16 September 2017
📔Week 2017-37: Journal
[#imagination, #human nature]
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is." (Francis Bacon)
[#life, #duality]
"There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself." (Herman Melville)
[#beliefs, #confidence]
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." (Marie Curie)
[#values, #strength]
"The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course." (Michelangelo)
[#spirituality, #simplicity]
"To realise the constancy and steadiness in your life is to realise the deep nature of the universe. This realisation is not dependent on any transitory internal or external condition, rather it is an expression of one’s own immutable spiritual nature. The only way to attain the Universal Way is to maintain the integral virtues of the constancy, steadiness and simplicity in one’s daily life." (Lao Tzu)
[#knowledge, #values]
"Knowledge is the highest good, truth the supreme value, all the rest is secondary and subordinate." (Aldous Huxley)
[#truth, #goals]
"Approximate truth is the only truth attainable, but at least one must strive for that, and not wade off into arbitrary falsehood." (George Eliot)
[#simplicity, #values]
"The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity." (Ludwig Wittgenstein
[#facts, #wisdom]
"Facts are ventriloquists' dummies. Sitting on a wise man's knee they may be made to utter words of wisdom; elsewhere they say nothing or talk nonsense..." (Aldous Huxley)
[#journeys, #spirituality]
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." (René Descartes)
[#journeys, #truth]
"Keep the company of those who seek the truth - run from those who have found it." (VÁCLAV HAVEL)
09 September 2017
📔Week 2017-36: Journal
[#love, #life]
"If our heart were large enough to love life in all its detail, we would see that every instant is at once a giver and a plunderer.” (Gaston Bachelard)
[#success, #purpose]
"Two things are necessary for success in life; one is a sense of purpose and the other, a touch of madness." (John Harricharan)
[#life, #geometry]
"Mankind is not a circle with a single center but an ellipse with two focal points of which facts are one and ideas the other." (Victor Hugo, Les Misrables, 1862)
[#thought, #human nature]
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." (William James)
[#journeys, #knowledge]
"A traveler without knowledge is like a bird without wings." (Musharif-Ud-Din)
[#happiness, #attitude]
"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances." (Martha Washington)
[#reason, #passion]
"Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining;
And passion, unattended, is a flame that burns its own destruction." ( Khalil Gibran )
[#errors, #self control]
"When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." (Epictetus)
[#theory, #practice]
"He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast." (Leonardo da Vinci)
[#oder, #theory]
“All order, I've come to understand, is theoretical, unreal - a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities, the self and the world - two snake pits." (John Gardner, “Grendel”)
"If our heart were large enough to love life in all its detail, we would see that every instant is at once a giver and a plunderer.” (Gaston Bachelard)
[#success, #purpose]
"Two things are necessary for success in life; one is a sense of purpose and the other, a touch of madness." (John Harricharan)
[#life, #geometry]
"Mankind is not a circle with a single center but an ellipse with two focal points of which facts are one and ideas the other." (Victor Hugo, Les Misrables, 1862)
[#thought, #human nature]
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." (William James)
[#journeys, #knowledge]
"A traveler without knowledge is like a bird without wings." (Musharif-Ud-Din)
[#happiness, #attitude]
"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances." (Martha Washington)
[#reason, #passion]
"Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining;
And passion, unattended, is a flame that burns its own destruction." ( Khalil Gibran )
[#errors, #self control]
"When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." (Epictetus)
[#theory, #practice]
"He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast." (Leonardo da Vinci)
[#oder, #theory]
“All order, I've come to understand, is theoretical, unreal - a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities, the self and the world - two snake pits." (John Gardner, “Grendel”)
02 September 2017
📔Week 2017-35: Journal
"Thus all our dignity lies in thought. By thought we must raise ourselves, not by space and time, which we cannot fill." (Blaise Pascal)
"When the mind loses its feeling for elegance, it grows corrupt and grovelling, and seeks in the crowd what ought to be found at home." (Walter Savage Landor)
"Much knowledge of divine things is lost to us through want of faith." (Heraclitus)
"Education is the knowledge of how to use the whole of oneself. Many men use but one or two faculties out of the score with which they are endowed. A man is educated who knows how to make a tool of every faculty how to open it, how to keep it sharp, and how to apply it to all practical purposes." (Henry Ward Beecher)
"The fountain of content must spring up in the mind; and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he proposes to remove." (Samuel Johnson)
"Contemplation is to knowledge, what digestion is to food the way to get life out of it." (Tryon Edwards)
"A consciousness of inward knowledge gives confidence to the outward behavior, which, of all things, is the best to grace a man in his carriage." (Owen Feltham)
"If you look at the world through rose-coloured spectacles, you cannot tell which parts of it really are rosy and which parts just look rosy." (Oliver Penrose, “An Asymmetric World”)
"When the mind loses its feeling for elegance, it grows corrupt and grovelling, and seeks in the crowd what ought to be found at home." (Walter Savage Landor)
"Much knowledge of divine things is lost to us through want of faith." (Heraclitus)
"Education is the knowledge of how to use the whole of oneself. Many men use but one or two faculties out of the score with which they are endowed. A man is educated who knows how to make a tool of every faculty how to open it, how to keep it sharp, and how to apply it to all practical purposes." (Henry Ward Beecher)
"The fountain of content must spring up in the mind; and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he proposes to remove." (Samuel Johnson)
"Contemplation is to knowledge, what digestion is to food the way to get life out of it." (Tryon Edwards)
"A consciousness of inward knowledge gives confidence to the outward behavior, which, of all things, is the best to grace a man in his carriage." (Owen Feltham)
"If you look at the world through rose-coloured spectacles, you cannot tell which parts of it really are rosy and which parts just look rosy." (Oliver Penrose, “An Asymmetric World”)
26 August 2017
📔Week 2017-34: Journal
[#understanding, #perception]
"When we want to understand something we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it in order to really understand." (Thich Nhat Hanh)
[#education, #growth]
"You have to start where people are, because their growth is going to be from there, not from some abstraction or where you are or someone else is." (Myles Horton)
[#flow, #choice]
"Stop choosing between chaos and order and live at the boundary between them where rest and action move together." (Rainer Maria Rilke)
[#understanding, #pain]
"[...] if we understood ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less." (James Baldwin)
[#detachment, #awareness]
"This is what Zen means by being detached - not being without emotion or feeling, but being one in whom feeling is not sticky or blocked, and through whom the experiences of the world pass like the reflections of birds flying over water." (Alan Watts)
[#mind, #meditation]
"The mind has power over the body and speech, and therefore any training of body and speech must begin with the mind." (Dalai Lama, “Stages Of Meditation”)
[#change, #patience]
"To master change, nothing is more important than to know the time; to know the time, nothing is more important than to understand inner design; to understand inner design, nothing is more important than open calm." (Li Daoqun, “The Book of Balance and Harmony”)
[#patience, #acceptance]
"Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind." (David G. Allen)
[#action, #impossible]
"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible." (M. C. Escher)
[#self, #love]
"There is in fact no self which needs to be negated. We merely manifest self in terms of our affection and love for people and our willingness to work. When we manifest this way, the self that needs to be negated is already negated." (Kyozan Joshu Sasaki)
[#truth, #human nature]
"If the individual, or heretic, gets hold of some essential truth, or sees some error in the system being practised, he commits so many marginal errors himself that he is worn out before he can establish his point." (Ezra Pound)
"When we want to understand something we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it in order to really understand." (Thich Nhat Hanh)
[#education, #growth]
"You have to start where people are, because their growth is going to be from there, not from some abstraction or where you are or someone else is." (Myles Horton)
[#flow, #choice]
"Stop choosing between chaos and order and live at the boundary between them where rest and action move together." (Rainer Maria Rilke)
[#understanding, #pain]
"[...] if we understood ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less." (James Baldwin)
[#detachment, #awareness]
"This is what Zen means by being detached - not being without emotion or feeling, but being one in whom feeling is not sticky or blocked, and through whom the experiences of the world pass like the reflections of birds flying over water." (Alan Watts)
[#mind, #meditation]
"The mind has power over the body and speech, and therefore any training of body and speech must begin with the mind." (Dalai Lama, “Stages Of Meditation”)
[#change, #patience]
"To master change, nothing is more important than to know the time; to know the time, nothing is more important than to understand inner design; to understand inner design, nothing is more important than open calm." (Li Daoqun, “The Book of Balance and Harmony”)
[#patience, #acceptance]
"Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind." (David G. Allen)
[#action, #impossible]
"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible." (M. C. Escher)
[#self, #love]
"There is in fact no self which needs to be negated. We merely manifest self in terms of our affection and love for people and our willingness to work. When we manifest this way, the self that needs to be negated is already negated." (Kyozan Joshu Sasaki)
[#truth, #human nature]
"If the individual, or heretic, gets hold of some essential truth, or sees some error in the system being practised, he commits so many marginal errors himself that he is worn out before he can establish his point." (Ezra Pound)
19 August 2017
📔Week 2017-33: Journal
"The more a man can forget, the greater the number of metamorphoses which his life can undergo, the more he can remember the more divine his life becomes." (Soren Kierkegaard)
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic." (Frank Herbert)
"Peaceful is the one who's not concerned with having more or less." (Rumi)
"Balance is the all-important factor in a fighter’s attitude or stance. Without balance at all times, he can never be effective." (Bruce Lee, “Tao of Jeet Kune Do”)
"Never fear the shadows. They simply mean that there's a light somewhere nearby." (Ruth E Renkel)
"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." (Martin Buber)
"Don’t search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight, hate, we are in hell." (Shams Tabrizi)
"Non-action is the real action. One hundred acts are not as good as one moment of silence. One hundred exercises are not as good as one moment of standing still." (Wang Xiang Zhai)
"A problem is a question you haven't yet answered to a level that has fulfilled you." (Tony Robbins)
"The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure." (Grayson L Kirk [attributed])
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic." (Frank Herbert)
"Peaceful is the one who's not concerned with having more or less." (Rumi)
"Balance is the all-important factor in a fighter’s attitude or stance. Without balance at all times, he can never be effective." (Bruce Lee, “Tao of Jeet Kune Do”)
"Never fear the shadows. They simply mean that there's a light somewhere nearby." (Ruth E Renkel)
"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." (Martin Buber)
"Don’t search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight, hate, we are in hell." (Shams Tabrizi)
"Non-action is the real action. One hundred acts are not as good as one moment of silence. One hundred exercises are not as good as one moment of standing still." (Wang Xiang Zhai)
"A problem is a question you haven't yet answered to a level that has fulfilled you." (Tony Robbins)
"The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure." (Grayson L Kirk [attributed])
12 August 2017
📔Week 2017-32: Journal
"A man must have a certain amount of intelligent ignorance to get anywhere." (Charles F. Kettering)
"There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something." (Henry Ford)
"The universe is a fractal. Whatever energy signature we carry will be repeated infinitely, again and again...until we change that vibration." (Paige Bartholomew)
"Unanticipated side effects arise because we too often act as if cause and effect were always closely linked in time and space." (John Sterman)
"Side effects are not a feature of reality but a sign that our understanding of the system is narrow and flawed." (John Sterman)
"Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively." (Dalai Lama)
"Renunciation is not giving up the things of this world, but accepting that they go away." (Shunryu Suzuki-roshi)
"In the age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still." (Pico Iyer)
"Words are not truth. Truth is like the moon, and words are like my finger. I can point to the moon with my finger, but my finger is not the moon." (Hui Neng)
"The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost." (G. K. Chesterton)
"There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something." (Henry Ford)
"The universe is a fractal. Whatever energy signature we carry will be repeated infinitely, again and again...until we change that vibration." (Paige Bartholomew)
"Unanticipated side effects arise because we too often act as if cause and effect were always closely linked in time and space." (John Sterman)
"Side effects are not a feature of reality but a sign that our understanding of the system is narrow and flawed." (John Sterman)
"Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively." (Dalai Lama)
"Renunciation is not giving up the things of this world, but accepting that they go away." (Shunryu Suzuki-roshi)
"In the age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still." (Pico Iyer)
"Words are not truth. Truth is like the moon, and words are like my finger. I can point to the moon with my finger, but my finger is not the moon." (Hui Neng)
"The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost." (G. K. Chesterton)
05 August 2017
📔Week 2017-31: Journal
"As soon as you concern yourself with the 'good' and 'bad' of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weakens and defeats you." (Morihei Ueshiba, "The Art of Peace", 1991)
"The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances." (Atisha)
"The root of compassion is compassion for oneself." (Pema Chodron)
"Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness." (Chuang Tzu)
"Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots." (Rumi)
"With love you don’t bargain. There, the choice is not yours. Love is a mirror, it reflects only your essence, if you have the courage to look in its face." (Rumi)
"Your knowledge should improve your heart and purge your ego." (Imam Al-Ghazali)
"When the heart is at peace for and against are forgotten." (Chuang Tzu)
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity." (Pema Chodron)
"[...] you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ forever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see." (Clive S Lewis, "The Abolition of Man", 1943)
"The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances." (Atisha)
"The root of compassion is compassion for oneself." (Pema Chodron)
"Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness." (Chuang Tzu)
"Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots." (Rumi)
"With love you don’t bargain. There, the choice is not yours. Love is a mirror, it reflects only your essence, if you have the courage to look in its face." (Rumi)
"Your knowledge should improve your heart and purge your ego." (Imam Al-Ghazali)
