Some Favorite Quotations
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Such is the ordinance of God: those who will not work out their own salvation he gives into the hands of other men to bear rule over them.
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Being a god is the quality of being able to be yourself to such an extent that your passions correspond with the forces of the universe.
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Abandon what no longer works, what no longer contributes, what no longer serves.
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Visionaries found religions; criminals manage them.
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At any moment that you find yourself hesitating, or if at any moment you find
yourself putting off until tomorrow trying some new piece of behavior that you
could do today, or doing something you've done before, then all you need to do
is glance over your left shoulder and there will be a fleeting shadow. That
shadow represents your death, and at any moment it might step forward, place its
hand on your shoulder and take you. So that the act that your are presently
engaged in might be your very last act and therefore fully representative of
you as your last act on this planet. |
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I say, do not pity him overmuch. He lives his life, his own life, his own waythought,
word, and deed free! |
| "The biggest threat to a culture is happy, independent, satisfied and free people." |
| Someone's opinion of you doesn't have to become your reality |
| The purpose of life is to increase the warm heart. Think of other people. Serve other people sincerely. No cheating . . . |
| The fates lead him who will; him who won't they drag |
| If nobody makes you do it, it counts as fun. |
| "Leaders have failed to instill vision, meaning and trust in their followers. They have failed to empower them." |
| Have you ever considered how complicated things can get, what with one thing always leading to another? |
| I'm not going to make fame and money my rule because I don't like what I see in the lives of people who live by that rule. |
| Corinth 13:3 says "And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." |
| The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse. |
| It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh. |
| Things which matter most should not be at the mercy of things that matter least. |
| When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible. |
| Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might. Eccles 9:10 NRSV |
| Happiness is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it. |
| Warren Buffett: "What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact." |
| "Leadership" connotes unleashing energy, building, freeing, and growing. |
| "You're investing in yourself when you extend or enlarge your presence in a market that is already partly yours." |
| "A penny saved from any kind of investment is never a penny earned." |
Other Quotations
These come from a variety of sources: books I am reading, websites, etc.
Some pains have been taken to ensure accurate attributions. If any are not correct, please let me know.
"Many people get wiser as they get older, whereas others get mean, or shallow and bitter." —Philip Glass
"Every day of my life I experience a different shade of living."
For anguish he gives us a definition that anguish is felt by a person "who involves himself and who realizes that he is not only the person he chooses to be, but also a lawmaker who is, at the same time, choosing all mankind as well as himself." He gives us the example of Abraham believing that an angel of God has ordered him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, this shows the anguish of trying to act rightly without ever being able to secure any conclusive evidence of what is the right course of action. —Jean-Paul Satre
Questions don't change, answers do.
He seemed positively diabolic in his enjoyment of our discomfort. —"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou
Those things that hurt, instruct. —Benjamin Franklin
"Success is defined as: The achievement of something desired or planned."
"Two people love each other only when they are quite capable of living without each other but /choose /to live with each other." — The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
We ought to. But we don't. —Kurt Tucholsky
"I remember going to the circus a few years ago. I was having a good time until they started the elephant act. They had an elephant dressed up in a little apron and hat and made it do a handstand on a little drum. All of a sudden, I was embarrassed---for myself and for everyone there. I was ashamed of our species for having taken this gorgeous, sentient creature and reducing it to an entertaining plaything." —Jeremy Rifkin
This was a rather odd interpretation I came across about Genesis. This guy pointed out that after God created the world, He saw that it was "good." The suggestion is that creation is a continual process, and that we have some work to do before it is "great." Another way to say it might be that God gave us all the ingredients, but we need to bake the cake. Anyway, I thought it an interesting take on things.
All people should leave a work reflecting what they found in life.
Adolescents frequently complain that they are disciplined not out of genuine concern but because of parental fear that they will give their parents a bad image. "My parents are continually after me to cut my hair," adolescent boys used to say a few years ago. "They can't explain why long hair is bad for me. They just don't want other people to see they've got long-haired kids. They don't really give a shit about me. All they are really caring about is their own image." Such adolescent resentment is usually justified. Their parents generally do in fact fail to appreciate the unique individuality of their children, and instead regard their children as extensions of themselves, in much the same way as their fine clothes and their neatly manicured lawns and their polished cars are extensions of themselves which represent their status to the world. —M. Scott Peck
Did you know there were two Herod's in history around the time of Jesus? The first was known as Herod the Great. He wasn't really so great. He proclaimed the decree that all sons less than two years old be killed around the time Jesus was born. The other Herod was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. He was the guy who offered Salome (his wife's daughter) anything she wanted, even 1/2 his kingdom, for an erotic dance. She asked for the head of John the Baptist. You don't hear of a lot of people named Herod today. I wonder if it was because they guys were such jerks. Some people have Herod as a last name, though. Speaking of which, I don't know anyone named Pontius, although, again, some people have this as their last name. It's funny how so many names are derived from the drama of the bible, and yet some are not used at all. In the case of bad guys, it sort of makes sense; but I haven't really heard of anyone named Abel or Enoch, and these weren't bad guys.
imagine the good works that could be funded by selling off the Vatican treasures.
You probably remember the tale of Jesus meeting with John the Baptist. He was about 30 years old then. The tale has it that Jesus had John the Baptist baptize him even though John protested that it should be the other way around. This even signified when Jesus truly started his ministry. The interesting point that this author stated was that this event was the meeting of the Old Testament with the New Testament. John the Baptist preached all Old Testament material---the law of Moses---because the New Testament hadn't started until this very moment. John, of course, knew of Jesus from the prophecies. The prophecies are interesting in their own right, but that is another "today's thought."
I came across a rather convincing section of a book that dispels the myth of the nativity. He first pointed out that only two of the four gospels mention the birth of Jesus, and, although both set it in Jerusalem, they are both significantly different. In one, Joseph is called back for a census. In the other is the manger and swaddling clothes. Over time, these two stories have blended together in what we remember, sentimentally, in school plays or in the movies. His arguments continue: it was unlikely for Joseph to bring a woman 8-months pregnant on a 100 mile journey; there is no reason to believe that stars can move; there is no reason to believe any of the story of Herod killing all males under 2-years old. In fact, the author states that Herod killing baby males is simply a recounting of the tale of Moses. The final point, which I find the most thought provoking, is that the author feels that the two gospel writers who embellished the story did so to add credence to the words and works of Jesus. The author felt that these writers wanted to enshroud Jesus in mystery and myth so that people would find his message more poignant. This got me thinking. Remember the "Prayer for Our Nation" E-mail you sent to me a few days ago, that was supposedly written by Rev. Billy Graham, but I found that he had not written it? This was the link
Apparently, Peter, the "rock", is considered by some to be the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. This article
"[...] an age that believes in miracles is likely to witness them, and an age like ours which dismisses the possibility, correspondingly unlikely. We get, not only the government, but the miracles we deserve." The author pointed out that people flocked around Jesus mostly to see him cure the sick. They would come from miles around and surround him in droves. It is highly possible that they were there for "the show" rather than to hear his words. Some heard, and that was good. The above quote suggests this is true with today's government. All the money that is spent for these bozos to get elected, all the mudslinging campaign commercials, all the people arguing, commenting, and posting political humor, all of this "less of two evils" routine---these are the people who forge, mold, and allow the continued abuse in Washington. Politics is not about leadership or the good of the people---Politics has become grand-scale entertainment.
One of the most poignant themes of the Gospels is Christ's continual sense of frustration on finding that there was no on who could really understand him. Even his disciples didn't really "get" him.
Jesus' prescription is to do good to those who harm us, and pray for those who persecute us. Not just to refrain from adultery, but to refrain from desiring. And not just to refrain from killing, but from being angry or calling someone a fool.
Rain falls on the just and unjust alike.
I thought about the loaves and the fish routine. One author suggested that Jesus simply asked one guy, who thought ahead to bring some food for himself, to distribute it, which, in turn, prompted others to also distribute theirs. So, the miracle was really getting people to help each other rather than some sort of divine multiplication of matter. In honestly, I think getting people to help each other is way more difficult than matter replication. :-) This reminds me of the Stone Soup story: Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.
It occurred to me that the Catholic church is like Sears. Early on, Sears Roebuck and Co. was the top mercantile trader in all the world. This would have been the late 1800's. In the mid-1900's they were booming. But now who shops there? (Apparently Kmart bought out Sears in 2005). Anyway, my point being that the Catholic church was very strong in years past. Nowadays, I think many people have fallen away from the church, or any religion, for that matter.
"It's my job to bring hope and inspiration to the team."
"constant repetition merely anesthetizes the public's senses"
Without a goal, discipline is nothing but self-punishment.
This was stated by Zig Ziglar on one of his audio presentations. He said that of a poll of 100 top executives, the way to get to the top /and stay there/ requires honesty and integrity.
If you keep doing what you've been doing, you are going to keep getting what you've been getting.
There are no complaints, only suggestions, and you cannot offer a suggestion without at least two solutions. This comes from a book I am reading. It's related mostly to the business world, but it was interesting where he got the idea. Apparently when he or his brother complained, their mother would tell them: "I am not the complaint department. You come back with two solutions."
Getting older isn't really all that bad. It's sort of like a wine aging. It gets more mellow, less bitter, more robust flavors.
"We must become the change we wish to see in the world." —Mahatma Gandhi
"When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it too seemed immoveable.As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family."
A lot of inspirational thoughts are sappy, corny, and silly.
There was this football guy. He apparently wasn't very good, so the coach never really put him out. For seven years he wasn't put out. One game, the head quarterback was injured, so the coach put him out. They won the game. Then they won the next, and the next, and the next. This guy was now top choice. The point of the morale was: when did he become an amazing quarterback? The proffered answer was that, during those seven years, the guy trained and trained. He lifted weights, threw many passes at automated machines, ran sprints, etc. He was preparing to be a winner. When his break came, he didn't have to say, "just a moment coach, I gotta get ready."
Debt is evil because it steals your future freedom.
"To those who don't believe in God, life on earth is all there is, and so it is natural for them to strive for this world's values --- money, popularity, power, pleasure, and prestige. You were born for a specific purpose, an exciting and joyful purpose. This purpose can only be revealed to you through God. Want joy in your life? Seek God' purpose and will for your life."
"It's not our circumstances that drag us down, it's the thoughts that we have about our circumstances that weaken us. Negative thinking can destroy and negative thinking is a choice we make."
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." — Thomas Edison
"Today's rejections will lead to tomorrow's opportunities."
The very person who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said. — C.S. Lewis
Tear the band-aid off all at once.
This comes "The Witch of Blackbird Pond." The background is that William is courting Katharine, but she finds him dull. "Seems to me you're pretty choosy," snapped Judith. "Don't you know William is able to build the finest house in Wethersfield if he wants to? Does he have to keep you amused as well?" This is a loaded statement. Cousin Judith is basically telling Katharine to marry for money/comfortable lifestyle, not for love. In the situations of days of old, this is quite sensible advice. Of course, to have a story, the female protagonist cannot simply marry for lifestyle. Look at Pride and Prejudice. On the other hand, the term "amused" is of interest, too. There are women who accept attention, amusement, and entertainment from a guy without any intention of entering a meaningful relationship with him.
"You can't steal second base and keep one foot on first." I see this as meaning that you need to take some risks in life to get ahead. A life that is completely safe and comfortable has no rewards.
The only way on earth to multiply happiness is to divide it. —Paul Scherer*
"It's best to let sleeping dogs lie."
God sends you flowers every spring.
"The only one who got everything done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe."
The political "race" is a lot like the shopping months before Christmas. Both are trying to sell you stuff, and, the day after, you realize you spent way too much money on a lot of crap.
Mmy inbox will be full when I die.
"The only reason you have anything is to give it away." The idea behind this is about intangible things like knowledge and love. You can't really "give away" knowledge or love, you basically share it, and when you have shared it, you still have all you had initially.
Life shouldn't be dreary.
"There are ways to meet the needs of society , and there are ways to do your own thing."
Enlightened people seldom or never possess a sense of responsibility. —George Orwell
"Don't walk in my head with your dirty feet!" This comes from the book I am reading. The author describes a time in which he was trying to impress a Japanese teacher at a Zen Monastery with how smart he was, how much he knew. The spiritual leader slapped his face and said this phrase.
"Love" is the process of chasing a woman for six reels. —Unknown
"A direct attack only strengthens people in their illusion, and at the same time, they become embittered. There is nothing that requires such gentle handling as an illusion if one wishes to dispel it. If anything prompts the prospective captive to set his or her will in opposition, all is lost. And this is what a direct attack achieves, and it implies moreover the presumption of requiring a person to make an admission to another, which could be more gainfully made in private." —Kierkegaard
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything as if it were a nail.
Life is a river--you can flow with it, or not get your feet wet. The river doesn't care.
"The less you have, the less you have to worry about." —Buddha
"The person who loves you is going to tell you that you have dirt on your nose."
To get the maximum value from money is to spend it before it diminishes through inflation and before you diminish through age.
"We don't know how to die or live with dignity."
"[...] I think loving relationships and togetherness are made in heaven, but it has to be /practiced /on earth, and sometimes that is very difficult."
The only people who scream and yell at the moment of death are those people who have never lived at all.
"Do less in life and achieve MUCH more by focusing on your purpose."
This comes from The Power Of Myth, an interview between Bill Moyers (journalist) and Joseph Campbell (authority on mythology). I thought this was a good identification. *MOYERS:* Machines help us to fulfill the idea that we want the world to be made in our image, and we want it to be what we think it ought to be. *CAMPBELL:* Yes. But then there comes a time when the machine begins to dictate to you. For example, I have bought this wonderful machine---a computer. Now I am rather an authority on gods, so I identified the machine---it seems to me to be an Old Testament god with a lot of rules and no mercy.
Joseph Campbell was talking about the circle of life in the "Myth" book. The serpent/snake is the symbol for this. We have a serpent in the Garden of Eden who instigates the Fall. The symbol comes about because a snake sheds its skin. The snake throws off life in order to continue living. The Fall meant that humans were no longer part of eternity. Time had come into being, death, birth, and the killing and eating of other living beings, for the preservation of life. All nifty so far. The bit I liked was that he said "You don't kid yourself by eating only vegetables, either, for they, too, are alive."
Thus, we reach the seeming paradox that you cannot at once idolize the Bible and embody the spirit of Jesus. He twitted the Pharisees as today he would twit the fundamentalists: "You search the Scriptures daily, for in them you think you have life." —Alan Watts
*CAMPBELL:* Ramakrishna once said that if all you think of are your sins, then you are a sinner. And when I read that, I thought of my boyhood, going to confession on Saturdays, meditating on all the little sins that I had committed during the week. Now I think one should go and say, "Bless me, Father, for I have been great, these are the good things I have done this week." Identify your notion of yourself with the positive, rather than with the negative. You see, religion is really a kind of second womb. It's designed to bring this extremely complicated thing, which is a human being, to maturity, which means to be self-motivating, self-acting. But the idea of sin puts you in a servile condition throughout your life.
*MOYERS:* Do you ever think that it is this absence of the religious experience of ecstasy, of joy, this denial of transcendence in our society, that has turned so many young people to the use of drugs? *CAMPBELL:* Absolutely. That is the way in. *MOYERS:* The way in? *CAMPBELL:* To an experience. *MOYERS:* And religion can't do that for you, or art can't do it? *CAMPBELL:* It could, but it is not doing it now. Religions are addressing social problems and ethics instead of the mystical experience.
*MOYERS:* And then there is that final passage through the dark gate? *CAMPBELL:* Well, that is no problem at all. The problem in middle life, when the body has reached its climax of power and begins to decline, is to identify yourself not with the body, which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle. This is something I learned from myths. What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light, or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle? One of the psychological problems in growing old is the fear of death. People resist the door of death. But this body is a vehicle of consciousness, and if you can identify with the consciousness, you can watch this body go like an old car. There goes the fender, there goes the tire, one thing after another -- but it's predictable. And then, gradually, the whole thing drops off, and consciousness rejoins consciousness. It is no longer in this particular environment.
[ . . . . ] He has been removed from his childhood, and his body has been scarified, and circumcision and subincision have been enacted. Now he has a man's body. There's no chance of relapsing back to boyhood after a show like that. *MOYERS:* You don't go back to Mother. *CAMPBELL:* No, but in our life we don't have anything like that. You can have a man forty-five years old still trying to be obedient to his father. So he goes to a psychoanalyst, who does the job for him.
