Paranoia reduces anxiety and guilt by transferring to the other all the characteristics one does not want to recognize in oneself. It is maintained by selective perception and recall. We only see and acknowledge those negative aspects of the enemy that support the stereotype we have already created.
The ‘still, small voice’ of God never calls on me to be like another man. It appeals to me to rise to my full stature and fulfill the promise that sleeps within my being.
If some incarnation of evil as unambiguous as Hitler appeared again, I would have no moral qualms about killing the enemy. But in the modern world of moral murkiness, I prefer to keep my hands as clean of enemy blood as possible.
You come to love not by discovering the ideal individual, yet by figuring out how to see a blemished individual flawlessly.
The first part of the spiritual journey should properly be called psychological rather than spiritual because it involves peeling away the myths and illusions that have misinformed us.
The spiritual mind is always metaphorical. Spiritual thinking is poetic thinking. It’s always trying to put a very diaphanous experience into words, realizing all the while that words are inadequate.
Myth is the system of basic metaphors, images, and stories that informs the perceptions, memories, and aspirations of a people; provides the rationale for its institutions, rituals and power structure; and gives a map of the purpose and stages of life.
We learn to fly not by being fearless, but by the daily practice of courage.
I think we have to trust ourselves in the darkness of not knowing. The God out of which we came and into which we go is an unknown God. It’s the luminosity of that darkness and that unknowing that is, I think, the most human – and the most sacred – place of all.
You can know what’s in your life when you know what’s in your heart.
The sense of gratitude produces true spiritual alchemy, makes us magnanimous – large souled.
In the beginning, we create the enemy. Before the weapon comes the image. We think others to death and then invent the battle-axe or ballistic missiles with which to actually kill them. Propaganda precedes technology.
The telling of your stories is a revolutionary act.
Our minds, bodies, feelings, relationships are all informed by our questions. What you ask is who you are. What you find depends on what you search for. And what shapes our lives are the questions we ask, refuse to ask, or never think of asking.
The best practice is to follow the advice posted on every railroad crossing: Stop. Look. Listen.
The more you become a connoisseur of gratitude, the less you are a victim of resentment, depression, and despair.
There is a saying in Bali: “We have no art. We do everything as beautifully as possible.” This reflects my philosophy of practice. I try to remember daily what a gift it is to have the privilege of living in this wondrous world.
What happens if I try to build a life dedicated to avoiding all danger and all unnecessary risk?
I think there are families that are very kind and supportive of people’s ability to change. People who come from such families may go through life without dipping into the dark night.
I think that critiquing the myths of our society and helping people find their way through them is a very important thing. It’s a theme that goes through all of my work.