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Favourite Quotations
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...Thomas Merton (a Catholic Trappist monk)
Here is a book I just picked up. Not started 2 actually read it as yet but loads of links listed in the rear you might enjoy -
http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/callanish/39/happy2.htm
Namaste
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=douglas+adams+quotes&meta=
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
If you're so inclined you could plug that into Google and see what pops up
henry miller
Questioner: No, I am not.
Maharaj: What makes you unhappy?
Questioner: I have what I don”t want, and want what I don”t have.
Maharaj : Why don”t you invert it: want what you have and care not for what you don”t have?
-Nisargadatta
~~Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram
Granted, it's not very enlightening, but I memorized it a long time ago.
Here is a beautiful Buddha quote I recently found:
"If you really want freedom, happiness will arise. From happiness will come rapture. When your mind is enraptured, your body is tranquil. When your body is tranquil, you will know bliss. Because you are blissful, your mind will concentrate easily. Being concentrated, you will see things as they really are. In so seeing, you will become aware that life is a miracle. Being so aware, you will lose all your attachments. As you cease grasping, so you will be freed."
How much suffering and fear, and
How much harmful things are in existence?
If all arises from clinging to the "I",
What should I do with this great demon?
Shantideva (18)
“A man is not alive until he loses himself and releases the anxious grip on his life, property, reputation, and position.”
“Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”
“Have no regrets for the past nor fears for the future. Let life take its course without attempting to interfere with its movement and change. Neither trying to prolong the stay of things pleasant nor to hasten the departure of things unpleasant. Be in perfect accord with the changing time of life. Because life exists only in this eternal now, detached from the past and future, because those are both illusions.”
-all by Alan Watts
~ Socrates
~ Willie Nelson
~ Sogyal Rinpoche, Glimpse of the Day
Namaste
The Journey is the reward...
In the same manner, thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of the very nature of the mind. They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve? Back into the mind. Whatever rises, do not see it as a particular problem. If you do not impulsively react, if you are only patient, it will once again settle into its essential nature.
When you have this understanding, then rising thoughts only enhance your practice. But when you do not understand what they intrinsically are—the radiance of the nature of your mind—then your thoughts become the seed of confusion. So have a spacious, open, and compassionate attitude toward your thoughts and emotions, because in fact your thoughts are your family, the family of your mind. Before them, as Dudjom Rinpoche used to say: “Be like an old wise man, watching a child play.”
~ Also from Sogyal
You will find, in fact, that you have uncovered in yourself your own wise guide, and as the voice of your wise guide, or discriminating awareness, grows stronger and clearer, you will start to distinguish between its truth and the various deceptions of the ego, and you will be able to listen to it with discernment and confidence.
~ Deepak Chopra
Here's some more from Sogyal Rinpoche -
When you are nervous, disoriented, or emotionally fragile, inspired chanting or reciting of a mantra can change the state of your mind completely, by transforming its energy and atmosphere. How is this possible? Mantra is the essence of sound, the embodiment of the truth in the form of sound. Each syllable is impregnated with spiritual power, condenses a deep spiritual truth, and vibrates with the blessing of the speech of the buddhas. It is also said that the mind rides on the subtle energy of the breath, the prana, which moves through and purifies the subtle channels of the body. So when you chant a mantra, you are charging your breath and energy with the energy of the mantra, and so working directly on your mind and your subtle body.
Have a good one!
~ Clifford Stoll
Gradually, as we listen to the teachings, certain passages and insights in them will strike a strange chord in us, memories of our true nature will start to trickle back to us, and a deep feeling of something homely and uncannily familiar will slowly awaken.
Sogyal Rinpoche, Glimpse of the Day
*********************************************************
Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one another.
Spend 5 minutes -- breathing in -- cherishing yourself; and, breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing, extend your cherishing to them anyway.
During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet.
Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc) or people you dislike.
Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you.
These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful.
The practice of cherishing can be taken very deeply if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.
