This grand show is eternal.
It is always sunrise somewhere;
the dew is never all dried at once;
a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising.
Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming,
on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn,
as the round earth rolls.
- My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Goethe - Portrait of the Artist
Ilse Graham - page 318
"These reflections have levered us almost imperceptibly into the heart of the problem with which Goethe grapples in his Faust. Infinite man straightjacketed in a finite garb, faced with the annihilating fact of temporality; this is the beating heart of the tragedy."
From the chapter: The grateful Moment: The Element of Time in 'Faust'
"These reflections have levered us almost imperceptibly into the heart of the problem with which Goethe grapples in his Faust. Infinite man straightjacketed in a finite garb, faced with the annihilating fact of temporality; this is the beating heart of the tragedy."
From the chapter: The grateful Moment: The Element of Time in 'Faust'
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Ben Franklin - Independence Day eve...
He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.”
“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
“How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.”
“Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day. ”
“I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things. ”
“Observe all men, thyself most. ”
“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
“How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.”
“Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day. ”
“I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things. ”
“Observe all men, thyself most. ”
Friday, June 25, 2010
Self-defeating, unseen, self-favoring, seeing...
Remember that all psychological chains are unseen, unconscious. That is why they ARE chains, because we are unaware of them. Knowledge of this prevents many mistakes.
Of all the terms which describe man's difficulty, the term self-defeating is of maximum help. The aim of all the great teachers, like Christ and Buddha, was to awaken men to their self-defeating behavior. This phrase helps men to connect to cause and effect, to see how their own negative thoughts produce disastrous consequences. This is a positive revelation, for a glimpse of self-defeating behavior as self-defeating behavior always includes its opposite - a first glimpse of self-favoring ways.
Vernon Howard - Esoteric Mind Power
Of all the terms which describe man's difficulty, the term self-defeating is of maximum help. The aim of all the great teachers, like Christ and Buddha, was to awaken men to their self-defeating behavior. This phrase helps men to connect to cause and effect, to see how their own negative thoughts produce disastrous consequences. This is a positive revelation, for a glimpse of self-defeating behavior as self-defeating behavior always includes its opposite - a first glimpse of self-favoring ways.
Vernon Howard - Esoteric Mind Power
Friday, June 4, 2010
See Rilke - success in smallest matter, Misfortune or good fortune. Choose.
Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, "This is a misfortune" but "To bear this worthily is good fortune."
Marcus Aurelius
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
Marcus Aurelius
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.
Marcus Aurelius
Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.
Marcus Aurelius
To bear this worthily is good fortune. Thankfulness for the opportunity to bear an opportunity worthily. February 13, 2009 seen as suki, as gift. Seeing everything as possibility. The alchemist turns even the most horrible injustice and misfortune into gold. It is a gift to be unwrapped.
Marcus Aurelius
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
Marcus Aurelius
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.
Marcus Aurelius
Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.
Marcus Aurelius
To bear this worthily is good fortune. Thankfulness for the opportunity to bear an opportunity worthily. February 13, 2009 seen as suki, as gift. Seeing everything as possibility. The alchemist turns even the most horrible injustice and misfortune into gold. It is a gift to be unwrapped.
Kristnamurti - choiceless awareness....
Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.
Marcus Aurelius
The flame of attention to what you are reveals the pattern of I-process, of wanting to be different. Wanting to be different is a source of conflict, of IVJ, imposing value judgment. The wanting attitude brings into existence the future, reinforcing escape from the present and ambition for the more, the better. Seeing what you are uncovers this process. The light dissolves the darkness. We shine from within. Virtue is freed as conditioning withers away. Choice-less awareness. Not getting caught up in good/bad;me/them;past/future.
Be content with what you are is the essence of meditation. Being content with what you are is trans-formative, is release from the prison of I-process, of ambition, of greed for the more, of pursuit of profit for the self. Trying to change is decorating the prison cell. Be content with what you are and break out of the prison of ego/I/Me.
Marcus Aurelius
The flame of attention to what you are reveals the pattern of I-process, of wanting to be different. Wanting to be different is a source of conflict, of IVJ, imposing value judgment. The wanting attitude brings into existence the future, reinforcing escape from the present and ambition for the more, the better. Seeing what you are uncovers this process. The light dissolves the darkness. We shine from within. Virtue is freed as conditioning withers away. Choice-less awareness. Not getting caught up in good/bad;me/them;past/future.
Be content with what you are is the essence of meditation. Being content with what you are is trans-formative, is release from the prison of I-process, of ambition, of greed for the more, of pursuit of profit for the self. Trying to change is decorating the prison cell. Be content with what you are and break out of the prison of ego/I/Me.
Dig within for the Good. Be a miner.
Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius
James Allen - As a Man Thinketh
A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings.
A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it.
All that you accomplish or fail to accomplish with your life is the direct result of your thoughts.
Quotable quotes by James Allen
A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it.
All that you accomplish or fail to accomplish with your life is the direct result of your thoughts.
Quotable quotes by James Allen
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Seneca and Zeno
Now we are not merely to stick knowledge on to the soul: we must incorporate it into her; the soul should not be sprinkled with knowledge but steeped in it. (Seneca)
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Seneca.htm
Zeno - Stoicism - 4th century BC
God is not separate from the world; He is the soul of the world, and each of us contains a part of the Divine Fire. All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature. In one sense, every life is in harmony with Nature, since it is such as Nature’s laws have caused it to be; but in another sense a human life is only in harmony with Nature when the individual will is directed to ends which are among those of Nature. Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature. The wicked, though perforce they obey God’s law, do so involuntarily; in the simile of Cleanthes, they are like a dog tied to a cart, and compelled to go wherever it goes.
In the life of an individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a man’s life depends only upon himself. He may be poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Other men have power only over externals; virtue, which alone is truly good, rests entirely with the individual. Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires. (Zeno)
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Seneca.htm
Zeno - Stoicism - 4th century BC
God is not separate from the world; He is the soul of the world, and each of us contains a part of the Divine Fire. All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature. In one sense, every life is in harmony with Nature, since it is such as Nature’s laws have caused it to be; but in another sense a human life is only in harmony with Nature when the individual will is directed to ends which are among those of Nature. Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature. The wicked, though perforce they obey God’s law, do so involuntarily; in the simile of Cleanthes, they are like a dog tied to a cart, and compelled to go wherever it goes.
In the life of an individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a man’s life depends only upon himself. He may be poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Other men have power only over externals; virtue, which alone is truly good, rests entirely with the individual. Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires. (Zeno)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Suki -23rd - Gift
If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)