the void.
William James
The WIll to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1921, page 47
Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
William James
Rosicrucian Digest, January, 1957, Kessinger Publishing, July 26, 2004, page 26
Relationships, of all kinds, are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold on to some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.
Kaleel Jamison
The Nibble Theory and the Kernel of Power: A Book about Leadership, Self-Empowerment, and Personal Growth, Paulist Press, July 1, 2004, page 63
Miracles can be defined as shifts in perception that remove the blocks to our awareness of love’s presence.
Gerald Jampolsky
Teach Only Love: The Twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing, Simon and Schuster, October 4, 2011, page 100
My narrative:
Psychiatrist and author Gerald Jampolsky wrote that, in every encounter you have with another human being, that person is either offering love to you or is in need of love from you.
• In Teach Only Love: The Twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing, Easyread Large Edition, ReadHowYouWant.com, December 3, 2008, page 208, Jampolsky writes:
We can always see ourselves and others as either extending love or giving a call for help. Rather than seeing anger and attack, it is always possible for us to recognize a call for help and to answer with love.
The only way to be loved is to be and to appear lovely; to possess and display kindness, benevolence, tenderness; to be free from selfishness and to be alive to the welfare of others.
John Jay
Reason, Justice and Common Sense: A Collection of Essays from the Sierra Sage by Leonard A. Semas, Sierra Sage, 2009, page 216
Never, never rest contented with any circle of ideas, but always be certain that a wider one is still possible.
Richard Jefferies
The Story of My Heart: My Autobiography, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1883, Google eBook, page 165
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
Thomas Jefferson
The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1900, page 410
Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.
Thomas Jefferson
The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1900, page 697
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
• This quote may not be Jefferson’s. According to Wikiquote, Jefferson was quoted as saying this in CareerTracking: 26 Success Shortcuts to the Top by James Calano and Jeff Salzman, Simon and Schuster, 1988, page 207. No earlier occurence of this quote has yet been located. It was used in an address by President Bill Clinton on March 31, 1997, and is sometimes cited to the 1787 edition of Notes on the State of Virginia.
Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.
Saint Jerome
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, front cover
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Jesus of Nazareth
Mark 12:30
King James Version
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Jesus of Nazareth
Matthew 7:7
King James Version
Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Jesus of Nazareth
Matthew 6:8
King James Version
He that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do.
Jesus of Nazareth
John 14:12
21st Century King James Version
The Kingdom of God cometh not with outward show. Neither shall they say, “Lo, it is here!” or “Lo, it is there!” For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.
Jesus of Nazareth
Luke 17: 20-21
21st Century King James Version
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Jesus of Nazareth
Mark 8:35-36
21st Century King James Version
But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus of Nazareth
Matthew 6:33
21st Century King James Version
Give, and it shall be given to you . . . For with the same measure that ye give to others, it shall be measured to you again.
Jesus of Nazareth
Luke 6:38
Webster’s Bible Translation
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.
Jesus of Nazareth
Matthew 7:12
New International Version
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Jesus of Nazareth
John 16:33
New International Version
I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Jesus of Nazareth
Mark 11:23-24
New International Version 1984
Act and God will act!
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc: Her Story by Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin, translated by Jeremy duQuesnay Adams, Palgrave Macmillan, September 28, 1999, page 59
When the bull’s-eye becomes as big in your mind as an elephant, you are sure to hit it.
Alejandro Jodorowsky
A Daily Dose of Sanity: A Five-Minute Soul Recharge for Every Day of the Year by Alan Cohen, Hay House, Inc., February 15, 2010, Google eBook, May 12 entry
The image of God is found essentially and personally in all mankind. Each possesses it whole, entire and undivided, and all together not more than one alone. In this way we are all one, intimately united in our eternal image, which is the image of God and the source in us of all our life.
John of Ruysbroeck
The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, HarperCollins, February 14, 2012, Google eBook, chapter four
We behold what we are, and we are what we behold.
John of Ruysbroeck
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, second edition, May 17, 2007, page 29
Oh, then, soul, most beautiful among all the creatures, so anxious to know the dwelling place of your Beloved that you may go in quest of Him and be united with Him, now we are telling you that you yourself are His Dwelling and His secret chamber and hiding place.
Saint John of the Cross
The Prayers of Saint John of the Cross, compiled by Alphonse Ruiz, New City Press, 1991, page 24
He who interrupts the course of his spiritual exercises and prayer, is like a man who allows a bird to escape from his hand; he can hardly catch it again.
Saint John of the Cross
The Collected Works of St John of the Cross, Volume 2, translated by David Lewis, Cosimo, Inc., June 1, 2007, page 586
The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for, until the cord be broken, the bird cannot fly.
Saint John of the Cross
The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, HarperCollins, February 14, 2012, Google eBook
And I saw the river over which every soul must pass to reach the kingdom of heaven and the name of that river was suffering; and I saw a boat which carries souls across the river and the name of that boat was love.
Saint John of the Cross
The Ego-Less Self: Achieving Peace & Tranquility Beyond All Understanding by Carwell C. Nuckols, HCI, September 1, 2010, page 213
A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.
Samuel Johnson
The Works of Samuel Johnson, printed for T. Tegg, 1824, Google eBook, page 262
Sir, he throws away his money, without thought and without merit. I do not call a tree generous, that sheds its fruit at every breeze.
Samuel Johnson
The Life of Johnson by James Boswell, John Murray, 1876, Google eBook, page 403, referring to English sailors
The passage of time, though absolute and inescapable, is more a function of psychology and perspective than a physical reality.
Toby Johnson
Gay Spirituality: Gay Identity and the Transformation of Human Consciousness, Lethe Press, 2004, page 262
Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
101 Best Ways to Be Your Best by Michael Angier, Success Networks, 2005, page 110
And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.
Erica Jong
How to Save Your Own Life, Tarcher, July 6, 2006, page 263
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.
David Starr Jordan
The American Review of Reviews, Volume 38 by Albert Shaw, 1908, Google eBook, page 223
While you have a thing it can be taken from you. But when you give it, you have given it. No robber can take it from you. It is yours then for ever when you have given it. It will be yours always. That is to give.
James Joyce
Exiles: A Play in Three Acts, B. W. Huebsch, 1918, Google eBook, page 51
We have been loved since before the beginning.
Julian of Norwich
After the Darkest Hour: How Suffering Begins the Journey to Wisdom by Kathleen A. Brehony, Macmillan, September 1, 2001, page 182
From the beginning I had a sense of destiny, as though my life was assigned to me by fate and had to be fulfilled. This gave me an inner security, and, though I could never prove it to myself, it proved itself to me. I did not have this certainty, it had me.
Carl Jung
Memories, Dreams, Reflections, recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffe, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, Random House Digital, Inc., Apr 23, 1989, Google eBook
To round itself out, life calls not for perfection but for completeness; and for this the “thorn in the flesh” is needed, the suffering of defects without which there is no progress and no ascent.
Carl Jung
The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 12: Psychology and Alchemy, Princeton University Press, 1980, page 159
One does not dream: one is dreamed. We “undergo” the dream, we are the objects.
Carl Jung
Social Science Quotations: Who Said What, When, and Where, edited by David L. Sills and Robert King Merton, Transaction Publishers, 2000, page 111
• According to Sills and Merotn, this quote is from The Psychology of Jung by Jolande Jacobi. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
We may perhaps, through belief in our own most patent rectitude, succeed in escaping all adverse criticism and in deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience, a still small voice says to us: “Something is out of tune.”
Carl Jung
Psychological Reflections: An Anthology of the Writings of C. G. Jung, Harper, 1961
A whole person is one who has both walked with God and wrestled with the devil.
Carl Jung
Be Careful What You Pray For . . . You Might Just Get It by Larry Dossey, HarperCollins, September 23, 1998, page 7
When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.
Carl Jung
Wishing: How to Fulfill Your Heart’s Desires by Elizabeth Harper, Simon and Schuster, May 6, 2008, page 46
My life often seemed to me like a story that has no beginning and no end. I had the feeling that I was an historical fragment, an excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing.
I could well imagine that I might have lived in former centuries
and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer;
that I had been born again because I had not fulfilled the task given to me.
Carl Jung
The Memorist by M. J. Rose, MIRA, April 1, 2010, page 326
Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung
Bring Your Vision to Life: The Guide to Turning What If? Into Reality by Ralph McCall, Destinee Media, 2000, page 31
Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other.
Carl Jung
Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles by Caroline Myss, Simon and Schuster, August 31, 2004, page 144
• According to WIkiquote, this quote is from the 1943 edition of The Psychology of the Unconscious. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
My narrative:
In a famous 1959 BBC interview, host John Freeman asked Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, “Do you now believe in God?” Jung responded, “I don’t need to believe . . . I know.”
• Here are two sources that each offer interesting details:
Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul: An Illustrated Biography by Claire Dunne, Continuum International Publishing Group, July 4, 2002, page 200
Jung, Ramana Maharshi and Eastern Meditation by Dr. J. Glenn Friesen
My narrative:
Carl Jung coined the term “synchronicity” to explain these meaningful coincidences, this evidence of the sacred in everyday life.
• This Carl Jung website explains how he came up with the concept of synchronicity after catching an insect during a ppsychotherapy session
There is nothing that in the end, cannot be forgiven, but there remains much that is inexcusable.
Vladimir Jankélévitch
Popular paraphrasing from Forgiveness, University of Chicago Press, 2005, page 156:
There is an inexcusable, but there is not an unforgivable. Forgiveness is there to forgive precisely what no excuse would know how to excuse: for there is no misdeed that is so grave that we cannot in the last recourse forgive it.
At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient . . . only the universe rearranging itself.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Hyperion, 1994, page 64
Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart.
Myla Kabat-Zinn
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla Kabat-Zinn and Jon Kabat-Zinn, Hyperion, April 15, 1998, page 8
Wherever you are is the entry point.
Kabir
Prayers to the Great Creator: Prayers and Declarations for a Meaningful Life by Julia Cameron, Tarcher, first edition, January 7, 2010, page 289
Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what?
Kabir
The Prosperous Heart: Creating a Life of “Enough” by Julia Cameron, Tarcher, January 5, 2012, page 110
When you were born, you cried, and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.
Kabir
The Tenth Door: An Adventure Through the Jungles of Enlightenment by Michele Hebert, Emerald Book Company, second edition, November 21, 2011, page 289
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
Franz Kafka
The Great Wall of China: Stories and Reflections, Schocken Books, 1970, page 184
Some people are always grumbling that roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.
Alphonse Karr
Peaceful Living: Daily Meditations for Living with Love, Healing, and Compassion by Mary Mackenzie, PuddleDancer Press, October 28, 2005, page 289
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
Immanuel Kant
Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku, Random House Digital, Inc., March 22, 2011, page 350
Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.
Immanuel Kant
The Critique of Practical Reason, NuVision Publications, LLC, September 30, 2005, page 125
When the five senses and the mind are stilled, when the reasoning intellect rests in silence, then begins the highest path.
The Katha Upanishad
Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings by Richard Hooper, Sanctuary Publications, Inc., September 30, 2007, page 34
Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.
Danny Kaye
What Color is Your Paradigm by Howard Edson, The Management Advantage, Inc., 2003, page 26
You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint paradise, then in you go.
Nikos Kazantzakis
Living, Loving and Learning, Ballantine Books, October 12, 1985, page 78
By believing passionately in something which still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
Nikos Kazantzakis
Report to Greco, B. Cassirer, 1965, page 434
• The entire passage is:
For, by believing passionately in something which still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired, whatever we have not irrigated with our blood to such a degree that it becomes strong enough to stride across the somber threshold of nonexistence.
When it is time to learn patience, God has an amazing ability to lengthen bank lines.
James Keeley
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
A mature sense of wonder does not need the constant titillation of the sensational to keep it alive. It is most often called forth by a confrontation with the mysterious depth of meaning at the heart of the familiar and quotidian.
Sam Keen
The Quiet Life by Ray Ashford, Wood Lake Publishing Inc., March 15, 1996, page 173
• Ashford attributes this quote to Keen’s book, Apology for Wonder, but I have not yet been able to locate it there
You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
Sam Keen
Solipsum by Daniel Couto, Strategic Book Publishing, September 20, 2011, page 252
We can’t afford to limit our lives by limiting our love.
Kent M. Keith
Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments, New World Library, May 2008, page 52
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self- centered;
. . . Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
. . . Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
. . . Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
. . . Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
. . . Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
. . . Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
. . . Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
. . . Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Kent M. Keith
The above piece is actually a version of Keith’s “Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership” that was found on the wall of Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, Mother Teresa’s children’s home in Calcutta.
Here is Keith’s original version:
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. . . . Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure
. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.
Helen Keller
Let Us Have Faith, Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., 1944, pages 50-51
• This Amazon link may not be the same edition of the book that I personally read to find this quote
Faith alone defends. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
Helen Keller
Let Us Have Faith, Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., 1944, pages 50-51
• This Amazon link may not be the same edition of the book that I personally read to find this quote
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
Helen Keller
Optimism: An Essay, T.Y. Crowell and Company, 1903, Google eBook, page 17
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
Helen Keller
Optimism: An Essay, T.Y. Crowell and Company, 1903, Google eBook, page 56
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller
Essay: “The Simplest Way to Be Happy”
The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness by Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books, January 26, 2010, page 570
• According to Helen Keller, Public Speaker: Sightless But Seen, Deaf But Heard by Lois J. Einhorn, Greenwood Publishing Group, December 30, 1998, page 136, this essay was first published in Home magazine in 1933
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s Journal, 1936-1937, Doubleday, Doran & Company, inc., 1938, page 60
I do not want the peace which passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
Helen Keller
Henry More: The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Plattonist by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Harvard University Press, 1962, page 100
Relationships are like Rome—difficult to start out, incredible during the prosperity of the “golden age,” and unbearable during the fall. Then, a new kingdom will come along and the whole process will repeat itself until you come across a kingdom like Egypt . . . that thrives, and continues to flourish. This kingdom will become your best friend, your soulmate, and your love.
Helen Keller
Let Love In: Open Your Heart and Mind to Attract Your Ideal Partner by Debra A. Berndt, John Wiley and Sons, March 1, 2010, Google eBook, Part One
The world may take your reputation from you, but it cannot take your character.
Emma Dunham Kelley
Megda, Oxford University Press, April 9, 1992, page 60
Blessed are the ears that catch the accents of divine whispering, and pay no heed to the murmurings of this world.
Thomas à Kempis
The Imitation of Christ, translated by Aloysius Croft and Harold Bolton, Courier Dover Publications, September 18, 2003, page 44
Do not let your peace depend on the hearts of men; whatever they say about you, good or bad, you are not because of it another man, for as you are, you are.
Thomas à Kempis
The Imitation of Christ, based on the translation by Richard Whitford, Random House Digital, Inc., 1955, Google eBook, page 113
Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all.
Thomas à Kempis
My Search for Meaning: A True Story of an Orphan’s Journey by Viola M Jaynes, FriesenPress, 2011, page 215
If there’s nobody in your way, it’s because you’re not going anywhere.
Robert F. Kennedy
Brand Rewired: Connecting Branding, Creativity, and Intellectual Property by Anne H. Chasser, Jennifer C. Wolfe, John Wiley & Sons, June 10, 2010, page 418
Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.
Corita Kent
Fail Your Way to the Top by Tierre Berger, Xlibris Corporation, 2010, page 99
At every step, the child should be allowed to meet the real experience of life; the thorns should never be plucked from his roses.
Ellen Key
The Education of the Child, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, page 28
The world thus tends to be your mirror. A peaceful person lives in a peaceful world. An angry person creates an angry world.