Namaste
What most of us need, almost more than anything, is the courage and humility really to ask for help, from the depths of our hearts: to ask for the compassion of the enlightened beings, to ask for purification and healing, to ask for the power to understand the meaning of our suffering and transform it; at a relative level to ask for the growth in our lives of clarity, peace, and discernment, and to ask for the realization of the absolute nature of mind that comes from merging with the deathless wisdom mind of the master.
Namaste
thanissaro bhikkhu
~ Albert Schweitzer
For peace of mind, we need to resign as general manager of the universe.
~ Larry Eisenberg
· A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view. Wilma Askinas
· A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves. Simone Weil
· A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. Mark Twain
· A problem becomes a pleasure when you come up with a solution.
· A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. William Shedd
</O:p· A successful marriage depends on two things: 1) finding the right person and 2) being the right person.
· A very bad (and all too common) way to misread a newspaper: To see whatever supports your point of view as fact, and anything that contradicts your point of view as bias.
· A wealthy man is one who earns more than his wife’s brother-in-law Mencken
· Adventure is worthwhile in itself. Amelia Earhart
· Aerodynamically the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it, and so goes on flying anyway. Mary Kay Ash
· All generalizations are false, including this one. Mark Twain
· All great ideas are controversial, or have been at one time. George Seldes
· All that I have accomplished… has been by that plodding, patient, persevering process of accretion which builds the ant heap particle by particle, thought by thought, fact by fact. Elihu Burritt
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer
· Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. Judy Garland<O:p</O:p
· Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain<O:p</O:p
· Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.<O:p</O:p
· Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it. Henry David Thoreau<O:p</O:p
· Arrive at work early and stay beyond quitting time.<O:p</O:p
· Attachment to things drops away by itself when you no longer seek to find yourself in them. Eckhart Tolle<O:p</O:p
· Be a good loser. Be a good winner.<O:p</O:p
· Be a leader. Remember the lead sled dog is the only one with a decent view.<O:p</O:p
· Be cautious about lending money to friends. You might lose both.<O:p</O:p
· Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.<O:p</O:p
· Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead. Scottish proverb<O:p</O:p
· Be kinder than necessary.<O:p</O:p
· Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.<O:p</O:p
· Be the first to say “Hello.”<O:p</O:p
· Be what you is, not what you ain’t, ‘cause if you ain’t what you is, you is what you ain’t. Luther D. Price<O:p</O:p
· Be your wife’s best friend.<O:p</O:p
· Be yourself no matter what they say. Sting<O:p</O:p
· Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.<O:p</O:p
· Before I built a wall I’d ask to know, what I was walling in or walling out. Robert Frost<O:p</O:p
· Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. Marlene vos Savant<O:p</O:p
· Better to fall flat on your face, than to fall on your ass. Debra Winger<O:p</O:p
· But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his grea<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[IMG]http://newbuddhist.com/forum/ /><st1:PersonName alt=[/IMG]</st1:PersonName>test fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious. Vince Lombardi<O:p</O:p
· Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come ninety percent of all your happiness or misery.<O:p</O:p
· Commit yourself to quality.<O:p</O:p
· Compliment even small improvements.<O:p</O:p
· Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. Benjamin Franklin<O:p</O:p
· Dance like no one is watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like no one is listening, Live like it's heaven on earth. William Purkey<O:p</O:p
· Do battle with prejudice and discrimination wherever you find it.<O:p</O:p
· Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something. Henry David Thoreau<O:p</O:p
· Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden<O:p</O:p
· Don’t buy cheap tools.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t complain. Eighty percent of the people you complain to don’t care and 20 percent are glad you have problems. Lou Holtz<O:p</O:p
· Don’t expect life to be fair.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t expect others to listen to your advice and ignore your example.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t limit your child to your learning, for he was born in another time.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t waste time learning the tricks of the trade. Instead, learn the trade.<O:p</O:p
· Don’t worry that you can’t give your kids the best of everything. Give them your very best.<O:p</O:p
· Don't give up on your dreams. If you don't make it, it's not going to kill you. But giving up on them most surely will. Gabe Berman<O:p</O:p
· Drive inexpensive cars, but own the best house you can afford.<O:p</O:p