For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others." —Psalm 49:10
Again from Campbell. He's talking about the shift of what's important as evidenced by the height of buildings. I had never really thought of it this way before. I think he has a point. *CAMPBELL:* It takes me back to a time when these spiritual principles informed the society. You can tell what's informing a society by what the tallest building is. When you approach a medieval town, the cathedral is the tallest thing in the place. When you approach an eighteenth-century town, it is the political palace that's the tallest thing in the place. And when you approach a modern city, the tallest places are the office buildings, the centers of economic life. If you go to Salt Lake City, you see the whole thing illustrated right in front of your face. First the temple was built, right in the center of the city. This is the proper organization because the temple is the spiritual center from which everything flows in all directions. Then the political building, the Capitol, was built beside it, and it's taller than the temple. And now the tallest thing is the office building that takes care of the affairs of both the temple and the political building. That's the history of Western civilization. From the Gothic through the princely periods of the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth centuries, to this economic world that we're in now.
*CAMPBELL:* The New Testament teaches dying to one's self, literally suffering the pain of death to the world and its values. This is the vocabulary of the mystics. Now, suicide is also a symbolic act. It casts off the psychological posture that you happen to be in at the time, so that you may come into a better one. You die to your current life in order to come to another of some kind. But, as Jung says, you'd better not get caught in a symbolic situation. You don't have to die, really, physically. All you have to do is die spiritually and be reborn to a larger way of living. *MOYERS:* But it seems so foreign to our experience today. Religion is easy. You put it on as if you are putting on a coat and going out to the movies. *CAMPBELL:* Yes, most churches are for nice social gatherings. You like the people there, they are respectable people, they are old friends, and the family has known them for a long time.
*MOYERS:* Can Westerners grasp the mystical experience that leaves theology behind? If you're locked to the image of God in a culture where science determines your perceptions of reality, how can you experience this ultimate ground that the shamans talk about? *CAMPBELL:* Well, people do experience it. Those in the Middle Ages who experienced it were usually burned as heretics. One of the great heresies in the West is the heresy that Christ pronounced when he said, "I and the Father are one." He was crucified for saying that. [ . . . . ] *MOYERS:* What has undercut this experience today? *CAMPBELL:* It's characteristic of democracy that majority rule is understood as being effective not only in politics but also in thinking. In thinking, of course, the majority is always wrong. *MOYERS:* Always wrong? *CAMPBELL:* In matters of this kind, yes. The majority's function in relation to the spirit is to try to listen and to open up to someone who's had an experience beyond that of food, shelter, progeny, and wealth.
Looks like one of the ten commandments is purely from the Hebrew Bible. It's an exclusive relationship. It was not enough that Yahweh be worshiped along with other deities, nor even to be preeminent among lesser deities. Of course, this was Old Testament stuff. There was all sorts of crazy stuff in the Old Testament. *CAMPBELL:* Yes. The god idea is always culturally conditioned, always. And even when a missionary brings what he thinks is God, his god, that god is transformed in terms of what the people are able to think of as a divinity. [. . . .] *MOYERS:* Is the idea "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" purely a Hebraic idea? *CAMPBELL:* I've not found it anywhere else.
"Caffeine makes a lot of people into jerks." My thought is that caffeine makes people more easily irritated, but circumstance is what makes people into jerks.
*CAMPBELL:* This is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don't know who your friends are, you don't know what you owe anybody, you don't know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.
"We all have too many things on our to-do lists. Because we enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off those lists, it's tempting to spend time on trivial tasks at the expense of really important ones."
*CAMPBELL:* The way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you really are happy -- not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss."
"The influence of a vital person vitalizes." —Joseph Campbell
*Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs (with God's Instruction) built the ark, professionals (without God's Instruction) built the Titanic.*
"It is not enough for a leader to do things right, he must do the right thing."
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe. —Keith Caserta
Now that the political race is done, I can bring this out. *CAMPBELL:* It's characteristic of democracy that majority rule is understood as being effective not only in politics but also in thinking. In thinking, of course, the majority is always wrong. *MOYERS:* Always wrong? *CAMPBELL:* In matters of this kind, yes. The majority's function in relation to the spirit is to try to listen and to open up to someone who's had an experience beyond that of food, shelter, progeny, and wealth.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." —John Milton, Paradise Lost
"This is my life, yes. And I am willing to take any kind of pain for it."
*MOYERS:* Do you think Jesus today would be a Christian? *CAMPBELL:* Not the kind of Christian we know. Perhaps some of the monks and nuns who are really in touch with high spiritual mysteries would be of the sort that Jesus was. *MOYERS:* So Jesus might not have belonged to the Church militant? *CAMPBELL:* There's nothing militant about Jesus. I don't read anything like that in any of the gospels. Peter drew his sword and cut off the servant's ear, and Jesus said, "Put back thy sword, Peter." But Peter has had his sword out and at work ever since.
Warren Bennis shared the findings of Gib Akin who studied the experiences of sixty managers. "Learning is experienced as a personal transformation. A person does not gather learnings as possessions but rather becomes a new person. . . . To learn is not to have, it is to be."
*MOYERS:* And yet one of my favorite myths is the story from Persia that Satan was condemned to hell because he loved God so much. *CAMPBELL:* Yes, that's a basic Muslim idea about Satan being God's greatest lover. There are a number of ways of thinking about Satan, but this is based on the question, Why was Satan thrown into hell? The standard story is that, when God created the angels, he told them to bow to none but himself. Then he created man, whom he regarded as a higher form than the angels, and he asked the angels to serve man. And Satan would not bow to man. Now, this is interpreted in the Christian tradition, as I recall from my boyhood instruction, as being the egotism of Satan. He would not bow to man. But in the Persian story, he could not bow to man because of his love for God -- he could bow only to God. God had changed his signals, do you see? But Satan had so committed himself to the first set of signals that he could not violate those, and in his -- I don't know if Satan has a heart or not -- but in his mind, he could not bow to anyone but God, whom he loved. And then God says, "Get out of my sight." Now, the worst of the pains of hell, insofar as hell has been described, is the absence of the Beloved, which is God. So how does Satan sustain the situation in hell? By the memory of the echo of God's voice, when God said, "Go to hell." That is a great sign of love. *MOYERS:* Well, it's certainly true in life that the greatest hell one can know is to be separated from the one you love. That's why I've liked the Persian myth. Satan is God's lover -- *CAMPBELL:* -- and he is separated from God, and that's the real pain of Satan.
As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces . . . ." This also reminds me of an anecdote by Campbell when he was at the YMCA swimming and he met a priest. The priest asked him a few leading questions then asked, "Do you believe in a personal God?" whereupon Campbell said, "No," and the priest got up and left.
*MOYERS:* I notice when you tell these stories, Joe, you tell them with humor. You always seem to enjoy them, even when they're about odd and cruel things. *CAMPBELL:* A key difference between mythology and our Judeo-Christian religion is that the imagery of mythology is rendered with humor. You realize that the image is symbolic of something. You're at a distance from it. But in our religion, everything is prosaic, and very, very serious. You can't fool around with Yahweh.
"There are no little things in the morning."
Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. — Norman Macewan
Babe Ruth not only set a home run record, he also set a strike out record. "Babe Ruth, of his batting outs, 24% of them were strikeouts. The average batter of his time made a strikeout in 12% of their outs. Ruth's K per out rate was twice that of the league average. And the all-time leader is? Babe Ruth." So perhaps being the best at something isn't necessarily all that great if you can't hold your weight for the team.
(attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, but there is some discussion to suggest that there is no evidence or citation to this effect) *Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.*
*Carlos Fuentes:* "I really think youth is something you win from age. You are rather old and stupid when you are young. The youngest men I ever met in my life were Luis Bunuel who made his greatest films between the ages of 60 and 80, and Arthur Rubinstein, a man who became a genius at 80, being able to strike a note by raising his hand to heaven and making it fall exactly as Beethoven and Chopin demanded. Pablo Picasso painted his most erotic and passionate works when in his 80s. These are men who earned their youth. it took them 80 years to become young."
"Morton Downey, Jr., made himself both rich and famous almost overnight by becoming the Archie Bunker of talk show hosts. It's not so much that people like his biased, rude, macho act (although some obviously do), it's that they response to the fact that he has a point of view and expresses it. We may not like what he says, but at least he says something." — On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis
"Ambition is the death of thought." —Ludwig Wittgenstein
If you don't make any mistakes, you aren't trying hard enough. —Warren Bennis
If you want to measure the effectiveness of a retail operation, for example, measure the attitude of any clerk in the store. If the clerk is rude, unknowledgeable, helpless, changes are the top executives either are inept or lack a coherent vision. —Warren Bennis book
"You've probably heard of Grandma Moses, the great folk artist whose colorful paintings of rural life sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars today. Amazingly, Grandma Moses didn't even start painting until she was 76 years old! Her main pastime before painting was needlework. But the arthritis in her hands made it too painful to continue the intricate needlework she loved, so she switched over to oil painting. Grandma Moses, you see, was determined to lead a productive, creative life, which she did right up until her death at 101! When arthritis forced one door closed, she didn't give up --- she just decided to build another door! She was determined to engage in a fulfilling, productive activity, and because she made the effort to build a door, she became a world-famous painter, even though she never had an art lesson in her life!" —If You Can't Climb The Wall, Build A Door by Dr. Charles Lever
William A. Ward gave as his "recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping, work while others are loafing, prepare while others are playing, and dream while others are wishing."
The need to keep struggling to overcome our problems reminds me of the story about a group of military officers who approached Napoleon with the request that he promote a certain enlisted man. Napoleon inquired as to why the officers felt the soldier was worthy of a promotion. The officers told Napoleon that the soldier's cleverness and courage had enabled the French Army to win an important victory in a battle just several days before. Napoleon pondered the request for a few seconds before responding with this question: "What has the man done since?" To this question the officers had no answer. Napoleon knew that all too often a little-known soldier will demonstrate a sudden burst of brilliance and help to WIN A BATTLE or two. But Napoleon understood that the soldiers who WIN THE WAR are those individuals who are always moving forward, always forging ahead, always climbing their walls, day in and day out. —If You Can't Climb The Wall, Build A Door by Dr. Charles Lever
"The world we've made, as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far, creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of thinking" — Albert Einstein.
I come into this society, so I've got to live in terms of this society. It's ridiculous not to live in terms of this society because, unless I do, I'm not living. But I mustn't allow this society to dictate to me how I should live. One has to build up one's own system that may violate the expectations of the society, and sometimes society doesn't accept that. But the task of life is to live within the field provided by the society that is really supporting you. A point comes up -- for instance, a war, where the young men have to register for the draft. This involves an enormous decision. How far are you going to go in acceding to what the society is asking of you -- to kill other people whom you don't know? For what? For whom? All that kind of thing. —Bill Moyers
"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant."
"What would you do if you had a bank account that was credited with $84,600 at the beginning of each day, but which would not allow you to carry your unused balance from one day to the next? Unless you like to throw money away, you'd draw out every single cent before the end of the day, isn't that true? Well, each of us has just such a "bank account" called time. Each day 84,600 seconds are deposited into our account, and if we don't use the time wisely, then we lose it." —If You Can't Climb The Wall, Build A Door by Dr. Charles Lever
This comes from Ecclesiastes. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
"And there is every reason to believe that laughter is a spiritual force." —Pastor Todd Outcalt
"I have a feeling that faith bears a closer resemblance to giggling than to praying. I have an idea that faith has more to do with Play-Doh and painting than singing from hymnals and reciting tired words. I have the notion that faith is more like making a game out of life than going through life playing games." —Pastor Todd Outcalt
Then CBS executive Barbara Corday said, regarding education, "If I were talking to young executives, I'd advise them to forget their MBAs. A lot of young leaders are very taken with their own credentials, and they forget that most American leaders of the past 150 years didn't have MBAs, didn't have Ph.D.s. I barely graduated from high school and have never had another day of formal education. I'm not saying that because I'm particularly proud of it, but I'm also not embarrassed about it. In my business, very few people have an academic background that matches in any way what they're doing now. A liberal arts education is probably the best thing for my business, and I feel I have that, even though I don't have a degree to show.... A lot of the young people I've dealt with in the last five years have all sorts of degrees, but they lack some of the personality traits, the showmanship and enthusiasm and childlike qualities, that the entertainment business requires, and it makes me sad to see that.... People who go to plays, read books, know the classics, who have an open mind and enjoy experiences, are more apt to be successful in my business than someone with an MBA in finance.
Chinese Proverb: If we don't change our direction we're likely to end up where we're headed.
"The chances that life just occurred are about as unlikely as a typhoon blowing through a junkyard and constructing a Boeing-747." ---astronomer Chandra Wickramasinghe
By contrast, the greatest piece of literature ever written on the subject of love, the 13th Chapter of I Corinthians, includes not a single reference to feelings: "Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong." (I Corinthians 12:4-5 TLB)
"Humankind took possession of the messenger and did not understand the message."
"But when you've been around for thirty or forty years, and seen more of the results of your mistakes, you can say, 'There really isn't, in material things, what I thought was going to be there.'"
"Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves." —Lao Tzu
There is a huge difference between managers and leaders. Have you ever noticed that we, as a people, look to leaders? Take for instance Jesus: he was not a spiritual manager, but a spiritual leader. What's the difference? A leader has a vision and imparts that vision upon the people. A manager tracks and allocates assets, monitors time-sheets, OK's expenditures, and tells people what to do.
*Jesus said: No prophet is acceptable in his village; a physician does not heal those who know him.*
"People will prefer fighting to the death rather than to give up their unhappiness."
"Nature and culture never go together, but one is always at the expense of the other. If one grows, the other has to shrink. To reach 100% Culture is a utopia; to reach 100% nature means paradise."
". . . punishment doesn't do a very good job of changing behavior." —Jess Lair, Ph.D.
If you were diagnosed with incurable cancer, and you only had a few months to live, and it became progressively more painful, do you think God would have a problem with suicide?
"The implication is punishment is not a very good way to get rid of the behavior that we don't want. But it persists. We do punish people a great deal. And why does it persist? It persists for the simple reason that punishing is very, very satisfying to us. The person who's doing the punishment enjoys it. As a parent, as a teacher, as a boss, you and I just love to pound on people and punish them. But you're doing this, not because it works so well, but because you love it so." — Jess Lair, Ph.D.
"Now there are many was of dying. Most of them involve dying on your feet like I was doing. I see my young teaching students sitting in class, and almost everyone of them are violently opposed to dress codes. Yet I predict that ten years from now half of them may vote for a dress code in their schools. That's how away they are going to get from where they are today because of accumulation of little wrong turns and dying to life." --Jess Lair, Ph.D.
Then Peter came and said to Him, =93Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
QUOTATION:With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once; the impossible takes a bit longer. ATTRIBUTION:Author unknown. Inscription on the memorial to the Seabees (U.S. Naval Construction Batallions), between Memorial Bridge and Arlington Cemetery.
Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. — Dalai Llama
A quotation from A Christmas Carol by Dickens: "I wear the chain I forged in life....I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."
"I will give an example of this Fifth Gospel. Luke 12:32 says, 'Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.' Ah, this is a popular verse. I've preached many times from this text. But what about the next verse? 'Sell your possessions and give to charity.' I've never heard a sermon on this verse[....]" — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Jesus didn't say, 'How would you like to go?' No. He commanded, and they did it. That is how disciples are made." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
*Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of the life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in order that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.*
"You know, brother, we have to support all the things we're doing in the church, and so we tithe our money. But it's not as bad as it sounds, because when you tithe, the ninety percent goes further than the 100 percent did before. God will stretch the money for you." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Now we understand that baptism has a meaning. It should be done right away, as soon as the person begins to live in the new kingdom." "It doesn't matter to me so much whether it's by immersion or whatever--the Bible is not as plain on that as it is on, say, loving one another (and we don't do that!)." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
It's great to travel, but it's also great to come home.
