Taking Action
Carlos Castaneda was always a controversial figure. Countless people have tried either to prove or disprove his authenticity, but there’s also no doubt that he gave voice to some important insights.
“A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.”
–Carlos Castaneda (Peruvian-born American Anthropologist and Author, c. 1925-1998)
Following Your Path
“Man improves himself as he follows his path; if he stands still, waiting to improve before he makes a decision, he’ll never move.”
–Paulo Coelho (Brazilian Writer, 1947-)
Limitless Energy
This short statement is absolutely true, and forms the basis of my “Turbocharge Your Energy” programs. Though I do give you quite a lot of explanation about the origins of all this energy! It is surprising but true that virtually anyone can access a startling source and supply of energy at will.
“It is astonishing how much energy the body is capable of pouring out and then replenishing. This is a magical act, because you never really understand where all the energy comes from.”
–Robert Bly (American Poet, 1926-)
Do You Get Frustrated?
“Frustration stems from the nasty habit of allowing the ego to decide the timing and delivery of its desires. If you blindfold the ego with discipline and never show it the menu of life, it doesn’t bitch about the food – it’s thrilled that you are eating to keep alive.”
–Stuart Wilde (English-born Author, Lecturer and Humorist 1946-)
Awareness of Ambiguity
“The awareness of the ambiguity of one’s highest achievements (as well as one’s deepest failures) is a definite symptom of maturity.”
–Paul Tillich (German-born American Theologian and Philosopher, 1886-1965)
Are You Meant For the Path?
I constantly meet people who tell me that they want to follow a spiritual path, but then begin to flounder when I ask them “Why?” or “What are you going to commit to doing on your Path?”
This a a fine expression about the Path by the close spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo.
“What do you want the Yoga for? To get power? To attain to peace and calm? To serve humanity? None of these motives is sufficient to show that you are meant for the Path.
The question you are to answer is this: Do you want the Yoga for the sake of the Divine? Is the Divine the supreme fact of your life, so much so that it is simply impossible for you to do without it? Do you feel that your very raison d’etre is the Divine and without it there is no meaning in your existence? If so, then only can it be said that you have a call for the Path.
This is the first thing necessary – aspiration for the Divine.
The next thing you have to do is to tend it, to keep it always alert and awake and living. And for that what is required is concentration – concentration upon the Divine with a view to an integral and absolute consecration to its Will and Purpose. Concentrate in the heart. Enter into it; go within and deep and far, as far as you can. Gather all the strings of your consciousness that are spread abroad, roll them up and take a plunge and sink down.
A fire is burning there, in the deep quietude of the heart. It is the divinity in you – your true being. Hear its voice, follow its dictates.”
–The Mother of Pondicherry (a.k.a. Mirra Alfassa, French-born Indian Spiritual Teacher, 1878-1973)
Holons
As a young student I was very taken with Arthur Koestler’s concept of “Holons:” processes or things that are both individual and part of a greater whole.
Here Ken Wilber talks about them in more detail:
“A holon is a whole that is part of other wholes. For example, a whole atom is part of a whole molecule, a whole molecule is part of a whole cell, a whole cell is part of a whole organism, and so on…. The universe is fundamentally composed of holons, wholes that are parts of other wholes.”
–Ken Wilber (American Philosopher, 1949-)
Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy
Even the Smallest Acts…
“Even the smallest acts and the least chores have a significance in the great household of the cosmos.”
–Rudolf Steiner (Croatian-born Austrian Mystic, Occultist, Social Philosopher, Architect and Founder of Anthroposophy, 1861-1925)
Trying to Understand
Whether or not you always agree with him, Bertrand Russell was one of the great minds of the twentieth century and it is good to see his self-evaluation. Would that we were all so candid!
“I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.”
–Bertrand Russell (Welsh Mathematician, Philosopher, Pacifist and, in 1950, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1872-1970)
“Bertrand Russell Bundle: Autobiography (Routledge Classics)” (Bertrand Russell)
Knowledge and Mastery
“All things that ever were, that are, or that will be, having; their record upon the astral light, or tablet of the unseen universe, the initiated adept, by using the vision of his own spirit, can know all that has been known or can be known.”
–Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Russian Author, Translator and Founder of the Theosophical Society, 1831-1891)