· Emotion is the enemy of rational argument.<O:p</O:p
· Enemies are the price of honor. Terry Goodkind<O:p</O:p
· Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will <st1:City w:st="on">Rogers</st1:City><O:p</O:p
· Every man becomes, to a certain degree, what the people he generally converses with are.<O:p</O:p
· Every person you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.<O:p</O:p
· Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.<O:p</O:p
· Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do. Shaquille O’Neal<O:p</O:p
· Expectations being what they are……never confuse motion and progress.<O:p</O:p
· Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It's the mastery of fear. It's about getting up one more time than we fall down.<O:p</O:p
· Give me being and feeling over having any day.<O:p</O:p
· Give people a second chance, but not a third.<O:p</O:p
· Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other. Reinhold Neibuhr<O:p</O:p
· Give yourself an hour to cool off before responding to someone who has provoked you. If it involves something really important, give it overnight.<O:p</O:p
· Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important…they do not mean to do harm…they are absorbed in an endless struggle to think well of themselves. TS Eliot<O:p</O:p
· Happiness depends upon ourselves. Aristotle<O:p</O:p
· Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. Sam Ewing<O:p</O:p
· Health, south wind, books, old trees, [dogs,] a boat, a friend. Ralph Waldo Emerson<O:p</O:p
· Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently? Joe Dominguez<O:p</O:p
· Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. Mahatma Gandhi<O:p</O:p
· Hope is a good motivator, but, it is a poor planner. Lucien Soulban<O:p</O:p
· How have we become so addicted to petroleum oil? How would the world be different if we could make all our own fuel in our own country? For the last two years I have driven to work on soybeans. This is possible in our lifetime.<O:p</O:p
· I don't view it as saving. I think of it as buying independence. I can't think of many things I would want to buy more.<O:p</O:p
· I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. Henry David Thoreau<O:p</O:p
· I never really address myself to any image anybody has of me. That’s like fighting with ghosts. Sally Field<O:p</O:p
· I’d rather have memories of experiences, than memories of dreams.<O:p</O:p
· I’m amazed at how much of what we call interior decorating is just subconscious altar building. Luisha Teish<O:p</O:p
· If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson<O:p</O:p
· If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all. Pearl Buck<O:p</O:p
· If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.<O:p</O:p
· If the thought of what you lack – whether it be money, recognition, or love – has become part of who you think you are, you will always experience lacking. Rather than acknowledge the good that is already in your life, all you see is lack. Eckhart Tolle<O:p</O:p
· If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. Thomas Edison<O:p</O:p
· If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change. Tancredi from The Leopard<O:p</O:p
· If you cannot change your life, then why not change the way you live it? Dr. David J Demko<O:p</O:p
· If you can't say something nice...don't say nothing at all. Thumper<O:p</O:p
· If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. Lewis Carroll<O:p</O:p
· If you jump off the top floor of an 80 story building, you can actually feel like you're flying for 79 stories. It's the sudden stop at the end that gets you. Rob Watson re: a lack of political will</ST1:p<O:p</O:p
· If you're lucky enough to live by the sea, you're lucky enough!<O:p</O:p
· If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart; and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head. Winston Churchill<O:p</O:p
· I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen<O:p</O:p
· Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Albert Einstein<O:p</O:p
· Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein<O:p</O:p
· In almost every culture where happiness has been studied, it comes down to four things: employment, family, health and money. Richard Easterlin<O:p
</O:p· In the long course of life one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move Katherine Hepburn<O:p</O:p
· Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching. Jim Stovall<O:p></O:p>
· Isn't it surprising how many things, if not said immediately, seem not worth saying ten minutes from now? Arnot L. Sheppard, Jr.<O:p></O:p>
· It also seems to me, that if we say these "values" are what we collectively want to support, then we ought to collectively be willing to pay for them. It seems disingenuous to me to say we value them, but a future generation should pay for them. IMO, that shows a lack of values.<O:p></O:p>
· It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. Abraham Lincoln<O:p></O:p>
· It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln <O:p></O:p>
· It is not what you earn that makes you rich or poor; it is what you spend.<O:p></O:p>
· It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others. Andrew Holmes<O:p></O:p>
· It’s never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot<O:p></O:p>
· It’s not the thing you fling, it’s the fling itself. Northern Exposure 1992<O:p></O:p>