"When the heart is at peace for and against are forgotten." (Chuang Tzu)
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity." (Pema Chodron)
"[...] you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ forever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see." (Clive S Lewis, "The Abolition of Man", 1943)
29 July 2017
📔Week 2017-30: Journal
"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." (Roald Dahl)
"There is nothing in this world which does not speak. Every thing and every being is continually calling out its nature, its character, its secret; the more the inner sense is open, the more capable it becomes of hearing the voice of all things." (Inayat Khan)
"Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot.
Seek the path that demands your whole being." (Rumi)
"When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of the silence." (Sri Aurobindo)
"Bringing joy to one heart with love is better than one thousand repetitive prayer recitings." (Sufi saying)
"In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." (Albert Camus)
"Let your mind wander in the pure and simple.
Be one with the infinite.
Let all things take their course." (Zhuangzi)
"Things are not difficult to make; what is difficult is putting ourselves in the state of mind to make them." (Constantin Brâncuși)
"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." (George MacDonald)
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." (Anaïs Nin)
"There is nothing in this world which does not speak. Every thing and every being is continually calling out its nature, its character, its secret; the more the inner sense is open, the more capable it becomes of hearing the voice of all things." (Inayat Khan)
"Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot.
Seek the path that demands your whole being." (Rumi)
"When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of the silence." (Sri Aurobindo)
"Bringing joy to one heart with love is better than one thousand repetitive prayer recitings." (Sufi saying)
"In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." (Albert Camus)
"Let your mind wander in the pure and simple.
Be one with the infinite.
Let all things take their course." (Zhuangzi)
"Things are not difficult to make; what is difficult is putting ourselves in the state of mind to make them." (Constantin Brâncuși)
"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." (George MacDonald)
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." (Anaïs Nin)
22 July 2017
📔Week 2017-29: Journal
"If you are looking for a friend who is faultless, you will be friendless." (Rumi)
"This is the first, wildest, and wisest thing I know, that the soul exists and that it is built entirely out of attentiveness." (Mary Oliver)
"A snowflake never falls in the wrong place." (Zen saying)
"It is useless to fight against people’s rigid ways, or to argue against their irrational concepts. You will only waste time and make yourself rigid in the process. The best strategy is to simply accept rigidity in others, outwardly displaying deference to their need for order. On your own, however, you must work to maintain your open spirit, letting go of bad habits and deliberately cultivating new ideas." (Robert Greene)
"In this world which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way — and if we are to live together and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet." (Bertrand Russell)
"Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there - in the imperfection is perfect reality." (Shunryū Suzuki)
"We rarely hear the inward music, but we're all dancing to it nevertheless." (Rumi)
"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." (Khalil Gibran)
"The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world." (Marianne Williamson)
"We must learn to live with contradictions, because they lead to deeper and more effective understanding." (Edward Teller)
"This is the first, wildest, and wisest thing I know, that the soul exists and that it is built entirely out of attentiveness." (Mary Oliver)
"A snowflake never falls in the wrong place." (Zen saying)
"It is useless to fight against people’s rigid ways, or to argue against their irrational concepts. You will only waste time and make yourself rigid in the process. The best strategy is to simply accept rigidity in others, outwardly displaying deference to their need for order. On your own, however, you must work to maintain your open spirit, letting go of bad habits and deliberately cultivating new ideas." (Robert Greene)
"In this world which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way — and if we are to live together and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet." (Bertrand Russell)
"Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there - in the imperfection is perfect reality." (Shunryū Suzuki)
"We rarely hear the inward music, but we're all dancing to it nevertheless." (Rumi)
"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." (Khalil Gibran)
"The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world." (Marianne Williamson)
"We must learn to live with contradictions, because they lead to deeper and more effective understanding." (Edward Teller)
15 July 2017
📔Week 2017-28: Journal
"Realizing that our inability to control life is not the same as having no way to navigate it, leads to freedom and liberation. Just because I can't control the sea doesn't mean I can't learn how to swim in it." (Rami Shapiro, "Recovery - The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice", 2009)
"With life as short as a half-taken breath, don’t plant anything but love." (Rumi)
