Steps Toward Self-Knowledge
“Man must know something of God’s nature and of metaphysical processes if he is to understand himself and thereby achieve gnosis of the Divine.”
–Carl G. Jung (Swiss Psychologist and Psychiatrist, 1875-1961)
(Paragraph #747 in Volume 11 of the Collected Works)
Resisting Impulses: A Crucial Skill For Everyone!
“There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, lead to one or another impulse to act. The root meaning of the word emotion, remember, is “to move.”
–Daniel Goleman (American Psychologist, Journalist, Author and Consultant, 1946-)
“Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” (Daniel Goleman)
Awakening To The Truth
“Awakening to the truth is a deep realization of what you are as an experience. What is it that is listening? What is it that is feeling? Feel it. Sense it. Welcome it.”
–Adyashanti (a.k.a. Stephen Gray, American Spiritual Teacher, 1965-)
What Is The Other?
“What is the Other?” they ask.
“The Other is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am.”
“The Other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money a possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it’s too late.”
And you? Who are you?” I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It’s just that the Other, afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking action.”
“But there is suffering in life,” one of the listeners said. “
And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you’re fighting for.” That’s it?” another listener asked.
“Yes, that’s it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The Other stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the Other into myself again—-even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it’s risky not to think about the future. From the moment that I ousted the Other from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles.”
–Paulo Coelho (Brazilian Writer, 1947-)
“By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness” (Paulo Coelho)
A Sense of Proportion
“Without a sense of proportion there can be neither good taste nor genuine intelligence, nor perhaps moral integrity.”
–Eric Hoffer (American Longshoreman, Writer and Philosopher, 1902-1983)
“The Passionate State of Mind: And Other Aphorisms” (Eric Hoffer)
Building Character
“Character isn’t inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action. If one lets fear or hate or anger take possession of the mind, they become self-forged chains.”
–Helen Gahagan Douglas (American Actress and Liberal Democratic Politician, 1900-1980)
Children Creating Adults
“Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.”
–Peter de Vries (American Novelist and Editor, 1910-1993)
Spreading Peace
“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”
–Thomas à Kempis (German Monk, Mystic, and Religious Writer, 1379-1471)
“The Imitation of Christ (Paraclete Essentials)” (Thomas A. Kempis)
Levels of Consciousness
“There is individual consciousness and from there, group consciousness and then we reach universal consciousness. The aim of man is to reach universal consciousness.”
–Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji (a.k.a. Yogi Harbhajan, a.k.a. Yogi Bhajan, Indian-born American Master of Kundalini Yoga and Head of the Sikh Dharma in the Western Hemisphere, 1929-2004)
Smart Leadership
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
–General George S. Patton (American General, 1885-1945)
