Gary Zukav Quote

"Illusion holds power over you when you are not able to remember that you are a powerful spirit that has taken on the physical experience for the purpose of learning.

"It has power over you when you are compelled by wants and impulses and values of your personality.

"It holds power over you when you fear and hate and sorrow and fester in anger or strike out in rage.

"It has NO power over you when you LOVE, when compassion opens your heart to others, when your creativity flows unimpeded joyously into the present moment.

"In other words, the illusion has no power over a personality that is fully aligned with the soul."
Gary Zukav

Deepak Chopra Quote

"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

Giving to Others

"All that one gives to others one gives to oneself.
If this truth is understood, who will not give to others?"
Ramana Maharshi

When the Student is Ready . . .

This is a lesson that took me a long time to figure out. Hopefully, this post will save you the time and effort and you can learn on my dime.

There is an old Zen saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

I always thought that this meant that there was something extra-special about guru-like teachers, that they would somehow magically sense when a student on the path of spiritual wisdom was ready and and then they would just appear and bestow their words of wisdom.

I was wrong. What this saying really means is that, when the student is ready, then he/she will recognize the teacher that was always there.

We hear instructional or guiding words everyday, from people we know, from the radio or TV, from the Internet, from books we read, and so forth. And most of the time our brains go "yeah, heard it before" or "that's so stupid" or "whatever!"

But then there comes a time when we hear an expression or phrase that we've heard 1,000 times before, and our brains go, "Whoa! Wait a second! Now I understand what that really means! Gee, that changes my whole level of understanding."

And we get a little paradigm shift.

The teacher has "appeared."

Kierkegaard quote

"The majority of men live without being thoroughly conscious that they are spiritual beings."
Søren Kierkegaard

Marianne Williamson on Spirituality

"Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us."
Marianne Williamson

Very clearly and cogently stated. Nothing more need be said. If I could buy a thousand billboards I would spread this message across the nation. If people could learn only one thing, this would be enough.

Thank you, Marianne!

From "Spirituality For Dummies"

"The study of spirituality goes deeply into the heart of every matter and extends far beyond the physical world of matter. Spirituality connects you with the profoundly powerful and divine force that's present in this universe. Whether you're looking for worldly success, inner peace, or supreme enlightenment, no knowledge can propel you to achieve your goals and provide as effective a plan for living as does spiritual knowledge.

"* No financial or societal stature helps you get ahead in life as much as spiritual wisdom.

"* No amount of outer efforts bears as much fruit as understanding and flowing with the spiritual laws of this universe.

"* None of the powerful people you know can 'connect' you like the power of knowing your own self.

"* No friend can know and guide you as much as that truly best friend who exists behind all friends, behind all enemies, and in your very own soul."

- Sharon Janis, Spirituality For Dummies

And, yes, I happily and proudly own a copy of this book and will quote from it from time to time. Part of our growth into spiritual awareness is acknowledging the (previous) limitations and the "dummy-ness" of our earthbound minds, releasing those limitations, and rejecting any shame or guilt that we may attach to such limitations. And I think that any resource that can move us along the path to becoming truly and deeply spiritually enlightened is a good thing!

Love everything

"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."

Fyodor Dostoevsky