Ken Keyes, Jr.
Handbook to Higher Consciousness, The Living Love Center, fifth edition, 1975, page 29
To see your drama clearly is to be liberated from it.
Ken Keyes, Jr.
Handbook to Higher Consciousness, The Living Love Center, fifth edition, 1975, page 45
To be upset over what you don’t have is to waste what you do have.
Ken Keyes, Jr.
Know Your Limits-Then Ignore Them by John Mason, Insight International, Inc., 2000, page 59
• Numerous sources attribute this quote to Handbook to Higher Consciousness. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
The deep thinkers of all ages have therefore held one principle of awakening to life, and that principle is: emptying the self. In other words, making oneself a clearer and fuller accommodation in order to accommodate all experiences more clearly and more fully. All the tragedy of life, all its sorrows and pains belong mostly to the surface of the life in the world. If one were fully awake to life, if one could respond to life, if one could perceive life, one would not need to look for wonders, one would not need to communicate with spirits; for every atom in this world is a wonder for the one who sees with open eyes.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Mysticism of Sound and Music: The Sufi Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Shambhala, revised edition, September 3, 1996, page 20
Every thing and being on the surface of existence seem separate from one another, but in every plane beneath the surface they approach nearer to each other, and in the innermost plane they all become one. Every disturbance, therefore, caused to the peace of the smallest part of existence on the surface, inwardly affects the whole.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Mysticism of Sound, Ekstasis Editions, September 1, 2002, page 26
Everyone shows harmony or disharmony according to how open he is to the music of the universe. The more one is open to all that is beautiful and harmonious, the more one’s life is tuned to that universal harmony and the more one will show a friendly attitude towards everyone one meets. One’s very atmosphere will create music around one.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Music of Life, Omega Press, 1983, pages 74-75
The further we advance, the more difficult and the more important becomes our part in the symphony of life; and the more conscious we are of this responsibility, the more efficient we become in accomplishing our task.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Heart of Sufism: Essential Writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Shambhala, March 2, 1999, page 274
Nobody appears inferior to us when our heart is kindled with kindness.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: A Collection of 10,000 Inspirational Quotations by Andy Zubko, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, January 1, 2000, page 283
The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
Vilayat Inayat Khan
Toward the One, Harper & Row, 1974, page 118
Why aren’t you dancing with joy at this very moment? is the only relevant spiritual question.
Vilayat Inayat Khan
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 189
Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life’s relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flowers on the window-panes, which vanish with the warmth.
Søren Kierkegaard
The Journals of Søren Kierkegaard, edited and translated by Alexander Dru, Oxford University Press, 1959, page 24
God’s providence is great precisely in small things; whereas for men there is something lacking here—just as lace seen through a microscope is irregular and unlovely, but the texture of nature under the same scrutiny proves to be more and more ingenious.
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard’s Journal and Papers, Volume 2, F-K, edited by Gregor Malantschuk, Indiana University Press, 1978, page 87
So impossible is it for the world to continue without God that if God were able to forget the world it would instantly disappear.
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard—Journal and Papers, Volume 2, F-K, edited by Gregor Malantschuk, Indiana University Press, 1978, page 87
You felt that there is a love which transcends all sense and understanding, and that this love is not the love with which you love God but the love with which God loves you.
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard—Journal and Papers, Volume 2, F-K, edited by Gregor Malantschuk, Indiana University Press, 1978, page 89
A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a man to look within. If it succeeds . . . then there, within him, is the beginning of his learning.
Søren Kierkegaard
Gospel of Sufferings, J. Clarke, 1955, page 56
To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception; it is an eternal loss for which there is no reparation, either in time or in eternity.
Søren Kierkegaard
Works of Love: Some Christian Reflections in the Form of Discourses, HarperCollins, November 7, 1964, pages 23-24
Truth is not introduced into the individual from without, but was within him all the time.
Søren Kierkegaard
A Kierkegaard Anthology, edited by Robert Bretall, Modern Library, 1959, page 155
To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose one’s self.
Søren Kierkegaard
Fighter’s Fact Book: Over 400 Concepts, Principles, and Drills to Make You a Better Fighter by Loren W. Christensen, Turtle Press Corporation, September 1, 2000, Google eBook, page 281
The time is always right to do what’s right.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech at Oberlin College, October 22, 1964, King’s second public appearance after winning the Nobel Peace Prize
If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech: “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”
Delivered April 9, 1967, New Covenant Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois
• Click on the audio player below to listen to a clip from this speech
Everybody can be great. Because everybody 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 only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson and Peter Holloran, Hachette Digital, Inc., April 1, 1998, Google eBook
Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech: “A Proper Sense of Priorities”
Delivered February 6, 1968, Washington, D.C.
An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, agape is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love men not because we like them, nor because their ways appeal to us, nor even because they possess some type of divine spark; we love every man because God loves him. At this level, we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love, Fortress Press, 1977, page 52
Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love, Fortress Press, 1977, page 53
Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., selected by Coretta Scott King, Newmarket Press, November 1, 2008, page 23
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Balance with Grace: Celebrate the Kaleidoscope of Life by Grace Durfee, AuthorHouse, January 31, 2008, page 34
If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.
Barbara Kingsolver
Animal Dreams, HarperCollins, June 21, 1991, Google eBook, page 136
It is often better to have a great deal of harm happen to one than a little; a great deal may rouse you to remove what a little will only accustom you to endure.
Grenville Kleiser
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 677
There is no advancement to him who stands trembling because he cannot see the end from the beginning.
E. J. Klemme
Essay: “Going to College”
The American Schoolmaster, Volume 8, The Michigan State Normal College., 1915, Google eBook, page 79
If you forget your feelings about things of the world, they become enlightening teachings. If you get emotional about enlightening teaching, it becomes a worldly thing.
Muso Kokushi
Dream Conversations on Buddhism and Zen, Shambhala, June 28, 1994, page 5
My narrative:
In any context, Eva Kor’s act of forgiveness is stunning. On January 27, 1995, in a public ceremony marking the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops, Kor declared her forgiveness toward the Nazis who murdered her parents and two older sisters.
and
Standing by the ruins of a gas chamber at the infamous death camp, Kor also forgave Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who used her and her twin sister Miriam as guinea pigs for genetic experiments.
and
Kor’s forgiveness allowed her to release the heartache and hatred she had carried for five decades. She said, “I read my document of forgiveness and signed it. I immediately felt the pain lift from my shoulders. Finally, I was no longer a prisoner of Auschwitz. I was finally free. So I say to everybody, ‘Forgive your worst enemy. It will heal your soul and set you free.’”
and
Later that year, Kor opened the CANDLES Holocaust Museum in Terra Haute, Indiana. (CANDLES is an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors.) In 2003, the museum was burned to the ground by a fire that was deliberately set. Kor forgave the arsonist and rebuilt the museum. She said, “For most people there is a big obstacle to forgiveness because society expects revenge. Forgiveness is nothing more and nothing less than an act of self-healing, an act of self-empowerment. I call it a miracle medicine. It’s free, it works, and it has no side effects.”
and
Eva Kor captured the true meaning of forgiveness when she said, “Forgiveness means to me that whatever was done to me is no longer causing me such pain that I cannot be the person I want to be.”
• Adapted from Eva Kor’s talks and writings; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
The laws of karma are very subtle, but it’s obvious that if the thoughts we’re having now are like waves that were caused by a storm far out at sea in our own past, then the way we meet these waves will affect how far and how long they travel.
Krishna Das
Chants of a Lifetime, Hay House, 2010, page 162
Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
The Meditative Mind, Krishnamurti Foundation of America, February 1, 1994, page 47
There is fear as long as you want to be secure— secure in your marriage, secure in your job, in your position, in your responsibility, secure in your ideas, in your beliefs, secure in your relationship to the world or in your relationship to God. The moment the mind seeks security or gratification in any form, at any level, there is bound to be fear.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Think on These Things, HarperCollins, October 11, 1989, page 245
It is the mind, it is thought that creates time. Thought is time, and whatever thought projects must be of time; therefore, thought cannot possibly go beyond itself. To discover what is beyond time, thought must come to an end.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
On God, HarperCollins, November 6, 1992, page 9
Security depends not so much upon how much you have, as upon how much you can do without.
Joseph Wood Krutch
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 508
How do these geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? How do we know when to go? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
The Wheel of Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying, Simon and Schuster, June 19, 1998, page 106
You will not grow if you sit in a beautiful flower garden and somebody brings you gorgeous food on a silver platter. But you will grow if you are sick, if you are in pain, if you experience losses and still don’t put your head in the sand, but take the pain and learn to accept it, not as a curse or a punishment, but as a gift to you with a very, very specific purpose.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Tunnel and the Light: Essential Insights on Living and Dying, Da Capo Press, February 26, 1999, page 35
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
The Leader’s Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success by Jim Clemmer, TCG Press, January 1, 2003, page 84
Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
Overcoming Life’s Disappointments, Random House Digital, Inc., August 21, 2007, page 48
Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.
The Kybalion
The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece by Three Initiates, The Yogi Publication Society, 1908, page 171
• The Kybalion is a book claiming to be the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism.
Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.
Jean de La Bruyère
The “Characters” of Jean de La Bruyère, translated by Henri Van Laun, Scribner & Welford, 1885, Google eBook, page 363
Our destiny is frequently met in the very paths we take to avoid it.
Jean de La Fontaine
The Original Fables of La Fontaine, Book VIII, Fable 16: “The Horoscope,” Echo Library, November 1, 2006, page 30
Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.
Jean de La Fontaine
Wisdom from World Religions: Pathways Toward Heaven on Earth by John Templeton, Templeton Foundation Press, March 1, 2002, page 308
• According to Wikiquote, this quote is from La Fontaine’s Fables, Book VIII, Fable 25
The more wary you are of danger, the more likely you are to meet it.
Jean de La Fontaine
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 344
Intuition isn’t the enemy, but the ally, of reason.
John Kord Lagemann
Daily Aromatherapy: Transforming the Seasons of Your Life with Essential Oils by Joni Keim and Ruah Bull, North Atlantic Books, January 15, 2008, page 22
There is a mighty lot of difference between saying prayers and praying.
John G. Lake
Prayer: The Right Way, the Right Word for the Right Result by O. E. Awowole, Xulon Press, 2010, page 151
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
Louis L’Amour
Lonely on the Mountain, Random House Digital, Inc., September 1, 1984, Google eBook, chapter one
Two men look out through the same bars:
One sees the mud, and one the stars.
Frederick Langbridge
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 550
• Change attributes this quote to Langbridge’s book, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts. I have not yet been able to locate it there.
Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people’s hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way.
Langya
The Circle of Fire: The Metaphysics of Yoga by Palash Mazumdar, North Atlantic Books, December 15, 2009, page 191
What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? If you don’t understand this, you will get lost, however intelligent you are.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching, NuVision Publications, LLC, January 30, 2007, page 27
The Master sees things as they are, without trying to control them. She lets them go their own way, and resides in the center of the circle.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching, NuVision Publications, LLC, January 30, 2007, page 29
The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings.
Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Frances Lincoln Ltd., April 1, 1999, verse 50
He who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself is mighty.
Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching, interpreted by Gordon J. Van De Water, Xlibris Corporation, 2010, page 86
There is no need to run outside for better seeing, nor to peer from a window. Rather abide at the center of your being; for the more you leave it, the less you learn. Search your heart and see if he is wise who takes each turn: the way to do is to be.
Lao Tzu
The Way of Life, According to Lau Tzu, translated by Witter Bynner, Penguin, November 1, 1986, page 75
He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
Lao Tzu
The Universal God: The Search for God in the Twenty-First Century by R. William Davies, Xlibris Corporation, August 12, 2011, page 95
Those who say, do not know; those who know, do not say.
Lao Tzu
The Transcendent Unity of Religions by Frithjof Schuon, Quest Books, 1984, page xv
The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.
Lao Tzu
Transform Your World Through the Powers of Your Mind: A Guide to Planetary Transformation and Spiritual Enlightenment by Jawara D. King, AuthorHouse, June 10, 2009, page 465
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Lao Tzu
Healing with Source: A Spiritual Guide to Mind-Body Medicine by Dave Markowitz, Findhorn Press, July 21, 2010, page 50
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Lao Tzu
Coaching Ccross Cultures: New Tools for Leveraging National, Corporate, and Professinoal Differences by Philippe Rosinski, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2003, page 77
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.
Lao Tzu
Pathways to Peace by Christine Spencer, Balboa Press, 2011, page 300
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.
Lao Tzu
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dean Ornish, Random House Digital, Inc., December 30, 1995, page 108
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
Lao Tzu
Supreme Secrets of Success by Lami Abayilo, Xulon Press, 2010, page 194
He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
Lao Tzu
The Trance of Scarcity: Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life by Victoria Castle, ReadHowYouWant.com, August 7, 2010, page 202
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
Lao Tzu
The Spiritual Philosophy of the Tao Te Ching by Joseph A. Magno, Pendragon Publishing, Inc., June 15, 2005, page 115
Perfect kindness acts without thinking of kindness.
Lao Tzu
Men Who Have Walked with God by Sheldon Cheney, Kessinger Publishing, 1945, page 19
True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about but few have seen.
François de La Rochefoucauld
The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, edited by Robert Andrews, Columbia University Press, 1993, page 543
• This is a modern paraphrasing of La Rochefoucauld’s Maxim no. 76. The literal translation is:
There is real love just as there are real ghosts; every person speaks of it, few persons have seen it.
Reflections, or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, S. Low, Son, and Marston, 1871, page 11
We pardon to the extent that we love.
François de La Rochefoucauld
The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, edited by Robert Andrews, Columbia University Press, 1993, page 344
• This is a modern paraphrasing of La Rochefoucauld’s Maxim no. 330. The literal translation is:
We pardon in the degree that we love.
Reflections, or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, S. Low, Son, and Marston, 1871, page 40
When we do not find peace of mind in ourselves it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
François de La Rochefoucauld
Reflections, or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, S. Low, Son, and Marston, 1871, The First Supplement, no. VIII, page 63
The sense of being led by an unseen hand which takes mine while another hand reaches ahead and prepares the way, grows upon me daily. . . . Obstacles which I once would have regarded as insurmountable are melting away like a mirage. People are becoming friendly who suspected or neglected me. I feel, I feel like one who has had his violin out of tune with the orchestra and at last is in harmony with the music of the universe.
Frank Laubauch
Letters by a Modern Mystic: Excerpts from Letters Written at Dansalan, Lake Lanao, Philippine Islands, Purposeful Design Publications, third edition, December 31, 2007
• These excerpts from Laubach’s March 1, 1930 letter to his father can be read here.
To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.
Sister Mary Lauretta
Spirituality 101: The Indispensable Guide to Keeping or Finding Your Spiritual Life on Campus by Harriet L. Schwartz, page 230
Intuition is the clear conception of the whole at once.
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Treasury of Thought, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1894, Google eBook, page 270
Let none turn over books or roam the stars in quest of God who sees him not in man.
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Aphorisms on Man, Printed by T. Bensley for J. Johnson, 1789, no. 398, page 138
Sometimes the greatest destiny takes the longest to unfold.
Danielle Lee
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Nothing hath separated us from God but our own will, or rather our own will is our separation from God.
William Law
The Works of the Reverend William Law, M.A., printed for J. Richardson, 1762; privately reprinted for G. Moreton, 1893, page 180
We must alter our lives, in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way, and pray another.
William Law
The Works of the Reverend William Law, M.A., printed for J. Richardson, 1762; privately reprinted for G. Moreton, 1893, page 202
There is nothing that makes us love a man so much, as praying for him.
William Law
The Works of the Reverend William Law, M.A., printed for J. Richardson, 1762; privately reprinted for G. Moreton, 1893, page 228
The mind can assert anything,
and pretend it has proved it.
My beliefs I test on my body,
on my intuitional consciousness,
and when I get a response
there, then I accept.
D. H. Lawrence
Late Essays and Articles, Volume 2, edited by James T. Boulton, Cambridge University Press, April 1, 2004, page 208
The living self has one purpose only: to come into its own fullness of being, as a tree comes into full blossom, or a bird into spring beauty, or a tiger into lustre.
D. H. Lawrence
Phoenix: the Posthumous Papers of D. H. Lawrence, edited by Edward D. McDonald, Viking Press, 1972, page 714
Those who go searching for love only find their own lovelessness. But the loveless never find love; only the loving find love, and they never have to search for it.
D. H. Lawrence
Why Your Life Sucks: And What You Can Do About It by Alan Cohen, Random House Digital, Inc., November 29, 2005, Google eBook, page 128
It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.
C. W. Leadbeater
The Chakras, Quest Books, 1972, back cover
When everything has to be right, something isn’t.
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
Unkempt Thoughts, St. Martin’s Press, 1962, page 157
Some like to understand what they believe in. Others like to believe in what they understand.
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
Unkempt Thoughts, St. Martin’s Press, 1962, page 159
When you mix free will you get certain deviants. . . . You may believe that just because there is an absence of good, for example, that evil exists. This is not so. In fact, things are far more intricate.
Lena Lees
Oracle of Compassion: The Living World of Kuan Yin by Hope Bradford, BookSurge Publishing, July 8, 2010, page 120
He knew that insofar as one denies what is, one is possessed by what is not, the compulsions, the fantasies, the terrors that flock to fill the void.
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven, HarperCollins, September 1, 2003, page 146
Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven, Simon and Schuster, April 15, 2008, page 159
It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ace Trade, July 1, 2000, page 220
The soul is the mirror of an indestructible universe.
Gottfried Leibniz
The Monadology, page 18
• This quote is a pithier paraphrasing of the following passage:
“Thus it may be said that not only the soul (mirror of an indestructible universe) is indestructible, but also the animal itself . . .”
The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days.
Robert Leighton
Less Is More: Meditations on Simplicity, Balance, and Real Abundance by Mina Parker, Conari Press, October 1, 2009, page 89
It’s a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand.
Madeleine L’Engle
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, Seabury Press, October 1, 1980, pages 17-18
Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.
John Lennon
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I have not been able to source it directly to Lennon’s own writings
I’d rather be a man who has nothing but has it all, than a man who has it all but has nothing.
Cicero Leonard (father of boxer Sugar Ray Leonard)
ESPN The Magazine, 8/09/10 issue, page 79
He turns not back who is bound to a star.
Leonardo da Vinci
The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Volume 1, translated by Jean Paul Richter, Plain Label Books, 1938, page 490
• This quote is a popular paraphrasing of Richter’s literal 1888 translation:
Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
A mental picturing of that which we want, with the complete acceptance and the conviction that it is ours now, will bring it quickly. See it in its “isness.”
Lester Levenson
The Ultimate Truth About Love and Happiness:: A Handbook to Life, Lawrence Crane Enterprises, January 2003, page 57
All those former things that I used to see as me, like my body and mind, were the least of me rather than the all of me.
Lester Levenson
The Lester Levenson Story
If you had an hour to live and could make just one phone call, who would it be to, what would you say . . . and why are you waiting?
Stephen Levine
An Hour to Live, an Hour to Love: The True Story of the Best Gift Ever Given by Richard Carlson, HarperCollins, December 18, 2007, Google eBook
Forgiveness finishes unfinished business.
Stephen Levine
A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as if It Were Your Last, Random House Digital, Inc., April 14, 1998, Google eBook
What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.
George Levinger
• From an April 16, 1985 column by Daniel Goleman in the New York Times in which Levinger was interviewed; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
C. S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain, HarperOne, February 6, 2001, page 91
Prosperity knits a man to the world.
C. S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters, HarperCollins, March 6, 2001, page 155
Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither.
C. S. Lewis
Mere Christianity, HarperCollins, 1952, Google eBook, page 134
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements, lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket —safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation.
C. S. Lewis
Readings for Meditation and Reflection, HarperCollins, January 5, 1996, page 130
Miracles in fact are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.
C. S. Lewis
God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1970, page 29
It is so fatally easy to confuse an aesthetic appreciation of the spiritual life with the life itself—to dream that you have waked, washed, and dressed and then to find yourself still in bed.
C.S. Lewis
The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis: Family Letters 1905-1931, edited by Walter Hooper, HarperCollins, June 29, 2004, letter dated June 15, 1930, to Arthur Greeves, page 906
It is quite useless knocking at the door of Heaven for earthly comfort: it’s not the sort of comfort they supply there.
C. S. Lewis
The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis: Narnia, Cambridge and Joy 1950-1963, edited by Walter Hooper, HarperCollins, January 9, 2007, letter dated December 3, 1959, to Sir Henry Willink, page 1102
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.”
C. S. Lewis
• According to Wikiquote, this quote is a variation on the following passage from page 72 of The Great Divorce, a passage that was repurposed in The Business of Heaven: Daily Readings from C.S. Lewis, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 5, 1984, Google eBook, page 142:
There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”
We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.
C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia by Michael Coren, Ignatius Press, April 1, 2006, Google eBook, page 57
Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.
C. S. Lewis
Sports and Christianity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Nick J. Watson and Andrew Parker, Routledge, 2013, page 271
• The closest I’ve come to sourcing this quote directly from the writings of C. S. Lewis is this: “He will not be thinking about humility; he will not be thinking about himself at all.” in The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics, HarperCollins; roughcut edition, February 6, 2007, page 108
One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything—and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.
Georg C. Lichtenberg
Cracking the Code of Our Physical Universe: The Key to a World of Enlightenment and Enrichment by Matthew M. Radmanesh, AuthorHouse, May 30, 2006, page 99
I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure.
Eric Liddell
The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer that Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns, Thomas Nelson Inc., March 10, 2009, page 92
• The actor playing Liddell said this in the movie Chariots of Fire. Whether Liddell actually said this or whether it was a product of a screenwriter’s imagination, I have yet to determine.
Slowly, painfully, I have learned that peace of mind may transform a cottage into a spacious manner hall; the want of it can make a regal park an imprisoning nutshell.
Joshua Loth Liebman
Peace of Mind, Simon and Schuster, 1946, page 14
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
Abraham Lincoln
Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year . . ., Volume 13, Google eBook, page 111
I have a brightness in my soul, which strains toward Heaven. I am like a bird!
Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale by Gladys Denny Shultz, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1962, page 146
A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules. The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern, intricate but gay and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart’s. To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding. There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, the heavy hand; only the barest touch in passing.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Gift from the Sea, Random House Digital, Inc., August 10, 2011, Google eBook, page 104
Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The Wave of the Future: A Confession of Faith, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1940
I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable. All these and other factors combined, if the circumstances are right, can teach and can lead to rebirth.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1929-1932, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, page 214
Him that I love, I wish to be
Free—
Even from me.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Poem: “Even”
The Unicorn and Other Poems 1935-1955, Vintage Books, October 12, 1972
• According to the Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations, the poem “Even” is in this book
Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.
Art Linkletter
The Healer Inside You: Using PNI, a Mind-Body Science, to Help Heal Your Body by Neil Orr and David Patient, Juta and Company Ltd,, April 30, 2004, page 82
Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
Lin Yutang
The Wisdom of China and India, Random House, 1942, page 1087
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We are afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall.”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.
Christopher Logue
This is a more poetic, visually appealing version of what Logue wrote in the poem, “Come to the Edge,” in New Numbers, Knopf, 1970, page 81:
Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came
and he pushed
and they flew . . .
I did not begin when I was born, nor when I was conceived. I have been growing, developing, through incalculable myriads of
millenniums. . . . All my previous selves have their voices, echoes,
promptings in me. . . . Oh, incalculable times again shall I be born.
Jack London
The Star Rover, Grosset & Dunlap, 1915, Google eBook, pages 252-253
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Kavanagh: A Tale, Ticknor and Fields, 1859, Google eBook, page 3
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Prose Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Table Talk,” 1874, Google eBook, page 776
For after all, the best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Meditations for Pain Recovery by Tony Greco, Central Recovery Press, December 20, 2010, page 245
When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Audre Lorde
The Cancer Journals, Aunt Lute Books, September 1, 2006, page 13
Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.
James Russell Lowell
The Writings of James Russell Lowell . . . Literary Essays, printed at the Riverside Press, 1890, page 43
If you can take care of the internal, you can easily take care of the external. Then you can avoid the infernal and latch on to the eternal.
Joseph Lowery
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 34
The ego will endure the worst agonies of neurotic misery rather than consent to one minute of diminishment of its sense of importance.
Helen Luke
The Sun magazine, August 2018, “Sunbeams”
Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece—by thought, choice, courage, and determination.
John Luther
Acts: Life Application Bible Commentary by Bruce Barton, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., October 11, 1999, page 96
The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has.
Hamilton Wright Mabie
Thoughts That Inspire, Volume 1, Personal Help Pub. Co., 1905, Google eBook, page 30
There is no security on this earth. There is only opportunity.
Douglas MacArthur
LIFE magazine, January 9, 1956, Time, Inc., page 28
The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Threshold: Aperture to the Light of the World by Vincent M.M. Galici, Sr., Dorrance Publishing, 2011, Google eBook, page 325
When we stop fighting the inevitable we release energy which enables us to create a richer life.
Elsie McCormick
Essay: “How Your Mind May Make You Ill”
Getting the Most Out of Life: An Anthology from The Reader’s Digest, 1948, page 112
A man is a slave to anything he cannot part with that is less than himself.
George MacDonald
Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion by Peter Kreeft, Ignatius Press, June 1, 1992, Google eBook, pages 106-107
• The closest passage I found to this quote in MacDonald’s own writings is from A Rough Shaking, CreateSpace, September 3, 2011, page 175:
When a man will have a thing, right or wrong, that man is a slave to that thing—the meanest of slaves, a willing one.
Wayfarer, the only way
is your footsteps, there is no other.
Wayfarer, there is no way,
you make the way as you go.
Antonio Machado
Antonio Machado: Selected Poems, translated by Alan S. Trueblood, Harvard University Press, March 15, 1988, page 143
All uncertainty is fruitful . . . so long as it is accompanied by the wish to understand.
Antonio Machado
Juan de Mairena, edited and translated by Ben Belitt, University of California Press, 1963, page 101
If our petitions are in accordance with His will, and if we seek His glory in the asking, the answers will come in ways that will astonish us and fill our hearts with songs of thanksgiving.
J. Kennedy Maclean
Purpose in Prayer by E. M. Bounds, Fleming H. Revell Co., 1920, page 156
My narrative:
Former triathlon champion Jim MacLaren was also grateful for the two vehicular accidents that rendered him a quadriplegic. “Even though both accidents were devastating at the time, I now view them as gifts and not tragedies,” he said in an interview.
and
MacLaren insisted he would not trade his years of paralysis for a restored, healthy body. “Having to admit to my own dependency and vulnerability actually made me more powerful,” he said. “For me, the journey has always been about going deeper and becoming more of a human being.”
• In Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything by Phil Bolsta, Atria Books/Beyond Words, April 15, 2008, pages 74-76, MacLaren states:
Even though both accidents were devastating at the time, I now view them as gifts and not tragedies. . . . Having to admit to my own dependency and vulnerability actually made me more powerful. . . . For me, the journey has always been about going deeper and becoming more of a human being.
The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.
Joanna Macy
Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age, New Society Publishers, 1983, page 156
When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.
Maurice Maeterlinck
Wisdom and Destiny, translated by Alfred Sutro, Kessinger Publishing, June 17, 2004, page 38
Forgiveness is holiness; by forgiveness the universe is held together.
Mahabharata
God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1995; hardcover edition 2005, Chapter 16, “Embracing the Divine and Shunning the Demonic,” Verses 1-3, page 967
If you don’t invite God to be your summer Guest, He won’t come in the winter of your life.
Lahiri Mahasaya
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946; hardcover edition 2008, “I Become a Monk of the Swami Order,” page 194
Striving, striving, one day behold! the Divine Goal.
Lahiri Mahasaya
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946; hardcover edition 2008, “Founding a Yoga School in Ranchi,” page 221
Your duty is to be, and not to be this or that.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, edited by Arthur Osborne, Weiser Books, August 1, 1996, page 88
The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge [spiritual] progress.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Be As You Are: The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, edited by David Godman, Penguin UK, March 7, 1991, the last page of Part Five
• I substituted the word “spiritual” for the word “the” in this quote because the question put to Ramana Maharshi was, “In the process of meditation are there any signs in the realm of subjective experience which will indicate the aspirant’s progress towards Self-realisation?”
A self-realized being cannot help benefiting the world. His very existence is the highest good.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
The Vedanta Kesari, Volume 67, Issues 1-12, Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1980, page 145
Peace is our real nature. We spoil it. What is required is that we cease to spoil it. We are not going to create peace anew. There is space in a hall, for instance. We fill up the place with various articles. If we want space, all that we need do is to remove all those articles, and we get space. Similarly if we remove all the rubbish, all the thoughts, from our minds, the peace will become manifest. That which is obstructing the peace has to be removed. Peace is the only reality.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Day by Day with Bhagavan by A. Devaraja Mudaliar, Sri Ramanasramam, 1968, page 111
It can even come about that a created will cancels out, not perhaps the exertion, but the result of divine action; for in this sense, God himself has told us that God wishes things which do not happen because man does not wish them!
Joseph de Maistre
The Generative Principle of Political Constitutions: Studies on Sovereignty, Religion, and Enlightenment, edited and translated by Jack Lively, Transaction Publishers, November 30, 2011, page 233
Self-image sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment.
Dr. Maxwell Maltz
Psycho-Cybernetics, Simon and Schuster, August 15, 1989, page ix
Accept yourself as you are. Otherwise you will never see opportunity. You will not feel free to move toward it; you will feel you are not deserving.
Dr. Maxwell Maltz
The Search for Self-Respect, Grosset & Dunlap, 1973, page 109
Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.
Og Mandino
A Better Way to Live: Og Mandino’s Own Personal Story of Success Featuring 17 Rules to Live By, Random House Digital, Inc., December 1, 1990, Google eBook, page 90
We look everywhere for happiness, forgetting that it’s in our own little plot of land. We have our own acres of diamonds but we don’t know it.
Og Mandino
The Miracle of Change: The Path to Self-Discovery and Spiritual Growth by Dennis Wholey, Pocket Books, April 1, 1997, page 80
• I can not find this quote in any of Mandino’s books. If Mandino did say it, it was clearly in reference to a speech titled “Acres of Diamonds” given by Russell H. Conwell, the founder of Temple University in Philadelphia. Mandino included Conwell’s speech in more than one of his books.
He who never sacrificed a present to a future good, or a personal to a general one, can speak of happiness only as the blind do of colors.
Horace Mann
The American Friend, Volume 1, published by Timothy Harrison, Eli Jay & Mahala Jay, 1867, Google eBook, page 137
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
Horace Mann
Founders: Innovators in Education, 1830-1980 by Ernest Stabler, University of Alberta, January 1, 1987, page 86
It is the privilege of living to be aware of a curtain’s fold or the intonation of a human voice. To be acutely, agonizingly conscious of the moment that is always present and always passing.