Jesus said, I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16). Do you know what that means? Excuse me for this illustration, but it comes from Jesus Himself. What things do we vomit? Things that won't digest. If something is digested, it doesn't come up. Vomited people are those people who refuse to be digested by the Lord Jesus Christ. And digestion means getting lost. You're finished. Your life ends. You are transformed into Jesus. You are unmistakeably associated with Him. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Speaking in tongues without love is noise. Prophecy and the ability to understand spiritual mysteries, without love, are nothing. The gift of faith without love is nothing." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
The Samaritan was nothing special. We have called him the "good Samaritan," but Jesus didn't. He just said, "A certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him . . ." (verse 33). He was simply obeying the old commandment. He left some money to pay for the man's care, and then went on to do his own business. But we are so bad that, by comparison, he was a *good* Samaritan. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
God does not say, "Love your neighbors." You cannot love the whole world. He says, "Love your neighbor." So take one person, one family. Start to pray for that family. Start to look for their problems, their needs--spiritual, material, psychological, all kinds of needs. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
The pastors have always been more divided, more concerned about their differences, than the people. So we must set the example in every city by creating a fellowship among the pastors of the city. We cannot get our congregations to love if we do not. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"God has only two groups--those who love one another, and those who don't." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
We even stopped changing our voice and vocabulary for prayer. So many Christians have a whole different way of speaking when they pray; it's very dramatic and flowery. Why? Because they close their eyes and think they've entered another world. But with our eyes open, we realize that we must live only one kind of life twenty-four hours a day. Everything must be done in God's presence; His is always here. We don't need to put on any special speech for Him. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
When The Lord began to speak to me about solutions to our growth problem, He started with the passage in Ephesians. My job was to equip the saints, to bring them to maturity. I hadn't been taught that. I had been taught how to entertain people, not how to perfect them. That was the idea of the many activities of the church--to entertain, to maintain, to keep people involved. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Why is it in the modern church that when someone wants to be trained for the ministry, he must leave the church and go to a seminary? The church is not fulfilling its job. If pastors were equipping the saints to do the work of service like the Bible says, the seminaries wouldn't be needed. God has only one agency on this earth: the Church. That's all He intended. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Information is not bad, but it is the least way of teaching. All it does is possibly awaken your interest to experience the things you are informed about. Unfortunately, we made this an end in itself. To know and memorize the words of the Bible was our only goal. The strange thing is that Jesus almost never used this method. We never see Jesus giving His disciples a Bible study. Can you imagine Him saying, "Well, don't forget that tomorrow morning we'll be having devotions from eight to nine. From nine to ten we'll have minor prophets. Then from ten to eleven we will have the poetry books, and then from eleven to noon we will have the homiletics and hermeneutics." Yet he was preparing the best ministers history ever saw. How could He forget such important subjects? — Juan Carlos Ortiz
It is tradition that makes us say, "Lord, NO!" We read in the Bible about the unity of the Body of Christ, and we say, "No! God wants the denominations the way they are." The Bible is the rule of faith and practice, we say--unless it conflicts with our tradition. Fantastic. [....] The power of tradition is awesome. God cannot do many things He would like to do because of our bondage. We are scandalized every time He wants us to change a little. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
The absence or ineffectiveness of leadership implies the absence of vision, a dreamless society, and this will result, at best, in the maintenance of the status quo or, at worst, in the disintegration of our society because of lack of purpose and cohesion. —Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus
We are working hard now to end the poverty in our congregation. After all, we are supposed to be the light of the world. How can we tackle social problems outside the church when we haven't solved them inside the church? Some pastors get very involved in politics to bring about the social justice--but they can't get it in their own congregation. We should start where our own word is heard and obeyed. Let us start with the people with the Bibles under their arms. They must carry out social justice before anyone else. It's incredible to think that one brother in a congregation can have two TVs while another has no bed. It's incredible that one has two or more cars while another has to walk twenty blocks and wait for buses an hour every day. But it happens all the time in my country. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"I was the Reverend, an ordained minister. But now I realize that I couldn't even be a deacon in the primitive church--they had more spirituality, more wisdom, more power, more gifts, more of everything than the most highly ordained people today." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
The Catholic Church was wrong when it ousted Martin Luther. If they had heard him, the whole Catholic Church could have been renewed. How many sons, faithful to the Mother Church, have been cast out because they would not agree with it? But we evangelicals are doing the same thing. We count only those with use who think as we do. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
the holy spirit is the whole will of God —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Someone asked me if it is OK to kick someone in their mind if they were mean. I replied with an excerpt from the Wikipedia page for ahimsa: In Gandhi's thought, ahimsa precludes not only the act of inflicting a physical injury, but also mental states like evil thoughts and hatred, unkind behavior such as harsh words, dishonesty and lying, all of which he saw as manifestations of violence incompatible with ahimsa.
"Why indeed must 'God' be a noun? Why not a verb - the most active and dynamic of all." — Mary Daly
Workers who do their best, but consistently fail to live up to their own expectations, eventually stop trying to do their best. It never seems to be good enough or appreciated.
It is important to realize that blaming is fun. Anger is fun. Hatred is fun. And like any pleasurable activity, it is habit forming--you get hooked on it. —M. Scott Peck
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few. —Shunryu Suzuki
Looking back over my own years of schooling, I can see the enormous deficiencies of a system which could do nothing better for my body than Swedish drill and compulsory football, nothing better for my character than prizes, punishments, sermons and pep-talks, and nothing better for my soul than a hymn before bed-time, to the accompaniment of the harmonium. Like everyone else, I am functioning at only a fraction of my potential. —Aldous Huxley
Real marriage is the joining of heart, mind, and spirit that has already happened at a very deep level. If a couple lets their commitment evolve gradually and naturally, marriage vows do not represent trying to live up to some ideal, but are more of a conscious celebration of the connection they have already made and learned to be true to. —John Welwood
"Happiness is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it."
Zig Ziglar pointed out that the definition of /faith/ and of /fear/ is essentially the same thing: they both believe that what we don't see will happen. Of course, one is positive, and the other is negative.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival." —W. Edwards Deming
"It is true that when a couple are married they make certain promises to each other, but the act of giving love must be renewed every day." — Lewis F. Presnall
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." —John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962
"Most of us do quite well when we are actually confronted with an occasional big problem. It is the accumulation of little problems which confound us." — Lewis F. Presnall
Part of this problem is created by a general attitude of society. For most of us, respectability is part of our economic structure of trade. Our society exacts a far higher penalty upon those who are not considered respectable than it does upon those whose emotions may be immature. The idea that we can do as we please, as long as we do not get caught, is widely accepted by a great number of people in society. — Lewis F. Presnall
"We are often startled to discover the deep psychological insights contained in the teachings of Jesus. We are inclined to indulge ourselves in the conceit that wisdom originated with the discovery of scientific thought and that the psychological knowledge of man dated from the time of Freud." —Lewis F. Presnall, 1959
"Perhaps any of us could get along with perfect people. But our task is to get along with imperfect people." —Richard L. Evans
"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy." —Mahatma Gandhi
"It is not enough for a person to have the undesirable patterns removed from his mind. He must also replace these things with constructive thoughts and actions." — Lewis F. Presnall
"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side." —Margaret Carty
A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion. —Mahatma Gandhi
"I suspect that all Christians believe, or would say they believe, that Christ dwells in us, that the kingdom of heaven extends into our regenerated spirits. Yet we don't all act like it. We treat God as if he's far way--sleeping peacefully in heaven, or on vacation until his next guest appearance at church on Sunday. Jesus may have finished his appointed time on earth, but the at-hand kingdom did not dissolve after Easter or Pentecost." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"This is power. And this is how God's power works. We make a decision, we take a step, and God is faithful to kick in with us. [....] If we chose the godly path, he is there with power to help us walk it. The element of choice, or free will, is important." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. —Ephesians 4:26
Even emotions with less sinful potential than anger are subject to this same principle. Suppose a loved one dies. If you are sad, this is good and natural. But if you fail to set the timer, problems arise. Satan grabs another foothold. Prolonged sadness may turn to depression. If you have lost a spouse, you may start praying, "Lord, I don't want to live any longer. Take me to heaven." You being entertaining suicidal thoughts. You have forfeited your self-control. You may not get suicidal, but perhaps you maintain the funereal atmosphere--always crying, feeling sorry for yourself, making it hard for old friends to be around you. After a while, there will be fewer and fewer of those friends who bother to try. What is the proper amount of grieving? I cannot say. That is why this aspect of self-control must be one of Spirit-to-spirit, of well-formed convictions, of listening to one's conscience. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"It has been said that Satan never kills a Christian; he just hurts her and other Christians finish her off. How true it is that the church is the only army that shoots its wounded." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
I stress continually. How often we become conscious of Christ's presence in the worship service. "I really felt God's presence in that meeting," someone will say. "The Lord was really there today." Well, where was he before you showed up? Was he hanging from the rafters, waiting for your loud songs to wake him up? No, we bring Christ with us because we live with him. It's not unusual to sense his presence more easily in a gathering of believers, or to feel him in a special way occasionally. But we are mistaken if we regard him as a celebrity who makes special appearances only at events with sufficient spiritual voltage. As soon as we develop that mentality, we're linking God with activities. Jesus did not come to bring us activities; he came to bring us life, abundant life, and ongoing experience. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict, not yours. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Satan will not leave alone what God has already accomplished. He wants God's people to pay again for what God's son has already paid for. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Prayer does not have to be repeated. God, of course, is all-patient and he understands our motives, so there is nothing really bad about repeating prayers to God. But God is not deaf. He is not retarded. He hears us the first time. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"We treat God like a slot machine. You put a coin in the machine, pull the handle, and see if you score. If you do, you can quit. If you don't, you'll probably try again and again, as long as your change holds out, waiting for the Big Payoff. So we make our prayers like coins. Chinggg, brrr. Chinggg, brrr. Over and over." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Many of us have used a prayer list. You go through it in the morning and you feel better. Miss it, and you feel a little guilty. Some days you are so spiritual that you repeat it in the afternoon, and you really feel like you've racked up a few extra points. Now God is hearing these prayers. But be honest--does God want you in a *religion* or a *relationship*? —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Be anxious for nothing; in other words, do not be anxious. That's a commandment. If we let ourselves slide into worry and don't bother to climb out, it's sinful. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
One of my children, upon reaching young adulthood, was only a superficial Christian. It concerned Martha and me. We prayed in the child's bedroom to rebuke any evil influences, which was a good step to take. But beyond that, we sensed that God mainly wanted us to extend our love. So one day I said, 'Listen, I will never rebuke you again because then our relationship would deteriorate and we would always be fighting, and you already know what I think is right and wrong. We'll just be kind to you and kiss you and hug you. We'll do that because we love you, but not because we agree with you.' And then my wife was able to let this rest in the Lord's hands. She shed no more tears over it. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
It is likely that what you feel, right or wrong, is a pervasive force in determining your behavior day by day. Emotional experience in the western world has become the primary motivation of values and actions and even spiritual beliefs. [....] Most love songs, in fact, make it clear that a commitment to one another is based on the excitement the couple shares. —Dr. James Dobson, "Emotions, Can You Trust Them"
Raising someone from the dead is a spectacular thing, and is not recorded too many times in the Bible. Nevertheless, it is there, and Jesus promised we would do greater things than he did. So why do we not see this phenomenon happen more often? Once I was at a funeral for a young boy who had died in an accident, so it was particularly sad. The parents were getting extremely emotional. I was a young pastor, and wasn't sure exactly what I could, or should do. So, when nobody was watching, I went to the corpse and said, "In the name of Jesus, get up!" Nothing. I said, "Lord, why this? Why can't he live? It doesn't seem just. What can I tell the parents?" I let the matter drop. About a half hour later, still in the funeral, the Lord seemed to ask me, "Juan Carlos, do you want to know why you didn't raise that boy?" "Why?" "Because I haven't given you that gift. But I know you have $100 in your pocket that could help this family tremendously with the funeral expenses. Give what you have and don't try to give what you don't have." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
What exactly is immaturity? It is someone or something that hasn't changed with time. Immaturity reflects a resistance to change. When Scripture speaks of a hard heart, it's talking about a person set in stone, opposed to internal change. After I had been in the United States and seen the collection plates that were used in church, I proposed the idea to my congregation in Argentina. We had been using long bags strung poorly with wire on old broom handles. Our deacons looked like they were hunting butterflies when they walked around with those sacks.Our church had become a little more sophisticated, and I though the change would be appropriate. But no! "Pastor, you know the founder of the church made those bags," the deacons said. We argued and argued. But we couldn't change things. It was as if there were a Law of Collection Equipment, and obscure verse in Deuteronomy promising that fire would pour out of heaven on those who dared to substituted anything for the tithe receptacle. This touches the heard of the problem: Is the church only and institution ruled by laws, constitutions, and decrees? Or is it also an organism ruled by life? —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Peter and the other disciples were Jews from head to toe. Circumcised, well-versed in the law, they knew they were the best, the elect, God's chosen people for eternity. What they didn't know was that they were wrong. For all their knowledge, all the intimacy of having walked the earth with Jesus, they did not fully comprehend what he had accomplished. And I bet Jesus said many other things to make his intentions clear about the universality of the gospel. We he was gone, did the disciples have the idea of preaching to the Gentiles? No. Yet Peter, James, John and the rest had been in the front row when Jesus was giving instructions. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Lest you think this is simply my raving, look at Jesus. With whom did he spend most of his time? Sinners, prostitutes, publicans--those outside the law. They had no pretenses of righteousness. They did not have Truth all figured out. He never told Gentiles they were hypocrites, but he sure let it loose with the Pharisees, the equivalent of today's churchgoers. He called them a bunch of snakes, whitewashed sepulchers. Much of their condemnation was based on their reverence of the Law at the expense of all else. Of course, most of us belong to traditional and denominational churches. And that's good. But we must be on guard: Just because we do not adhere to Sabbath diet rules and the other minute points of the Law does not mean we are safe from the smug self-righteousness of institutionalized religion." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
The church has been too much like a thrown baseball. It receives a blindingly fresh burst of energy from the Holy Spirit, only to begin to squander it the next day, or the next year. Soon the friction and gravity of rule-lovers has initiated. As Paul rebuked the Galatians, "Are you so foolish?" Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3). —Juan Carlos Ortiz
I remember dissecting frogs in high school. If the world's best surgeon had wanted to reassemble one of those frogs after I had its guts spread all over the table, he would have thrown up his hands in despair. Today, the church specializes in Bible dissection. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Worry is like this: You go to your garage, start your car, leave it in neutral and press the accelerator until the engine burns up. A lot of noise, ad lot of energy expended, but you don't go anywhere. You end up worse off than before. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
The universality of the church is its quality of being worldwide and basically the same, centered on Jesus. The local church is the expression of the universal church in a certain locality. The third dimension--denominations--was added by human beings because of our inability to get along with each other. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"This is a tragic hour, when loyalty to a church is placed above loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ." — Wilbur M. Smith, Therefore Stand, 1945
For four or five months I taught unity to my congregation, which had grown to about 1,500 people. At the end, I asked, "How many believe that the church is one?" Many hands went up. "Put them down. How many of you *really* believe the church is one?" Even more hands were raised. "How many of you are willing to prove it? To demonstrate this with your own lives?" Many hands again. "Good. Next Sunday, go to the church closest to your house, whether it's Catholic, Lutheran, or Presbyterian. Whatever money you normally spend on gas or bus far to come here, give it to that church's offering. Only those who live closest to this church come here." Silence. They didn't want to accept the challenge. But a third of the congregation obeyed. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"The business of growth is the only thing which can be pursued through a whole lifetime without inducing a feeling of boredom. Things lose their appeal. Ideas become commonplace. People come and go. But growth always remains exciting---full of surprises, full of promise." —Lewis F. Presnall
Some people reach the top rung of the ladder only to find it has been leaning against the wrong wall. — anonymous
"I am not saying you should give up your belief in the incarnation, the virgin birth, the death and resurrection of Jesus. But many of our differences are not about the heart of our faith, but about peripheral matters: infant baptism, drinking wine, and praying in tongues, for example." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"I believe that God is trying to regroup his people today. Maybe I should say that he's trying to de-group them." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Some day you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are." —Rudyard Kipling
"People who never take a chance never get ahead."
"In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists." —Eric Hoffer
It is impossible to fail totally if you dare to try.
"Humanity peaks at times when societies rise from decadence to a highly sophisticated state of civilization. Eventually, however, most cultures allow decay to set in. Rather than rooting out the negative influences, the human institutions adjust to the downward movement. The decline continues and accelerates until it reaches a low ebb at which point it begins the long, slow ascent once more."
Many of you who are reading these words do not have time to experiment. Your energies and your resources are running out. You have to be assured that the next thing you try will not be some wild and reckless whim.
"In the long run, we only hit what we aim at." —Henry David Thoreau
"Problems are like a pregnancy. They will grow until their presence is obvious. No one is just a little pregnant. And no problem is unimportant enough to ignore." —Robert H. Schuller
Robert Schuller, paraphrasing. He was looking to get large contributions for his church. He asked a guy who had gotten a $1 Million contribution how he did it. The guy replied, "How do you catch a moose?" Schuller thought about it. He figured that he had to go to Canada, where moose live. He had to understand their habits, follow their paths, maybe even use bait. One doesn't catch a moose in Las Vegas.
