When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
If we do not consciously and consistently focus on the spiritual part of ourselves, we will never experience the kind of joy, satisfaction, safety, and connectedness we are all seeking.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
In all adversities there is always in its depth, a treasure of spiritual blessings secretly hidden.
—Swami Chinmayananda (1916–93) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense. The past and the future are both rolled up in this present moment of illumination, and this present moment is not something standing still with all its contents, for it ceaselessly moves on.
—D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966) Japanese Buddhist Philosopher
What your heart thinks is great, is great. The soul’s emphasis is always right.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
The man is free to rule his world, not his world rule him.
—Indian Proverb
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
There are some people who have the quality of richness and joy in them and they communicate it to everything they touch. It is first of all a physical quality; then it is a quality of the spirit.
—Thomas Wolfe (1900–38) American Novelist
O Krishna, the stillness of divine union which you describe is beyond my comprehension. How can the mind, which is so restless, attain lasting peace? Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent; trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind.
—The Bhagavad Gita Hindu Scripture
The adept may reach one of those rare moments that spell illumination—aware of the light of the consciousness that illumines our consciousness as the sun dawns on the sleeping earth and bathes it in effulgence.
—Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (1916–2004) British Sufi Mystic, Religious Leader, Psychologist
He who interrupts the course of his spiritual exercises and prayer is like a man who allows a bird to escape from his hand; he can hardly catch it again.
—John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish Roman Catholic Mystic
Problems are God’s resistance to create spiritual muscles.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
When you have no choice, mobilize the spirit of courage.
—Hebrew Proverb
I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all that there is.
—Alan Watts (1915–73) British-American Philosopher, Author
You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.
—Buddhist Teaching
It is necessary for us to understand that the only Active Principle is Spirit.
—Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) American New Thought Writer, Teacher
If that vital spark that we find in a grain of wheat can pass unchanged through countless deaths and resurrections, will the spirit of man be unable to pass from this body to another?
—William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American Political leader, Diplomat, Politician
My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring.
—Anne Bronte (1820–1849) English Novelist, Poet
Affluence = abundant flow.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
They understand but a little who understand only what can be explained.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) Austrian Novelist
The high-spirited man may indeed die, but he will not stoop to meanness. Fire, though it may be quenched, will not become cool.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal.
—Deepak Chopra (b.1946) Indian-born American Physician, Public Speaker, Writer
Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
The spiritual is the parent of the practical.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Sages speak of the immutable Tree of Life, with its tape root above and its branches below.
—The Bhagavad Gita Hindu Scripture
The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man’s observation, not overturning it.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
The spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency, but only warriors are consistently attuned to such revelations.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
All earthly delights are sweeter in expectation than enjoyment; but all spiritual pleasures more in fruition than expectation.
—Owen Feltham (1602–1668) English Essayist
You cannot believe in honor until you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright: you are the window through which you must see the world.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
There is no easy formula for determining right and wrong livelihood, but it is essential to keep the question alive. To return the sense of dignity and honor to manhood, we have to stop pretending that we can make a living at something that is trivial or destructive and still have sense of legitimate self-worth. A society in which vocation and job are separated for most people gradually creates an economy that is often devoid of spirit, one that frequently fills our pocketbooks at the cost of emptying our souls.
—Sam Keen
But the thing that I saw in your face no power can disinherit: No bomb that ever burst shatters the crystal spirit.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader
One truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history. If it is weak, it suffers world history.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
High spirit in man is like a sword, which, though worn to annoy his enemies, yet is often troublesome to his friends: he can hardly wear it so inoffensively but it is apt to incommode one or other of the company: it is more properly a loaded pistol, which accident alone may fire and kill one.
—William Shenstone (1714–63) British Poet, Landscape Gardener
We are not separated from spirit, we are in it.
—Plotinus (c.205–270 CE) Greek Philosopher, Founder of Neoplatonism
I would like to explain the meaning of compassion, which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for his or her problem. This is genuine compassion. Usually when we are concerned about a close friend, we call this compassion. This is not compassion; it is attachment. Even in marriage, those marriages that last only a short time do so because of attachment—although it is generally present—but because there is also compassion. Marriages that last only a short time do so because of a lack of compassion; there is only emotional attachment based on projection and expectation. When the only bond between close friends is attachment, then even a minor issue may cause one’s projections to change. As soon as our projections change, the attachment disappears—because that attachment was based solely on projection and expectation. It is possible to have compassion without attachment—and similarly, to have anger without hatred. Therefore we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment, and between anger and hatred. Such clarity is useful in our daily life and in our efforts towards world peace. I consider these to be basic spiritual values for the happiness of all human beings, regardless of whether one is a believer or a nonbeliever.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
He who doesn’t have the spirit of his time, has all its misery.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Let the spirit of adventure set the tone.
—Unknown
The foundations of a person are not in matter but in spirit.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Nothing is more repulsive than a furtively prurient spirituality; it is just as unsavory as gross sensuality.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
Transformation literally means going beyond your form.
—Wayne Dyer (b.1940) American Motivational Writer, Author, Motivational Speaker
But those rare souls whose spirit gets magically into the hearts of men, leave behind them something more real and warmly personal than bodily presence, an ineffable and eternal thing. It is everlasting life touching us as something more than a vague, recondite concept. The sound of a great name dies like an echo; the splendor of fame fades into nothing; but the grace of a fine spirit pervades the places through which it has passed, like the haunting loveliness of mignonette.
—James Thurber
What I am trying to do is to unmuddle the metaphysical.
—Wayne Dyer (b.1940) American Motivational Writer, Author, Motivational Speaker
The sensual and spiritual are linked together by a mysterious bond, sensed by our emotions, though hidden from our eyes. To this double nature of the visible and invisible world—to the profound longing for the latter, coupled with the feeling of the sweet necessity for the former, we owe all sound and logical systems of philosophy, truly based on the immutable principles of our nature, just as from the same source arise the most senseless enthusiasms.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
The purpose of life for man is growth, just as the purpose of life for trees and plants is growth. Trees and plants grow automatically and along fixed lines; man can grow as he will. Trees and plants can only develop certain possibilities and characteristics; man can develop any power which is or has been shown by any person anywhere. Nothing that is possible in spirit is impossible in flesh and blood. Nothing that man can think is impossible. Nothing that man can imagine is impossible of realization.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
Walking uplifts the spirit. Breathe out the poisons of tension, stress, and worry; breathe in the power of God. Send forth little silent prayers of goodwill toward those you meet. Walk with a sense of being a part of a vast universe. Consider the thousands of miles of earth beneath your feet; think of the limitless expanse of space above your head. Walk in awe, wonder, and humility. Walk at all times of day. In the early morning when the world is just waking up. Late at night under the stars. Along a busy city street at noontime.
—Wilferd Arlan Peterson (1900–95) American Author
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