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Zen Quotes

    “‎Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you. They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things to help you learn perfect patience, perfect wisdom, perfect compassion.” ~ Gautama Buddha

      “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” ~ Carl Jung

      Original Self [Book]

        Original Self by Thomas Moore

        By: Thomas Moore

        From this Book:  20 Quotes

        Book Overview:  In Original Self, spiritual pioneer Thomas Moore guides readers back to their God-given personalities through fifty heart-lifting meditations. This inspiring collection offers fresh interpretations of living with originality rather than conformity, presenting multidimensional portraits of the creative self and different angles from which to top one’s primal emotions and possibilities. Learn what it means to live from the burning essence of the heart, with the creativity that comes from allowing the soul to blossom in its own colors and shapes.  With his usual grace and insight, Moore counters the prevailing assumptions of the day and offers strikingly unorthodox views on what is virtuous and healthy, opening up possibilities for a renewal of the way we live socially and in our private lives.

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        Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

          “It may be more important to be awake than to be successful, balanced, or healthy.  What does it mean to be awake? Perhaps to be living with a lively imagination, responding honestly and courageously to opportunity and avoiding the temptation to follow mere habit or collective values.  It means to be an individual, in every instance manifesting the originality of who we are.  This is the ultimate form of creativity – following the lead of the deep soul as we make a life.”

          Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.

            “Care of the soul often means getting out of the way rather than doing something.”

            Thomas Moore, Original Self | ★ Featured on this book list.

            The Art of Stillness [Book]

              The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer

              By: Pico Iyer

              From this Book:  14 Quotes

              Book Overview:  Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.

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              Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

                “It takes courage, of course, to step out of the fray, as it takes courage to do anything that’s necessary, whether tending to a loved one on her deathbed or turning away from that sugarcoated doughnut. And with billions of our global neighbors in crying need, with so much in every life that has to be done, it can sound selfish to take a break or go off to a quiet place. But as soon as you do sit still, you find that it actually brings you closer to others, in both understanding and sympathy. As the meditative video artist Bill Viola notes, it’s the man who steps away from the world whose sleeve is wet with tears for it.” ~ Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

                  “It’s only by taking myself away from clutter and distraction that I can begin to hear something out of earshot and recall that listening is much more invigorating than giving voice to all the thoughts and prejudices that anyway keep me company twenty-four hours a day. And it’s only by going nowhere – by sitting still or letting my mind relax – that I find that the thoughts that come to me unbidden are far fresher and more imaginative than the ones I consciously seek out. Setting an auto-response on my e-mail, turning off the TV when I’m on the treadmill, trying to find a quiet place in the midst of a crowded day (or city) – all quickly open up an unsuspected space.” ~ Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

                    “One of the strange laws of the contemplative life is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you bear with them until they somehow solve themselves. Or until life solves them for you.” ~ Thomas Merton

                      “Half the confusion in the world comes from not knowing how little we need.” ~ Admiral Richard E. Byrd