"What worries you, masters you." (John Locke)
"Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ( Nathaniel Hawthorne )
"A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." (Michel de Montaigne)
"We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand." (Eric Hoffer)
"Love and art do not embrace what is beautiful but what is made beautiful by this embrace." ( Karl Kraus)
"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." (Mary Engelbreit)
"Let go of certainty. The opposite isn’t uncertainty. It’s openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow." (Tony Schwartz)
"To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of the idea of what it means to be truly happy or content." (Confucius)
"With life as short as a half-taken breath, don’t plant anything but love." (Rumi)
"What worries you, masters you." (John Locke)
"Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ( Nathaniel Hawthorne )
"A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." (Michel de Montaigne)
"We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand." (Eric Hoffer)
"Love and art do not embrace what is beautiful but what is made beautiful by this embrace." ( Karl Kraus)
"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." (Mary Engelbreit)
"Let go of certainty. The opposite isn’t uncertainty. It’s openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow." (Tony Schwartz)
"To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of the idea of what it means to be truly happy or content." (Confucius)
08 July 2017
📔Week 2017-27: Journal
"Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else." (Shunryū Suzuki)
"Think simple as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles." (Frank L. Wright)
"Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly." (Edward Albee)
"Fear is a distraction from ‘what is', from the present actual moment, preventing us from existing, from being what we are." (Vanda Scaravelli)
"Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"The power of imagination makes us infinite." (John Muir)
"Happy is he who gets to know the reasons for things." (Virgil)
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." (Lao Tzu)
"The more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves" (Roald Dahl)
"The real dirt is not outside, but inside, in our hearts. We can wash all stains with water. The only one we can’t remove is the grudge and the bad intentions sticking to our hearts." (Shams Tabrizi)
"Think simple as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles." (Frank L. Wright)
"Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly." (Edward Albee)
"Fear is a distraction from ‘what is', from the present actual moment, preventing us from existing, from being what we are." (Vanda Scaravelli)
"Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"The power of imagination makes us infinite." (John Muir)
"Happy is he who gets to know the reasons for things." (Virgil)
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." (Lao Tzu)
"The more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves" (Roald Dahl)
"The real dirt is not outside, but inside, in our hearts. We can wash all stains with water. The only one we can’t remove is the grudge and the bad intentions sticking to our hearts." (Shams Tabrizi)
01 July 2017
📔Week 2017-26: Journal
"People who inspire others are those who see invisible bridges at the end of dead-end streets" (Charles Swindoll)
"As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself." (Shunryu Suzuki-roshi)
"The limits of my language means the limits of my world." (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
"We can control our lives by controlling our perceptions." (Bruce H. Lipton)
"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows." (Nisargadatta Maharaj)
"Only great minds are capable of estimating the magnitude of little things." (Rayon)
"The wit we long for spoils the wit we have." (Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset)
"A miracle does not happen in contradiction to nature, but in contradiction to that which is known to us of nature." (St Augustine)
"To be empty means to be empty of ego, not in the sense that one functions as a vegetable or a wild animal, but in the sense that one ceases to gauge the events, the persons and the things of one's environment in terms of 'I' or 'me' or 'mine'". (Hsu Yun)
"We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people's models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open." (Shakti Gawain)
"As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself." (Shunryu Suzuki-roshi)
"The limits of my language means the limits of my world." (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
"We can control our lives by controlling our perceptions." (Bruce H. Lipton)
"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows." (Nisargadatta Maharaj)
"Only great minds are capable of estimating the magnitude of little things." (Rayon)
"The wit we long for spoils the wit we have." (Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset)
"A miracle does not happen in contradiction to nature, but in contradiction to that which is known to us of nature." (St Augustine)
"To be empty means to be empty of ego, not in the sense that one functions as a vegetable or a wild animal, but in the sense that one ceases to gauge the events, the persons and the things of one's environment in terms of 'I' or 'me' or 'mine'". (Hsu Yun)
"We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people's models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open." (Shakti Gawain)
24 June 2017
📔Week 2017-25: Journal