· It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world everyday always just exactly fits the newspaper. Jerry Seinfeld<O:p></O:p>
· Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now – and then got it back. Anon (re: “keeping up with the Joneses”)<O:p></O:p>
· Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward. Niels Bohr<O:p></O:p>
· Life is a banquet at which most people starve. adapted Mame Dennis<O:p></O:p>
· Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller<O:p></O:p>
· Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.<O:p></O:p>
· Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend. The Beatles<O:p></O:p>
· Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. Ferris Bueller<O:p></O:p>
· Live beneath your means.<O:p></O:p>
· Live your life so your epitaph could read, “No regrets.”<O:p></O:p>
· Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.<O:p></O:p>
· Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them. The cycle runs thusly: adoration turns to obsession, obsession turns to disappointment, and from disappointment it is a just a short emotional jump to contempt.<O:p></O:p>
· Many people search blindly for the "meaning of life." What they don't seem to understand is that life does not have meaning through mere existence or acquisition or fun. The meaning of life is inherent in the connections we make to others through honor and obligation.<O:p></O:p>
· Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding. <O:p></O:p>
· Men who borrow their opinions can never repay their debts. George Savile<O:p></O:p>
· Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. Thomas Paine<O:p></O:p>
· Money won't buy you happiness, but it makes being miserable a whole lot easier.<O:p></O:p>
· Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness. Margaret Millar<O:p></O:p>
· Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln<O:p></O:p>
· Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. Oscar Wilde<O:p></O:p>
· Most people would rather live with a problem they can’t solve, than accept a solution they can’t understand. R.E.D. Woolsley & H.S. Swanson<O:p></O:p>
· Never argue with a fool, people might not be able to tell the difference.<O:p></O:p>
· Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic. Anon<O:p></O:p>
· Never cheat.<O:p></O:p>
· Never compromise your integrity.<O:p></O:p>
· Never deprive someone of hope; it may be all they have.<O:p></O:p>
· Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.<O:p></O:p>
· Never give up on something you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.<O:p></O:p>
· Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life. Sandra Carey<O:p></O:p>
· Never ruin an apology with an excuse. Kimberly Johnson<O:p></O:p>
· Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Never overestimate your power to change others.<O:p></O:p>
· Never waste an opportunity to tell good employees how much they mean to the company.<O:p></O:p>
· No good deed goes unpunished. Clare Boothe Luce <O:p></O:p>
· No matter what you have or get, you won't be happy. You will always be looking for something else that promises greater fulfillment, that promises to make your incomplete sense of self complete and fill that sense of lack you feel within. Eckhart Tolle<O:p></O:p>
· Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy. Cynthia Nelms<O:p></O:p>
· Non illigitimus carborundum<O:p></O:p>
· non sum qualis eram (I am not what I once was). <O:p></O:p>
· Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Calvin Coolidge<O:p></O:p>
· Now that's funny right there...I don't care who you are. Larry the Cable Guy<O:p></O:p>
· Often you get the best insights by considering extremes – by thinking of the opposite of that with which you are directly concerned. C. Wright Mills<O:p></O:p>
· On dressing: It's better to have one magnificent possession than a lot of mediocre ones.<O:p></O:p>
· One must be something to be able to do something. Goethe<O:p></O:p>
· One of the reasons our society has become such a mess is that we’re isolated from one another. Maggie Kuhn<O:p></O:p>
· Our culture peculiarly honors the art of blaming, which it takes as the sign of virtue and intellect. Lionel Trilling<O:p></O:p>
· Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind. Seneca<O:p></O:p>
· Practice empathy. Try to see things from other people’s points of view.<O:p></O:p>
· Praise in public. Criticize in private.<O:p></O:p>
· Promise big. Deliver big.<O:p></O:p>
· Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success in a simple life well lived as: "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to learn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a little bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."<O:p></O:p>
· Read anything that requires your signature. Remember the big print giveth and the small print taketh away.<O:p></O:p>
· Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who help you.<O:p></O:p>
· Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do.<O:p></O:p>
· Resist telling people how something should be done. Instead, tell them what needs to be done. They will often surprise you with creative solutions.<O:p></O:p>
· Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength. Eric Hoffer<O:p></O:p>
· Show respect for all living things.<O:p></O:p>