Marya Mannes
Out of My Time, Doubleday, 1971, page 148
On the ocean of life let your mind be the ship and your heart be the compass.
James Manning
• Although this quote is on numerous websites, I cannot find it in any book
Faith is the fountain of prayer, and prayer should be nothing else but faith exercised.
Thomas Manton
A Practical Commentary, or an Exposition with Notes on the Epistle of James, R. Gladding, 1840, Google eBook, page 420
Desires are insatiable. They keep growing as we try to satisfy them just as the fire becomes more inflamed when oil is poured into it.
Manu Smriti
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 218
To be ambitious for wealth and yet always expecting to be poor, to be always doubting your ability to get what you long for, is like trying to reach East by traveling West. There is no philosophy which will help a man to succeed when he is always doubting his ability to do so, and thus attracting failure. . . . No matter how hard you may work for success, if your thought is saturated with the fear of failure, it will kill your efforts, neutralize your endeavors, and make success impossible.
Orison Swett Marden
The Miracle of Right Thought, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1910, pages 46-48
Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man’s being.
Orison Swett Marden
Love’s Way, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1918, page 109
All that you are, you are right now. All that you can be, begins in this moment. Now is a great place to be. For when you live it fully, with love, with gratitude, with purpose, anything is possible.
Ralph Marston
Even the cry from the depths is an affirmation: Why cry if there is no hint or hope of hearing?
Martin Marty
A Cry of Absence: Reflections for the Winter of the Heart, Harper & Row, 1983, page 120
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.
Peter Martyr
• This quote is commonly attributed to Angela Monet; however, no evidence has come to light that she is a real person. It’s also been attributed to John Milton, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Madame de Stael in her book, Germany. I found three instances of credible source material, each of which could be considered the origin of this quote:
• First, in The Hallam Succession by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, Dodd, Mead, 1884, Google eBook, page 110:
Did you ever watch a lot of men and women dancing when you could not hear the music, but could only see them bobbing up and down the room? I assure you they look just like a party of lunatics.
• Second, here is an excerpt from “Six Dramas of Calderon,” by Spanish poet and dramatist Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681), translated by Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883), an English poet and writer best known as the poet of the first and most famous English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. This excerpt is from The Catholic University Bulletin, Volume 5, Catholic University of America., 1899, page 82:
“He who far off beholds another dancing,
Even one who dances best, and all the time
Hears not the music that he dances to,
Thinks him a madman, apprehending not
The law that rules his else eccentric action.
So he that’s in himself insensible
To love’s sweet influence, misjudges him
Who moves according to love’s melody;
And knowing not that all these sighs and tears,
Ejaculations and impatiences,
Are necessary changes of the measure.
Which the divine musician plays, may call
The lover crazy; which he would not do
If he within his own heart heard the tune
Played by the great musician of the world.”
• Third, in The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, D.D., Volume 13, J. Nisbet & Co., 1873, Google eBook, page 113, Manton relates Caelius Secundus Curio’s (1503-1569) recollection of a sermon in Naples by Italian theologian Peter Martyr (1499-1562):
Among other things, he useth this similitude, that if a man riding in an open country should see afar off men and women dancing together, and should not hear the music according to which they dance and tread out their measures, he would think them to be fools and madmen, because they appear in such various motions, and antic gestures and postures. But if he come nearer, so as to hear the musical notes, according to which they dance, and observe the regularity of the exercise, he will change his opinion of them, and will not only be delighted with the exactness thereof, but find a motion in his mind to stand still and behold them, and to join with them in the exercise.
• Conclusion: Until and unless a definitive source for Friedrich Nietzsche or Madame de Stael turns up, the nod goes to Peter Martyr for the earliest source material, with credit shared by the clever unknown writer who paraphrased Martyr’s discourse to create the pithier popular version.
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be.
Abraham Maslow
On Dominance, Self-Esteem, and Self-Actualization, Maurice Bassett, 1973, page 162
They must find it hard to take truth for authority who have so long mistaken authority for truth.
Gerald Massey
• According to Wikiquote, this was a retort uttered by Massey during one of his lectures around 1900. It is included in his book, Natural Genesis, Part 1, or the Second Part of a Book of the Beginnings, Kessinger Publishing, 2002, page iii, as:
They needs must find it hard to take Truth for authority who have so long mistake Authority for truth.
• This quote is cited on numerous websites as: “They must find it difficult, those who have taken authority as truth, rather than truth as authority.”
Losing what you thought could never be lost is precisely what shows you who you really are.
Mark Matousek
When You’re Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living, Bloomsbury USA, 2005; this edition 2013, page 125
Love is like a campfire: It may be sparked quickly, and at first the kindling throws out a lot of heat, but it burns out quickly. For long lasting, steady warmth (with delightful bursts of intense heat from time to time), you must carefully tend the fire.
Molleen Matsumura
• From the April 18, 2007,”Sweet Reason” advice column that Matsumura wrote for (the now defunct) HumanistNetworkNews.org, now archived on the American Humanist Association website
Love is more than just a feeling: it’s a process requiring continual attention. Loving well takes laughter, loyalty, and wanting more to be able to say, “I understand” than to hear, “You’re right.”
Molleen Matsumura
• Although this quote is listed on numerous websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.
Matsuo Basho
Zen Parenting: The Art of Learning What You Already Know by Judith Costello and Jurgen Haver, Gryphon House, Inc., May 1, 2004, page 21
When the outcome drives the process, we will only ever go to where we’ve already been.
Bruce Mau
Disruptive Business: Desire, Innovation and the Re-design of Business by Alexander Manu, Gower Publishing, Ltd., August 16, 2010, page 166
• Numerous books source this quote to Mau’s book, An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth, Combination Press, 2001, although I have not yet been able to identify the page number
The sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep.
Henry Maudsley
The Pathology of Mind, Part 1, Macmillan, 1895, Google eBook, page 138
The passing moment is all we can be sure of; it is only common sense to extract its utmost value from it.
W. Somerset Maugham
The Summing Up, Heron, January 1, 1969, page 50
My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.
Elaine Maxwell
How to Create the Future You Want: Getting from Where You Are to Where You Ought to Be by Daniel Ayeni, Google eBook, AuthorHouse, November 30, 2006, page 10
You can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo May
Man’s Search for Himself, W. W. Norton & Company, January 27, 2009, page 183
I used to pray that God would do this or that. Now I pray that God will make His will known to me.
Soong May-ling
The War Against God, H. Holt and Company, 1943, page 73
• Her name in this book is spelled Mei-ling Soong Chang; she was also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, wife of Chaing Kai-shek, president of the Republic of China
Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
Malachy McCourt
New York Times profile by Alex Witchel, July 29, 1998
There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.
Bryant H. McGill
Poem: “Love and Forgiveness,” which appeared in Hawaii’s Poet’s Journal Magazine in 1988, per the author’s colleague via e-mail
• Here is an example of the quote referenced in a book:
30 Days to a Better You: Tips for Nurturing Your Life and Blooming Into the Person You Were Meant to Be by Felicite A. Niyonsaba, AuthorHouse, June 21, 2011, Google eBook, page 41
Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.
Mignon McLaughlin
The Neurotic’s Notebook
As referenced in Jean Kerr’s play, Finishing Touches, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1973, page 57
Courage can’t see around corners, but goes around them anyway.
Mignon McLaughlin
Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply by Linda Breen Pierce, Gallagher Press, July 15, 2003, page 14
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin
Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy by Alan S. Gurman, Guilford Press, June 24, 2008, page 12
Those who don’t know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either.
Golda Meir
According to Wikiquote, this quote was from an interview with Oriana Fallaci that appeared in the April, 1973 issue of Ms. magazine.
There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have. . . . right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.
Anthony de Mello
Awareness, Random House Digital, Inc., August 31, 2011, Google eBook, page 61
Another illusion is that external events have the power to hurt you, that other people have the power to hurt you. They don’t. It’s you who give this power to them.
Anthony de Mello
Awareness, Random House Digital, Inc., August 31, 2011, Google eBook, page 113
Ye live not for yourselves; ye cannot live for yourselves; a thousand fibers connect you with your fellow-men, and along those fibers, as along sympathetic threads, run your actions as causes, and return to you as effects.
Henry Melvill
The Golden Lectures: Forty-Five Sermons Delivered at St. Margaret’s Church, Lothbury, on Tuesday Mornings, from January 2, to December 18, 1855, by the Rev. Henry Melvill, James Paul, 1, Chapter House Court, page 454
• This quote is famously misattributed to Herman Melville. Click here for more details, incluing facts like this: On Tuesday morning, June 12, 1855, the Rev. Henry Melvill gave a sermon on “Partaking in Other Men’s Sins” at St. Margeret’s Church, Lothbury. No. 2,365 in the “Penny Pulpit” series, Melvill’s exposition of 2 John 11 was part of his sermon on the evil consequences of setting a bad example.
To complain that life has no joys, while there is a single creature whom we can relieve by our bounty, assist by our counsels, or enliven by our presence, is to lament the loss of that which we possess, and is just as rational as to die of thirst with the cup in our hands.
William Melmoth
Fitzosborne’s Letters on Several Subjects, published by Wells and Lilly, and Cummings and Hilliard, 1815, Google eBook, page 174
• Sir Thomas Fitzosborne was a pseudonym used by Melmoth
Self-love is not opposed to the love of other people. You cannot really love yourself and really do yourself a favor without doing other people a favor, and vice versa.
Dr. Karl Menninger
A Psychiatrist’s World: The Selected Papers of Dr. Karl Menninger, Volume 1, Viking Press, 1959, page 34
Who rises from prayer a better man, his prayer is answered.
George Meredith
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of Father and Son, Volume 1, Tauchnitz, 1875, Google eBook, page 104
There is nothing the body suffers that the soul may not profit by.
George Meredith
Diana of the Crossways, Volume 1, Constable, 1915, Google eBook, page 413
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.
Thomas Merton
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Random House Digital, Inc., 1966, Google eBook, page 155
The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt.
Thomas Merton
The Seven Storey Mountain, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 4, 1999, page 91
Looking for God is like seeking a path in a field of snow; if there is no path and you are looking for one, walk across it and there is your path.
Thomas Merton
The Open Mind: Discovering the 6 Patterns of Natural Intelligence by Dawna Markova, Conari Press, November 1, 1996, page 185
We have what we seek. It is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us.
Thomas Merton
Receiving God’s Deeper Messages: The Pilgrimage of a Truth-Seeking Christian by John J. K. Lee, iUniverse, 2005, page 26
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
Thomas Merton
Soul Quest: A Spiritual Odyssey Through 40 Days & 40 Nights of Mountain Solitude by Paul Hawker, Wood Lake Publishing Inc., February 28, 2007, page 59
Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle.
Crystal Middlemas
• From the website of Crystal Middlemas, who refers to herself as “Jitter-bug,”:
Love, like a river, when it is strong will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle.
God is like a mirror. The mirror never changes but everybody who looks at it sees a different face.
Midrash Tanhama
Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom: A Collection of 10,000 Inspirational Quotations by Andy Zubko, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, January 1, 2000, page 188
Do not entertain hopes for realization, but practice all your life
.
Milarepa
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey, HarperCollins, March 17, 1994, page 130
Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on.
Alice Miller
For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, third edition, January 1, 1990, page 248
Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
Henry Miller
The World of Sex, Olympia Press, 1957, page 88
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. In this state of god-like awareness one sings; in this realm the world exists as poem.
Henry Miller
The Wisdom of the Heart, New Directions Publishing, 1941, Google eBook, page 2
No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which any one can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.
Henry Miller
The Wisdom of the Heart, New Directions Publishing, 1941, Google eBook, page 122
The world has not to be put in order: the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.
Henry Miller
Sexus, Grove Press, 1965, Google eBook, page 213
The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnified world in itself.
Henry Miller
Plexus, Grove Press, 1965, Google eBook, page 53
There is only one great adventure and that is inward toward the self.
Henry Miller
Tropic of Capricorn, Grove Press, 1961, page 12
You don’t have a soul . . . You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily.
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
A Canticle for Leibowitz, Bantam Books, September 2, 1997, page 295
Life is not suffering; it’s just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it, until you let go of your mind’s attachments and just go for the ride freely, no matter what happens.
Dan Millman
Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives, Easyread Large Edition, ReadHowYouWant.com, September 2, 2009, page 34
Within each of us lives a skeptic inclined toward reason—and a believer drawn to faith.
Dan Millman
Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mysteries and Miracles That Change Lives by Dan Millman and Doug Childers, Rodale, October 17, 2000, page xvi
This moment deserves your full attention, for it will not pass your way again.
Dan Millman
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.
John Milton
The Paradise Lost, Baker and Scribner, 1851, Google eBook, page 30
Whoever approaches Me walking, I will come to him running; and he who meets Me with sins equivalent to the whole world, I will greet him with forgiveness equal to it.
Mishkat al-Masabih
The World’s Great Religions: An Anthology of Sacred Texts, compiled by Selwyn Gurney Champion and Dorothy Short, Courier Dover Publications, April 25, 2003, page 262
Barn burnt down—now I can see the moon.
Mizuta Masahide
Now I See the Moon: A Mother, A Son, A Miracle by Elaine Hall with Elizabeth Kaye, HarperCollins, June 29, 2010, front cover—inside book jacket flap
Life dances and you must dance with it.
Phillip Moffitt
Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering, Rodale, April 15, 2008, page xxv
My narrative:
You begin transcending your suffering when, as author and meditation teacher Phillip Moffitt explains, you condition yourself to mindfully respond to suffering rather than emotionally react to it.
• In Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering, Rodale, April 15, 2008, page 4, Moffitt writes:
Instead, you’re willing to meet your suffering and view it as an opportunity for personal growth. You mindfully respond to rather than emotionally react to it.
Resentment, whether cold fury or smoldering rage, hardens your emotions . . . Tragically, you become one with anger; you are now its servant.
Phillip Moffitt
Yoga Journal, January/February 2002, “Forgiving the Unforgivable,” pages 60-61
• Moffitt reprinted the article on his website, Life Balance Institute
The resistance to change one’s life when you’re successful is incredible. It means giving up something known, to take the chance of achieving something unknown that will provide greater satisfaction. This resistance is why most people only change their life as a result of failure. That’s really unfortunate. Life is so short and offers such diversity that repeating anything for a lifetime, no matter how successful, is ultimately a failure in imagination.
Phillip Moffitt
Hindsights: The Wisdom and Breakthroughs of Remarkable People by Guy Kawasaki, Hachette Book Group, September 1, 1995, Google eBook
My narrative:
At the age of forty, to the astonishment of the New York publishing community, Phillip Moffitt honored his intuitive guidance by abandoning his professional identity as CEO and editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine to seek greater joy, meaning, and authenticity.
and
After selling Esquire, Moffitt had no idea what to do next. All he knew was that a career measured by magazine sales would leave him with more regrets than rewards.
and
As his path unfolded, Moffitt found peace and purpose as a Buddhist meditation teacher and as founder of Life Balance Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping people lead more balanced, meaningful lives.
• Click here to read Phillip Moffitt’s personal story in his own words
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town, and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
12th century monk
Life Wide Open: Unleashing The Power Of A Passionate Life by David Jeremiah, Thomas Nelson Inc., April 30, 2005, page 15
Truth, that fair goddess who comes always with healing in her wings.
Anne Shannon Monroe
• Although this quote is on numerous websites, I cannot find it in any book
The deepest personal defeat suffered by human beings is constituted by the difference between what one was capable of becoming and what one has in fact become.