"The lack of a sense of progress toward ideals, the growing belief that much of the rapid cultural and technological change is getting us nowhere, is another major contributor to a decreasing quality of life." — from the book "The Art of Problem Solving" by Russell L. Ackoff
One's suffering disappears when one lets oneself go, when one yields - even to sadness. —Antoine de Saint-ExupĂ©ry
Doors will open to the enthusiastic person first.
"It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric is or even how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success." —Stephen R. Covey
"And what happens when the source of borrowed strength - be it superior size or physical strength, position, authority, credentials, status symbols, appearance, or past achievements -- changes or is no longer there?" —Stephen R. Covey
It's so much easier to operate at a low emotional level and give high-level advice. —Stephen R. Covey
"No one is defeated until they start blaming someone else." --Coach John Wooden
"I realized that Sandra and I had been getting social mileage out of our children's good behavior, and, in our eyes, this son simply didn't measure up. Our image of ourselves,and our role as good, caring parents was even deeper than our image of our son and perhaps influenced it. There was a lot more wrapped up in the way we were seeing and handling the problem than our concern for our sons welfare. As Sandra and I talked, we became painfully aware of the powerful influence of our character and motives and of our perception of him. We knew that social comparison motives were out of harmony with our deeper values and could lead to conditional love and eventually to our sons lessened sense of self-worth." —Stephen R. Covey
"Until you convince people there is a problem, they won't fix the problem."
"Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us." —Stephen R. Covey
"It's much better to have a reputation as someone who talks only when it counts than to be known as someone who has to put in his two cents' worth on every subject." — Larry King
Suppose you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labeled 'Chicago' was actually a map of Detroit. Can you imagine the frustration, the ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination? You might work on your behavior-- you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed. But your efforts would only succeed in getting you to the wrong place faster. You might work on your attitude-- you could think more positively. You still wouldn't get to the right place, but perhaps you wouldn't care. Your attitude would be so positive, you'd be happy wherever you were. The point is, you'd still be lost. —Stephen R. Covey
He who never makes a mistake seldom makes anything else.
Happiness can be defined, in part at least, as the fruit of the desire and ability to sacrifice what we want /now /for what we want /eventually/. —Stephen R. Covey
Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual has phrased it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic." —Stephen R. Covey
Viktor Frankl says we /detect/ rather than /invent/ our missions in life.
"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail." —Abraham Maslow
"A humble attitude is *not* thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." —Zig Ziglar
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side. —Zig Ziglar
"The demarcation between a positive and a negative desire or action is not whether it gives you an immediate feeling of satisfaction but whether it ultimately results in positive or negative consequences." — Dalai Lama
"If you desire happiness, you should seek the causes that give rise to it, and if you don't desire suffering, then what you should do is to ensure that the causes and conditions that would give rise to it no longer arise." — Dalai Lama
Although I speak from my own experience, I feel that no one has the right to impose his or her beliefs on another person. I will not propose to you that my way is best. The decision is up to you. If you find some point which may be suitable for you, then you can carry out experiments for yourself. If you find that it is of no use, then you can discard it. —The Dalai Lama
"A relationship built primarily on sexual desire is like a house built on a foundation of ice; as soon as the ice melts, the building collapses." —The Dalai Lama
"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people." —Karl Marx
"I truly believe that compassion provides the basis of human survival, the real value of human life, and without that, there is a basic piece missing" —The Dalai Lama
There is no fortitude similar to patience, just as there is no affliction worse than hatred. — The Dalai Lama
According to the Buddhist thought, the root causes of suffering are ignorance, craving, and hatred. These are called the "three poisons of the mind."
"[...] there is a danger that too much intellectualization will kill the more contemplative practices. But then, too much emphasis on practical implementation without study will kill the understanding. So there has got to be a balance." —The Dalai Lama
"Things which matter most should not be at the mercy of things that matter least." — Goethe
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. —Jim Rohn
"If one comes across a person who has been shot by an arrow, one does not spend time wondering about where the arrow came from, or the caste of the individual who shot it, or analyzing what type of wood the shaft is made of, or the manner in which the arrowhead was fashioned. Rather, one should focus on immediately pulling out the arrow." --Shakyamuni, the Buddha
"You should never lose sight of the importance of having a realistic attitude--of being very sensitive and respectful to the concrete reality of your situation as you proceed on the path towards your ultimate goal." —The Dalai Lama
"Since patience or tolerance comes from an ability to remain firm and steadfast and not be overwhelmed by the adverse situations or conditions that one faces, one should not see tolerance or patience as a sign of weakness, or giving in, but rather as a sign of strength, coming from a deep ability to remain firm. Responding to a trying situation with patience and tolerance rather than reacting with anger and hatred involves active restraint, which comes from a strong, self-disciplined mind." — The Dalai Lama
"There are five billion human beings and in a certain way I think we need five billion different religions, because there is such a large variety of dispositions. I believe that each individual should embark upon a spiritual path that is best suited to his or her mental disposition, natural inclination, temperament, belief, family, and cultural background." -- The Dalai Lama
"The purpose of religion is to benefit people, and I think that if we only had one religion, after a while it would cease to benefit many people. If we had a restaurant, for instance, and it only served one dish--day after day, for every meal--that restaurant wouldn't have many customers left after a while." — The Dalai Lama
"I don't know how it can be, but there are people who spend ten, twenty years in church and still do not know how to lead a person to Christ. The only thing they can do is invite them to a meeting. They say to a friend, "Why don't you come to our church? It has comfortable benches, new carpeting, heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. We have a nice preacher too. Why don't you come?" —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Each believer needs to know his place in the body. Most church congregations are not a spiritual building, but a mount of bricks. There is a difference. However good the materials may be, if they are not situated in their right place and correctly related to one another, there is no building. Each member of the congregation is a brick. The evangelists are continually bring in new bricks. The pastor encourages this, even teaching classes on soul-winng. Bring in more bricks, he urges. But bricks are not a building. Instead of a builder, the pastor now becomes a caretaker of bricks. The problem of having a mount of bricks on the land is that when the bricks are not built into a building, they can be stolen or broken up. Therefore the pastor is continually having to take care of the bricks, because some other pastor or Satan might steal them. But the Bible tells us pastors are for edifying the body of Christ, not just for caretakers of bricks. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Generally speaking, once you're already in a difficult situation, it isn't possible to change your attitude simply by adopting a particular thought once or twice. Rather it's through a process of learning, training, and getting used to new viewpoints that enables you to deal with the difficulty." —The Dalai Lama
"Our ultimate aim in seeking more wealth is a sense of satisfaction, of happiness. But the very basis of seeking more is a feeling of not having enough, a feeling of discontentment. That feeling of discontentment, of wanting more and more and more, doesn't arise from the inherent desirability of the objects we are seeking but rather from our own mental state." — The Dalai Lama
"There is no fortitude similar to patience, just as there is no affliction worse that hatred." — The Dalai Lama
"When speaking of these negative states of mind, I should point out that I am referring to what are called /Nyon Mong/ in Tibetan, or /Klesha /in Sanskrit. This term literally means 'that which afflicts from within.' that's a long term, so it is often translated as 'delusions.'" —the Dalai Lama
"I think prayer is, for the most part, a simple daily reminder of your deeply held principles and convictions." — The Dalai Lama
"So, in speaking of having a spiritual dimension to our lives, we have identified our religious beliefs as one level of spirituality. Now regarding religion, if we believe in any religion, that's good. But even without a religious belief, we can still manage. In some cases, we can manage even better. But that's our own individual right; if we wish to believe, good! If not, it's all right. But there's another level of spirituality. That is what I call basic spirituality---basic human qualities of goodness, kindness, compassion, caring." — The Dalai Lama
"But true spirituality should have the result of making a person calmer, happier, more peaceful." —Dalai Lama
"As I understand it, the church of today faces three basic problems. The first is the eternal childhood of the believer. The second is the misplacement of the believer. The third is the lack of unity." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Materialism is also an evidence of childhood. Children do not know how to value things. Perhaps a child has a hundred-dollar bill in his hand, but you show him a chocolate bar, and he'll leave the hundred-dollar bill for the chocolate. Church members demonstrate their childishness by their craving for material things---good homes, good cars, money---while they leave spiritual things in second place. Eternal childhood." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"The only way out is to stop all activities and ask God if we are doing the right thing or not." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"A boy in my congregation who had been saved before the renewal started said, 'Within six months of my conversion I knew everything everybody else knew in the church. From that six months on, I was just maintained in the congregation. I grew just so far and I stayed there.' —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"But you cannot make others in the image of Jesus Christ if you are not made first. So the first goal in life is to be like Jesus. That means maturity." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Jesus Himself went to heaven with inner peace because He left a congregation that did not need to write a mission board and say, "Please, send us another pastor because our pastor went up in a cloud to heaven." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"I believe in tongues, although I think many people have made it just another 'me' ministry instead of bringing glory to God." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
We see ourselves as the lords who sit in the pews and Jesus as our servant. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Jesus has many names. The Word of God labels Him: Jesus, Savior, Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed, the Authorized One (to do the things He did), the Love of God, the Lion of Judah, the Star of the Morning, the Son of Righteousness, the Cloud of Glory, the Water of Life. He's everything. Jesus is so inclusive that no one name can tell everything about Him. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Zaccheus was in a tree. Jesus came up to him. "Zaccheus, hurry. Come down, because I need to go to your house today." Jesus never gave a choice to anybody because salvation is not a choice--it's a commandment.
You teach more by living than by talking. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Jesus prayed 40 days before choosing disciples. This sort of gets you thinking. Jesus apparently didn't have a direct phone line to God.
Many people seem to think that success in one area can compensate for failure in other areas of life. — Stephen R. Covey
Satan is successful when he gets us to put emphasis on unessential things and to treat lightly the element that is really essential.
"I'm sure you have noticed that, as a general rule, people with nothing to do want to do it with you." —Zig Ziglar
"If Jesus didn't make more than twelve disciples, how can I make five hundred?" —Juan Carlos Ortiz
* Those who killed the physical body of Christ, those who shed His blood, at least had a purpose. What purpose is there, today, in crucifying and hurting and dividing this body of Christ? There is no purpose. So the punishment of those who hurt and bleed this body of Christ, the church, is going to be much greater than the punishment of those who crucified the physical body of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul means---that one who drinks without discernment, without knowing what is the body of Christ---is going to be guilty of the blood and of the body of Jesus Christ. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Each believer needs to know his place in the body. Most church congregations are not a spiritual building but a mountain of bricks. There is a difference. However good the materials may be, if they are not situated in their right place and correctly related to one another, there is no building. Each member of the congregation is a brick. The evangelists are continually brining in new bricks. The pastor encourages this, even teaching classes on soul-winning. Bring in more bricks, he urges. But bricks are not a building. Instead of a builder, the pastor now becomes a caretaker of bricks. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
In our country you cannot save money in the bank because inflation is too high. Sometimes it is eighty percent in one year, so you cannot possibly save money. Thus to save you have to buy something. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
I call it "the gospel of the offers," "the gospel of the big sales," "the gospel of the specials," where the preacher offers the people some incentive to accept Jesus. But we don't accept Jesus, it is Jesus who accepts us. ... If you accept Jesus, the preacher says, you are going to have joy, peace, health, and prosperity. ... Such a gospel appeals to the interest of man, not the interest of Jesus. "If you bring $10, you are going to get $20," we are told. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
They said, in effect, "Caesar, you can count on us in some things, but when Jesus and you are in the balance, we will stay with Jesus, because we have committed our lives to Him. He is the first one. He is THE LORD---the one who possesses supreme authority over us." That was the reason Caesar persecuted the Christians. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Prayer becomes a kind of Aladdin's lamp. Use it and you will receive everything you like. No wonder Karl Marx said religious is the opiate of the people. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
We cannot cut Jesus into pieces and take the piece we like best. We are like children who are given bread with jam. They eat the jam and give you back the bread. Then you put more jam on it and they lick off the jam again and give you back the bread. That's the way we want to do with Jesus. We want to take the jam and give the bread away. We have to eat the bread with the jam. Heaven may be the jam, but the Lord Jesus is the Bread of Life. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Many of my friends have underlined verses in their Bibles, most of which compose the fifth gospel. To see what I mean, read the verses you have /never /underlined, because that is the truth you lack. I do not underline the Bible any more because the underline divides the verses into first class and second class. I used to have my Bible underlined with many colors. Now I have everything the same color, because every word is important. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Zaccheus knew that Jesus was Lord and the Lord had come for him. So he announced that he would give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold all he had cheated people of. Then Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house."
He went home sad. If we had been there, we would have run after the young ruler and said, "Listen, don't take it so seriously. Jesus didn't mean it that way. He'll soften up once He understands how much you have. Why not start with just a part of what you have. You can increase it next year and won't even miss it." We would have invited him to follow Jesus, but on his own terms, not Jesus' terms. That is why Jesus let him go. He loved him, but if He had lowered the requirements, that man never could have been saved--from himself. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Then after a while we ask for the third payment. "You know that in order to support all the things here, we pay tithes. But if that is asking too much, perhaps you'd prefer to start with 5% and move up to the tithe next year. But if you tithe, God is going to give you threefold. In fact, the person who tithes has more than the one who doesn't." Sorry, that's a man-centered gospel. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
If a person from another planet were to come to earth and see how Christians live, he would conclude that Jesus had said something like this: "Seek ye first what you are going to eat. Seek ye first how you are going to dress. Which house are you going to buy? Which car are you going to drive? Which girl are you going to marry? Which job are you going to do? And then if there is a little time left, and if it is not too uncomfortable for you, please do something for the kingdom of God." That's the way most of the people in the church live. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Jesus didn't have to preach to His Disciples, "Oh, disciples, the lost souls---each time the clock strikes, 5,952.5 people go to hell! Don't you feel sorry for them? Don't you hear them shouting from hell?" Jesus said, "Go to that city. Knock at the door. Say, 'The peace of God be over you.' Heal the people. Go!" He commanded. He didn't say, "Would you like to go?" He said, Go! —Juan Carlos Ortiz
As a young evangelist I used to go into the country and preach to little churches in small towns. I was a nobody. When I visited the central office of my denomination no one said to me, "Hello," "Good morning," "Good afternoon." I went in, sat down, and went out---that was all. But when I became pastor of a big city church, things changed. Then when I visited the central office or the Bible School, people fawned over me. "Oh, Brother Ortiz, hello. Give me your coat. Do you want a cup of tea?" But I knew if I moved back to small churches I would be a nobody once again. We use people. If we bring in more money, if we build up more churches, if we multiply---ohhhh! But if we fall in disgrace, who takes care of us? —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Some time ago, my wife was invited to serve as chairman of a committee in a community endeavor. She had a number of truly important things she was trying to work on, and she really didn't want to do it. But she felt pressured into it and finally agreed. Then she called one of her dear friends to ask if she would serve on her committee. Her friend listened for a long time and then said, "Sandra, that sounds like a wonderful project, a really worthy undertaking. I appreciate so much your inviting me to be a part of it. I feel honored by it. For a number of reasons, I wont be participating myself, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your invitation." Sandra was ready for anything but a pleasant "no." She turned to me and sighed, "I wish I'd said that." I don't mean to imply that you shouldn't be involved in significant service projects. Those things are important. But you have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage---pleasantly, smiling, nonapologetically---to say "no" to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger "yes" burning inside. The enemy of the "best" is often the "good." Keep in mind that you are always saying "no" to something. If it isn't to the apparent, urgent things in your life, it is probably to the more fundamental, highly important things. —Stephen R. Covey
The Bible says it is the doers of the Word who shall be justified, not the hearers of the Word. Why are there so many hearers? Because there are so many speakers. If we speak, and speak, and speak, what can people do but hear? —Juan Carlos Ortiz
The church building should not be a cave where believers hide from the world. It should be a place of service to the community. Jesus never said, "Sinners, come to the church." He said, "Believers, go ye and make disciples." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Today as in New Testament times it is not the publicans and sinners who are far from the kingdom, but the Scribes and Pharisees---the religious people. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
You can discuss anything with a person who loves you.
