The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
Spirituality
Scripture, prayer, mindfulness, and other contemplative traditions.
300 quotes
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.
What you seek is seeking you.
The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
In the end, just three things matter: how well we lived, how well we loved, how well we learned to let go.
The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.
Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself.
Be still, and know that I am God.
This too shall pass.
Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Happiness does not come from having much, but from being attached to little.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
You are not your thoughts; you are the awareness behind them.
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there.
You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.
Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.
Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.
There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.
Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.
Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?
The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
The breezes at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.
Smile, breathe and go slowly.
The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.
Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.
Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over.
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.
No mud, no lotus.
The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.
You are the sky. Everything else — it's just the weather.
Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.
The most fundamental aggression to ourselves is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.
To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.
Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.
The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.
Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.
This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are.
Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.
Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.
We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.
Start where you are.
When we protect ourselves so we won't feel pain, that protection becomes like armor that imprisons the softness of the heart.
Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.
Life is the dancer and you are the dance.
Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.
Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.
Wherever you are, be there totally.
The past has no power over the present moment.
Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.
Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.
You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.
Awareness is the greatest agent for change.
Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
Silence is a source of great strength.
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow.
We're all just walking each other home.
Be here now.
I can do nothing for you but work on myself... you can do nothing for me but work on yourself.
Treat everyone you meet like God in drag.
Suffering is part of our training program for becoming wise.
When you know how to listen, everybody is the guru.
The game is not about becoming somebody, it's about becoming nobody.
We're fascinated by the words — but where we meet is in the silence behind them.
Everything changes once we identify with being the awareness behind the thoughts.
Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past.
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.
To bow to the fact of our life's sorrows and betrayals is to accept them; and from this deep gesture we discover that all life is workable.
Peace comes not from the absence of conflict, but from the ability to cope with it.
You hold in your hand an invitation: to remember the transforming power of forgiveness and loving kindness.
In any moment we can begin again.
Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.
Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.
I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.
Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.
Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I'd like to see you in better living conditions.
The heart is a thousand-stringed instrument that can only be tuned with love.
You carry within you a thousand gifts, but you are holding on to the one thing that keeps them hidden.
What do you want? asks God. To feel your presence. What else? asks God. Nothing else, I say.
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side.
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.
The smallest act in the most limited circumstances bears the seed of boundless change.
Feelings, thoughts, and sensations come and go like clouds in the sky. You are the sky.
Step into the fire of self-discovery. This fire will not burn you, it will only burn what you are not.
There is nothing to practice. To know yourself, be yourself. To be yourself, stop imagining yourself to be this or that.
When you can bear your own silence, you are free.
Don't try to change what is happening. Just observe, just see.
Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth.
The truth is that you already are what you are seeking.
Stop trying to change the moment. Allow the moment to change you.
Freedom is not something you acquire. It's something you uncover.
Respond to every call that excites your spirit.
The moon stays bright when it does not avoid the night.
Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Everything is possible for one who believes.
For no word from God will ever fail.
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
What is impossible with man is possible with God.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
O son of Kunti, the contact between the senses and the sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are non-permanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendent of Bharat, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self.
Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and continually focus it on God.
Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.
Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjun, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yog.
There are those who always think of Me and engage in exclusive devotion to Me. To them, whose minds are always absorbed in Me, I provide what they lack and preserve what they already possess.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
Only in the darkness can you see the stars.
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image.
You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.
The first step toward finding God is to stop telling God what you think God should be doing.
Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.
Forgiveness is the key that can unlock the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.
When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.
If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at God, you'll be at rest.
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things are passing away: God never changes.
Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
Peace begins with a smile.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.
The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast.
By letting go it all gets done.
Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.
Act without expectation.
Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.
Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.
Laughter is the language of the soul.
To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.
The only journey is the one within.
Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
Nobody can counsel and help you, nobody. There is only one single way. Go into yourself.
Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.
The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.
There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.
Ring the bells that still can ring.
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you. The future will take care of itself.
Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become.
You do not have to struggle to reach God, but you do have to struggle to tear away the self-created veil that hides Him from you.
The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.
Environment is stronger than willpower.
Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.
People may differ in beliefs, they can differ in faith, but knowledge, true knowledge, is universal.
If you really want to find happiness, dig into your path, go deeper in your path, and you will find happiness.
A loving relationship with God is a rare diamond. It is a rare alchemy; it is a kind of magic.
True love is within yourself but one doesn't know how to wake up and discover it, as one's mind is so full of ungratefulness.
As long as one does not surrender the mind, one is a slave of the mind.
Make the ultimate goal of your life Divine love, and surrender to it.
I am confused about my duty, and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am Your disciple, and am surrendered to You. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me.
As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.
Working in this state of consciousness, there is no loss or adverse result, and even a little effort saves one from great danger.
One whose mind remains undisturbed amidst misery, who does not crave for pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.
Just as the ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of waters from rivers merging into it, likewise the sage who is unmoved despite the flow of desirable objects all around him attains peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy desires.
Being free from attachment, fear, and anger, becoming fully absorbed in Me, and taking refuge in Me, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me, and thus attained My divine love.
Content with whatever gain comes of its own accord, and free from envy, they are beyond the dualities of life. Being equipoised in success and failure, they are not bound by their actions, even while performing all kinds of activities.
Even those who are considered the most immoral of all sinners can cross over this ocean of material existence by seating themselves in the boat of divine knowledge.
Those who dedicate their actions to God, abandoning all attachment, remain untouched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
For those who have conquered the mind, it is their friend. For those who have failed to do so, the mind works like an enemy.
Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the disciplined mind of a yogi remains steady in meditation on the Supreme.
The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate, O Krishna. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind.
O mighty-armed son of Kunti, what you say is correct; the mind is indeed very difficult to restrain. But by practice and detachment, it can be controlled.
I am equally disposed to all living beings; I am neither inimical nor partial to anyone. But the devotees who worship Me with love reside in Me and I reside in them.
Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Having dedicated your mind and body to Me, you will certainly come to Me.
Better than mechanical practice is knowledge; better than knowledge is meditation. Better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of actions, for peace immediately follows such renunciation.
Those who are not a source of annoyance to anyone and who in turn are not agitated by anyone, who are equal in pleasure and pain, and free from fear and anxiety, such devotees of Mine are very dear to Me.
One should not abandon duties born of one's nature, even if one sees defects in them, O son of Kunti. Indeed, all endeavors are veiled by some evil, as fire is by smoke.
If you always remember Me, by My grace you shall overcome all obstacles and difficulties.
Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Doing so, you will certainly come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are very dear to Me.