"We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people's models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open." (Shakti Gawain)
"Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves." (Edwin Way Teale)
"Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning." (Edsger W. Dijkstra)
"Great truths are simple because they are of universal application. Truth itself is always simple. Complexity is due to man's ignorance." (Swami Vivekananda)
"Constantly regard the universe as a single living being, having one substance and one soul; observe how all creation relates to the cosmic consciousness of this one living being. Observe too how everything moves with its impulse, working together to create all events, continuously spinning its delicate thread in the amazing complexity of its web." (Marcus Aurelius)
"Peace of mind comes from not wanting to change others, but by simply accepting them as they are. True acceptance is always without demands and expectations." (Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, "Love Is Letting Go of Fear", 1979)
"Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear." (Hippocrates [attributed])
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." (Marcus Aurelius)
"When faced with any difficulty of life, resolve it by following these four steps: face it, accept it, deal with it and let it go." (Sheng Yen)
"Reading doesn’t mean accepting everything you read, it means reasoning everything you read." (Amit Kalantri)
"Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves." (Edwin Way Teale)
"Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning." (Edsger W. Dijkstra)
"Great truths are simple because they are of universal application. Truth itself is always simple. Complexity is due to man's ignorance." (Swami Vivekananda)
"Constantly regard the universe as a single living being, having one substance and one soul; observe how all creation relates to the cosmic consciousness of this one living being. Observe too how everything moves with its impulse, working together to create all events, continuously spinning its delicate thread in the amazing complexity of its web." (Marcus Aurelius)
"Peace of mind comes from not wanting to change others, but by simply accepting them as they are. True acceptance is always without demands and expectations." (Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, "Love Is Letting Go of Fear", 1979)
"Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear." (Hippocrates [attributed])
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." (Marcus Aurelius)
"When faced with any difficulty of life, resolve it by following these four steps: face it, accept it, deal with it and let it go." (Sheng Yen)
"Reading doesn’t mean accepting everything you read, it means reasoning everything you read." (Amit Kalantri)
17 June 2017
📔Week 2017-24: Journal
"Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic." (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
"Only in the eyes of love you can find infinity." (Sorin Cerin, “Wisdom Collection: The Book of Wisdom”)
"If there is anything more dangerous to the life of the mind than having no independent commitment to ideas, it is having an excess of commitment to some special and constricting idea." (Richard Hofstadter)
"The problem with introspection is that it has no end." (Philip K. Dick)
"Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children" (Khalil Gibran)
"If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion." (Lin-chi)
"You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty superior to reason, by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer." (Plotinus, "Enneads")
"The essence of all things is one and the same, perfectly calm and tranquil, and shows no sign of 'becoming'; ignorance, however, is in its blindness and delusion oblivious of Enlightenment, and, on that account, cannot recognize truthfully all those conditions, differences, and activities which characterize the phenomena of the Universe." (Ashvaghosha, "The Awakening of Faith", cca. 2nd century)
"All action results from thought, so it is thoughts that matter." (Sai Baba)
"Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos." (Will Durant)
"Only in the eyes of love you can find infinity." (Sorin Cerin, “Wisdom Collection: The Book of Wisdom”)
"If there is anything more dangerous to the life of the mind than having no independent commitment to ideas, it is having an excess of commitment to some special and constricting idea." (Richard Hofstadter)
"The problem with introspection is that it has no end." (Philip K. Dick)
"Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children" (Khalil Gibran)
"If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion." (Lin-chi)
"You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty superior to reason, by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer." (Plotinus, "Enneads")
"The essence of all things is one and the same, perfectly calm and tranquil, and shows no sign of 'becoming'; ignorance, however, is in its blindness and delusion oblivious of Enlightenment, and, on that account, cannot recognize truthfully all those conditions, differences, and activities which characterize the phenomena of the Universe." (Ashvaghosha, "The Awakening of Faith", cca. 2nd century)
"All action results from thought, so it is thoughts that matter." (Sai Baba)
"Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos." (Will Durant)
10 June 2017
📔Week 2017-23: Journal
[#reality, #illusion]
"The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it." (Chuck Palahniuk)
[#meaning]
"Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human." (Viktor E. Frankl)
[#wisdom, #doubt]
