The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation more than its wealth.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
I’m a lover of reality, not because I’m a spiritual woman, but because it hurts when I argue with what is. And I notice that I lose, 100 percent of the time.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
Each man has his own vocation. The talent is the call. There is one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea. This talent and this call depend on his organization, or the mode in which the general soul incarnates itself in him. He inclines to do something which is easy to him, and good when it is done, but which no other man can do. He has no rival. For the more truly he consults his own powers, the more difference will his work exhibit from the work of any other. His ambition is exactly proportioned to his powers. The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of the base. Every man has this call of the power to do somewhat unique, and no man has any other call. The pretence that he has another call, a summons by name and personal election and outward “signs that mark him extraordinary, and not in the roll of common men,” is fanaticism, and betrays obtuseness to perceive that there is one mind in all the individuals, and no respect of persons therein.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
When you have no choice, mobilize the spirit of courage.
—Hebrew Proverb
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
Without the spiritual world the material world is a disheartening enigma.
—Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French Writer, Moralist
At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
It is impossible that an ill-natured man can have a public spirit; for how should he love ten thousand men who has never loved one?
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
We are not separated from spirit, we are in it.
—Plotinus (c.205–270 CE) Greek Philosopher, Founder of Neoplatonism
Don’t you believe that there is in man a deep so profound as to be hidden even to him in whom it is?
—Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Roman-African Christian Philosopher
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
The noblest spirit is most strongly attracted by the love of glory.
—James Baldwin (1924–87) American Novelist, Social Critic
Let us draw a lesson from nature, which always works by short ways. When the fruit is ripe, it falls.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
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
When two or more people coordinate in a spirit of harmony and work toward a definite objective or purpose, they place themselves in a position, through the alliance, to absorb the power directly from the great storehouse of Infinite Intelligence.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
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
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 Leader, Civil Rights Advocate, Author
Love is a spirit all compact of fire.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The human spirit needs to accomplish, to achieve, to triumph to be happy.
—Ben Stein (b.1944) American Writer, Actor, Commentator
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
The spiritual journey does not consist in arriving at a new destination where a person gains what he did not have, or becomes what he is not. It consists in the dissipation of one’s own ignorance concerning one’s self and life, and the gradual growth of that understanding which begins the spiritual awakening. The finding of God is a coming to one’s self.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Satirist, Short Story Writer
What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?
—Michelangelo (1475–1564) Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Poet, Engineer
He hath a poor spirit who is not planted above petty wrongs.
—Owen Feltham (1602–68) English Essayist
Impart as much as you can of your spiritual being to those who are on the road with you, and accept as something precious what comes back to you from them.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Philosopher, Musician, Physician
The man is free to rule his world, not his world rule him.
—Indian Proverb
If you’ve ever felt inspired by a purpose or calling, you know the feeling of Spirit working through you. Inspired is our word for in-spirited.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
Aloneness is a wise teacher. Kierkegaard remarked that one sign of spiritual maturity was the ability to be comfortable when alone.
—Vernon Howard (1918–92) American Author, Philosopher
He who doesn’t have the spirit of his time, has all its misery.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
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