· Show respect for teachers, police officers, firefighters and military personnel.<O:p></O:p>
· Some people make progress. Other make changes. A true leader knows the difference.<O:p></O:p>
· Something that everyone knows isn't worth knowing (re: investing). Bernard Baruch <O:p></O:p>
· Sometimes death is not as tragic as not knowing how to live. This man knew how to live--and how to make others glad they were living. Jack Benny at Nat King Cole's funeral<O:p></O:p>
· Spend less time worrying who’s right, and more time deciding what’s right.<O:p></O:p>
· Start meetings on time regardless of who’s missing.<O:p></O:p>
· Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.<O:p></O:p>
· Strive for excellence, not perfection.<O:p></O:p>
· Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius. Dr. An Wang<O:p></O:p>
· Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. Henry David Thoreau<O:p></O:p>
· Successful retirement depends on what you retire to, not from. Demko <O:p></O:p>
· Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand. Confucious<O:p></O:p>
· That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. Henry David Thoreau<O:p></O:p>
· The 20/40/60 principle...When you're 20 you worry about what people think about you, when you're 40 you don't care what people think about you and when you're 60 you find out people were never thinking about you in the first place.<O:p></O:p>
· The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office. Robert Frost <O:p></O:p>
· The brighter you are, the more you have to learn. Don Herold<O:p></O:p>
· The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. Ellen Parr<O:p></O:p>
· The day my son was born, I simultaneously died and was reborn. Every day before that day, my life had been about me and what I wanted the world to give me. Every day since, my life necessarily has been about what I can give to someone else. And that, I think, is why the world needs more children - and more parents.<O:p</O:p
· The days of buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like are over.<O:p</O:p
· The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Benjamin Franklin<O:p</O:p
· The difference between a smart man and a wise man is that a smart man knows what to say, a wise man knows whether or not to say it. Frank M. Garafola<O:p</O:p
· The ego wants to want more than it wants to have. And so the shallow satisfaction of having is always replaced by more wanting. Eckhart Tolle<O:p</O:p
· The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. Bill Gates<O:p</O:p
· The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism. Sir William Osler<O:p</O:p
· The grea<st1:PersonName w:st="on">test</st1:PersonName> enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan. Voltaire<O:p</O:p
· The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Thomas Paine<O:p</O:p
· The hot<st1:PersonName w:st="on">test</st1:PersonName> places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. John F Kennedy<O:p</O:p
· The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid.<O:p</O:p
· The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. Mark Twain<O:p</O:p
· The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. Henry David Thoreau<O:p</O:p
· The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them. Frank Clark<O:p</O:p
· The most important things in life aren’t things. Anthony J. D’Angelo<O:p</O:p
· The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway. Henry Boye<O:p</O:p
· The most relevant pieces of advice I received regarding marriage: You can only be as happy as the least happy person in the house, and two bathrooms are mandatory.<O:p</O:p
· The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. Gen George S. Patton<O:p</O:p
· The only actions that do not cause opposing reaction are those that are aimed at the good of all. Eckhart Tolle<O:p</O:p
· The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d druther not. Mark Twain<O:p</O:p
· The problem with finding a good financial advisor is that by the time you know what a good advisor is, you know enough to do it yourself.<O:p</O:p
· The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are in the right. Mark Twain<O:p</O:p
· The richer your friends, the more they will cost you. Elizabeth Marbury<O:p</O:p
· The <st1:PersonName w:st="on">test</st1:PersonName> of a man or woman’s breeding is how they behave in a quarrel. George Bernard Shaw<O:p</O:p
· The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice. Mahatma Gandhi<O:p</O:p
· The trouble with our times is the future is not what it used to be. Paul Valery<O:p</O:p
· The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet. Ann Landers<O:p</O:p
· The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat. Lily Tomlin<O:p</O:p
· The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. <st1:City w:st="on">Eden</st1:City> Phillpotts<O:p</O:p
· The value of an idea has nothing to do with the sincerity of the person expressing it. Oscar Wilde<O:p</O:p
· The way forward is paradoxically to look not ahead, but to look around. John S. Brown, Chief Scientist at Xerox and Director of PARC<O:p</O:p
· The way you stand out is by understanding what your employer expects of you and delivering more. John Morikis<O:p</O:p
· The world is a book, those who do not travel read only a page. <st1:City w:st="on">Saint Augustine</st1:City><O:p</O:p