"The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth." (Pierre Abélard)
[#knowledge, #wisdom]
"Don't be conceited about your own knowledge. Take advice from the ignorant as well as the wise, since there is no single person who embodies perfection nor any craftsman who has reached the limits of excellence. The perfect word is as rare as an emerald, yet it may be found among the maidservants working at the millstone." (Ptah-hotep)
[#limits, #belief]
"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw." (Nelson Mandela)
[#knowledge, #mystery]
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge." (Kahlil Gibran)
[#love, #identity]
"The things that we love tell us what we are." (Thomas Aquinas)
[#quest, #learning]
"I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my soul." (Rumi)
[#beauty, #fragility]
"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed." (Ernest Hemingway)
[#patience, #trust]
"Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn." (Rumi)
[#understanding, #discrimination]
"Those who judge will never understand, and those who understand will never judge." (Wilson Kanadi)
03 June 2017
📔Week 2017-22: Journal
"Cleansing the mind does not require water. Practicing generosity does not require wealth." (Sam van Schaik, “Tibetan Zen”)
"The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment." (Lauren Kate Fallen)
"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy." (Rumi)
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time." (Hebrew proverb)
"Silence is not an absence of sound but rather a shifting of attention toward sounds that speak to the soul." (Thomas Moore)
"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for." (Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird")
"A person who becomes fatigued when unhappy is useless. Meeting with people should be a matter of quickly grasping their temperament and reacting appropriately […] This is a function of both the heart and words." (Miyamoto Musashi & Yamamoto Tsunetomo, "The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Bushido & Hagakure")
"The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think." (Harper Lee)
"No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die. This is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life." (Shams Tabrizi)
"The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment." (Lauren Kate Fallen)
"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy." (Rumi)
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time." (Hebrew proverb)
"Silence is not an absence of sound but rather a shifting of attention toward sounds that speak to the soul." (Thomas Moore)
"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for." (Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird")
"A person who becomes fatigued when unhappy is useless. Meeting with people should be a matter of quickly grasping their temperament and reacting appropriately […] This is a function of both the heart and words." (Miyamoto Musashi & Yamamoto Tsunetomo, "The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Bushido & Hagakure")
"The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think." (Harper Lee)
"No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die. This is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life." (Shams Tabrizi)
27 May 2017
📔Week 2017-21
"We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality." (Ayn Rand)
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." (Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird)
"When you step beyond your own gate, you face a million enemies." (Gichin Funakoshi)
"When you resist the flow of life, what you are actually resisting is your own inner nature, for everything that happens to us is a reflection of who we are. This isn’t a mystical statement; it is part of the apparatus of perception. To perceive is to grasp the meaning of something." (Deepak Chopra)
"Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things." (Dōgen)
"What we perceive and what we understand depends upon what we are." (Aldous Huxley)
"The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it." (John Locke)
"In the life cycle of every conflict, there is a point when it’s large enough to be recognized, but small enough to be resolved." (Daniel Dana)
"Love is a natural kind of meditation. And meditation is a supernatural kind of love." (Osho)
"When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about." (Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore)
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." (Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird)
"When you step beyond your own gate, you face a million enemies." (Gichin Funakoshi)
"When you resist the flow of life, what you are actually resisting is your own inner nature, for everything that happens to us is a reflection of who we are. This isn’t a mystical statement; it is part of the apparatus of perception. To perceive is to grasp the meaning of something." (Deepak Chopra)
"Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things." (Dōgen)
"What we perceive and what we understand depends upon what we are." (Aldous Huxley)
"The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it." (John Locke)
"In the life cycle of every conflict, there is a point when it’s large enough to be recognized, but small enough to be resolved." (Daniel Dana)
"Love is a natural kind of meditation. And meditation is a supernatural kind of love." (Osho)
"When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about." (Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore)
20 May 2017
📔Week 2017-20: Journal
[#budo, #perception]
