Recognizing the World As Sacred
“As the heightening of mental life reveals to the intellect deeper and deeper levels of reality, so with that movement towards enhancement of the life of spirit…. the world assumes not the character of illusion but the character of sacrament; and spirit finds Spirit in the lilies of the field, no less than in the Unknowable Abyss.”
–Evelyn Underhill (English Mystic, Poet, Writer and Spiritual Counselor, 1875-1941)
Reflecting the Source
“All life down to its smallest element, can, if rightly approached, be seen as a reflection of the infinite source of holiness, which is God.”
–Huston Smith (Chinese-born American Religious Studies Scholar and Emeritus Professor at Syracuse University, 1919-)
Seeing the Miraculous in the Common
“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet and Essayist, 1803-1882)
Insights of a Mystic
“Remember that the Spirit of God permeates His glorious system, that His Life is in the leaves of the trees as well as in the hearts of human beings.”
–Flower A. Newhouse (American Christian Mystic and Spiritual Teacher, 1909-1994)
“Rediscovering the Angels and Natives of Eternity” (Flower A. Newhouse)
The Ultimate Realm
“If you touch the phenomenal realm deeply, you touch the ultimate realm which is the realm of no birth and no death. The ultimate is nirvana, it is God, and it is available to us twenty-four hours a day.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, 1926-)
“Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Earth Spirituality
“A basic tenet of Earth spirituality: Any element of Earth, because of its origin in spirit, can evoke all the power of the sacred, can become more than just plant, tree, or stone. It can transform itself and become PLANT, TREE, or STONE because each form of matter contains within it a divine logos.”
–Stephen Harrod Buhner (American Poet, Writer, Ecologist and Psychotherapist, 1952-)
“One Spirit, Many Peoples: A Manifesto for Earth Spirituality” (Stephen Harrod Buhner)
The Living Earth
“The earth is not a dead body, but is inhabited by a spirit that is its life and soul. All created things, minerals included, draw their strength from the earth spirit. This spirit is life.”
–Basilius Valentinus (a.k.a. Basil Valentine, German 15th Century Alchemist and Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Sankt Peter in Erfurt, Germany)
“The Way of the Earth: Encounters With Nature in Ancient and Contemporary Thought” (T. C. McLuhan)
The Divine in the Details
“The divine within the details of your life is present in every second, every motion, every thought.”
–Caroline Myss (American Medical Intuitive, Mystic and Author, 1952-)
“Entering the Castle: Finding the Inner Path to God and Your Soul’s Purpose” (Caroline Myss)
Mirrors of the Divine
“He [St. John of the Cross] enjoyed music and stars and nature immensely. For him they were nothing but pure mirrors of the divine – which, of course, is exactly what everything is meant to be.”
–Thomas Dubay (American Marist Priest, Retreat Master and Author, 1923-2010)
Seeing God
“As soon as we learn that God does things through us not for us, the matter of seeing God becomes as simple as breathing, as inevitable as sunrise.”
–Agnes Sanford (American Charismatic Christian Healer, teacher and Writer, 1897-1982)