Ashley Montagu
The Cultured Man, World Pub. Co., 1958, page 13
When conscience is our friend, all is peace; but if once offended, farewell to the tranquil mind.
Mary Montagu
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 164
If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.
Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne: The Complete Essays, edited by William Hazlitt, translated by Charles Cotton, MobileReference, 2010, back cover
Who feareth to suffer, suffereth already, because he feareth.
Michel de Montaigne
The Essayes of Michael Lord of Montaigne, Routledge, 1886, page 563
There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees which are falsehoods on the other.
Michel de Montaigne
The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages by J. Thomas Wren, Simon and Schuster, 1995, page 254
• According to Penses by Blaise Pascal, Hackett Publishing, 2005, Google eBook, page 19, this is what Montaigne actually wrote:
What truth is it that is bounded by these mountains, and that is falsehood in the world beyond them?
Pascal popularized Montaigne’s quote a century later by writing:
A strange justice that is bounded by a river! Truth on this side of the Pyrenees, error on the other side.
Pascal: Penses, Forgotten Books, 1966, fragment no. 294, page 78
Forgiveness is the economy of the heart. . . . Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.
Hannah Moore
The Works of Hannah More, Volume 4, Published by Harper, 1835, Google eBook, page 30
To be obsessed with some vision and to have the continuous opportunity of working to realize that vision could be looked upon as God’s greatest gift to anyone.
Henry Moore
The Life of Henry Moore by Roger Berthoud, Giles de la Mare, 2003, page 329
Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.
Mary Tyler Moore
What Do You Really Want?: How to Set a Goal and Go for It! A Guide for Teens by Beverly K. Bachel, Free Spirit Publishing, January 15, 2001, Google eBook, page 94
But as in most things, it may take a bundle of mistakes to arrive at something sublime, just as it takes thousands of flowers to produce a few drops of perfume.
Thomas Moore
Original Self: Living with Paradox and Originality, HarperCollins, August 7, 2001, page 12
We may discover that we are most ourselves when we are furthest from the self we think we ought to be.
Thomas Moore
Original Self: Living with Paradox and Originality, HarperCollins, August 7, 2001, page 57
Our partner is essential to the discovery of our own calling, and in a curious way shows us what we want, or more exactly, shows us what is wanted of us from within ourselves and our world.
Thomas Moore
Soul Mates: Honoring the Mysteries of Love and Relationship, Harper Perennial, November 4, 1994, page 111
Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
William Morris
William Morris: An Illustrated Life of William Morris, 1834-1896 by Richard Tames, Osprey Publishing, March 4, 2008, page 18
The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen, and our power too limited to do all that must be done. But together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed.
Mark Morrison-Reed
Black Pioneers in a White Denomination, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, 1994, page 182
Turn your losses into opportunities. If you can’t run, then swim. Don’t be one of those people who curse and say, “I can’t do that anymore.” Be like a river. When a tree falls down in front of you, find another avenue to continue. Even if the new activity isn’t as fulfilling as the old one, you’re still engaging the world.
Father Paul Morrissey
Yoga Journal, January/February 2002, “Positive Outlook” by John Stark, page 82
Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.
Doris Mortman
Circles, Bantam Books, May 1, 1988, page 45
Wisdom is harder to do than it is to know.
Yula Moses
Peace and Plenty: Finding Your Path to Financial Serenity by Sarah Ban Breathnach, Hachette Digital, Inc., December 29, 2010, Google eBook
Healing is far more than a return to a former condition. True healing means drawing the circle of our being larger and becoming more inclusive, more capable of loving. In this sense, healing is not for the sick alone, but for all humankind. . . . In the end, healing must be a ceaseless process of relationship and rediscovery, moment by moment. The more we “know” about healing, the more we are simultaneously carried toward something unknowable. For this reason all healing is in essence spiritual.
Richard Moss
Essay: “The Mystery of Wholeness”
Healers on Healing, J.P. Tarcher, February 1, 1989, page 36
Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Mother Teresa
A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations, HarperCollins, August 2, 1996, page 67
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence.
Mother Teresa
A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations, HarperCollins, August 2, 1996, pages 68-69
Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.
Mother Teresa
Worldwide Laws of Life: 200 Eternal Spiritual Principles by John Marks Templeton, Templeton Foundation Press, 1998, page 449
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.
Mother Teresa
Spiritual Gems from Mother Teresa by Gwen Costello, Twenty-Third Publications, April 1, 2008, page 30
I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.
Mother Teresa
Experiencing the Story of Your Life by Matthew West and Terry Glaspey, Harvest House Publishers, April 1, 2012, page 23
If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.
Mother Teresa
Healing Immune Disorders: Natural Defense-Building Solutions by Andrew Gaeddert, North Atlantic Books, November 8, 2005, page 48
It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing. And it is not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving. To God, there is nothing small.
Mother Teresa
Mastering Life’s Energies: Simple Steps to a Luminous Life at Work and Play by Maria Nemeth, New World Library, February 23, 2007, page 196
• Although Mother Teresa did say these three sentences, she may not have said them together in this way.
— The first sentence was on a poster in Mother Teresa’s Mother House in Kolkata (Calcutta), according to A Simple Path by Mother Teresa, compiled by Lucinda Vardey, Random House Digital, Inc., October 31, 1995, Google eBook, page 138
— The second sentence can be found in a different context in Messages from the Masters: Tapping Into the Power of Love by Brian Weiss, Hachette Digital, Inc., November 16, 2008, Google eBook
— The third sentence is often quoted apart from the first two sentences, such as in The Principle of Excellence: A Framework for Social Ethics by Nimi Wariboko, Rowman & Littlefield, October 28, 2009, Google eBook, page 67
— Further, the first (almost worded the same) sentence and third sentences together can be found in Strangers on the Shore: The Beatitudes in World Religions by Albert B. Randall, Peter Lang, 2006, page 166
Then again, if Mother Teresa spoke or wrote these thoughts often, she very well may have spoken or written these words together in this way at one time or another
Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree,
Intimate friends, the ego and the Self
Dwell in the same body. The former eats
The sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life
While the latter looks on in detachment.
The Mundaka Upanishad
The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, August 28, 2007, Google eBook, page 192
There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
William H. Murray
The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, Dent, 1951, page 7
My narrative:
Caroline Myss urges her readers to develop “symbolic sight,” to probe beneath the surface of experiences so they can better understand how life events are woven into the tapestry of Divine design.
• In Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, Random House Digital, Inc., August 26, 1997, page 57, Myss writes:
Make yourself the subject of your first intuitive evaluation. In the process, you will find yourself becoming more aware of the extraordinary world that lies behind your eyes. Ultimately, you will learn symbolic sight, the ability to use your intuition to interpret the power symbols in your life.
My narrative:
Regrettably, there are those who use the authenticity of their suffering as an excuse for not healing. Caroline Myss coined the term “woundology” to describe how some people define themselves by their physical, emotional, or social wounds.
• In Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Random House Digital, Inc., September 23, 1998, page 3, Myss tells the story of how she became aware of, and coined the term, woundology
My narrative:
In Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Myss wrote that many people hoping to heal “are striving to confront their wounds, valiantly working to bring meaning to terrible past experiences and traumas, and exercising compassionate understanding of others who share their wounds. But they are not healing. They have redefined their lives around their wounds and the process of accepting them. They are not working to get beyond their wounds. In fact, they are stuck in their wounds.”
Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Random House Digital, Inc., September 23, 1998, page 7
Your biography becomes your biology.
Caroline Myss
Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Three Rivers Press, September 23, 1998, page 111
So it is that an illness can come into our lives not because of negativity but because Heaven is demanding more of us.
Caroline Myss
Sacred Contracts, 2001, page 354
Forgiveness defies your mind. You have to break through your mind to forgive. Without forgiveness, a genuine healing cannot happen.
Caroline Myss
Healing and the Mystery of Grace, lecture at the Omega conference in New York City, April 2008
You have to be able to do what your mind would give you logical reasons to not do. You have to be everything your soul beckons you to be and everything your mind tells you to be cautious about.
Caroline Myss
Healing and the Mystery of Grace, lecture at the Omega conference in New York City, April 2008
There is a point where destiny and chaos walk hand in hand, when ego and soul force become one, when your ego becomes a servant of the soul.
Caroline Myss
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
To replace human order with divine chaos in a trusting way is called surrender.
Caroline Myss
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
When we look ahead, we see only chaos. When we look behind, we see only order.
Caroline Myss
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Your job is to say yes, not how. Once you say yes, the universe takes care of the how.
Caroline Myss
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
Just because you can’t see what you’re looking for doesn’t mean what you’re looking at isn’t what you should see.
Caroline Myss
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
My narrative:
Instead of passing judgment on what comes your way and, as author and medical intuitive Caroline Myss says, “mourning the absence of perfection in your life,” challenge yourself to view unexpected incidents as necessary steps toward fulfilling your life’s purpose.
• I heard Myss say this during a lecture
Yesterday and tomorrow are humanity’s downfall. Today you may be aroused toward God. But yesterday and tomorrow pull you back.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, compiled and arranged by Larry Chang, Gnosophia Publishers, September 30, 2006, page 711
• Many translations of this quote can be found
As human beings,
our greatness lies not so much
in being able to remake the world outside us
. . . as in being able to remake ourselves.
Michael N. Nagler
Gandhi the Man: The Story of His Transformation by Eknath Easwaran, ReadHowYouWant, large-print paperback edition, December 6, 2010, page 8
• This quote is commonly attributed to Gandhi himself, but the passage can be found in Nagler’s Foreword to this book about Gandhi
Love is the Law of God. You live that you may learn to love. You love that you may learn to live. No other lesson is required of Man.
Mikhail Naimy
The Book of Mirdad, Duncan Baird Publishers, first published in 1948, chapter 11
With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is essential for integrity.
Keshavan Nair
Beyond Winning: The Handbook for the Leadership Revolution, Paradox Press, 1990
Love of the truth puts you on the spot.
Naropa Institute motto
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön, Shambhala, September 17, 2002, hardcover, page 9
Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over.
Gloria Naylor
The Women of Brewster Place, Penguin Books, 1988, page 70
Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Ignite the Fire Within! by Arthur J. Johnson II, Xulon Press, 2004, page 166
As far as the Buddha Nature is concerned, there is no difference between sinner and sage . . .One enlightened thought and one is a Buddha, one foolish thought and one is again an ordinary person.
Hui Neng
Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes: A Year Alone in the Patagonia Wilderness by Robert Kul, New World Library, August 4, 2009, Google eBook, page 288
There are always two voices sounding in our ears, the voice of fear and the voice of confidence. One is the clamor of the senses, the other is the whispering of the higher self.
Charles B. Newcomb
Discovery of a Lost Trail, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1900, Google eBook, page 250
I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
Isaac Newton
Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, Volume 2 by Sir David Brewster, T. Constable and Co., 1855, Google eBook, page 407
People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.
Joseph Fort Newton
Night Light: A Book of Nighttime Meditations by Amy E. Dean, Hazelden Publishing, February 1, 1986, February 15 entry
God’s promises are like the stars; the darker the night, the brighter they shine.
David Nicholas
God Always Keeps His Promises by Tim LaHaye, Harvest House Publishers, 2003, page 7
Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law to our today.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Human, All Too Human, translated by Alexander Harvey, C. H. Kerr, 1908, Google eBook, page 16
In the mountains of truth you will never climb in vain: either you will get up higher today or you will exercise your strength so as to be able to get up higher tomorrow.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Human, All Too Human, translated by R. J. Hollingdale, no. 358, Cambridge University Press, November 7, 1996, Insight 358, page 293
That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Twilight of the Idols, Wordsworth Editions, June 10, 2007, Insight 8, page 5
If a man has a great deal to put in them, a day will have a hundred pockets.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Works of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, MobileReference, 2008, Google eBook, insight 529
You must wish to consume yourself in your own flame: how could you wish to become new unless you had first become ashes!
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Portable Nietzsche, edited and translated by Walter Kaufmann, Penguin, 1954, page 176
A very popular error: having the courage of one’s convictions; rather it is a matter of having the courage for an attack on one’s convictions!!!
Friedrich Nietzsche
Basic Writings of Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann, Random House Digital, Inc., 2000, Google eBook, page 226
Virtues are as dangerous as vices in so far as one lets them rule over one as authorities and laws from without and does not first produce them out of oneself.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Wil to Power, translated by Walter Kaufmann and R. J. Hollingdale, edited by Walter Kaufmann, Random House Digital, Inc., 1968, Google eBook, Insight 326, page 178
• Commonly paraphrased as: “Virtues are as dangerous as vices in so far as they are allowed to rule over one as authorities and not as qualities one develops oneself.”
If we possess our why of life we can put up with almost any how.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Religion by Julian Young, Cambridge University Press, April 6, 2006, page 32
The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.
Anaïs Nin
The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Volume 1 (1931-1934), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1966, page 155
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Anaïs Nin
The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volume 2 (1934-1939), Swallow Press, March 25, 1970, page 193
There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.
Anaïs Nin
The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Volume 3 (1939-1944), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 24, 1971, page 294
When one is pretending the entire body revolts.
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin Reader, edited by Philip K. Jason, Swallow Press, 1973, page 92
It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before . . . to test your limits . . . to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anaïs Nin
Back to Williamsburg by Kerry A. O’Brien, Lulu.com, February 21, 2008, page 272
• Although this quote appears in various forms in hundreds of sources, I have not been able to source it directly to Nin’s own writings
We say that we cannot bear our troubles but when we get to them we bear them.
Ning Lao T’ai-t’ai
A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman by Ida Pruitt, Stanford University Press, 1967, page 245
• Ning Lao T’ai-t’ai, a Chinese peasant woman in her late sixties or early seventies, was interviewed by Ida Pruitt in the 1930s for this nonfiction autobiography
The real world is beyond the mind’s understanding; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, The Acorn Press, first published in the U.S. in 1982; this edition 2012, page 10
• I Am That does not offer previews online. Click here to see this quote mentioned in another book.
Spiritual maturity lies in the readiness to let go of everything. The giving up is the first step. But the real giving up is in realizing that there is nothing to give up, for nothing is your own.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits by Wayne W. Dyer, Hay House, Inc., May 26, 2009, page 114
You do not suffer, only the person you imagine yourself to be suffers. You cannot suffer.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Wisdom of the Ages: A Modern Master Brings Eternal Truths Into Everyday Life by Wayne W. Dyer, HarperCollins, April 30, 2002, Google eBook, page 224
A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
Louis Nizer
Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique by Michael S. Gazzaniga, HarperCollins, June 30, 2009, page 203
If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.
Alex Noble
Powerful People Have a Powerful Big “I”: Your Daily Guide to a More Meaningful Life by Peter Biadasz and Richard Possett, iUniverse, December 1, 2008, Google eBook, page 36
Prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.
Kathleen Norris
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Penguin, April 1, 1999, Google eBook, chapter entitled “Prayer”
When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not-knowing, not-curing, not-healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.
Henri Nouwen
Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life, Ave Maria Press, revised edition, April 16, 2004, page 38
Our desire for God is the desire that should guide all other desires. Otherwise our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls become one another’s enemies and our inner lives become chaotic, leading us to despair and self-destruction. Spiritual disciplines are not ways to eradicate all our desires but ways to order them so that they can serve one another and together serve God.
Henri Nouwen
Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith, HarperCollins, November 21, 2006, Google eBook, April 21 entry
Every thought you think reverberates across the universe touching everyone and everything.