· The world is full of people who have stopped listening to themselves or have listened only to their neighbors to learn what they ought to do, how they ought to behave, and what the values are that they should be living for. Joseph Campbell<O:p</O:p
· There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein<O:p</O:p
· There are well-dressed foolish ideas just as there are well-dressed fools. Nicholas Chamfort<O:p</O:p
· There is no crisis that you can't make worse by panicking.<O:p</O:p
· There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance. Plato<O:p</O:p
· There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way. Christopher Marley<O:p</O:p
· There’s never time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over.<O:p</O:p
· There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, just results.<O:p</O:p
· Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln<O:p</O:p
· Think like a man of action. Act like a man of thought. Henri Bergson<O:p</O:p
· This too shall pass.<O:p</O:p
· Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. Plato<O:p</O:p
· Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it. Abraham Lincoln<O:p</O:p
· To be humble to superiors is a duty, to equals courtesy, to inferior’s nobleness. Benjamin Franklin<O:p</O:p
· To escape criticism – do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. Elbert Hubbard<O:p</O:p
· Too soon old, too late smart.<O:p</O:p
· Tough times bring out the best in some people, and the worst in others.<O:p</O:p
· Tough times never last, but tough people do. Robert Schuller<O:p</O:p
· Trust is the conviction that the leader means what he or she says. It is a belief in two old-fashioned qualities called consistency and integrity. Trust opens the door to change. Peter Drucker<O:p</O:p
· Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.<O:p</O:p
· Use credit cards for convenience, never for credit.<O:p</O:p
· Use your wit to amuse, not abuse.<O:p</O:p
· Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Isaac Asimov<O:p</O:p
· We are considered the most intelligent beings on earth. Shouldn't our lives be more satisfying as we age? By satisfying, I mean more joy, peace, purpose and freedom and less anxiety, stress and fear. But as I look around this doesn't seem to be the case for most Americans. As we scramble for things to satisfy us without the knowledge of what really satisfies us, we always fail. It doesn't matter how hard we try; the result is always the same. E.S. Smith<O:p</O:p
· We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin<O:p</O:p
· We find in life exactly what we put into it. Ralph Waldo Emerson<O:p</O:p
· We get what we deserve.<O:p</O:p
· We only do well the things we like doing. Colette<O:p</O:p
· We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. Frederick Koenig<O:p</O:p
· Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. Henry David Thoreau<O:p</O:p
· Wear out, don’t rust out.<O:p</O:p
· What is a true gift? One for which nothing is expected in return. Confucious<O:p</O:p
· What people say behind your back is your standing in the community. Edgar Howe<O:p</O:p
· Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists. Eckhart Tolle<O:p</O:p
· When all is said and done, more is said than done.<O:p</O:p
· When complimented, a sincere “thank you” is the only response required.<O:p</O:p
· When facing a difficult task, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you’re going after Moby Dick, take along the tartar sauce.<O:p</O:p
· When someone is relating an important event that’s happened to them, don’t try to top them with a story of your own. Let them have the stage.<O:p</O:p
· When work is no more than a means to an end, it cannot be of high quality. Eckhart Tolle<O:p></O:p>
· Why aren’t you happy? It’s because ninety-nine percent of everything you do, and think, and say is for yourself. Wu Wei Wu<O:p</O:p
· Wisdom. Figuring out the meaning of life seems really important when you're young, but you can't possibly know the meaning of life until you've had a life.<O:p</O:p
· Work hard to create in your children a good self-image. It’s the most important thing you can do to insure their success.<O:p</O:p
· You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. Eric Hoffer<O:p</O:p
· You can live a lifetime and, at the end of it, know more about other people than you know of yourself. Beryl <st1:City w:st="on">Markham</st1:City><O:p</O:p
· You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. Ralph Waldo Emerson<O:p</O:p
· You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln<O:p</O:p
· You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi<O:p</O:p
· You never learn anything with your mouth open.<O:p</O:p
· You’re not going to worry your way out of a problem. You’re never going to think your way to a purpose.<O:p</O:p
· We who are like senseless children Shrink from suffering, but love its causes. We hurt ourselves; our pain is self-inflicted! Why should others be the object of our anger? Santideva<O:p</O:p
· To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. Oscar Wilde<O:p</O:p
· Religion seems to be about following rules, practicing rituals, towing the line...etc... Many folks just go through the motions because that's what they're supposed to do, or it gives them an identity to cling to. They can be part of the group so to speak.
