Dean Paradiso

“At the most fundamental level, the level that is the most useful for doing insight practices, we wish desperately that there was some separate, permanent self, and we spend huge amounts of time doing our best to prop up this illusion. In order to do this, we habitually ignore lots of useful information about our reality and give our mental impressions and simplifications of reality much more importance than they are necessarily due. It is this illusion that adds a problematic element to the normal and understandable ways in which we go about trying to be happy. We constantly struggle with reality because we misunderstand it, i.e. because reality misunderstands itself.”
― Daniel M. Ingram, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book

“To love with all your heart, the heart must first be opened.”
― Christopher S. Hyatt, Sex Magic, Tantra & Tarot: The Way of the Secret Lover

“The key to everything—remain apart. Our aim is to have constantly a sensation of oneself, of one’s individuality, this sensation cannot be expressed intellectually, because it is organic. It is something which makes you independent when you are with other people.”
― G. Gurdjieff, Transcripts of Gurdjieff's Meetings 1941-1946

“are you breathing, are you lucky enough
to be breathing”
― Hettie Jones