Kate Nowak
Video: “May You Be Blessed,”
• Words and music created by Kate Nowak and Live More Abundantly Productions
May every wound bring wisdom and may every trial bring triumph.
Kate Nowak
Video: “May You Be Blessed,”
• Words and music created by Kate Nowak and Live More Abundantly Productions
The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.
Alden Nowlan
The Heart Revolution: Experience the Power of a Turned Heart by Sergio De La Mora, Baker Books, January 1, 2011, Google eBook, page 104
I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers, an often-painful process.
Diana Nyad
Other Shores, Random House, 1978, pages 71-72
God doesn’t want us merely to “get” through our problems. He wants us to “grow” through them.
Gary Oliver
Article by Gary Oliver and Carrie Oliver on The Center for Relationship Enrichment website
Chase your passion, not your pension.
Edward James Olmos
Empires of the Mind: Lessons to Lead and Succeed in a Knowledge-Based World by Denis Waitley, HarperCollins, August 16, 1996, page 131
• Waitley describes how Olmos used this phrase in a college commencement address that Waitley and his wife attended when their youngest daughter, Lisa, graduated
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance: The wise grows it under his feet.
James Oppenheim
Wit and Laughter, The Century Co., 1916, page 77
What you resist sticks to you like glue.
Judith Orloff
Dr. Judith Orloff’s Guide to Intuitive Healing: Five Steps to Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness, Three Rivers Press, March 6, 2001, page 105
Whenever I expect something in return, then my inner peace gets disturbed. And I expect something in return only when I’ve forgotten that peace comes from within.
Dean Ornish
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease >by Dean Ornish, Random House Digital, Inc., December 30, 1995, Google eBook, page 213
Meditation will bring you sensitivity, a great sense of belonging to the world. It is our world—the stars are ours, and we are not foreigners here. We belong intrinsically to existence. We are part of it, we are the heart of it.
Osho
Meditation: The First and Last Freedom, Macmillan, November 28, 1997, page 7
All the buddhas of all the ages have been telling you a very simple fact: Be—don’t try to become. Within these two words, be and becoming, your whole life is contained. Being is enlightenment, becoming is ignorance.
Osho
The Book of Wisdom: Discourses on Atisha’s Seven Points of Mind Training, Osho International, 1983, page 176
The best way is to simply surrender to existence and allow it to take you wherever it takes you; it has never taken anybody into any wrong space. It always takes you back home.
Osho
The Soulful 7, by Beth Golden, AuthorHouse, April 17, 2012, page 164
If past to future is on a horizontal line, then the present moment is not in time, but a vertical movement transcending time.
Osho
• Although this quote is listed on a handful of websites, I am still hoping to source it more definitively
My narrative:
A powerful way to begin an affirmation is with the words, “I am.” As Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, put it, “What follows the ‘I am’ will always come looking for you. . . . When you say, ‘I am healthy,’ health starts heading your way. When you say, ‘I am strong,’ strength starts tracking you down.” Indeed, the Universe does not judge, it simply responds. “Okay,” says the Universe, “if that is what you are, I will give you experiences that support that statement.” Hence, the affirmation, “I am thoughtful and considerate,” is more potent than “I will be thoughtful and considerate” or “I want to be thoughtful and considerate.”
In a DVD sermon entitled, “I Am,” Osteen said:
What follows the “I am” will always come looking for you. . . . Whatever you follow the “I am” with, you’re handing it an invitation, opening the door, giving it permission to be in your life. Now the good news is, you get to choose what follows the “I am.” When you go through the day saying, “I am blessed,” blessings come looking for you. “I am talented,” talent comes looking for you. You may not feel up to par, but when you say, “I am healthy,” health starts heading your way. When you say, “I am strong,” strength starts tracking you down.
When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid for you to stand upon, or, you will be taught how to fly.
Patrick Overton
Poem: “Faith”
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
To be loved, be worthy to be loved.
Ovid
The Art of Love, Kessinger Publishing, December 30, 2004, page 54
He who can believe himself well, will be well.
Ovid
Exuberant Animal: The Power of Health, Play and Joyful Movement by Frank Forencich, AuthorHouse, August 30, 2006, page 136
However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!
Boyd K. Packer
Parables of Redemption: The Restored Doctrine of the Atonement as Taught in the Parables of Jesus Christ by C. Robert Line, Ronald E. Bartholomew, R. Scott Burton, Robert England Lee, Craig Frogley, and Andrew C. Skinner, Cedar Fort, October 1, 2007, page 19
When we know love matters more than anything, and we know that nothing else really matters, we move into the state of surrender. Surrender does not diminish our power, it enhances it.
Sara Paddison
The New Rebellion Handbook: A Holy Uprising Making Real the Extraordinary in Everyday Life, edited by Lilia Empson, Thomas Nelson Inc., May 30, 2006
Sincere forgiveness isn’t colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don’t worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.
Sara Paddison
The Sacred Art of Forgiveness: Forgiving Ourselves and Others Through God’s Grace by Marcia Ford, SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2006, page 107
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
Thomas Paine
The Crisis No. 1, written December 19, 1776, published December 23, 1776; part of The American Crisis, a series of pamphlets that Paine published in London from 1776-1783, focusing on the American colonies’ increasing difficulties with Great Britain—difficulties which ultimately led to an open breach in the form of the American Revolution
Truth, like the burgeoning of a bulb under the soil, however deeply sown, will make its way to the light.
Edith Pargeter
• Although this quote is listed on many websites, I could not find it in any book; the quote is commonly attributed to Pargeter’s pen name, Ellis Peters
Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
Theodore Parker
Ten Sermons of Religion, Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1853, Google eBook, pages 84-85
If a man can reach the latter days of his life with his soul intact, he has mastered life.
Gordon Parks
The Crisis, March 1986, page 21
A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.
Leslie Parrish
The Bridge Across Forever, Harper Paperbacks, November 21, 2006, page 388
Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a clock.
Mary Parrish
The Lovers’ Book by Kate Gribble, Macmillan, February 3, 2009, Google eBook, page 125
If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Dolly Parton
Zap! Blink! Taste! Think!: Exciting Life Science for Curious Minds by Janet Parks Chahrour, Barron’s Educational Series, March 1, 2003, page 148
All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.
Blaise Pascal
Wisdom of the Ages: A Modern Master Brings Eternal Truths Into Everyday Life by Wayne W. Dyer, HarperCollins, April 30, 2002, page 2
• This quote is a modern translation of the following passage from Pascal’s Penses:
I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 139
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we wander in the times which are not ours, and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more, and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists. . . . The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means; the future alone is our end. So we never live, but we hope to live; and, as we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 172
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
Faith is a sounder guide than reason. Reason can go only so far, but faith has no limits.
Blaise Pascal
Become Who You Were Born to Be: We All Have a Gift . . . Have You Discovered Yours? by Brian Souza, Random House Digital, Inc., April 10, 2007, page 240
• The closest variation I can find in Pascal’s own writings is this passage from Penses:
We know then the existence and nature of the finite, because we also are finite and have extension. We know the existence of the infinite, and are ignorant of its nature, because it has extension like us, but not limits like us. But we know neither the existence nor the nature of God, because He has neither extension nor limits.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 233
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.
Blaise Pascal
The Yale Book of Quotations, compiled and edited by Fred Shapiro, Yale University Press, October 30, 2006, page 584
• This is a more poetic translation than the following passage from Pascal’s Penses:
The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 277
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
It has pleased God that divine verities should not enter the heart through the understanding, but the understanding through the heart.
Blaise Pascal
J. I. Packer and the Evangelical Future: The Impact of His Life and Thought by Timothy George, Baker Academic, October 1, 2009, page 49
• The closest variation I can find in Pascal’s own writings is this passage from Penses:
It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 278
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the want of contradiction a sign of truth.
Blaise Pascal
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 384
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.
Blaise Pascal
The Yale Book of Quotations, compiled and edited by Fred Shapiro, Yale University Press, October 30, 2006, page 584
• This is a popular (and liberal) paraphrasing of the following passage from Pascal’s Penses:
What is it then that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 425
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
What can be seen on earth points to neither the total absence nor the obvious presence of divinity, but to the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this mark.
Blaise Pascal
The Christian Theology Reader by Alister E. McGrath, Wiley-Blackwell, September 22, 2006, page 34
• This is a more eloquent translation than the following passage from Pascal’s Penses:
All appearance indicates neither a total exclusion nor a manifest presence of divinity, but the presence of a God who hides Himself. Everything bears this character.
Pensees, translated by W. F. Trotter, MobileReference, 2010, Google eBook, fragment no. 555
• Pascal’s complete Penses can be read here
Aversion, also, is a form of bondage. We are tied to what we hate or fear. That is why, in our lives, the same problem, the same danger or difficulty, will present itself over and over again in various aspects, as long as we continue to resist or run away from it instead of examining and solving it.
Patanjali
How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, Vedanta Press, 1983, page 116
When we are firmly established in nonviolence, all beings around us cease to feel hostility.
Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by Alistair Shearer, Harmony, January 8, 2002, sutra II.35, page 109
When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive; and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
Patanjali
Wisdom from World Religions: Pathways Toward Heaven on Earth by John Templeton, Templeton Foundation Press, March 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 107
If you genuinely have something to say, there is someone who genuinely needs to hear it.
Arnold Patent
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” by Marianne Williamson, HarperCollins, February 1, 1992, page 190
When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.
Alan Paton
Who Stole My Soul?: A Dialogue with the Devil on the Meaning of Life by Vishwa Prakash, BookPros, LLC, November 1, 2009, page 198
Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.
John Patrick
The Teahouse of the August Moon by John Patrick, adapted from the novel by Vern Sneider, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1957, Act I, Scene 1, dialogue spoken by the interpreter Sakini, page 6
Remove the rock from your shoe rather than learn to limp comfortably.
Stephen C. Paul
Inneractions: Visions to Bring Your Inner and Outer Worlds into Harmony, HarperOne, June 11, 1992
We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese
This Business of Living: Diaries, 1935-1950, Transaction Publishers, March 31, 2009, page 172
There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them.
Peace Pilgrim
Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, Ocean Tree Books, April 1992, page 132
Prayerize, picturize, actualize.
Norman Vincent Peale
The Power of Positive Thinking, Touchstone, March 4, 2003, page 45
• Peale gives full credit to the unnamed man who originated this phrase and shared it with him
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Norman Vincent Peale
Discovering The Power Of Positive Thinking, Orient Paperbacks, October 1, 2006
You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.
Norman Vincent Peale
A Guide to Confident Living, Ballantine Books, 1982, page 180
Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.
Norman Vincent Peale
Hope in the Age of Anxiety by Anthony Scioli and Henry B. Biller, Oxford University Press, September 3, 2009, Google eBook, page 12
Man’s mind is a mirror of a universe that mirrors man’s mind.
Joseph Chilton Pearce
The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Simon & Schuster, July 1, 1980, page 85
Ultimately, there is no way to avoid the hero’s quest. It comes and finds us if we do not move out bravely to meet it.
Carol Pearson
The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By, Harper & Row, December 1, 1986, page 24
The healthy life consists of meeting and resolving crises as early as possible so that we can get on to the next one.
M. Scott Peck
The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, Simon and Schuster, January 2, 1998, Google eBook, page 80
One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.
Jack Penn
Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds: Wisdom and Enlightenment of the Past and Present by Richard A. Singer, Jr., Loving Healing Press, November 18, 2006, Google eBook, page 8
The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands.
Alexandra Penney
Powerful People Have Powerful Relationships: Your Daily Guide to Creating People Connections by Peter Biadasz and Marilyn S. Possett, iUniverse, December 11, 2006, page 42
Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day.
Gene Perret
The Bells! the Bells! by Mark Stibbe, Monarch Books, January 23, 2009, page 15
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.
Ted Perry
The Great Penguin Rescue: 40,000 Penguins, a Devastating Oil Spill, and the Inspiring Story of the World’s Largest Animal Rescue by Dyan deNapoli, Simon and Schuster, October 26, 2010, Google eBook, page 239
• This quote is often attributed to a letter supposedly written by Chief Seattle
A rut is a grave with the ends knocked out.
Laurence J. Peter
Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Times, HarperCollins, March 29, 1993, page 127
Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.
John Petit-Senn
The Little Book of Abundance: Abundance is Simply a Choice by Julia Lindsey, Our Little Books, 2008, page 1
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillpotts
A Shadow Passes, Macmillan, 1919, page 17
I am always doing something I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso
Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal by Richard Alan Krieger, Algora Publishing, July 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 132
If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford
Why Not Try God?, St. Petersburg Times, January 25, 1936, section 2, page 3, chapter 6 of a newspaper serial
The regret that comes down
like a fine ash
year after year
is the shadow of what
we did not dare.
Marge Piercy
Poem: “Never-Never”
Circles on the Water: Selected Poems of Marge Piercy, Knopf, May 12, 1982
Never doubt that you can change history. You already have.
Marge Piercy
Permission to Play: Taking Time to Renew Your Smile by Jill Murphy Long, Sourcebooks, Inc., May 1, 2003, page 135
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
Marge Piercy
Poem: “To Be of Use”
Fooling with Words: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft by Bill Moyers, HarperCollins, December 26, 2000, page 178
Life is what we make it, and the world is what we make it. The eyes of the cheerful and of the melancholy man are fixed upon the same creation; but very different are the aspects which it bears to them.
Albert Pike
Morals and Dogma: Of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, NuVision Publications, LLC, March 28, 2004, Google eBook, pages 151-152
Then that which caused us trial shall yield us triumph; and that which made our heart ache shall fill us with gladness; and we shall then feel that there, as here, the only true happiness is to learn, to advance, and to improve; which could not happen unless we had commenced with error, ignorance, and imperfection. We must pass through the darkness, to reach the light.
Albert Pike
Morals and Dogma: Of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, NuVision Publications, LLC, March 28, 2004, Google eBook, page 185
Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.
P. B. S. Pinchback
What Makes the Great Great: Strategies for Extraordinary Achievement by Dennis Paul Kimbro, Random House Digital, Inc., January 20, 1998, Google eBook
• This quote is attributed to Pinchback on many websites, but this is the only book I can find that attributes the quote to him
• The passage from Kimbro’s book reads:
“Steady, men,” shouted P. B. S. Pinchback, a Union army captain fighting for freedom in the all-black Corps d’Afrique. Though outmanned and outnumbered, his last words were: “Before we offer our lives, let’s bring back the colors. Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to!”
• This passage makes it sound like Pinchback died in battle. He did not. He died in 1921 at the age of eighty-four. As for his wartime exploits, Pinchback’s Wikipedia page states:
The Civil War began the following year, and Pinchback decided to fight on the side of the Union. In 1862 he furtively made his way into New Orleans, which had just been captured by the Union Army. He raised several companies for the Union’s all black 1st Louisiana Native Guards Regiment. Commissioned a captain, he was one of the Union Army’s few commissioned officers of African American ancestry. He became Company Commander of Company A, 2nd Louisiana Regiment Native Guard Infantry (later reformed as the 74th US Colored Infantry Regiment. Passed over twice for promotion and tired of the prejudice he encountered from white officers, Pinchback resigned his commission in 1863.
• The reference to the Corps d’Afrique suggest that the battle in question took place in the latter half of 1863 since that group was not formed until then. Pinchback resigned his commission sometime in 1863, The May 18, 1863 edition of the New York Times states:
GENERAL ORDERS No. 40. — The Major-General com manding the Department proposes the organization of a Corps d’Armee of colored troops, to be designated as the “Corps d’Afrique.” It will consist ultimately of eighteen regiments, representing all arms — infantry, artillery, cavalry — making nine brigades of two regiments each, and three divisions of three brigades each, with appropriate corps of engineers, and flying hospitals for each division. Appropriate uniforms, and the graduation of pay to correspond with the value of services, will be hereafter awarded.