"I had a good friend who loved to play golf. He always wanted me to play golf with him, but after all the struggles I had with priorities---some of which I have yet to even tell you---I always turned him down. You see, playing golf was great, but it meant I would lose that time with my kids and my wife. I was not willing to do that anymore. A few years later, that friend of mine got cancer. As I was sitting with him one day, just a few days before he died, he said something to me that I will always remember. He said, 'If I knew this was going to happen, I would have played a lot less golf and spent more time with my family.'" —Seeds of Success by Bill and Billy Moyer
Kids are entrusted to us for God's glory. They are not for our glory.
"I was at the church late and noticed a light on as I was leaving. When I went in, I saw our priest mopping the floor. I said, 'Father, why are you mopping the floor?' He told me he usually did it because they did not have anyone else to. I told him I would do it, but he refused. He said, 'Mopping the floor is not the greatest gift that you have. You have other gifts to use, and I would appreciate it if you would use perhaps your greatest gift, your big mouth, to find someone to mop the floor for me.' He meant that as a compliment. He was right. Mopping the floor was not a gift of mine. I was given the gift of being able to talk to people and in front of large numbers of people." —Seeds of Success by Bill and Billy Moyer:
Recently I was in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. I was told there are four hundred churches in that city. That is not true. There is one church broken into four hundred pieces. So we should find out how to put the pieces together, because there cannot be more than one church in each locality. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"I invited a Catholic priest to preach in my church. He first asked permission of his bishop. The bishop said, "You may go, but don't take anybody with you except the most spiritually mature people of your parish." He had previously promised to come with all the parish. But when he arrived, he apologized, saying, "I'm sorry. I came with only three people because the bishop told me not to bring those who are not spiritually grounded." So perhaps they are more ready than we---the democratic people---to be submissive." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
1. Learn about leadership for the rest of your life. 2. Don't just learn leadership principles, but also learn about leaders.
"Questions also convey interest, but sometimes the interest they convey is tangential to what we're trying to say. Sometimes the distraction is obvious. If you're trying to tell a friend about the inconsiderate things your husband did on your vacation, and she interrupts with a lot of questions about where you stayed, you certainly don't feel listened to. " —The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols, PhD
"First we understood that a member is not independent in the body-type membership. None of us have ever seen a nose walking along the street, or a foot walking by himself. The body must be joined and fitly knitted together. If a member is independent, he is not a member. And if he is a member, he cannot be independent." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
We're lost, but we're making good time! --- Yogi Berra
I imagine that when we get to heaven, Paul will call most of us Bible teachers over to one side and say, "Listen, I never said what you taught." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"When siblings are competitive, it's often a result of being undernourished in some sense, feeling deprived of attention, affection, feedback, or approval." — Tom DeMarco
Tradition is more firmly rooted in us than even the Word of God. We are like the car on the merry-go-round that is attached to the platform. It has a steering wheel and the child turns it one way and then the other, but the car always remains stationary. That's how we are in our churches. We are attached to the platform of our traditions. Yet we say, "God, show me thy will." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"But the majority is not always right. It was the majority that made the golden calf in the wilderness. The majority left Jesus to go alone to the cross. So we cannot say that something is right because the majority votes for it. Yet today we still equate the vote of the people with the voice of God." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
You get paid a /salary/ for what you do, you get a /return/ on what you own.
"Someone's opinion of you doesn't have to become your reality" — Les Brown
People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest. — George Matthew Allen
This comes from an Ortiz book, although it is about another guy named Smith Wigglesworth. That's a fun name. "Wigglesworth was sleeping and suddenly he felt the bed being moved. He felt that somebody was at the foot of the bed, so he lit a candle and looked and it was Lucifer sitting there. 'Oh, it's only you,' he said and went back to sleep." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Where does He have his 'office'? Some people say it is in the third heaven. I was told in seminary that the first heaven was where the planes fly, the second heaven is where the galaxies are. And the third heaven is where God is. And that is all. Perhaps that is right. Perhaps not." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
Remember the emotional bank account---similar to a bank account, you can make deposits or withdrawals from each of your family relationships. Make a conscious effort to make meaningful deposits in your relationships. When you make a withdrawal, apologize and correct the mistake. —Stephen R. Covey
But after some years the church lost its charisma, its spiritual power. The leaders became materialistic. They were more conscious of earthly power than the power that came from above. However, without the charismata, without the immediate and pervasive activity of the Holy Spirit, the church became a danger to the world. Without God's revelation the church started to go astray. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
"People often make two mistakes in their search of inner peace... focusing on things they cannot change, and ignoring things they can change." —Robert Moore
"Do not simply believe whatever you are told, or whatever has been handed down from past generations, or what is common opinion, or whatever the scriptures say. Do not accept something as true merely by deduction or inference, or by considering outward appearances, or by partiality for a certain view, or because it is plausibility, or because your teacher tells you it is so. But when you yourselves directly know 'these principle are unwholesome, blameworthy, condemned by the wise; when adopted and carried out they lead to harm and suffering' then you should abandon them. And when you yourselves directly know 'these principle are wholesome, blameless, praised by the wise; when adopted and carried out they lead to welfare and happiness' then you should accept and practice them." —Gotama Buddha
One must become a good human; otherwise one can never be a good Christian, a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Hindu, a good Buddhist. --- —S.N. Goenka
"You cannot eliminate pain if you do not feel it."
"If you can't be star in the sky, at least be a lamp at home."
"Mind precedes all phenomena, mind matters most, everything is mind-made. If with an impure mind you speak or act, then suffering follows you as the cartwheel follows the foot of the draft animal. If with a pure mind you speak or act, then happiness follows you as a shadow that never departs." — Gotama Buddha
Finally, there is attachment to religious forms and ceremonies. We tend to emphasize the external expressions of religion more than their underlying meaning and to feel that anyone who does not perform such ceremonies cannot be a truly religious person. We forget that without its essence, the formal aspect of religion is an empty shell. Piety in reciting prayers or performing ceremonies is valueless if the mind remains filled with anger, passion, and ill will. To be truly religious we must develop the religious attitude: purity of heart, love and compassion for all. But our attachment to the external forms of religion leads us to give more importance to the letter of it than the spirit. We miss the essence of religion and therefore remain miserable. —William Hart
Materialism is another indication of childhood. Why are people materialistic? Not because they have rebelled. Children are materialistic by nature. Children do not know the value of things. If spiritual things have little value, and material things do, it is because we lack the ability to value things properly. If *a new car every year* is more important than the mission field and expanding the kingdom, it is either because people are crazy or they are children. —Juan Carlos Ortiz
No amount of technical administrative skill in laboring for the masses can make up for lack of nobility of personal character in developing relationships. It is at a very essential, one-on-one level, that we live the primary laws of love and life. — Stephen Covey
This changes the way we counsel people. When one says, "Pray for me, I've lost my job," we answer him, "I can't pray for you the way I used to." "Why not?" "I will /believe/ with you for another job. Now go hit the pavement." —Juan Carlos Ortiz
You may get the golden egg of temporary pleasure from putting someone down or sharing privileged information, but you're strangling the goose, weakening the relationship that provides enduring pleasure in association. — Stephen Covey
Unexpressed feelings never die. They are buried alive and come forth later in uglier ways. Psychosomatic illnesses, particularly of the respiratory, nervous, and circulatory systems often are the reincarnation of cumulative resentment, deep disappointment and disillusionment repressed by the Lose/Win mentality. Disproportionate rage or anger, overreaction to minor provocation, and cynicism are other embodiments of suppressed emotion. — Steven Covey
Some reactions, the Buddha said, are like lines drawn on the surface of a pool of water: as soon as they are drawn they are erased. Others are like lines traced on a sandy beach: if drawn in the morning they are gone by night, wiped away by the tide or the wind. Others are like lines cut deeply into rock with chisel and hammer. They too will be obliterated as the rock erodes, but it will take ages for them to disappear.
Children look at things as they appear on the outside. Give a child two boxes, one big and one small, and he will choose the bigger one. Even though the small package may contain something much better, the child will choose the bigger one because he looks only at externals. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
When I went to Bible school, I went to learn the Bible. But I was taught instead the doctrines of my denomination, and we used the Bible to prove them. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Suppose I wanted to become an Australian citizen, and I went to the authorities and asked to be naturalized. Even though I would get citizenship, always deep in my heart there would be a remembrance of Argentina --- of those two-pound steaks for 50ą, and of my Spanish language. God doesn't want that at all. He wants us to be wholly of His kingdom, fanatics of His kingdom. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Wisdom is the beautiful thing about age. When you have more behind you than in front of you, there is more to share.
"[...] we tend to sop up new knowledge like sponges when the thing we're learning is largely irrelevant to us [....]" — Tom DeMarco
The only way you can know the type of tree you are is by the fruit of your life, not by your doctrines. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
We're especially sensitive to criticism from someone whose opinion we care about. The right person saying the wrong thing can puncture the ego like a pin bursting a balloon. —Michael Nichols
You don't ever have to take any of my advice, but if you're going to jump out of an airplane, I advise you grab a parachute.
Positive thinking will let you do /everything/ better than negative thinking will. — Zig Ziglar
Children desperately wan to open up, even more to their parents than to their peers. And they will, if they feel their parents will love them unconditionally, and will be faithful to them afterwards, and not judge or ridicule them. —Stephen R. Covey
Jesus didn't preach inspirational sermons; those are for disobedient people, to convey to them that it would be nice if they would like to do the thing Jesus commanded. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
In my country girls used to be very helpful around the house. But nowadays they take too much care of their nails and hands, so they don't like to do dishes or wash the floors, and mother has to do all those things. Or the girls do it with with complaining and wailing, "Oooh, I'll ruin my hands!" But the day comes when the girl is to introduce a very special boy to the house. She gets up early in the morning singing tra-la-la-la-la-la, she starts to clean and polish everything. She has an urge from inside. Ah, it's love! The boyfriend is coming and she wants to make the house very clean. "Mama, is there something else I can do?" She doesn't feel tired, it's easy. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
But the New Covenant is pictured in Romans chapter eight. The law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ has made me free from the law of sin that was in me . . . There is no condemnation for those who walk after the Spirit. — Juan Carlos Ortiz So the Bible really isn't against homosexuals. "No condemnation" means no condemnation.
"I lived in the country where we had to pump the water. Pumping water is hard work. One day the running water came. Just open the faucet . . . a sound like shhhhhhh . . . and the water ran! But some people loved the old system, so they kept on pumping. They were not using the running water, even though they had it! Don't be like that." — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Nearly every religion has a holy book, and people try to live according to the book. Muslims try to live according to the Koran, Buddhists according to Buddha's thoughts, and Christians according to the Bible. Sometimes I do not see too much difference between our usual practice and other people's religions. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
Some people will divide and destroy a community to save their point of view. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
What you do off the job determines how far you will go on the job —Zig Ziglar
To know only the historic Christ is a retrospective and static knowledge. To know Him as He is now is a dynamic and growing knowledge. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." —Ezra Taft Benson
When we learn to worship in the Spirit, we are no longer controlled by our circumstances. When Paul writes about serving the Lord in the Spirit, he means we don't need any organ or candles or instruction--nothing. I could sit in a tavern and have the closest fellowship with God with all that carousing going on around me, because my worship is in the Spirit. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
But of course if we fail and nobody notices it, we still look like we are holy. So we become hypocrites. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. —George Bernard Shaw
I have drawn particular attention in this book to those scripts we have been given which we proactively want to change. But as we examine our scripting carefully, many of us will also being to see beautiful scripts, positive scripts that have been passed down to us which we have blindly taken for granted. Real self-awareness helps us to appreciate those scripts and to appreciate those who have gone before us and nurtured us in principle-based living, mirroring back to us not only what we are, but what we can become. —Stephen R. Covey
There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children---one is roots, the other wings.
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. —Teilhard de Chardin
That which we persist in doing becomes easier --- not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased. — Emerson
Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be. —Goethe
This is really what it means to be spiritually /thirsty/. Thirst is that frustration and depression when we cannot live up to God's standards as they were recorded. We can't! That perfect will of God, that holiness, that purity, that love we have heard about, where is it? — Juan Carlos Ortiz
When He left them, they had no Sunday school materials, no cassettes, no New Testament, no Bible seminars to send the pastors to; they had the promise of the Father. — Juan Carlos Ortiz
The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it: but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it. —Madame de Stael
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. —Aristotle
Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again. — Og Mandino
Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. —John F. Kennedy
"Maybe Christmas," the Grinch thought, "doesn't come from a store." Dr. Seuss
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body. —Mahatma Gandhi
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. —Soren Kierkegaard
"I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life." —Muhammad Ali
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. —Eleanor Roosevelt
After all those years as a woman hearing 'not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,' almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, 'I'm enough.' —Anna Quindlen (author; journalist)
This is an interesting one. The Creator has not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them learn the trade at the expense of great losses. —Thomas Jefferson
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." —Harry S. Truman
"For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise." —Benjamin Franklin
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. —William James
"The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer." —Henry David Thoreau
Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours. —Dale Carnegie
"I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people." —George Bernard Shaw
When faced with all the ups and downs of life, still the mind remains unshaken, not lamenting, not generating defilements, always feeling secure, this is the greatest happiness. — Buddha
"I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people." —George Bernard Shaw
Humans have seldom created anything of lasting value unless they were tired or hurting. —Jon M. Huntsman
"The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor." —Albert Camus
"I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything." —Steven Wright
Every time we react, we reinforce the mental habit of reaction.
"A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses." —Hippocrates
"If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give." —George MacDonald
"The chief contribution of Protestantism to human thought is its massive proof that God is a bore." —H. L. Mencken
"The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has." —Michelangelo
"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known." —Garrison Keillor
"I was walking in the park and this guy waved at me. Then he said, 'I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else.' I said, 'I am.'" —Demetri Martin
"The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser-in case you thought optimism was dead." —Robert Brault
"After all, mental negativity---our own and others'---is the root cause of the sufferings of the world. When the mind has become pure, the infinite range of life opens before us, and we can enjoy and share with others real happiness." — S.N. Goenka
A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. —Wiliam Shedd
"The average family has a negative influence on its members as far as developing maturity is concerned. Much of our emotional stress rises out of the common immaturities in family life. In fact, our families are our foremost cause of emotional stress, and, therefore, of ill health, in this country." — John A. Schindler M.D.
"There was a time in my life when I thought I had everything - millions of dollars, mansions, cars, nice clothes, beautiful women, and every other materialistic thing you can imagine. Now I struggle for peace." —Richard Pryor
"The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom." —Sun Tzu
"Working step by step, one naturally reaches a stage where the next step is the experience of nibbana [nirvana]. There is no point in yearning for it, no reason to doubt it will come."
"... failure is an event, not a person - that yesterday really did end last night, and today is a brand-new day."
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. —Dalai Lama
"Some assume the world owes them all they can get while others assume they owe the world all they can give." -Harry Emmerson Fosdik
Some people tend to forget that kindness and manners are free.
"We've all been handed cards. I don't identify with people who have been handed cards from the same deck as me, but those who play with similar strategy." — Allyson Partridge-Rios
What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it - would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have. —Ralph Marston
If you want lasting change, raise your standards. —Tony Robbins
"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." —Carl Jung
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." —Albert Einstein
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." —M. Gandhi
"The unending endeavour to bridge the gap between the finite and the infinite is mysticism." —Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
"A man does not seek to see himself in running water, but in still water. For only what is itself still can impart stillness unto others." -Chuang-tse
"Without ideational concept, the repetition of a mantra is a waste of time." -Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
"My life has been full of the most terrible tragedies, most of which never occurred." —Dale Carnegie
"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions." —Albert Einstein
As you think, so you become. - Yoga Proverb
"If we are in a dry land, and need to dig for water, one hole is enough. But we must go deep. The digging of many shallow holes will not quench our thirst." -Dada Nabhaniilananda
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." Matthew 7:6
Compared to other megacities around the world, theft and violent crime are almost non-existent. In 2011, there were only 7 reported gun murders in a population of about 130 million people. [Referring to Tokyo]
Spanish Proverb: "Pray to God, but hammer away . . . ."
