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Here you will read the innermost thoughts and feelings of inspired seekers who have gone before you. Some names you may know… others you will be glad to meet!
He that loves to be flattered is worthy o’ the flatterer.
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the 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 circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
However evil men may be, they dare not appear to be enemies of truth, so when they persecute it, they pretend to believe that it is error, or say it is capable of crimes.
How are we constituted by Nature? To be free, to be noble, to be modest.
The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him.
Your changed complexions are to me a mirror
Which shows me mine changed too; for I must be
A party in this alteration, finding
Myself thus alter’d with’t.
Virtuous people have almost always a slight suspicion of their situation. They think they are being duped in the great market of life.
Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.
It is dangerous to abandon one’s self to the luxury of grief, for it deprives one of courage and even the wish for recovery.
I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.
When I thought of nothing but to end my days in these troubles (which did not diminish the trust I had in God), I found myself changed all at once. And my soul which till that time was in trouble, felt a profound inward peace, as if she were in her center and place of rest.
What man in his senses abandons that which is good, to keep company with evil.
It is this, let me tell you… the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
There are moods in which we court suffering, in the hope that here, at least, we shall find reality, sharp peaks and edges of truth. But it turns out to be scene-painting and counterfeit. The only thing grief has taught me is to know how shallow it is.
There are people in the world, who, having renounced all the laws of God and nature, have made laws for themselves which they strictly obey.
What need is there of fear, since it is in your power to inquire what ought to be done?
An empty mirror and your worst destructive habits,
when they are held up to each other,
that’s when the real making begins.
That’s what art and crafting are.
A tailor needs a torn garment to practice his expertise.
The trunks of trees must be cut and cut again
so they can be used for fine carpentry.
Be certain in the religion of Love there are no believers or unbelievers. Love embraces all.
Have you again forgotten? Don’t you know that a good man does nothing for the sake of appearances, only for the sake of what is right?
Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.