The future is only the past again, entered through another gate.
Arthur Wing Pinero
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray: A Play in Four Acts, W. Heinemann, 1903, Google eBook, dialogue spoken by Paula, page 188
To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.
Robert M. Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, HarperCollins, August 2, 2005, Google eBook, page 205
Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.
Plato
The Sum of You: The Six Forces That Shape Your Personality by Alan Graham, Hodder & Stoughton, August 31, 2011, page xiv
Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.
Edgar Allan Poe
The Elements: Love, Truth, Knowledge, and Inspiration by Quincy Smith, AuthorHouse, 2011, Acknowledgements
It’s okay to glance backward, just don’t stare.
Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine
It’s All in Your Head: Thinking Your Way To Happiness by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine, HarperCollins, December 27, 2005, page 165
All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul.
Alexander Pope
The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq., Volume 4, 1847, page 265
Before I travelled my road I was my road.
Antonio Porchia
Voices, Copper Canyon Press, bilingual edition, April 1, 2003, page 3
He who foresees calamities suffers them twice over.
Beilby Porteus
Day’s Collacon: An Encyclopaedia of Prose Quotations, International Printing and Publishing Office, 1884, Google eBook, page 85
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
John Powell
Fully Human, Fully Alive: A New Life Through a New Vision, RCL Benziger, October 1, 1976, page 111
To live my life for the outcome is to sentence myself to continuous frustration. . . . My only sure reward is in my actions, not from them.
Hugh Prather
Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person, Bantam, October 10, 1983, page 13
Fear is static that prevents me from hearing my intuition.
Hugh Prather
Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person, Bantam, October 10, 1983, page 54
Live as if everything you do will eventually be known.
Hugh Prather
Love and Courage, Conari Press, October 1, 2001, page 68
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light; and
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh divine Master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
Prayer of Saint Francis
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dean Ornish, Random House Digital, Inc., December 30, 1995, Google eBook, page 191
• Wikipedia states:
Attributed to the thirteenth-century saint Francis of Assisi, the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912, when it was printed in Paris in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell), published by La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe (The Holy Mass League). The author’s name was not given, although it may have been the founder of La Ligue, Fr. Esther Bouquerel.
The prayer has been known in the United States since 1927 when its first known translation in English appeared in January of that year in the Quaker magazine Friends’ Intelligencer (Philadelphia), where it was attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.
’Tis the motive exalts the action.
’Tis the doing, not the deed.
Margaret Junkin Preston
Poem: The First Proclamation of Miles Standish”
The Quotable Woman, compiled and edited by Elaine Bernstein Partnow, Facts on Files, Inc., 2011, page 137
Although we talk so much about coincidence, we do not really believe in it. In our heart of hearts we think better of the universe; we are secretly convinced that it is not such a slipshod, haphazard affair, that everything in it has meaning.
J. B. Priestly
Essays of Five Decades, Little, Brown, 1968, page 27
Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.
Michael Pritchard
Fear and Wake Up Your Subconscious by Robert K. Benson and Dian Benson, Trafford Publishing, October 1, 2001, page 26
We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.
Marcel Proust
Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1: Swann’s Way Within a Budding Grove, translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, Random House Digital, Inc., August 12, 1982, pages 923-924
The only true voyage of discovery, the only really rejuvenating experience, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes.
Marcel Proust
Remembrance of Things Past: The Captive. The Fugitive. Time Regained, Vintage Books, August 12, 1982, page 260
We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.
Marcel Proust
The Sweet Cheat Gone, Modern Library, 1957, page 165
If you plant turnips you will not harvest grapes.
Akan (West African) proverb
Acts of Faith: Meditations For People of Color by Iyanla Vanzant, Simon and Schuster, November 28, 2001, Google eBook, February 2 entry
God makes three requests of his children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now.
African-American proverb
Acts of Faith: Meditations For People of Color by Iyanla Vanzant, Simon and Schuster, November 28, 2001, Google eBook, March 22 entry
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
African proverb
When All Else Fails…Stand by Amy Brady, Xulon Press, April 19, 2011, page 69
However long the night, the dawn will break.
African proverb
When Good Wishes Go Bad by Mindy Klasky, MIRA, April 1, 2010, Google eBook, page 21
The one who throws the stone forgets; the one who is hit remembers forever.
Angolan proverb
Handbook of Global and Multicultural Negotiation by Christopher W. Moore and Peter J. Woodrow, John Wiley & Sons, March 8, 2010, Google eBook, page 283
If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.
Arab proverb
Building Great Relationships: All About Emotional Intelligence by B. K. Trehan and Indu Trehan, Sterling Publishers Private Limited, June 29, 2010, page 35
You must act as if it is impossible to fail.
Ashanti (West African) proverb
Boys Into Men: Raising Our African-American Teenage Sons by Nancy Boyd-Franklin and Anderson J. Franklin with Pamela Toussaint, Plume, May 1, 2001, page 6
Work is good provided you do not forget to live.
Bantu proverb
A Minute of Margin: Restoring Balance to Busy Lives by Richard A. Swenson, NavPress, November 1, 2003, Google eBook, Reflection 30
If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
Buddhist proverb
Tibet: A Writer’s Journal by Mary Elizabeth Gillilan, iUniverse, March 31, 2007, Google eBook, page 88
You are neither the child you were, nor the old person you will become.
Buddhist proverb
• I read or heard this quote somewhere, somewhen, but now I can find no evidence of its existence
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese proverb
Be Your Best! a Roadmap to Living a Healthy, Balanced and Fulfilling Life by Jeff Thibodeau, Dog Ear Publishing, January 31, 2007, Google eBook, page 150
Hesitate in a moment of anger and prevent a year of grief.
Chinese proverb
How to Father a Successful Daughter by Nicky Marone, McGraw-Hill, 1987, page 180
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
Chinese proverb
How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health With Humor by Carla Ulbrich, Tell Me Press LLC, February 1, 2011, Google eBook, page 210
Blame yourself if you have no branches or leaves; don’t accuse the sun of partiality.
Chinese proverb
Night Light: A Book of Nighttime Meditations by Amy E. Dean, Hazelden Publishing, February 1, 1986, June 25 entry
You can only go halfway into the darkest forest; then you are coming out the other side.
Chinese proverb
The Healing Spirit Of Haiku by David Rosen and Joel Weishaus, North Atlantic Books, October 13, 2004, page 7
The man who opts for revenge should dig two graves.
Chinese proverb
Keeping Your Cool… When Your Anger Is Hot!: Practical Steps to Temper Fiery Emotions by June Hunt, Harvest House Publishers, October 1, 2009, Google eBook, page 26
Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one.
Chinese proverb
Investment Leadership and Portfolio Management: The Path to Successful Stewardship for Investment Firms by Brian Singer, Greg Fedorinchik, John Wiley & Sons, October 26, 2009, Google eBook, page 54
When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.
Cuban proverb
Passport Series: Central & South America by Deborah Kopka, Lorenz Educational Press, January 12, 2011, page 79
A good example is like a bell that calls many to church.
Danish proverb
Learning Styles by Marlene LeFever, David C Cook, June 1, 1995, Google eBook, page 77
He who would leap high must take a long run.
Danish proverb
Wisdom From World Religions: Pathways Toward Heaven On Earth by John Templeton, Templeton Foundation Press, March 1, 2002, Google eBook, page 102
One of these days is none of these days.
English proverb
The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs, edited by Martin H. Manser, Infobase Publishing, March 1, 2007, pages 214-215
• This proverb is also on page 133 in the 1969 book English Proverbs Explained
• This proverb has been mistakenly attributed to H. G. Bohn because Bohn included it in a book of proverbs he compiled called A Hand-book of Proverbs, edited by Henry George Bohn and John Ray, G. Bell & Sons, 1875, page 470
Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.
French proverb
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, edited by Elizabeth M. Knowles, Oxford University Press, 1999, page 20
There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.
French proverb
The Routledge Book of World Proverbs by Jon R. Stone, Taylor & Francis, 2006, Google eBook, page 74
You have to take it as it happens, but you should try to make it happen the way you want to take it.
German proverb
The Book of Positive Quotations, compiled and arranged by John Cook, Fairview Press, October 25, 2007, page 255
He who suffers much will know much.
Greek proverb
A World Treasury of Proverbs form Twenty-Five Languages, Random House, 1946, page 409
There is no tree that the wind has not shaken.
Hindu proverb
• This proverb is listed on numerous websites
Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
Indian proverb
Night Light: A Book of Nighttime Meditations by Amy E. Dean, Hazelden Publishing, February 1, 1986, October 29 entry
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.
Italian proverb
Manifesting Magnificence: Consciously Creating the Life You Choose to Live by Andrew Lutts, Xlibris Corporation, December 1, 2008, Google eBook, page 183
Love rules without rules.
Italian proverb
The Portable Italian Mamma: Guilt, Pasta, and When Are You Giving Me Grandchildren? by Laura Mosiello and Susan Reynolds, Adams Media, Mar 18, 2009, Google eBook, page 3
The work praises the man.
Irish proverb
Heart-Mates: A Sammi Mitchel Mystery by Shoshana Barer, iUniverse, September 20, 2011, Google eBook, page 11
Belief kills and belief cures.
Jamaican proverb
Caribbean Quarterly, Volume 43, Extra Mural Department of the University College of the West Indies, 1997, page 88
The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.
Japanese proverb
The Winners Manual For the Game of Life by Jim Tressel with Chris Fabry, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., July 15, 2008, Google eBook, page 194
Where there is sunshine, there is also shade.
Kashmiri proverb
Call Of The Wild: Quotes From The Great Outdoors, Running Press, November 28, 2002, page 76
Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river.
Malagasy proverb
Moon Over Manila: A Contemporary Romance by Joe Race, Trafford Publishing, January 1, 2008, Google eBook, page 1
If you want to see what your body will look like tomorrow, look at your thoughts today.
Navajo proverb
Book of Peoples of the World: A Guide to Cultures, edited by Wade Davis and K. David Harrison with Catherine Herbert Howell, National Geographic Books, 2007, page 275
If we look at the path, we do not see the sky.
Native American proverb
Moonlight & Vines by Charles De Lint, Macmillan, December 27, 2005, Google eBook, page 148
Going slowly does not prevent arriving.
Nigerian proverb
Keep on Growing!: Learning to Live Abundantly by Amy-Terese Smith, Trafford Publishing, 2006, page 32
Hold a true friend with both your hands.
Nigerian proverb
Always And Forever by Betty Neels, Harlequin, February 10, 2009, Google eBook page 85
Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day, for it is life, the very life of life.
Sanskrit proverb
One Life to Give: A Path to Finding Yourself by Helping Others by Andrew Bienkowski with Mary Akers, Workman Publishing, January 12, 2010, Google eBook
Take what you want, said God, and pay for it.
Spanish proverb
Strategy in the Sex War by Pat Milsom, Ashford-Kent, 1973, page 68
Where there is love, there is pain.
Spanish proverb
Voices From the Heights by Mark Williams, Lulu.com, April 30, 2008, Google eBook
Worry gives small things a big shadow.
Swedish proverb
Body & Soul Escapes by Caroline Sylge, Footprint Travel Guides, May 1, 2007, page 64
You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.
Swedish proverb
Make Each Day Your Masterpiece: Practical Wisdom for Living an Exceptional Life by Michael Lynberg, Andrews McMeel Publishing, September 18, 2001, page 65
If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.
Yiddish proverb
The Little Book of Humorous Quotes by Malcolm Kushner, Little Quote Books, August 6, 2011, page 29
God gave burdens, also shoulders.
Yiddish proverb
You Are Not Your Illness: Seven Principles for Meeting the Challenge by Linda Noble Topf with Hal Zina Bennett, Simon and Schuster, May 8, 1995, Google eBook, page 85
Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
Zen proverb
Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less by Sam Carpenter, Greenleaf Book Group, October 4, 2011, page 194
Those in a hurry do not arrive.
Zen proverb
No Barrier: Unlocking the Zen Koan, translated by Thomas Cleary, Bantam Books, February 1, 1993, page xxiii
Paths cannot be taught, they can only be taken.
Zen proverb
Reflections on Human Potential: Bridging the Person-Centered Approach and Positive Psychology, PCCS Books, 2008, page 215
Leap and the net will appear.
Zen proverb
Look at the Bees by Joe Rukin, Lulu.com, Google eBook
If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.
Zen proverb
Talking to Eating Disorders: Simple Ways to Support Someone who Has Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, or Body Image Issues by Jeanne Albronda Heaton and Claudia J. Strauss, Penguin, July 1, 2005, Google eBook
The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place.
Zen proverb
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, Penguin, August 29, 2006, Google eBook
You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt.
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.
William Purkey
The Dancer’s Book of Ballet Crafts: Dancewear, Accessories, and Keepsakes by Christina Aleta Haskin, Creative Homeowner, August 15, 2007, page 152
• According to this website, which lists a number of potential attributions for this quote, Purkey replied to an inquiry about it by writing:
It is obvious that the theme has worked its way through many minds. I certainly want to give credit to those who have tinkered with this beautiful concept. My version follows. I am sure that most of the words are mine.
The way to be safe, is never to be secure.
Francis Quarles
The Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Francis Quarles, Volume 3, printed for private circulation by T. and A. Constable, 1880, Google eBook, page 45
• This quote is often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin because it apparently appeared in his Poor Richard’s Almanac
That friendship will not continue to the end that is begun for an end.
Francis Quarles
The Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Francis Quarles, Volume 3, Printed for private circulation by T. and A. Constable, 1880, Google eBook, page 48
If you can’t pray a door open, don’t pry it open.
Lyell Rader
When You Don’t Know What to Pray: How to Talk to God about Anything by Linda Evans Shepherd, Revell, February 1, 2010, page 144
The oldest wisdom in the world tells us that we can consciously unite with the divine while in this body, for this is man really born. If he misses his destiny, Nature is not in a hurry; she will catch him some day and compel him to fulfill her secret purpose.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Radhakrishnan Reader, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1969, page 405
• This book lists the original source of Radhakrishnan’s quote as Eastern Religions and Western Thought, page 26
People in the West don’t understand that a path of spirituality is not the same as professing a religion. One is built on experience, the other is accepted on faith.
Swami Rama
Walking with a Himalayan Master: An American’s Odyssey by Justin O’Brien, Yes International Publishers, April 6, 2006, page 179
Jesus, like Krishna and Buddha, symbolizes what human nature can become. Are we only to adore them? They are showing us what we can be. We are not to worship them; we are to become them, and then go farther.
Swami Rama
Walking with a Himalayan Master: An American’s Odyssey by Justin O’Brien, Yes International Publishers, April 6, 2006, page 296
Do not seek illumination unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond.
Sri Ramakrishna
A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living, Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2011, Google eBook
The most exquisite paradox
as soon as you give it all up
you can have it all
How about that one?
As long as you want power
You can’t have it.
The minute you don’t want power
you’ll have more than you ever dreamed
possible.
Ram Dass
Be Here Now, HarperCollins, November 2, 2010, Google eBook
To become free of attachment means to break the link identifying you with your desires. The desires continue; they are part of the dance of nature. But a renunciate no longer thinks that he is his desires.
Ram Dass
Remember: Be Here Now, Hanuman Foundation, October 12, 1971, page 9
Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before, it means allowing what is now to move us closer to God.
Ram Dass
When You’re Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living by Mark Matousek, Bloomsbury USA, 2005; this edition 2013, page 87
Our strength often increases in proportion to the obstacles imposed upon it.
Paul De Rapin-Thoyras
A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards, F. B. Dickerson Co., 1908, Google eBook, page 142
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
Otto Rank
The Life You Were Born to Live: A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose by Dan Millman, H J Kramer, February 8, 1995, page 23
Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.
Karen Ravn
• Ravn wrote this while she worked for Hallmark Cards; confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
A person does not have to be behind bars to be a prisoner. People can be prisoners of their own concepts and ideas. They can be slaves to their own selves.
Prem Rawat (Maharaji)
Coach Yourself: A Motivational Guide for Coaches and Leaders by Dan Spainhour, Lulu.com, 2007, page 23
Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand—and melting like a snowflake.
Marie Beynon Rayr
Forbes, Volume 72, Forbes Inc., 1953, page 42
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
Charles Reade
Put Yourself in His Place, Volume 1, B. Tauchnitz, 1870, Google eBook, page 55
• This quote is commonly attributed to John Ruskin (1819-1900), but unless Reade plagiarized the line, it appears that he is the author, not Ruskin. The earliest reference I found for Reade’s authorship of this quote is from 1869.
Before we can pray, “Lord, Thy Kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My Kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath
The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations by Martin H. Manser, Westminster John Knox Press, June 1, 2001, page 220
If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path of error is the path of truth.
Hans Reichenbach
The Rise of Scientific Philosophy, University of California Press, 1973, page 326
The lover is a monotheist who knows that other people worship different gods but cannot himself imagine that there could be other gods.
Theodor Reik
Love & Lust: On the Psychoanalysis of Romantic and Sexual Emotions, Transaction Publishers, 1949, page 100
Grieving is not about forgetting. Grieving allows us to heal, to remember with love rather than pain.
Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging, Riverhead Books, April 1, 2001, page 38
What is necessary is never a risk.
Cardinal de Retz
Step By Step, Random House Digital, Inc., December 17, 1991, Google eBook, Day 22 entry
Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other.
Mary Caroline Richards
Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person, Wesleyan University Press, August 1, 1989. Google eBook, page 8
The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls.
Johann Richter
The Unitarian Register, Volume 78, American Unitarian Association, 1899, Google eBook, page 1145
The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
Johann Richter
Treasury of Thought, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1894, Google eBook, page 387
• This quote is also commonly attributed to Jean Paul Sartre and Niccolo Machiavelli. Since this 1894 source predates Sartre’s birth, the quote is obviously not his.
Let the stronger man give to the man whose need is greater; let him gaze upon the lengthening path. For riches roll like the wheels of a chariot, turning from one to another.
Rig Veda
The Rig Veda: An Anthology: One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated, and Annotated, edited by Wendy Doniger, Penguin, 1981, page 69
Truth is one, sages call it by different names.
Rig Veda
Race, Nation, & Empire in American History, edited by James T. Campbell, Matthew Pratt Guterl, and Robert G. Lee, Easyread Large Bold Edition, Read HowYouWant.com, August 31, 2009, page 267
• This book sources the quote to the Rig Veda verse 1.164.46
If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, pages 7-8
I can’t give you any advice but this: to go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 9
Fate itself is like a wonderful wide fabric in which every thread is guided by an infinitely tender hand and laid alongside another thread and is held and supported by a hundred others.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 20
I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try and love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, pages 34-35
But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 44
What is necessary, after all, is only this: solitude, vast inner solitude. To walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours—that is what you must be able to attain.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 54
For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation. That is why young people, who are beginners in everything, are not yet capable of love: it is something they must learn.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, pages 68-69
Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person (for what would a union be of two people who are unclarified, unfinished, and still incoherent—?), it is a high inducement for the individual to ripen, to become something in himself, to become world, to become world in himself for the sake of another person; it is a great, demanding claim on him, something that chooses him and calls him to vast distances.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, pages 69-70
That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into its innermost chamber and is no longer even there,—is already in our bloodstream. And we don’t know what it was. We could easily be made to believe that nothing happened, and yet we have changed, as a house that a guest has entered changes. We can’t say who has come, perhaps we will never know, but many signs indicate that the future enters us in this way in order to be transformed in us, long before it happens.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 84
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 92
Don’t think that the person who is trying to comfort you now lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes give you pleasure. His life has much trouble and sadness, and remains far behind
yours. If it were otherwise, he would never have been able to find those words.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001, page 97
But, once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole and against a wide sky!
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke, Volume 1: 1892-1910, Jane Bannard Greene, W. W. Norton, 1945, pages 57-58
I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke, Volume 1: 1892-1910, Jane Bannard Greene, W. W. Norton, 1945, page 65
What is required of us is that we love the difficult and learn to deal with it. In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us.
Rainier Maria Rilke
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke, Volume 1: 1892-1910, Jane Bannard Greene, W. W. Norton, 1945, page 181
Now you will daily give and give, and the great stores of your love will not lessen thereby: for this is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess of that precious nourishing love from which flowers and children have their strength and which could help all human beings if they would take it without doubting.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke, Volume 1: 1892-1910, Jane Bannard Greene, W. W. Norton, 1945, pag 297
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but I give myself to it.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, Penguin, 2005, Google eBook, Preface
I feel it now: there’s a power in me to grasp and give shape to my world. I know that nothing has ever been real without my beholding it. All becoming has needed me. My looking ripens things and they come toward me, to meet and be met.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, Penguin, 2005, Google eBook
The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.
Rainer Maria Rilke
The Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of Our Lives by Ray Grasse, Quest Books, March 15, 1996, page 133
• The closest passage I could find in Rilke’s own work is on pages74-75 of Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Modern Library, 2001:
But in the same measure in which we begin to test life as individuals, these great Things will come to meet us, the individuals, with greater intimacy.
The defining factor is never resources, it’s resourcefulness.
Anthony Robbins
“Why We Do What We Do and How We Can Do It Better” talk at annual TED conference in Monterey, California, in February 2006
I’ve continued to recognize the power individuals have to change virtually anything and everything in their lives in an instant. I’ve learned that the resources we need to turn our dreams into reality are within us, merely waiting for the day when we decide to wake up and claim our birthright.
Anthony Robbins
Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!, Simon & Schuster, November 1, 1992, page 22
Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it’s who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.
Anthony Robbins
Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!, Simon & Schuster, November 1, 1992, page 303
In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.
Anthony Robbins
Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!, Simon & Schuster, November 1, 1992, page 451
What you can’t do you must do; what you must do, you can do.
Anthony Robbins
• This website is the only place I could find this quote. I suspect I heard Robbins say this in one of his many lectures; I just can’t remember which one.
The level of structure that people seek always is in direct ratio to the amount of chaos they have inside.
Tom Robbins
Skinny Legs and All, Random House Digital, Inc., November 1, 1995, Google eBook
Suffering is not good for the soul, unless it teaches you how to stop suffering.
Jane Roberts (Seth)
Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul, New World Library, June 1, 1994, page 302
When you affirm your own rightness in the universe, then you cooperate with others easily and automatically as a part of your own nature. You, being yourself, helps others be themselves. . . . Because you recognize your own uniqueness you will not need to dominate others, nor cringe before them.
Jane Roberts (Seth)
The Nature of Personal Reality: A Seth Book, Prentice-Hall, 1974, page 505
On earth we have nothing to do with success or with results, but only with being true to God, and for God. . . . Defeat in doing right is nevertheless victory.
Frederick William Robertson
Expository Lectures on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthians, Henry S. King, 1872, Google eBook, pages 289-290
The world is a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks.
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Catholic World, Volume 139, Paulist Fathers, 1934, page 171
Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Arthur Somers Roche
Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan, Volume 98, International Magazine Company, inc., 1935, page 80
Give yourselves permission,
at this very moment,
to touch the world of spirit.
All it takes is your permission. . . .
Your mind does not know the way.
Your heart has already been there.
And your soul has never left it.
Welcome home.
Pat Rodegast (Emmanuel)
Emmanuel’s Book: A Manual for Living Comfortably in the Cosmos, compiled by Pat Rodegast and Judith Stanton, Random House Digital, Inc., February 1, 1987, Google eBook, page 71
There are no guarantees.
From the viewpoint of fear
none are strong enough.
From the viewpoint of love
none are necessary.
Pat Rodegast (Emmanuel)
Emmanuel’s Book II: The Choice for Love, compiled by Pat Rodegast and Judith Stanton, Random House Digital, Inc., January 21, 1997, Google eBook, page 14
You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes, because that’s where the fruit is.
Will Rogers
Steps to the Top by Zig Ziglar, Pelican Publishing, June 1, 1985, page 102
We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.
Jim Rohn
Learning to Jump Again: A Memoir of Grief and Hope by Anthony Weber, WestBow Press, August 8, 2011, page 105
If you don’t like where you are, change it! You’re not a tree.
Jim Rohn
The Athlete’s Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss by Christopher Bergland, Macmillan, June 12, 2007, page 134
Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.
Jim Rohn
101 Global Leadership Lessons for Nurses: Shared Legacies from Leaders and Their Mentors by Nancy Rollins Gantz, Sigma Theta Tau, October 9, 2009, page 253
Love all of what you call your “imperfections.” You don’t change them by denying or hating them. You change them by loving them. As you love your negative feelings they can evolve into their positive expressions. Love all your thoughts, even those that are limited or fearful. Think of them as small children needing your love and reassurance.
Sanaya Roman
Spiritual Growth: Being Your Higher Self, HJ Kramer, first edition, December 28, 1992, pages 79-80
Every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before.
Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life, Harper Perennial, 50th anniversary edition, April 26, 2011, page 29
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life, Harper Perennial, 50th anniversary edition, April 26, 2011, pages 29-30
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
The Wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt, edited by Donald J. Davidson, Citadel Press, April 1, 2003, page 48
• Speech given at the Sorbonne in Paris, April 23, 1910
• Originally published in Roosevelt’s 1910 book, Citizenship in a Republic
• The sources for this speech are like snowflakes: no two seem to be alike; minor variations abound. I hope to obtain a copy of this 1910 book so I can replicate the quote perfectly.
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Theodore Roosevelt
Labor Day address—”National Unity versus Class Cleavage”—at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York, September 7, 1903
The Wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt, edited by Donald J. Davidson, Citadel Press, April 1, 2003, page 90
The highest form of spiritual work is the realization of the essence of man. . . . You never learn the answer; you can only become the answer.
Richard Rose
Home page of the TAT Foundation, an organization founded by Richard Rose
• TAT stands for Truth and Transmission
It takes time to succeed because success is merely the natural reward for taking time to do anything well.
Joseph Ross
Ignite the Fire Within! by Arthur J. Johnson II, Xulon Press, 2004, page 121
Were there no God, we would be in this glorious world with grateful hearts and no one to thank.
Christina Rossetti
Good News for Bad Times by Frederick Keller Stamm, Harper & Brothers, 1941, page 146
Conscience is the voice of the soul, the passions are the voice of the body. Is it surprising that these two voices should sometimes contradict each other, or can it be doubted, when they do, which ought to be obeyed?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar, translated by Olive Schreiner, Peter Eckler, 1889, pages 55-56
If God exists, he is perfect; if he is perfect, he is wise, powerful and just; if he is wise and powerful, all is well.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau: The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings, compiled by Victor Gourevitch, Cambridge University Press, July 13, 1997, letter dated August 18, 1756, to Voltaire, page 242
Another world is not only possible, she’s on her way. Maybe many of us won’t be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.
Arundhati Roy
The Guardian, article by Arundhati Roy entitled “Not Again,” September 30, 2002
Someone may have stolen your dream when it was young and fresh and you were innocent. If someone has stolen the innocence of your dreams,
Anger is natural.
Grief is appropriate.
Healing is mandatory.
Restoration is possible.
Jane Rubietta
Quiet Places: A Woman’s Guide to Personal Retreats, Bethany House Publishers, 1997; Abounding Publishing, 2008, page 142
• Confirmed and approved by the author via e-mail
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
Theodore Isaac Rubin
One to One: Understanding Personal Relationships, Viking Press, March 14, 1983, page 211
Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.
Theodore Isaac Rubin
Happiness 101: 18 Lessons for Latter-Day Saints on How to Live a Happier Life! by Gregory R. Wille, Cedar Fort, August 15, 2008, page 35
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
Theodore Isaac Rubin
The Circles by Kerry Armstrong, Simon and Schuster, May 6, 2008, Google eBook, page 51
The deepest rivers flow with the least sound.
Quintus Curtius Rufus
Quintus Curtius, Volume 2, Harvard University Press, 1946, page 155
• From what I can see of this excerpt, this quote may have been a proverb of the Bactriani, the ancient name of a historical region located south of the Amu Darya and west of Gandhara; it was a part of the eastern periphery of the Iranian world, now part of Afghanistan.
We must forgive those we feel have wronged us, not because they deserve to be forgiven, but because we love ourselves so much we don’t want to keep paying for the injustice. Forgiveness is the only way to heal.
Don Miguel Ruiz
The Four Agreements, Amber-Allen Publishing, November 7, 1997, page 121
Once you get hold of selflessness, you’ll be dragged from your ego and freed from many traps.
Come, return to the root of the root of your self.
Rumi
Poem: “The Root of the Root of Yourself”
The Pocket Rumi, edited by Kabir Helminski, Shambhala Publications, November 11, 2008, Google eBook, pages 25-26
Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real Sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts.
What strikes the oyster shell doesn’t damage the pearl.
Rumi
Poem: “The Pearl”
The Pocket Rumi, edited by Kabir Helminski, Shambhala Publications, November 11, 2008, Google eBook, page 128
But gentle flames are not enough for iron;
it eagerly draws to itself the fiery dragon’s breath.
That iron is the dervish who bears hardship:
under the hammer and fire, he happily glows red.
Rumi
Poem: “The Fire the Dervish Needs”
The Pocket Rumi, edited by Kabir Helminski, Shambhala Publications, November 11, 2008, Google eBook, page 135
By God, don’t linger
in any spiritual benefit you have gained,
but yearn for more—like one suffering from illness
whose thirst for water is never quenched.
This Divine Court is the Plane of the Infinite.
Leave the seat of honor behind;
let the Way be your seat of honor.
Rumi
Poem: “Don’t Linger”
The Pocket Rumi, edited by Kabir Helminski, Shambhala Publications, November 11, 2008, Google eBook, page 170
That which God said to the rose,
and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty,
He said to my heart,
and made it a hundred times more beautiful.
Rumi
Poem: The Bloom”
The Pocket Rumi, edited by Kabir Helminski, Shambhala Publications, November 11, 2008, Google eBook, page 198
My friend, the sufi is the son of the present moment:
to say “tomorrow” is not our way.
Rumi
Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski, Shambhala, October 19, 1999, page 19
No prayer is complete without Presence.
Rumi
Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski, Shambhala, October 19, 1999, page 24
Though destiny a hundred times waylays you, in the end it pitches a tent for you in heaven.
Rumi
Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski, Shambhala, October 19, 1999, page 38
It is God’s kindness to terrify you in order to lead you to safety.
Rumi
Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski, Shambhala, October 19, 1999, page 38
There is no worse sickness for the soul,
O you who are proud, than this pretense of perfection.
Rumi
Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski, Shambhala, October 19, 1999, page 76
If your knowledge of fire has been turned to certainty by words alone,
then seek to be cooked by the fire itself.
Don’t abide in borrowed certainty.
There is no real certainty until you burn;
if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.
Rumi