"I have done one thing that I think is a contribution: I helped Buddhist science and modern science combine. No other Buddhist has done that. Other lamas, I don't think they ever pay attention to modern science. Since my childhood, I have a keen interest." —Dalai Lama
Discovery takes place, not when the mind is crowded with knowledge, but when knowledge is absent; only then is there stillness and space, and in this state understanding or discovery comes into being. Knowledge is undoubtedly useful at one level, but at another it is positively harmful. -Krishnamurti
Trust in Allah, but tie your camel. —Sufi proverb
I know of no truly successful person who does not demonstrate a sense of decency. There are those who appear successful on the surface, but who in reality are selfish, unhappy individuals lacking the motivation and capacity to love. It's a shame they never experience the joy of being kind to others. —Jon M. Huntsman
Many wealthy people are under the erroneous belief that the true measure of financial success is not what you make but what you keep. —Jon M. Huntsman
"If you think you'll succeed, you'll succeed. If you think you will fail, you will fail. Either way, you are right." — Paramahansa Yogananda
"People are generally about as happy as they decide to be." —Abraham Lincoln
"If there is hope in the future there is power in the present." — John Maxwell
Do, but also seem. —Baltasar Gracian
"I have done one thing that I think is a contribution: I helped Buddhist science and modern science combine. No other Buddhist has done that. Other lamas, I don't think they ever pay attention to modern science. Since my childhood, I have a keen interest." —Dalai Lama
"It is misleading to think that you are a physical being having a spiritual experience. Rather take the view that you are a spiritual being having a worldly experience." —Teilhard de Chardin
Georges Gurdjieff once said that before someone can break out of a cage, they must first realize they are in the cage.
"The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like a condemned man who is proud of his large cell." —Simone Weil
A symbol is a mythological sign that has one leg here and the other in infinity. It points to the transcendent. — C. G. Jung
"What we are now is the result of whatever we have thought in the past; and whatever we shall be in the future will be the result of what we do or think now." —Swami Vivekananda
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace. —Jimi Hendrix
"Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others." — St. Augustine
Give me a child for the first seven years, and you may do what you like with him afterward. — A Jesuit Maxim
"We are not powerless specks of dust drifting around in the wind, blown by random destiny. We are, each of us, like beautiful snowflakes---unique, and born for a specific reason and purpose." —Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross
"No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same." -- Jay Asher
"You see things that are; and you ask, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I ask, 'Why not?'" —George Bernard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" (1921), part 1, act 1
"I am not interested in religion. I am interested in human beings and the goal of human beings, and how to bridge the gap between the two." —Unknown
Spirituality is non-dualistic, and states that the purpose of human life is to merge one's self (or sense of 'I') into Infinite Consciousness. Theistic religions tend to be dualistic, propounding a fundamental separation between God and the world and the belief that the purpose of human life is to enter into a relationship with God and go to heaven after one dies.
No exercise is better for the human heart than reaching down and lifting another up. —John Andrew Holmes
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." —Albert Camus
"Fortunately, you can have a number of small successes before a big success. And small successes count just as much as a big success as far as your belief system in concerned. Therefore, if you can win little victories in being successful at something, your psyche will believe that you can accomplish even greater things in the same area." —William Cohen, "The Art of the Leader"
"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor." —Sholom Aleichem
"25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" — Jesus Christ
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." -Abraham Lincoln
"When I change a television channel to remove a distasteful program, I seldom get one that is satisfactory. Health is more than the absence of disease, even though many doctors act as though they are equivalent." --Russell L. Ackoff
"Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that." -George Carlin
One of the commonest causes of a prolonged, severely unhappy FUNDAMENTAL emotion is an unfilled basic psychological need, six of which - love, security, recognition, creative expression, new experiences, self-esteem. -John A. Schnindler, How to Live 365 Days A Year
(Anthony) Stafford Beer, the eminent British theorist and cybernetician: that instead of inserting a balloon between driver and dashboard in the even of an accident, spikes should be placed on the dashboard facing the driver. This would ensure his involvement in fewer accidents.
"The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." -George Carlin
"I used to work in drug abuse prevention, where I learned and important lesson. We told people all the harmful effects of drugs and assumed they would listen to reason. The secure and happy kids would listen and avoid drugs, but the unhappy kids used them no matter how great the risk. I have worked with people who sniffed glue, drank cleaning fluid, shot up with dirty needles-the search for serenity has little to do with reason. Because there were a lot of unhappy kids, our prevention program backfired and drug abuse mounted. Clearly, providing information was not enough." -Joseph V. Bailey
"To suppose that merely by abandoning material progress we could overcome all our problems would be short-sighted. That would be to ignore their underlying causes. Besides, there is still much in the modern world to be optimistic about." ---Dalai Lama
"This in turn encourages us to suppose that because others are not important for my happiness, their happiness is not important to me." -Dalai Lama
"I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose." -George Carlin
"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." —Bill Cosby
"Art is never finished, only abandoned." —Leonardo da Vinci
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." —Jesus Christ
The word Guru means "dispeller of darkness."
They say that the biggest difference between the American worker and the Japanese worker has nothing to do with Japanese management techniques. Instead, it's simply that the American worker looks forward to the weekend, and the Japanese worker looks forward to the workweek. —William Cohen, The Art of the Leader
*The family influence.* A person's total education, of course, includes much, much more than what he learns in the schools he attends. Our /most important/ educational influence is the family we are brought up in. And there are many, many families who effect on their children is a terrible and ruinous one. Most families develop strong emotional stress. There are many exceptions, certainly, but by and large, our families are educational flops of the first water. —John A. Schindler, How to Live 365 Days A Year
"Behind the need we feel to break away from it all lies in an innate desire for the something more that we all long for but have never been quite able to find. Our endeavors and successes in the external world are important. They are the physical shape we give to our dreams and aspirations. But when we pin all our hopes on finding happiness or fulfillment 'out there,' we are likely to be disappointed, and when this happens we start looking for what is missing." —Dada Nabhaniilananda
"Generally speaking, you can have two different types of individuals. On the one hand, you can have a wealthy, successful person, surrounded by relatives and son on. If that person's source of dignity and sense of worth is only material, then so long as his fortune remains, maybe that person can sustain a sense of security. But the moment the fortune wanes, the person will suffer because there is no other refuge. On the other hand, you can have another person enjoying similar economic status and financial success, but at the same time, that person is warm and affectionate and has a feeling of compassion. Because that person has another source of worth, another source that gives him or her a sense of dignity, another anchor, there is less chance of that person's becoming depressed if his or her fortune happens to disappear." —Dalai Lama
And these children that you spit on. As they try to change their worlds. Are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through. —David Bowie
"Insecurity can take form as shyness, competitiveness, hostility, arrogance, defiance, intellectualizing, showing off, and more." —Joseph V. Bailey
My concern is rather that we are apt to overlook the limitations of science. In replacing religion as the final source of knowledge in popular estimation, science beings to look a bit like another religion itself. With this comes a similar danger on the part of some of its adherents of blind faith in its principles and, correspondingly, to intolerance of alternative views. —Dalai Lama
"Clearly, a major reason for modern society's devotion to material progress is the very success of science and technology. Now the wonderful thing about these forms of human endeavor is that they bring immediate satisfaction. They're unlike prayer, the results of which are, for the most part, invisible---if indeed prayer works as all. And we are impressed by the results." —Dalai Lama
"We have, in my view, created a society in which people find it harder and harder to show one another basic affection. In place of the sense of community and belonging, which we find such a reassuring feature of less wealthy (and generally rural) societies, we find a high degree of loneliness and alienation." —Dalai Lama
"People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think." -George Carlin
Actually, when we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the drug addict feels when indulging his or her habit. Temporary relief is soon followed by a craving for more. ... Indulging our senses and drinking salt water are alike: the more we partake, the more our desire and thirst grow. -Dalai Lama
"Usually we do not allow our children to do whatever they want. We realize that if given their freedom, they would probably spend their time playing rather than studying. So instead we make them sacrifice the immediate pleasure of play and compel them to study. Our strategy is more long term. And while this may be less fun for them, it confers a solid foundation for their future. But as adults, we often neglect this principle. We overlook the fact that if, for example, one partner in a marriage devotes all their time to their own narrow interests, it is sure that the other partner will suffer. And when that happens, it is inevitable the marriage will become harder and harder to sustain. Similarly, we fail to recognize that when the parents are interested only in each other and neglect their children, there are sure to be negative consequences." —Dalai Lama
If you are going to clean your house, you don't examine each piece of dust as you go. You simply sweep it away. Similarly, there is no value in looking at all the details of your life; obsessing stalls the promise of recovery—serenity. —Joseph V. Bailey
"It is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others." —Dalai Lama
"In this context, the great Indian scholar-practitioner Shantideva once observed that while we have no hope of finding enough leather to cover the earth so that we never prick our feet on a thorn, actually we do not need to. As he went on to observe, enough to cover the soles of our feet will suffice. In other words, while we cannot always change our external situation to suit us, we can change our attitude." —Dalai Lama
"This suggests that the first step in the process of actually countering our negative thoughts and emotions is to avoid those situations and activities which would normally give rise to them." —Dalai Lama
We can conceive the nature of mind in terms of the water in a lake. When the water is stirred up by a storm, the mud from the lake's bottom clouds it, making it appear opaque. But the nature of the water in not dirty. When the storm passes, the mud settles and the water is left clear once again. —Dalai Lama
"Every addict's primary addiction is to thought. Addicts are constantly analyzing themselves, as well as others and their problems." —Joseph V. Bailey
"Take the case of a person who cruelly tortures another. Their mind (/lo/) must be strongly gripped at the gross, or conscious level, by some kind of harmful thinking or ideology which causes them to believe their victim is deserving of such treatment. Such a belief—which to some degree must have been deliberately chosen—is what enables the cruel person to suppress their feelings. Nevertheless, deep down, there is bound to be some kind of effect. In the long run, there is a high degree of probability that discomfort will be felt by the torturer. Consider in this context the example we looked at earlier—of merciless dictators like Hitler and Stalin. It seems that as they neared the end of their lives, they became lonely, anxious, full of dread, and suspicion, like crows afraid of their own shadows." —Dalai Lama
"Were we to expend even a fraction of the time and effort we consume in trivial activities—pointless gossip and the likeżon gaining insight into the actual nature of afflictive emotion, I believe it would have a huge impact on our quality of life." —Dalai Lama
"Sarah believes that doing all the right things will make her a happy, well-balanced person. Believing that serenity is something we do rather than something we are is a problem that many recovering people face." —Joseph V. Bailey
"It makes no sense to brood anxiously on the harmful actions we have committed in the past to the point where we become paralyzed. They are done, it is over. If the person is a believer in God, the appropriate action is to find some means of reconciliation with Him." —The Dalai Lama
"It is also true that I possess several valuable wristwatches. And while I feel that if I were to sell them I could perhaps build some huts for the poor, so far I have not. In the same way, I do feel that if I were to observe a strictly vegetarian diet not only would I be setting a better example, but I would also be helping to save innocent animals' lives. So far I have not and therefore must admit a discrepancy between my principles and my practice in certain areas." —The Dalai Lama
"Consider: riches are no defense against anger. Nor is a person's education, no matter how accomplished and intelligent they may be. Nor, for that matter, can the law be of any help. And fame is useless." —Dalai Lama
The easiest way to slay a dragon is to step on the egg.
"Burnout is the state of mind resulting from sustained stress. It is characterized by loss of motivation; decreased enjoyment, creativity, and productivity at work; and lack of energy and desire to continue." —Joseph V. Bailey
"It will remind us that there is little to be gained from being kind and generous because we hope to win something in return. It will remind us that actions motivated by the desire to create a good name for ourselves are still selfish, however much they may appear to be acts of kindness. It will also remind us that there is nothing exceptional about acts of charity toward those we already feel close to." —The Dalai Lama
"/It must get worse before it gets better. Good medicine has to taste bad. Nothing worth anything comes without hard work and suffering. Who said life was going to be a bed of roses?/ Somehow, we came to believe that life must be full of suffering and hard work. The more we suffer now, the greater our reward later (in heaven). The fact that suffering has been the experience of a great many people doesn't make this belief true. Anything is difficult until you understand the principle behind it. When I first tried to rid a bike, it seemed impossible, but once I got it, it was a snap. The same is true for finding serenity in our lives." —Joseph V. Bailey
"As we realize the principles of serenity in our lives, a paradox occurs. Our sensitivity to stress and other forms of negativity grows while our tolerance shrinks. Increasingly unwilling to experience these feelings, we begin to let go of stress-producing thoughts, or nip them in the bud. Our common sense directs us to avoid habits that produce stressful thoughts, such as commiserating with negative thinkers." —Joseph V. Bailey
Children who are loved with no strings attached are likely to experience this natural self-esteem. They are not driven to prove themselves and yet they often accomplish a tremendous amount in life. On the other hand, children raised with conditional love (manipulation through affection, which really isn't love at all) learn to like themselves for what they do, and are driven to accomplish or are defiantly opposed to doing anything at all. —Joseph V. Bailey
"In view of this, I could see developing a "smart" bullet that could seek out those who decide on wars in the first place. That would seem to me more fair, and on these grounds I would welcome a weapon that eliminated the decision-makers while leaving the innocent unharmed." —Dalai Lama
"I often tell Tibetans that carrying a mala (something like a rosary) does not make a person a genuine religious practitioner." —Dalai Lama
"The struggle is thus to overcome these feelings of partiality. Certainly, developing genuine compassion for our loved ones is the obvious and appropriate place to start. The impact our actions have on our close ones will generally be much greater than on others, and therefore our responsibilities toward them are greater. Yet we need to recognize that, ultimately, there are no grounds for discriminating in their favor." —The Dalai Lama
"But when we align our thinking with the changes in our life, it can be interesting and even fun. Fighting change with our thoughts creates stress. To paraphrase an old Hindu proverb: 'If a fish swims up the mountain stream, it will be bruised against the rocks, exhaust itself, and dislike the journey. If the fish swims with the current, however, it easily avoids the rocks, travels swiftly, and enjoys the journey. The stream doesn't care which way the fish swims.'" —Joseph V. Bailey
Now more than ever we need to show our children that distinctions between "my country" and "your country," "my religion" and "your religion" are secondary considerations. —Dalai Lama
"I remember seeing a poster of a sleepy kitten sharing a small flowerpot with a large cactus. The caption read: 'When we are at peace with ourselves, anywhere can be home.'" —Joseph V. Bailey
"In everyday life, it is normal and fitting to adapt in some degree to one's friends and acquaintances and to respect their wishes. The ability to do so is considered a good quality. But when we mix with those who clearly indulge in negative behavior, seeking only their own benefit and ignoring other's, we risk losing our own sense of direction. As a result, our ability to help others becomes endangered." —The Dalai Lama
All human endeavor is potentially great and noble. —The Dalai Lama
Suppose your boss arrives; you will welcome him and say, "Please come, sit down and have something to eat." You flatter him but inside you say, "What a trouble has arrived! When will he go?" This is not known to your boss. Thus, two "I's" are within you; one performs action in the external world, and the other is inside. You are well-acquainted with this inner "I", but others do not have the correct information about it. Spiritual practice(sadhana), therefore, is to unify the two, the internal "I" and the external "I", into one. Two-ness in one single personality of human beings is their disease. The greater the gap between these two I's, the more you will undergo psychic torment. You must remember that in this second half of the 20th Century there is a great gap between the internal "I" and the external "I". And because of the trouble in adjusting these two "I's" there is an increase in the number of lunatics. This is the greatest disease of the 20th Century. —Srii Srii Ananda Murtiji
*This lack may begin in childhood.* There are many unfortunate people who feel the sting of the lack of affection early childhood on, because they have the had luck to have been born into a family where real affection simply does not exist. Mother and father wage a continual cold war against each other, with periods when the war gets pretty hot and the air is filled with angry words, with, perhaps a dish or two for punctuation. What they can't take out on each other, the parents take out on the children. The children learning by imitation, imagine that constant bickering quarreling spite and hatred are the stuff that all life is made of; so sisters and brothers return blow for blow. Everyone feels alone, hunted, exploited, uncomfortable, and on the defensive. These boys and girls may get quite old or may go all the way through life without ever getting the idea that there is such a thing as affection or that there are human capable of it But the psychological need for it is present, and these people have a restlessness and a yearning, for something they haven't got. Basically, they are very unhappy. The odd and tragic thing is that they don't consciously realize it and of course they don't know that it is lack of affection that underlies their restlessness. —John A. Schindle
Boy, oh boy, was he right! My clubs would have to go in the backseat. His trunk was jammed with books, audiotapes and videos with cover credits like /Zig Ziglar/, /Tom Hopkins/ and /Wayne Dwyer/, and titles like /Go for It/, /Do It/, and /Slam Dunk the Moment/. I shut the trunk, maneuvered my golf bag onto the backseat, and as we pulled out I asked, "What the heck is all that stuff in the trunk?" "That's my stash," he said. "The stuff that keeps me going." I thought, /Here's a guy making a few hundred thousand dollars a year and he needs that stuff to keep him going?/ It didn't seem to make sense. I knew my questions might seem intrusive, offensive and off-putting but I just couldn't help myself. "What do you mean 'keep you going'?" "I hate my job," he said. "I use the tapes and books to try and stay pumped up."