Spirituality is more about being in tune with yourself, and others, and the rest of the world (universe) etc... It's cutting through the material stuff of the world and realizing how we are all connected on a deeper level.
Sometimes the two overlap....sometimes they don't. Darren<O:p</O:p
· There are two ways of being unhappy; not getting what you want, and getting what you want.<O:p</O:p
· It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. Bertrand Russell<O:p</O:p
· This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. Emerson<O:p</O:p
· Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot<O:p</O:p
· Fall seven times; stand up eight. Japanese proverb<O:p</O:p
· Nothing was, nothing will be; everything is, everything has being and presence. from Siddhartha<O:p</O:p
· Believe those who are seeking truth. Doubt those who find it. Andre Gide<O:p</O:p
· Life is a miracle to be celebrated, not something to be escaped from or avoided (attachment to more money, sex, vacations, status, pride, or any other materialistic variation on the theme of more). We are all going to die aren’t we? But are we each going to truly live?<O:p</O:p
· We think so much, yet we truly know and understand so very little.<O:p</O:p
· All the happiness there is in this world comes from thinking about others, and all the suffering comes from preoccupation with yourself. Shantideva<O:p</O:p
· A questioning man is halfway to being wise. Irish saying<O:p</O:p
· Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves. Helen Keller<O:p</O:p
· Knowing the world is knowledge; knowing oneself is wisdom. Lao Tsu<O:p</O:p
· All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. Buddha<O:p</O:p
· The problem is not materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone. The Dalai Lama<O:p</O:p
· Nothing should be clung to.<O:p</O:p
· Be the change you want to see in the world. Ghandi<O:p</O:p
· There is the risk you cannot afford to take, and there is the risk you cannot afford not to take. Peter Drucker<O:p</O:p
· Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Anais Nin<O:p</O:p
· Ordinary career success is a real good job; real career success is a real good life. Ernie Zelinksi<O:p</O:p
· Success has made failures of many men. Cindy Adams<O:p</O:p
· There are days when it takes all you’ve got just to keep up with the losers. Robert Orben<O:p</O:p
· The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius. Sid Caesar<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p
That's QUITE a collection
The best index to a person's character is:
(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and
(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
~ Abigail van Buren
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
~ Lewis B. Smedes
If you're so inclined, you could plug that into Google and see what pops up
Namaste
Namaste
~ Leon Trotsky
~ Sogyal Rinpoche
Namaste
~ Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom
At that time, spirits had become tired of incarnating as fully-aware spirits-in-physicality. They wanted more challenge in the game of life. They wanted to turn life into a mystery; a true, stand-alone human experience, not just an extension of spirit into matter.
Bear in mind that, in the natural state of spiritual living, as free spirits in the mental realms, there are very few limitations. People can manifest anything they need, relocate instantly in space, shift to a different position in time, all at the speed of thought. In the mental realms, people can visit friends or travel with them, exploring the universe, all through the power of thought. That's why they're called the mental realms.
