Autumn > Autumn's Quotes

“It is never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn't depend on how long it has been running; a shift in perspective doesn't depend on how long you've held on to the old view.

When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesn't matter whether its been dark for ten minutes, ten years or ten decades.

The light still illuminates the room and banishes the murkiness, letting you see the things you couldn't see before.

Its never too late to take a moment to look.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation

“Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion...is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

“We don’t need any sort of religious orientation to lead a life that is ethical, compassionate & kind.”
― Sharon Salzberg, The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love & Compassion

“The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

“All forms of meditation strengthen & direct our attention through the cultivation of three key skills: concentration, mindfulness & compassion or lovingkindness.”
― Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation

“If we fall, we don't need self-recrimination or blame or anger - we need a reawakening of our intention and a willingness to re-commit, to be whole-hearted once again.”
― Sharon Salzberg

“Suffering is our call to attention, our call to investigate the truth of our beliefs.”
― Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

“As we practice meditation, we get used to stillness and eventually are able to make
friends with the quietness of our sensations.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“In those moments when we realize how much we cannot control, we can learn to let go.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Effort is the unconstrained willingness to persevere through difficulty.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Our practice rather than being about killing the ego is about simply discovering our true nature.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“The poet Rumi says: "How long will we fill our pockets like children with dirt and stones? Let the world go. Holding it, we never know ourselves, never are airborne.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Thinking we are only supposed to have loving & compassionate feelings can be a terrible obstacle to spiritual practice.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Vulnerability in the face of constant change is what we share, whatever our present condition.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Compassion grows in us when we know how the energy of love is available all around us.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“We can discover the capacity of the mind to be aware, to love, to begin again”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“It's important to investigate the nature of anger because it is such a powerful energy and can be so destructive. When we can face our anger without being afraid of it, or angry about it, or defenseless in the face of it, then we can come close to it. When we are able to look closely at anger, we see the threads of different feelings - the sadness and the fear woven throughout it - and we can see its true nature. When we can uncover the helplessness and powerlessness that often feed anger, we transform them. In being mindful of these feelings, we actually use the sheer energy of anger - without getting lost in it or overcome by its tremendously deluding and fixating quality - to reveal instead the courage and compassion that have been concealed.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Compassion is born out of lovingkindness.
It is born of knowing our oneness, not just thinking about it or wishing it were so. It is born out of the wisdom of seeing things exactly as they are.”
― Sharon Salzberg, A Heart as Wide as the World: Stories on the Path of Lovingkindness

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Life is a book and you are its author. You detemine its plot and pace and you--only you--turn its pages.”
― Beth Mende Conny

“There are no impossible dreams, just our limited perception of what is possible.”
― Beth Mende Conny

“From Being to the Eternal

To awaken from mind to Being
is your responsibility.
No one can do it for you.
It is not difficult.
It can be done, provided you know the way.
I can show you the way.
But I cannot walk the path for you.
If you are sincere, honest, authentic,
and act with integrity,
and if you are total in your commitment,
you will awaken from mind to Being.
It is your birthright.
It is your destiny.
And you will be fulfilled completely,
in this lifetime.
But to awaken from the level of Being
to the Eternal is another matter.
This you cannot do.
The Eternal descends.
It is a question of grace.
A benediction.
You cannot hold onto it.
It will come and go.
It is not up to you.
All you can do is be an invitation.”
― Leonard Jacobson, Words from Silence: An Invitation to Spiritual Awakening

“The soul’s journey is from Oneness into separation, ultimately to return to Oneness."
~ Leonard Jacobson”
― Leonard Jacobson

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.”
― Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them”
― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
― Thomas Merton , No Man Is an Island

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.”
― Thomas Merton, Love and Living

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
― Thomas Merton

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”
― Thomas Merton

“The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt. The one who does most to avoid suffering is, in the end, the one who suffers most.”
― Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain