The innermost essence of my being…is fearless; it is immune to criticism; it does not fear any challenge.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
Anxiety is the mark of spiritual insecurity.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
Affluence = abundant flow.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
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
I have learned that everything is an opportunity for spiritual enrichment.
—Marlo Morgan (1937–98) American Novelist, Author
In all adversities there is always in its depth, a treasure of spiritual blessings secretly hidden.
—Swami Chinmayananda (1916–93) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
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
I was made a revolutionary in spite of myself… [A]ll creation presupposes as its origin a sort of appetite that is brought on by the foretaste of discovery. This foretaste of the creative art accompanies the intuitive grasp of an unknown entity that will not take definite shape except by the action of a constantly vigilant technique. This appetite that is aroused in me at the mere thought of putting in order musical elements that have attracted my attention is not at all a fortuitous thing like inspiration, but as habitual and periodic, if not constant, as a natural need… The very act of putting my work on paper, of, as we say, kneading the dough, is for me inseperable from the pleasure of creation. So far as I am concerned, I cannot seperate the spiritual effort from the psychological and physical effort; they confront me on the same level and do not present a hierarchy…What concerns us here is not imagination itself, but rather creative imagination: the facultyy that helps us to pass from the level of conception to the level of realization. In the course of my labors I suddenly stumble upon something unexpected. this unexpected element strikes me. I make note of it. At the proper time I put it to profitable use… The faculty of creating is never given to us all by itself. It always goes hand in hand with the gift of observation. And the true creator may be recognized by his ability always to find about him, in the commonest and humblest thing, items worthy of note… The least accident holds his interest and guides his operations. If his finger slips, he will notice it; on occasion, he may draw profit from something unforeseen that a momentary lapse reveals to him. One does not contrive an accident: one observes it to draw inspiration therefrom.
—Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Russian-born American Composer, Musician
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, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
Problems are God’s resistance to create spiritual muscles.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
What your heart thinks is great, is great. The soul’s emphasis is always right.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing! You see things, not as they are, but as you are.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
—Unknown
You translate everything—whether physical, mental, or spiritual into muscular tension.
—F. Matthias Alexander (1869–1955) Australian Actor, Educationalist
Life is ever giving of Itself. We must receive, utilize and extend the gift. Success and prosperity are spiritual attributes belonging to all people.
—Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) American New Thought Writer, Teacher
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
Don’t try to be spiritual. That is only a word in the dictionary. Make it your goal to become a normally functioning individual. Let these principles shape you according to your real nature of a simple, decent, honest, unafraid human being.
—Vernon Howard (1918–92) American Spiritual Teacher, Philosopher
The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down a divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity. Its object is not personal Mukti, although Mukti is a necessary condition of the yoga, but the liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not personal Ananda, but the bringing down of the divine Ananda—Christ’s kingdom of heaven, our Satyayuga—upon the earth.
—Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) Indian Mystic, Philosopher, Poet
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
Problems are spiritual lessons from God—spiritual lessons to be learned.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
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 men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain, or did greater things than you can accomplish. You can become what you want to be.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
It is consciousness that sets all limits of life, if there are any limits.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
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 force transcends all.—I feel this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand.
—Bruce Lee (1940–73) American Martial Artist, Actor, Philosopher
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 Spiritual Teacher, Philosopher
For it is only the finite that has wrought and suffered; the infinite lies stretched in smiling repose.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Every man should let out all the length of all the reigns; should find or make a frank and healthy expression of what force and meaning is in him.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The by-product is that they more people you help, the “richer” you become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and definitely financially.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
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