To be more specific, the mental realms exist in fifth density consciousness and are the domain of your soul or inner being. Between third-density physicality and the fifth-density realm of your inner being lies the fourth-density or astral realm, populated by people in the early to main stages of the afterlife. In the late stages of the afterlife, people move into fifth density to consider their options for further experience.
Physical incarnation is always voluntary. Nothing compels your soul to incarnate into another physical life. It is always a decision at the personal and soul group level whether to come back into physical life on Earth.
Thousands of years ago, physical experience was a fully-conscious extension of spirit into matter. People knew who they were as spirits, connected to their inner selves and to the universe as a whole.
"What if," they said, "we came into physical existence and didn't know who we were? We could spend our whole lives searching for the answer to the puzzle. Imagine what a challenge it would be!"
Mankind then made the joint decision to immerse itself further into a denser, more focused reality. Their focus was directed upon the physical senses, along with a detachment from the superconscious and subconscious levels of thinking. By maintaining a tight focus upon the "outer" world of the senses, humans could even believe that they are fixed into one location in space and locked into a time continuum.
Imagine, physical life would become so intense, so real, so convincing. Now, most people love exciting rides, like the ones at amusement parks. And, if the ride seems scary, so much the better. Roller coaster rides are scary. The old Ghost Train rides at U.K. fairgrounds were scary. Disney's Haunted Mansions at their theme parks in California, Florida, Paris and Tokyo are all very scary. So scary that, when the rides end, people say,
"That was great! Want to go round again?"
Life can be scary, too. A life spent without a constant, conscious connection to your true inner nature is always a challenge.
Today, the amusement park ride of inner separation is coming to an end.
The Shift to the New Reality is happening today. We are becoming more and more aware of our inner nature. Those who grasp the idea of the New Reality will actively develop that inner connection, and not just wait for it to surprise them as it slowly unfolds.
And remember, this ride through intense physicality was always a choice. We may not remember as far back as when the choice was made, but, at a soul level, we've been willingly hopping on and off the theme park ride of physical life on Earth ever since.
We incarnate for the experience of physical life, and to help transform this reality towards its ultimate state, one which, today, is looming very near.
These are the days of transformation, the time of The Shift. The scary ride is coming to an end. As a culture, we are about to find ourselves and reconnect within.
This article was written by Owen Waters, author of "The Shift: The Revolution in Human Consciousness"
let your heart be at peace
-tao te ching
~ James Twyman, "Emissary of Light"
Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering,
May I hold them dear - for they are rare to find -
As if I have discovered a jewel treasure!
This verse refers to the special case of relating to people who are socially marginalised, perhaps because of their behaviour, their appearance, their destitution, or on account of some illness. Whoever practices bodhichitta must take special care of these people, as if, on meeting them, you have found a real treasure. Instead of feeling repulsed, a true practitioner of these altruistic principles should engage and take on the challenge of relating. In fact, the way we interact with people of this kind could give a great impetus to our spiritual practice.
From The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom
On a deeper, spiritual level, I have seen again and again how, if you can embody compassion and act out of the heart of compassion, you will create an atmosphere in which the other person can be inspired to imagine the spiritual dimension or even take up spiritual practice.
On the deepest level of all, if you constantly practice compassion for the dying person, and in turn inspire him or her to do the same, you might heal the person not only spiritually but perhaps even physically. And you will discover for yourself, with wonder, what all the spiritual masters know: that the power of compassion has no bounds.
~ Sogyal Rinpoche
Eckhart Tolle, "A New Earth"
I highly recommend it
If you liked that sample ... try plugging tolle feel inner body conscious breath into Google & see what pops up!
Say to yourself: “I am not going to run away from this suffering. I want to use it in the best and richest way I can, so that I can become more compassionate and more helpful to others.” Suffering, after all, can teach us about compassion. If you suffer, you will know how it is when others suffer. And if you are in a position to help others, it is through your suffering that you will find the understanding and compassion to do so."
~ Sogyal Rinpoche, Glimpse of the Day