"The true value of Budo is to train the mind to see clearly and maintain spiritual strength." (Toshitsugu Takamatsu)
[#practice, #method]
"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you." (Master Sheng Yen)
[#happiness]
"Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside." (Ramana Maharshi)
[#force, #fight]
"Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." (John Milton)
[#patience, #expectations]
"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter." (Paulo Coelho)
[#illusion, #wisdom]
"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth." (Ludwig Börne)
[#knowledge]
"All our knowledge is ourselves, to know." (Alexander Pope)
[#knowledge, #learning]
"Each excellent thing, once learned, serves for a measure of all other knowledge." (Philip Sidney)
[#certainty, #knowledge]
"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little." (Agnes de Mille)
[#mind, #attachment]
"What do you hang on the walls of your mind?" (Eve Arnold)
"The true value of Budo is to train the mind to see clearly and maintain spiritual strength." (Toshitsugu Takamatsu)
[#practice, #method]
"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you." (Master Sheng Yen)
[#happiness]
"Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside." (Ramana Maharshi)
[#force, #fight]
"Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." (John Milton)
[#patience, #expectations]
"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter." (Paulo Coelho)
[#illusion, #wisdom]
"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth." (Ludwig Börne)
[#knowledge]
"All our knowledge is ourselves, to know." (Alexander Pope)
[#knowledge, #learning]
"Each excellent thing, once learned, serves for a measure of all other knowledge." (Philip Sidney)
[#certainty, #knowledge]
"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little." (Agnes de Mille)
[#mind, #attachment]
"What do you hang on the walls of your mind?" (Eve Arnold)
13 May 2017
📔Week 2017-19: Journal
"Truth is not to be found outside. No teacher, no scripture can give it to you. It is inside you and if you wish to attain it, seek your own company. Be with yourself." (Osho)
"When the search for truth is confused with political advocacy, the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power." (Alston Chase)
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." (Bhagavad Gita)
"Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance." (Osho)
"If you wish to be a warrior prepare to get broken, if you wish to be an explorer prepare to get lost, and if you wish to be a lover prepare to be both." (Anon)
"Wisdom is perishable. Unlike information or knowledge, it cannot be stored in a computer or recorded in a book. It expires with each passing generation." (Sid Taylor)
"Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience." (James Boswell)
"There are gaps between the fingers; there are gaps between the senses. In these gaps is the darkness which hides the connection between things." (Idris Parry)
"Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." (John Muir)
"Seeking means to have a goal; but finding means to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose." (Hermann Hesse)
"When the search for truth is confused with political advocacy, the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power." (Alston Chase)
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." (Bhagavad Gita)
"Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance." (Osho)
"If you wish to be a warrior prepare to get broken, if you wish to be an explorer prepare to get lost, and if you wish to be a lover prepare to be both." (Anon)
"Wisdom is perishable. Unlike information or knowledge, it cannot be stored in a computer or recorded in a book. It expires with each passing generation." (Sid Taylor)
"Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience." (James Boswell)
"There are gaps between the fingers; there are gaps between the senses. In these gaps is the darkness which hides the connection between things." (Idris Parry)
"Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." (John Muir)
"Seeking means to have a goal; but finding means to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose." (Hermann Hesse)
06 May 2017
📔Week 2017-18: Journal
"To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not." (Akhenaton)
"The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear." (Herbert Agar)
"An act of imagination is an act of self-acceptance." (Richard Hugo, "Triggering Town")
"We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever we are." (Gene Roddenberry)
"Belief can convert the mundane into the miraculous." (Charles F Glassman)
"Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective." (Hunter S. Thompson, [letter] 1958)
"Staring at the light of another blinds the view of our own." (Charles F Glassman)
"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides." (André Malraux)
"I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves." (Louise L. Hay)
"The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear." (Herbert Agar)
"An act of imagination is an act of self-acceptance." (Richard Hugo, "Triggering Town")
"We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever we are." (Gene Roddenberry)
"Belief can convert the mundane into the miraculous." (Charles F Glassman)
"Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective." (Hunter S. Thompson, [letter] 1958)
"Staring at the light of another blinds the view of our own." (Charles F Glassman)
"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides." (André Malraux)
"I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves." (Louise L. Hay)
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