Walking the Path
“We can know the path to heaven to some extent simply by considering what the people who make up heaven are like, realizing that no one can become an angel or get to heaven unless he or she arrives bringing along some angelic quality from the world. Inherent in that angelic quality is a knowing of the path from having walked it and a walking in the path from the knowing of it.”
–Emanuel Swedenborg (Swedish Scientist, Mystic and Philosopher, 1688-1772)
The Vastness of the Path
“The Path is exceedingly vast. From ancient times to the present day, even the greatest sages were unable to perceive and comprehend the entire truth; the explanation and teachings of masters and saints express only part of the whole. It is not possible for anyone to speak of such things in their entirety.
Just head for the light and heat, learn from the gods, and through the virtue of devoted practice of the Art of Peace, become one with the Divine.”
–Morihei Ueshiba (Japanese Martial Artist and Founder of Aikido, 1883-1969)
The Value of the Quest
“But the important thing is not the finding, it is the seeking, it is the devotion with which one spins the wheel of prayer and scripture, discovering the truth little by little. If this machine gave you the truth immediately, you would not recognize it, because your heart would not have been purified by the long quest.”
–Umberto Eco (Italian Writer and Semiologist, 1932- )
The Victorious Path of Non-Resistance
“The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.”
–Morihei Ueshiba (Japanese Martial Artist and Founder of Aikido, 1883-1969)
Attempt the “Impossible”
“A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.”
–Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (American Physician, Writer, Poet and Speaker, 1809-1894)
Guidance On the Path
“Trying to do good to people without God’s help is no easier than making the sun shine at midnight. You discover that you’ve got to abandon all your own preferences, your own bright ideas, and guide souls along the road our Lord has marked out for them. You mustn’t coerce them into some path of your own choosing.”
–Saint Theresa of Lisieux (French Carmelite Nun and Saint, who died of tuberculosis when only 24 years old, 1873-1897)
Being Like a Star
This may sound like a recipe for disaster, but actually it is not. If you really feel your path, then you don’t infringe on others and you certainly don’t descend into a pit of selfishness! Crowley wrote this after years of studying – and understanding – Daoist philosophy.
“Every human being should be like a star and follow his own path. A star is free so long as it follows its trajectory. The loss of freedom only begins with departure from the path.”
–Aleister Crowley (English Writer, Poet and Occultist, 1875-1947)
Exploring or Recognizing
“Perhaps I am doomed to retrace my steps under the illusion that I am exploring, doomed to try and learn what I should simply recognize, learning a mere fraction of what I have forgotten.”
–André Breton (French Surrealist, 1889-1966)
Continual Becoming
“You do not stand in the world as a finished, self contained spatial being, but you stand within continual happening, continual becoming, within processes continually going on and continually proceeding.”
–Rudolf Steiner (Croatian-born Austrian Mystic, Occultist, Social Philosopher, Architect and Founder of Anthroposophy, 1861-1925)
Your Invisible Source
“Having access to that formless realm is truly liberating. It frees you from bondage to form and identification with form. It is life in its undifferentiated state prior to its fragmentation into multiplicity. We may call it the Unmanifested, the invisible Source of all things, the Being within all beings. It is a realm of deep stillness and peace, but also of joy and intense aliveness. Whenever you are present, you become ‘transparent’ to some extent to the light, the pure consciousness that emanates from this Source. You also realize that the light is not separate from who you are but constitutes your very essence.”
–Eckhart Tolle (German-born Author and Spiritual Teacher, 1948-)
