- “If you do not believe that God can take you at this moment and make you one of His friends (Awliya) then you are ignorant of His power. – Ibn Ata‘illah Al-Iskandari (p. 334)” ― Michael Sugich, Hearts Turn: Sinners, Seekers, Saints and the Road to Redemption
- “An individual’s perception is their reality colored in the shades they desire–not necessarily the color that it is.” ― Terry A O’Neal
- “Fear is about knowing all the bad things that can happen to you and still move forward to achieve your goals. The greatest fears are related to humiliation, shame and death. Three thousand years ago, shame, humiliation and death, was about dying in a war and then have the head put in a stick for everyone else to see. One thousand years after, it was about being naked in a cross and left there to die in front of everyone. One thousand and five hundred years after, it was related to burning in a pole after being accused of witchcraft. But, in recent times, it’s just related to losing a job, the family and friends. Humiliation is often related to shame and most people don’t change their life because they fear being ridiculed and despised, even though they don’t face death as much as their ancestors once did. Great leaders make the difference among the majority, by refusing to stop themselves when seeing such reaction in those around them. For example, there was once a kid in Austria that wished to become an artist but was humiliated by his father and mother, ridiculed by his classmates and later on sentenced to jail by his government. However, years later, that person became someone we still tremble when hearing the name – Hitler. There was another one that was persecuted all his life, humiliated even in the day he died and became the most well-known and popular person in the world – Jesus Christ. Accepting defeat in life and even losing life itself, or facing ridicule from those that are most important to us, and still follow our heart, is part of the path to ultimate victory. Whatever we choose for our fate, challenges can make us stronger and the inner war against fear also.” ― Dan Desmarques, Codex Illuminatus: Quotes & Sayings of Dan Desmarques
- “In the frame of the human, maybe too human, order of the world, which the New Age Enlightenment set as the horizon of the future, there is no more space for any superhuman justification, nor for any superhuman construction of the human existence. The enlightened man freed himself of every divine tutelage, he radically diverged from every mythic restriction. Moreover, he finally understood his finality, learned to view his finality not as a blemish, but as that of which he can be proud.” ― Mihailo Đurić
- “If someone has compassion, he is a Buddha;Without compassion, he is a Lord of Death.With compassion, the root of Dharma is planted,Without compassion, the root of Dharma is rotten.One with compassion is kind even when angry,One without compassion will kill even as he smiles.For one with compassion, even his enemies will turn into friends,Without compassion, even his friends turn into enemies.With compassion, one has all Dharmas,Without compassion, one has no Dharma at all.With compassion, one is a Buddhist,Without compassion, one is worse than a heretic.Even if meditating on voidness, one needs compassion as its essence.A Dharma practitioner must have a compassionate nature.Compassion is the distinctive characteristic of Buddhism.Compassion is the very essence of all Dharma.Great compassion is like a wish-fulfilling gem.Great compassion will fulfill the hopes of self and others.Therefore, all of you, practitioners and laypeople,Cultivate compassion and you will achieve Buddhahood.May all men and women who hear this song,With great compassion, benefit all beings!” ― Shabkar, The Life of Shabkar: Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin
- “The understanding that gives rise to intoxication (that “I Know”, “I am something”); that is not the talks of the enlightened one’s (Vitarags).” ― Dada Bhagwan, Simple & Effective Science for Self Realization
- “Meditation is a way to be narcissistic without hurting anyone” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
- “I have found awareness to be one of the most rewarding, and yet one of the most painful journeys one can embark on.” ― Kierra C.T. Banks
- “There is creative reading as well as creative writing.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Your attitude will either make or break you, we cannot change fate and the tragedies that enter our lives but we can choose how we want them to change us.” ― Nikki Rowe
- “Do I live out the remainder of my life striving to increase a mental storehouse of intellectual knowledge or by expanding a state of conscious awareness? Should my ultimate goal be to decode all the paradoxes in life or nurture a state of cognitive awareness? Should I strive to develop internal peace, silence, and tranquility? Must I rely upon the intuitive self to reconnect innate root structure and link myself to the essential means of living life deeply? By courageously striving to conquer illicit personal desires, can I develop a state of mirror-like purity of consciousness that allows a person to serve as a gracious and unbiased witness to the surrounding world?” ― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
- “In seeking God, you discover she is now-here and everywhere – in every heart, in every breath, in every thought, and in every pulse of the Universe. You are neither the body nor the mind, and the love of the self in you is the love for the God in you – the supreme witnessing self.” ― Amit Ray, Peace Bliss Beauty and Truth: Living with Positivity
- “A person who wants to know everything eventually comes to a stage where his/her curiosity of knowing everything comes to an end and that is the stage of Enlightenment.” ― Sangita Pareek
- “It seems like every day you have to deal with problems, interpersonal problems, survival, and so on and so forth. But you only have one problem and there is one solution to that problem. Isn’t that nice to think it is so simple? If there is such a thing as truth, it will be simple – one problem and one solution. If I perceive the problem to be in the world, it cannot be solved because the Holy Spirit is the one answer to that one problem and the Holy Spirit is in the mind. God did not place the answer where the problem was not. He did not place the answer out on the screen. He did not place the answer in the world; he placed the answer in the mind of the sleeping Son. And that is where the Holy Spirit is.” ― David Hoffmeister, Unwind Your Mind Back to God: Experiencing A Course in Miracles
- “Even though thoughts and emotions come and go, the mind’s natural clarity is never disturbed or interrupted.” ― Yongey Mingyur, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness
- “Our manifesting mission is a White Op, a term based on the military black op, or black operation, a clandestine plot usually involving highly trained government spies or mercenaries who infiltrate an adversary‘s position, behind enemy lines and unbeknownst to them. White Op, coined by my best friend Bunny, stands for what I see needing to happen on the planet: a group of well-intentioned, highly trained Bodhisattva warriors (appearing like ordinary folk), armed with the six paramitas and restrained by ethical vows, begin to infiltrate their relationships, social institutions, and industries across all sectors of society and culture. Ordinary Bodhisattvas infusing the world with sacred view and transforming one mind at a time from the inside out until a new paradigm based on wisdom and compassion has totally replaced materialism and nihilism. The White Op is in large part how I envision the work and intention of my colleagues and me at the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science; we aspire to fulfill it by offering a Buddhist-inspired contemplative psychotherapy training program, infused with the latest neuroscience, to therapists, health-care workers, educators, and savvy business leaders. (p. 225)” ― Miles Neale, Gradual Awakening: The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human
- “Om is not just a sound or vibration. It is not just a symbol. It is the entire cosmos, whatever we can see, touch, hear and feel. Moreover, it is all that is within our perception and all that is beyond our perception. It is the core of our very existence. If you think of Om only as a sound, a technique or a symbol of the Divine, you will miss it altogether. Om is the mysterious cosmic energy that is the substratum of all the things and all the beings of the entire universe. It is an eternal song of the Divine. It is continuously resounding in silence on the background of everything that exists.” ― Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation
- “Meditation on the self is the highest form of true method-less meditation, for it brings self-awareness – which is beyond the everyday joy and sorrow. True meditation does not put you in control of your sorrow, rather it takes your mind beyond that very sorrow, as well as joy, into the kingdom of contentment – a kingdom without ideology – without cognitive extremes, such as radical rationalism, radical romanticism or radical emotionalism. In that kingdom, you simply are a human, with no name, no nationality, no tradition, no culture, no religion, no gender and no social image – simply a human.” ― Abhijit Naskar
- “A person must always be ready to kindle the candle in their heart and fill the void in their soul by unveiling into a courageous, peaceful, and loving person.” ― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
- “In this very life may they possess longevity, good health, and abundant wealth and excellence! May all their sickness and evil influences, misdeeds and obscurations, transgressions, mistakes and misfortunes, their outer and inner obstacles, and all evil and discordant forces be pacified! May they abide by the Dharma in thought, word and deed, and, while enjoying the flawless words of the victorious ones, may they have all their wishes fulfllled, just as if they possessed the wishfulfllling powerful king of precious stones! When the time of death arrives, may they not suffer the misety of the life-force being interrupted, but may all conceptual states of disturbing emotions subside, and may they joyfully and delightfully remember their guru and the Three Jewels! May they be completely protected by the wisdom mind of all noble beings endowed with great compassion who are the unsurpassable objects of refuge! May they not undergo the fear and terror of the bardo, and may all the doors to the lower realms of existence be closed! As the ultimate, may they soon attain the precious state of unexcelled, true and complete enlightenment! (p. 123)” ― Padmasambhava, Advice from the Lotus-Born: A Collection of Padmasambhava’s Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Other Close Disciples
- “The Nectar of TruthTruth is not conceptual. We can never understand or realize it through concepts and ideas. Truth is not to be understood. Rather, it is meant to be experienced, tasted, like nectar. There is nothing to understand about nectar. One must taste it, drink it, and experience it. The truth is like that. It is to be experienced and realized, not speculated about. (p. 27)” ― Anam Thubten, No Self No Problem: Awakening to Our True Nature
- “Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.” ― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
- “The unseen essential awaits your enlightened heart’s ascension to love.” ― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
- “A balanced inner calmness radiates from a peaceful centre. It neither craves others’ approval nor rejects others’ presence. It neither pulls towards nor pushes away. It has a reverent attitude towards life and all its inhabitants.” ― Donna Goddard, The Love of Devotion
- “The information and knowledge enters in your mind and grows on your head like a horn. You can use that horn to fight, argue, impress and compete with others.The spiritual knowledge is supposed to activate your Inner roots but your mind starts growing this too as a horn. That is why a student can never progress on spiritual path, only a disciple can.” ― Shunya
- “You cannot still your mind – it is the nature of mind to keep moving. You can only be the stillness that is beyond the mind and be free from thoughts, yet watch the mind experiencing the true essence of life. Transcending the mind is Sanyasa (detachment or renunciation) and freedom that comes with it is Nirvana (liberation).” ― Rashmit Kalra
- “The ego with its protective defense mechanisms is the biggest impediment to attaining spiritual growth.” ― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
- “Always try and be a better person than you were yesterday, cause we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.” ― Tina A. Morgan
- “I do not judge the quality of my work by the feedback obtained from the masses, for if the masses knew how to judge wisely, would not have supported so much madness throughout human history; I judge my work through the many attacks the devil launches on me, by using possessed souls during the process of creation, and the viciousness of such attacks. It is in the most poisonous insults that I find the elixir of my self-worth.” ― Dan Desmarques, Codex Illuminatus: Quotes & Sayings of Dan Desmarques
- “We have the assurance of the enlightened beings that reality is goodness, that reality is freedom from suffering, that reality is bliss. So we should never fear to open ourselves to reality, to cast aside our preconceptions and biases, and to open more and more to whatever turns out to be real. You can have faith in enlightenment, faith in evolutionary potential, faith in infinity, faith in your infinite self. (p. 222)” ― Robert A.F. Thurman, The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism