Contemplative Life Quotes

“The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its restlessness; give it peace, make it free from distractions, train it to look inward, and make all this a habit. This is done by ignoring the external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind. (p. 20)”
― Ramana Maharshi, Talks With Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness

“They seek for themselves private retiring places, as country villages, the sea-shore, mountains; yea thou thyself art wont to long much after such places. But all this thou must know proceeds from simplicity in the highest degree. At what time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire into thyself, and to be at rest, and free from all businesses. A man cannot any whither retire better than to his own soul; he especially who is beforehand provided of such things within, which whensoever he doth withdraw himself to look in, may presently afford unto him perfect ease and tranquillity.... free from all confusion and tumultuousness. Afford then thyself this retiring continually, and thereby refresh and renew thyself. Let these precepts be brief and fundamental, which as soon as thou dost call them to mind, may suffice thee to purge thy soul throughly, and to send thee away well pleased with those things whatsoever they be, which now again after this short withdrawing of thy soul into herself thou dost return unto.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“Sacrifice, surrender, negation, are inherently involved in any great onwardmarching life. They go with any choice that can be made of a rich and intense life. It is impossible to find without losing, to get without giving, to live without dying. But sacrifice, surrender, negation, are never for their own sake; they are never ends in themselves. They are involved in life itself.”
― Rufus Matthew Jones, The Inner Life

“The simplest form of meditation requires two things: a body that is still and relaxed, and an object to focus attention on. Many traditional postures for meditation exist. I have found the greatest ease and stability sitting in a chair, with the spine erect and the palms of the hands resting on the knees. The focus of attention that I have found most useful for the beginners is the awareness of breathing combined with a mental focus: „I“ as a feeling in the heart with each inhalation and „am“ as a sensation of the whole physical presence on the exhalation. It should be understood that this is not the „I“ of the ego as we commonly know it, but an I-ness rooted in the heart, an „I-ness-without I.“ (p. 56)”
― Kabir Edmund Helminski, Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness & the Essential Self

“Contemplation cultivates an inner connection, an awareness of yourself.
I don’t mean your emotional self; I mean the part of you hidden beneath your
emotional baggage—your soul’s consciousness.”
― Lorraine Nilon, Spirituality, Evolution and Awakened Consciousness: Getting Real About Soul Maturity and Spiritual Growth

“. . . the most perfect apologia I ever heard for the cloistered contemplative life. It is contained in two brief sentences. They come from the life of my late Abbott, Dom Mary Frederic Dunne. He would as any antagonist of the contemplative life two short questions. They admitted of only one very brief answer. He would look kindly at the objectioner and ask softly: "You believe in the efficiency of prayer, don't you?" When the person made the only possible reply - an affirmative one - Dom Frederic would smile and even more quietly ask: "Then what is wrong with a whole life of prayer?”
― M. Raymond, The Silent Spire Speaks

“Simply being active is not life.”
― Joan Chittister, The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life