Fear Is The Mind-Killer
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
–Frank Herbert (American Writer who Won both Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel, 1920-1986)
Dune: Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
“Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)” (Frank Herbert)
Attached to the Earth
“We are so attached to the earth, and yet we are incapable of holding onto it.”
–Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian Writer and, in 1970, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1918-2008)
“Cancer Ward” (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
The Mind of a Perfect Person
“The mind of a perfect man is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects nothing. It reflects but does not hold. Therefore the Perfect Man can act without effort.”
–Chuang Tzu (Chinese Philosopher, c.369-286 B.C.)
Enjoy the World Without Judging It
I just heard that the author of these words has recently moved on. Or as a good friend used to say: “Been promoted!”
“To enjoy the world without judgment is what a realized life is like.”
–Charlotte Joko Beck (American Zen Teacher and Author, 1917-2011)
Detachment
“When your intellect in its great longing for God gradually withdraws from the flesh and turns away from all thoughts that have their source in your sense-perception, memory or soul-body temperament, and when it becomes full of reverence and joy, then you may conclude that you are close to the frontiers of prayer.”
–Evagrios the Solitary (a.k.a. Evagrius Ponticus, Pontus-born Christian Mystic, Writer and “Desert Father,” c.346-399)
The Concerns of a Person of Spirit
“The concerns of Spirit-man are his levels of energy and the inner impact he creates for himself, not his staying alive. Spirit-man sees himself as eternal and prays only that his path may be well trod, with honor. He does not seek end results and is detached from concerns about life and death, political change, or social structure. Spirit-man rests within himself and is busy manipulating his own life, not the lives of others.”
–Stuart Wilde (English-born Author, Lecturer and Humorist 1946-)
Withholding Judgment
“Experienced spiritual researchers know what strength they gain by always looking for the good in everything and withholding their critical judgment.
This practice should not remain simply an outer rule of life, but must take hold of the innermost part of the soul.”
–Rudolf Steiner (Croatian-born Austrian Mystic, Occultist, Social Philosopher, Architect and Founder of Anthroposophy, 1861-1925)
You’ve Gotta Dance…
“You’ve gotta’ dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.
(And speak from the heart to be heard.)”
–William Purkey(American Author and Emeritus Professor at the University of North Carolina, 1929-)
Discerning the Keys of Life
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
Henry Havelock Ellis English Physician, Psychologist, Social Reformer and Author, 1859-1939
Scratch Where It Itches!
How many of us can ever uncover enough of our innate freedom to think and act this way?
“I have a simple philosophy. Fill what’s empty, empty what’s full, and scratch where it itches.”
–Alice Roosevelt Longworth (American Socialite and Daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th US President, 1884-1980)