"Nevertheless, we do have to make a living. Maybe you've gotten your functional illness as a direct result of our business-industrial system. You are going to have to continue living in it and being a part of it. Then (to yourself) play it as a game, something that's a great big lark, something done because it's ENJOYABLE, not a duty. Play it cheerfully and pleasantly, and don't let the trap of competitive striving catch you. It's barely possible that following this advice, you may never drive a Cadillac, but you'll enjoy eating peanuts and watermelon at a picnic you get to in a rattling good 1937 Chevy. You may even end up in the poorhouse, but you'll have a good time getting there, and you'll live to sing at the funerals of the poor devils who beat you up the ladder." —John A. Schindle
"Some people will say that while the Dalai Lama's devotion to non-violence is praiseworthy, it is not really practical. Actually, it is far more naive to suppose that the human-created problems which lead to violence can ever be solved through conflict." —Dalai Lama
"I am really no different from any of you." Warren Buffett, with his usual down-home style and slightly disheveled appearance, is talking to a roomful of students at the University of Nebraska. Since he is one of the richest men in the world and since most of the students can barely cover their phone bill, they start to chuckle. "I may have more money than you do, but money doesn't make the difference. Sure, I can buy the most luxurious handmade suit, but I put it on and it just looks cheap. I would rather have a cheeseburger from Dairy Queen than a hundred-dollar meal." The students seem unconvinced, and so Buffett concedes on one point. "If there is any difference between you and me, it may simply be that I get up every day and have a chance to do what I love to do, every day. If you want to learn anything from me, this is the best advice I can give you." —Excerpted from Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
"People are born motivated," asserts Dr. Quick. "It's the natural condition. Look at little kids," he says, "and you can easily observe the two basic instinctual drives; one is to feel safe and secure and the other is to explore and master the world. "The instinctual drive to master the world, which almost everyone has," he says, "is the genesis of our motivation to do things like jump tall buildings and run fast." The big problem occurs "when people find themselves in organizations where their natural energy and drives and frustrated and blocked by a a whole variety of bureaucratic mechanisms."
Wisconsin isn't so bad during the Spring and Fall.
Chairman Mao once said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Of course it is true that violence can achieve certain short-term objectives, but it cannot obtain long-lasting ends. If we look at history, we find that in time, humanity's love of peace, justice, and freedom always triumphs over cruelty and oppression. —Dalai Lama
"Only while sleeping one makes no mistakes. Making mistakes is the privilege of the active—of those who can correct their mistakes and put them right." —Ingvar Kamprad, "The Testament of a Furniture Dealer" (1976)
For example, the cultivation of generosity is essential to counteract our tendency to guard our possessions and even our energy too closely. —Dalai Lama
People who have freed themselves of "your" addiction represent hope. Hope is a beautiful feeling that alleviates isolation and despair. It carries a person from suffering into a higher state of mind. If, however, we create the belief that only another who is similarly afflicted can understand us, then we are limiting tremendously our sources of compassion and understanding. I have seen people with different addiction labels segregate themselves in the same way that races, nationalities, and religious groups have done for centuries. This prejudice prevents them from seeing the mutuality of human beings and puts a limit on their growth. The more we believe we are unique, the more stuck we become. —Joseph V. Bailey
We humans already have enough problems. We all face death, old age, and sickness—not to mention the inevitability of meeting with disappointment. These we simply cannot avoid. Is this not enough? What is the point of creating still more unnecessary problems simply on the basis of different ways of thinking or different skin color? —The Dalai Lama
On a recent visit to new York, a friend told me that the number of billionaires in America had increased from seventeen just a few years ago to several hundred today. Yet at the same time, the poor remain poor and in some cases are becoming poorer. This I consider to be completely immoral. It is also a potential source for problems. —The Dalai Lama
*The Family Is Our Number-One Cause of Disease* The most important single educational factor to which most people are subjected is the family in which they grow up. Because of the amount of time a person spends in the family and the authoritative nature of the control which the family has over our early thinking the family has more to do with molding our personalities and our ability to handle living than any other factor. In view of this tremendous effect the family has upon its charges, it is very sad that such a tremendous number of families are muffing their opportunities, and are doing a poor job. —John A. Schindle
Conversely, we find that in the face of even relatively slight adversity, some people who have everything are inclined to lose hope and become despondent. There is a natural tendency for wealth to spoil us. The result is that we find it progressively more difficult to bear easily the problems everyone must encounter from time to time. —The Dalai Lama
"It is important to get one's objectives straight now only before designing an incentive system, but also before designing any system that might be perceived by others as providing an incentive, however unintended. For example, consider the way property is taxed in most of the United States. Such taxes are generally proportional to the assessed value of the property. Therefore, they provide and incentive that encourages allowing property to deteriorated. That such taxes operate in this way is apparent in urban ghettos. No wonder we have so much rapidly deteriorating housing in most American cities." —Russell L. Ackoff
"Timing is so important with anything in life. If we plan seeds too early in the spring we endanger the young plants. The same is true for recovery. For example, for some people, to go to a group twice a week may be extremely helpful at one point in their recovery. At another time, it may be better to take a break from the group or stop attending altogether." —Joseph V. Bailey
"Keep yourself responsive to the simple things that are always near at hand and readily accessible. Don't get in the habit of requiring the unusual for your pleasure, a failing one is very likely to find in people having more than a little money or education." —John A. Schindle
"Without a hobby, spare time becomes a boring span of time during which our minds are more and more apt to cogitate upon our troubles." —John A. Schindle
"Far from applying the teachings of their religion in our personal lives, we have a tendency to use them to reinforce our self-centered attitudes. We relate to our religion as something we own or as a label that separates us from others." —Dalai Lama
"As we come to understand the principles of psychological functioning, our relationships take on a whole new form. When we feel secure, we can better distinguish who is responsible for what in a relationship. For example, we stop feeling guilty for others' shortcomings or behavior even if they tell us we are responsible. When we stop playing games, so must they — or they must find other playmates. It takes two to tango." —Joseph V. Bailey
"For a long time one of the chief arguments for the existence of God and the validity of religion has been that no tribe of men has ever been found, not even in the remotest corners of the earth, without some sort of religious beliefs." —Erich Voehringer
" . . . we are not born to struggle through life. We are meant to work in ways that suit us, drawing on our natural talents and abilities as a way to express ourselves and contribute to others." —Marsha Sinetar
*The atmosphere of dislike.* Another common family atmosphere which produces the wrong kind of emotions is the ATMOSPHERE OF DISLIKE, or the atmosphere of lack of affection, and atmosphere that is fatal to anything good that the family as an institution stands for. Usually this atmosphere of dislike stems from the basic fact that father and mother do not like each other, and the only reason they hang together is "for the children's sake." In the atmosphere of such a home, the children quickly learn not to like each other. Love, or dislike, comes to children largely by example. The parents have no genuine affection for the children, and the children reciprocate with even less. In this kind of family nobody wants any of the other members. No one is necessary to anyone else, and when a person feels he isn't necessary, he never develops full mature individuality. No one in a family like this is made to feel important or desirable for himself. No one ever gives or receives any appreciation. Life is like eating dried, tasteless prunes. —John A. Schindle
"Many of the Jews who were released from the concentration camps after World War II initially felt guilty for surviving while millions of others had died. Free from external threat or hopeless conditions, many continued to create an internal hell. You would think that the survivors would be grateful and exuberant. Yet quite often, human beings who are used to living at a certain level of unhappiness have a hard time letting go of the habit of negative thinking." —Joseph V. Bailey
"A sentient being, according to my usual definition, is one which has the capacity to experience pain and suffering. One could also say that it is our experience of suffering which connects us to others. It is the basis of our capacity for empathy." —The Dalai Lama
"Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps as few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold, which the owner knows not of." —Jonathan Swift
There is in everyone the need to feel that he and his efforts are being appreciated—appreciated by those for whom we strive. Everyone needs to be regarded by someone as being of some importance, and doing something that is of some good. It often happens that a man may leave a perfectly good position because he feels that his efforts are not being properly appreciated. He resents the fact that although he worked above and beyond the call of duty and did an extraordinarily good job, none of his superiors or equals showed any indication of having recognized it. His need for recognition is given a severe blow. He leaves. —John A. Schindle
The very low think they ought to gripe, so they gripe. The very high think they should sound worthy of their position, so they gripe at the taxes and the political opposition; they lambaste everyone under them. —John A. Schindle
"To put it another way, until now, Mother earth has been able to tolerate our sloppy house habits." —Dalai Lama
"Being "house rich" helps people believe that they are indeed rich."
Facebook = attention riveted to what is outside you
"And what is more important, don't let the feeling pervade your family that everyone is so taken for granted that a pleasantness or kind word is unnecessary." —John A. Schindle
Noah didn't wait for his ship to come in—he built one!
Have you ever seen in a movie where the person is at the center of the screen, not moving, and the rest of the world moves by at an accelerated pace? This is what I think of when I think of the phrase "letting go."
When I was seven years old I was an avid collector of plastic buttons. I even ascribed named and imaginary personalities to some of them. The larger buttons were particularly useful. By threading a loop of cotton through the holes, and alternately tensing and relaxing the tension of the cotton, you could cause the button to spin at great speed, producing a marvelous whirring sound. The larger the button, the better the sound. Now I had somehow acquired an enormous and elegant brown button which, when spun in this manner, emitted the best and loudest sound of all. However, once my elder brothers discovered the powers of this singularly superior button it became an object of lust in their eyes. So it came to pass that one afternoon when I was playing happily with my button, they took it from me, and would not give it back. Soon I was in tears. This attracted the attention of our mother, who demanded to know what we were fighting about. "They took my button," I wailed, indignant at this new instance of the weak being tyrannized by the strong. My brothers of course denied everything, including the legitimacy of my claim to ownership of the button. To my horror, my mother, instead of supporting my cause and administering justice on behalf of her youngest, as a mother should, took my beautiful button and smashed it with a hammer declaring, "I'll teach you kids not to be so stupid as to fight over a button!" I was mortified. Rather than achieving instant illumination regarding the futility of materialism, I found my trust in parental justice sadly diminished. A few years ago I reminded my then eighty-year old mother of this incident. She did not remember it. Not because her memory is failing — far from it. No, it was because the incident had little emotional impact on her — from her perspective it was just the boys fighting again — hardly something unusual. I'm sure my brothers remember it no more clearly than she. But I, shocked at the unfairness of my mother's solution was scarred for life. Well perhaps I'm getting carried away, maybe not for life, but you can see how an apparently insignificant incident like this can make a deep impression on a vulnerable child. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
"If it be objected that it is the nature of the one who is abusing us which is truly the cause of our pain, still we would have no reasonable grounds for anger with that individual. For if it were that person's ultimate nature to be hostile toward us, they would be incapable of behaving differently. In that case, anger toward them would be pointless. If we are burned, there is no sense in being angry with fire. It is the nature of fire to burn." —Dalai Lama
"The trend in American living has been to put so much emphasis on the means for enjoyment—fine houses, automobiles, better television sets, cameras, electric ranges — that in the process of getting the means, we provide ourselves with frustration and anxieties." —John A. Schindle
Often when we do something for another person, we imagine that we are helping someone less fortunate than ourselves, and that they are lucky to have us around. But in terms of karma, the opposit is true. We are in fact the main beneficiaries of our own selfless deeds. The irony is that if our primary motivation is to reap good samskaras for ourselves, rather than to relieve suffering, it will not have the desired effect. You may be able to fool yourself, or others, but it's a bit more difficult to pull a fast one on God. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
When we give with the underlying motive of inflating the image others have of us—to gain renown and have them think of us as virtuous or holy—we defile the act. In that case, what we are practicing is not generosity but self-aggrandizement. Similarly, the one who gives much may not be so generous as the one who gives little. It all depends on the giver's means and motivation. —Dalai Lama
Ahimsa means not to do harm to others in thought, word and actions. To the best of our capacity we should never inflict injury on another living being. This principle is sometimes interpreted to mean complete non-violence, but if carried to an extreme it becomes very impractical. For example each time we breathe there are microbes which we inhale and kill! To solve this dilemma Anandamurti gives suggestions, saying that in selecting our diet we should choose the food where consciousness is less developed before killing highly developed creatures. Another problem is the question of self defense. Here Anandamurti says that to defend oneself against an aggressor or against an anti-social person is justifiable. Even if you use force, your intention is to save and protect life, not to cause pain or block the mental, physical or spiritual progress of that person.
In modern India untouchability has been abolished by law, especially through the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi; but it still persists in many ways. Such age-old prejudices are hard to eradicate, even by law, as is shown by the segregation which still persists in many parts of the United States. —Erich Voehringer
In the last few decades a strange new movement has spread in Japan, especially among students and intellectuals, but attracting many others, called Mukyokai, or "No-Church movement". It was started by a lone theologian, Uchimura Kanzo. Converted while a student by an American college teach (a layman), he became a convinced and ardent follower of Christ, but he became so disgusted with denominationalism (missionaries fighting over the little group of student converts at the college) that he would have nothing to do with any organized form of Christianity. He was satisfied to follow Christ in his own life, study the Scriptures, and spread his faith by lectures and literature. In spite of the fact that there was no organization at all, the movement started by him did not come to an end with his death in 1930. The Bible study groups and lectures continued among his followers and attracted ever greater numbers. —Erich Voehringer
" . . . the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine." —Astrophysicist Sir James Jeans, 1930s
A few lone individuals have cried out here and there that it is all a bad joke or an accident, but by and large the human race has never paid much attention to them. We may not agree on the answer to it all, but most of us sense a hidden mystery, beyond our comprehension. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
We have set up a system which is so unjust that the wealth of a single man could prevent the deaths of millions of children, yet it is not used for this. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
Emotionally Induced Illness is prevalent in all ages, but it grows more and more prevalent in the declining years of life—the very time an individual should be gliding into a calm, easy harbor, instead of back into the storm. This is true partly because of the conditions and situations that the aging person must try to cope with; on the other hand many people handle age poorly simply because they never handled any part of their lives well. The inability grows larger like a giant snowball toward the end. —John A. Schindle
If it is God's will for someone to be poor, and you are in a position to help them, it could equally be God's will for you to exercise your God-given faculty of compassion and help them. Surely this is more likely than the alternative proposition that a supposedly loving God created this situation in order for you to demonstrate that you have a heart of stone. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
Robert Frost once said, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to let you in." We can paraphrase that to define what a home should be: "A good home is the place where, when you desperately need a life, you'll be sure to find one." A lift, you understand, not more irritation, not nagging, not arguments, not a scathing look, not a lack of sympathy, but a LIFT. —John A. Schindle
A few years ago a colleague of mine was in a bus station in Minnesota. He was sitting next to a man ho asked him what he did for a living. When he replied that he taught meditation, the man looked serious and said: "You'd better shape up son. Hell's going to be hot for you." —Dada Nabhaniilananda
Hinduism knows no corporate worship like a Christian service; worship and devotion are all private, whether in the temple or at home. —Erich Voehringer
"These duties are spelled out in minute detail. For women, for instance, the perfect life is that of the 'three submissions': when young to her father, when mature to her husband, when old to her sons." —With regard to Hinduism, Erich Voehringer
"[...] there are two schools of thought as to the mode of salvation by bhakti, which remind us of similar controversies among Christian theologians. One school says that man has something to do with his salvation by cling to God with his faith. This is the 'monkey hold,' the way a little monkey clings to his mother when she carries him to safety. The other school says that God does everything—and man can do, and need do, nothing at all. This is the 'cat hold,' because the cat picks up her kitten by the neck and carries her without any cooperation on the kitten's part." —Erich Voehringer
Among the few possessions that Mahatma Gandhi left behind was a well-used New Testament. But, like Gandhi, they [Hindus] would not think of changing their religion or being baptized. They believe that there is some truth in all religions, and that the ultimate truth can never be fully known to man; so there is no inconsistency to them in mixing the teachings of the Bible with the ideas of their own scriptures. Their main objection to Christianity is its very exclusiveness, its claim that there is no salvation except in the name of Jesus Christ. —Erich Voehringer
[Describing Buddhist Monks] For the monks there were four mortal sins which entailed exclusion from the order: 1. Sexual intercourse 2. Theft 3. Taking human life 4. Pretending to knowledge that one does not possess The last of these four is particularly interesting and there is more to it than meets the eye. It was meant to preclude any of the useless theological speculation and doctrinal controversies which have wrought so much havoc in most religions. Buddha realized that one of the main sources of anxiety and trouble in man's life is the uncertainty about religious searchings and spiritual truth. Is there a God or gods, a life after death, sin and punishment? What must I do to appease the spiritual powers? As great "unknowables," these concerns can only lead to increased human suffering and uncertainty. —Erich Voehringer
[In reference to The One Great God in polytheism] Some legends say he was much closer to man in the beginning, but he moved away because of man's wickedness. He is good and kind. Strangely enough, he is not usually worshiped. As one African put it: "He needs not to be worshiped, because he is good anyway," meaning that the other spirits need to be worshiped to appease them so that they will not do any harm. —Erich Voehringer
Shinto is the only major religion where the supreme deity is thought of as female, in spite of the fact that Japanese society is patriarchal and women play a subordinate role. —Erich Voehringer
"In New York City, as in any big city, some parents neglect their children, and a certain number of monsters do awful things. Government cannot substitute for the parent, or replace the family and neighborhood groups that need to protect their most vulnerable members. There is a danger in giving the false impression that the city is primarily responsible. That relieves people of their obligations." —Rudy W. Giuliani
"Patronage does not mean giving a job to someone who supported you politically. it means giving a job to someone /only/ because he supported you politically. Of course I hired people who supported my campaigns. After all, the reason they did so was because they shared my beliefs." —Rudy W. Giuliani
"The only clear thing is that we humans are the only species with the power to destroy the earth as we know it. The birds have no such power, nor do the insects, nor does any mammal. Yet if we have the capacity to destroy the earth, so, too, do we have the capacity to protect it." —Dalai Lama
Many people are precipitated into Emotionally Induced Illness by some adversity. Everything they had appears at one moment to have vanished, and they are completely at a loss to go on. Futility and frustration are piled on disaster. The underlying crack in most of the people who give way beneath adversity is the immaturity of selfishness and egocentricity. The death of a person near to them is calculated in terms of what it means to them, personally, in the the way of services lost. —John A. Schindle
At the time of Marco Polo in 1269 the Chinese emperor asked the pope to send 100 priests to explain the Christian faith. Two finally set out timidly but turned back before they got half way. The Jesuits in the sixteenth century with careful planning and preparation established bases in China. They adjusted themselves to the Confucian way of life and, with their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, found entrance to the imperial course. When rivalries between the Franciscans and the Jesuits broke out, the Chinese threw them all out. —Erich Voehringer
The internet was great up to 2008ż then it jumped the shark. Now it consists of mostly idiots and their idiot opinions and their idiot trends and idiot hating. —Satya Ramnarain
The Jews were the first people to have a public school system with obligatory attendance and a general school board in Jerusalem, at the time of Christ.
Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black. —Remark about the Model T in 1909, published in Henry Ford's autobiography My Life and Work (1922)
Living like a millionaire requires doing interesting things and not just owning enviable things. — Tim Ferriss
"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task." —Viktor E. Frankl
"Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas." —Paul Poundstone
There is more to life than increasing its speed. —Mahatma Gandhi
Even the best hitters fail 2 out of 3 times.
Most information is time consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence. —Tim Ferriss
Bad luck is usually brought on by stupidity, and among outcasts nothing is so contagious. —Baltasar Gracian
Many people never lose their heads because they have none to lose. —Baltasar Gracian
The function of all higher education is to some extent the enrichment of people's lives.
How often do we push ourselves to accomplish something only in order to impress other people? The emotional satisfaction we get from feeling we are 'somebody', in someone else' eyes, is often more important to us than the accomplishment itself. —Dada Nabhaniilananda
Anyone who lives within their means suffers for a lack of imagination. — Oscar Wilde
Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed. — Vida D. Scudder
Many people spend more time planning the wedding than they do planning the marriage. —Zig Ziglar
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. —Albert Einstein
Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything. —Charles Kuralt
From all this anxiety Buddha freed himself and his followers by a radical operation, by doing away with both God and soul. There are no gods to worry about, neither to reward nor to punish. There is no higher power to watch over one or to whom one is in any way responsible. One has only oneself to reckon with. "Man himself is his only refuge." —Erich Voehringer
Ten Jewish men could start a synagogue. The women could not take part in the service but they could be present in a special balcony behind a lattice, where they could not be seen. — Erich Voehringer
Complete racial integration before God is a reality among the Muslims, while among Christians it is still too often a mere doctrine, not put into practice. — Erich Voehringer
In general, people's poorest manners surface both quicker and more frequently on the telephone than when you're face to face with them. Why? Because it's so easy to hang up the phone versus asking somebody seated across the desk to leave your office. —From "The Perfect Sales Presentation"
I like things to happen; and if they don't happen, I like to make them happen. —Winston Churchill
General MacArthur refused to throw the authority of the American occupation behind Christianity as many Japanese had expected, but upheld the strict separation of church and state, and Christianity, being presented in such a bewildering diversity of competing denominations did not seem appealing to the Japanese people. — Erich Voehringer
There are times in life when you just don't want to miss a good chance to shut up. —Phillip C. McGraw
"... and randomness is another name for chaos, in those corners of the universe where God's creative light has not yet penetrated. And chaos is evil; not wrong, not malevolent, but evil nonetheless, because by causing tragedies at random, it prevents people from believing in God's goodness." —Harold S. Kushner
There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. —Peter Drucker
There is a law that no religious instruction may be given or any religious influence exerted on young people until they are age 18. — Erich Voehringer
If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes. —Mark Twain
To tell someone "how the cow ate the cabbage" means to tell the person the unvarnished truth, even if the person would rather not hear it. It can also mean to state oneżs opinion forcefully or to "tell someone off" ("The mechanic had been jerking me around for weeks, promising that every new repair would fix the problem, so I finally told him how the cow ate the cabbage and drove home").
But has it really been proved? If so, atheism would indeed be finished and every sane person would have to believe in God, just as everybody believes that two times two are four, and that water freezes at 32 degrees. But there are still atheists with us, in fact more of them than ever before, which shows that these "proofs" are not really proofs at all. — Erich Voehringer
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
If you don't want to learn, years of schooling will teach you very little. But if you want to be taught, there is no end to what you can learn. Life is a great opportunity for gaining knowledge. Your attitude in this opportunity determines the depth and direction of your life.
Calypso envies Ulysses because he will not live forever. His life becomes more full of meaning, his every decision is more significant, precisely because his time is limited, and what he chooses to do with it represents a real choice. —Harold S. Kushner
". . . some people are so addicted to habits that it is hard to speak of them as being free. " —Harold S. Kushner
Why do ballet dancers always dance on their toes? Wouldn't it be easier to just hire taller dancers?
The very simplicity of Islam is a great attraction. "I can learn all about Islam in two hours, while I have to study two years to become a Christian," said an African, and chose Islam. Thereby he stepped from his crude tribal religion into the higher level of a world-wide brotherhood, gained friends and prestige without having to change his heart and life as Christianity demands. He did not have to dismiss all his wives but one, because Islam permits polygyny. By accepting a religion that was not connected with the hated colonial powers, he did not feel that he was betraying his African heritage. All these things weigh in the balances for the uncommitted African in favor of Islam against Christianity. — Erich Voehringer
. . . a man with a toothache walking through a forest can't appreciate the beauty of the forest because his tooth hurts him. —Harold S. Kushner
It has been said that just as every actor yearns to play Hamlet, every Bible student years to write a commentary on the Book of Job. —Harold S. Kushner
(excerpt from Tom Asacker) ... hitting a thick fog while driving. What happens? We tense up and slow down. We become a two-fisted driver. We turn down the music and tell people to be quiet. Right? We can't handle communication or distractions. We lean forward to get a few more inches "out there," looking for little markers to get us through the present "situation." But what happens when the fog lifts? We relax and speed up to make up for lost time. We crank up the tunes. We enjoy the ride.
There is a German psychological term, Schadenfreude, which refers to the embarrassing reaction of relief we feel when something bad happens to someone else instead of to us. —Harold S. Kushner
Iranian folk proverb: If you see a blind man, kick him; why should you be kinder than God?
The phrase "Job's comforters" has come into the language to describe people who mean to help, but who are more concerned with their own needs and feelings than they are with those of the other person, and so end up only making things worse. —Harold S. Kushner
To say of Hitler, to say of any criminal, that he did not choose to be bad but was a victim of his upbringing, is to make all morality, all discussion of right and wrong, impossible. —Harold S. Kushner
Why, then, do bad things happen to good people? One reason is that our being human leaves us free to hurt each other, and God can't stop us without taking away the freedom that makes us human. Human beings can cheat each other, rob each other, hurt each other, and God can only look down in pity and compassion at how little we have learned over the ages about how human beings should behave. —Harold S. Kushner
It serves no purpose to try to moralize against jealousy and talk people out of it. Jealousy is too strong a feeling. It touches us too deeply, hurting us in places we care about. —Harold S. Kushner
If it weren't for objections, a sales person would be nothing more than an order taker.
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
God helps those who stop hurting themselves. —Harold S. Kushner
When he was young, he once asked his father, "If you don't believe in God, why do you go to synagogue so regularly?" His father answered, "Jews go to synagogue for all sorts of reasons. My friend Garfinkle, who is Orthodox, goes to talk to God. I go to talk to Garfinkle." —Harold S. Kushner
Why is lemonade powder made with artificial flavor and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
"I can worship a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminated it more easily than I can worship a God who chooses to make children suffer and die, for whatever exalted reason." —Harold S. Kushner
To explain that mental retardation results from a defective chromosome is to offer an explanation which does not really explain anything. Why should chromosomes become defective? And why should a person's potential for happiness in life depend on their not doing so? —Harold S. Kushner
Who among use could respect or worship a God whose implicit message was "I could have made your mother healthy again, but you didn't plead and grovel enough"? —Harold S. Kushner
Just as mass murder is not necessarily terrorism, so mass murder and terrorism are not necessarily war. Indeed, their perpetrators often choose mass murder and terrorism precisely for lack of the political standing, power, resources, or numbers to wage war.... Any attempt to destroy life and property, without an objective of conquest, is a /criminal/ act, and its perpetrators merit prosecution under criminal statues. But such an attempt is not an act of war except in a loose, metaphorical sense.... When the word /war/ is taken to justify the arbitrary exercise of power in the absence of war, metaphorical language may become an instrument of tyranny. —Professor Barbara Fields
Anguish and heartbreak may not be distributed evenly throughout the world, but they are distributed very widely. Everyone gets his share. If we knew the facts, we would very rarely find someone whose life was to be envied. —Harold S. Kushner
Consider the Swastika. That /symbol/ is found in remains from the Bronze Age and, before the Nazis appropriated it, it was /thought/ to be a char or sign of good luck. But now . . . ? —Tom Asacker
We do not love God because He is perfect. We do not love Him because He protects us from all harm and keeps evil things from happening to us. We do not love Him because we are afraid of Him, or because He will hurt us if we turn our back on Him. We love Him because He is God, because He is the author of all the beauty and the order around us, the source of our strength and the hope and courage within us, and of other people's strength and hope and courage with which we are helped in our time of need. We love Him because He is the best part of ourselves and of our world. That is what it means to love. Love is not the admiration of perfection, but the acceptance of an imperfect person with all his imperfections, because loving and accepting him makes us better and stronger. —Harold S. Kushner
"There were good guys, bastards, and phonies, and the worst was a phony. A good guy, I learned by example, was a guy who made no excuses about looking out only for himself. A bastard was a man who had the same philosophy but took extra pleasure in hurting people. A phony was somebody who claimed to be concerned with anything but himself." —Norman Mailer, The Deer Park
Actually, being angry at God won't hurt God, and neither will it provoke Him to take measures against us. If it makes us feel better to vent our anger at Him over a painful situation, we are free to do it. The only thing wrong with doing it is that what happened to us was not really God's fault. —Harold S. Kushner
There are so many options available today that we have the ability to pick and choose brands to create unique identities, all the while believing ourselves to be better than we actually are. —Tom Asacker
Human beings are God's language. —A nineteenth-century Hasidic rabbi
Sűren Kierkegaard, a provocative Danish Christian of the nineteenth century, raised the fascinating question as to whether the original disciples ("the disciple at first hand") had any decisive advantage over us ("the disciple at second hand"). We commonly assume that they did, But did they? The New Testament report of the first confession that Jesus was "the Christ" speaks volumes to this question. It was made by the disciple Peter. Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In response Jesus observed, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." (See Matt. 16:13-20.) These words expose to our view the deepest level of Christianity's optical problem. The only literal sense in which we today can "look at Jesus" is by reading of him in the New Testament or in other books that draw upon the New Testament. But if the men who lived and worked with him could not "see" his meaning when they could see him in the flesh, how can we hope to do so just by looking at a word picture of him, or by reading about him in a book? —Robert Clyde Johnson
We could bear nearly any pain or disappointment if we though there was a reason behind it, a purpose to it. But even a lesser burden becomes too much for us if we feel it makes no sense. —Harold S. Kushner
A priest was supposed to be closer to God than any other man except the pope. He alone could say the almost mystical rites of the mass. No one else, not even an emperor or a king, could perform the miracle of transforming the altar bread and wine into the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus. Not even the angels had such power. "A Man Called Martin Luther" by Kathleen Benson
Mahatma Gandhi, the famous Indian leader, once said, "I have never been interested in a historical Jesus. I should not care if it were proved by someone that the man called Jesus never lived, and that what was narrated in the Gospels were a figment of the writer's imagination. For the Sermon on the Mount would still be true for me."
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'Thought for the day The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'Spoon feeding They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.' 'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'
The Bible was not a secret document; Martin did not feel as if he was doing anything sneaky by going to the library to read it. It was just that the Bible was not the basis for the kind of religion taught by the church in the early 16th century. The teachings of the church were based on the ideas of the church. Bibles were scarce, and reading the Bible was not considered important. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
There has been a recurring suggestion that Jesus was velvety. We have come to assume almost unconsciously that there was a soft streak running through his personality. In most contemporary paintings of him, which are strewn freely and without much thought, through the Sunday school rooms of Protestant churches, it would not be immediately apparent, except for the beard, whether he was male or female. He has been pictured so often, and for so long, as the "gentle Jesus, meek and mild" that the other half of the record—the side that repels—has been almost entirely forgotten. —Robert Clyde Johnson
I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! . . . Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. (Luke 12:49-51)
It is said that Hans Luther once became so ill he nearly died. The priest who came to visit him said he should make his peace with God and give all his money to the church. Hans had replied that we would give him money to his children because they needed it more. Hans Luther was not the only one who resented the wealth of the church and believe this wealth was gained at the expense of the common people. A large number of Germans felt that way. Discontent among the peasants over the money-hunger of church landlords had led to a number of local peasant revolts in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
"Man depends on God for all things: God depends on man for one. Without man's love God does not exist as God, only as creator, and love is the one thing no one, not even God himself, can command. It is a free gift or it is nothing. And it is most itself, most free, when it is offered in spite of suffering, of injustice, and of death . . . ." —Archibald MacLeish
But every time they tried, Luther would refuse to compromise. He knew what was at stake, but he stuck to the belief for which he had gone through so much pain and suffering: the Gospel was something that could not be changed because of circumstances. He had seen the Roman Church, the princes, and the peasants use it for their own ends. He did not want it exploited by his own people. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
At the same time he worked on ways to get the common people involved in religious services. One way was to make the mass meaningful to them, so he sat down and wrote out a new mass, entirely in German. It included what was good in the Catholic mass and excluded what was not true to the Scriptures. In his mass there would be a longer sermon, Communion for everyone who wanted it, and hymns to be sung not just by the pastor or choir but by the congregation as well. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
Luther believe, and Lutherans believe, that God in His Word is the final authority and that any man, no matter how close to God, even if he is the pope, can be wrong. Catholics believe that when the pope is speaking as the official representative of the church in matters of faith and doctrine he cannot make mistakes. Luther believe, and Lutherans believe, that people need only have faith in Christ to be saved. Catholics do not believe that mere faith in Christ is enough for salvation, but a person must also perform deeds of love to make himself acceptable to God. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
In Luther's opinion, talking about God in pretty language was to deny God's present on earth and His power to affect the affairs of men. He could and did speak of God in "barroom" language when he was addressing people he thought were hypocrites. In doing so he was probably ahead of his time. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
Luther had written that the bread and wine at Communion should be shared with the people, just as Christ had shared these things with His disciples. In Wittenberg Luther's followers began sharing the bread and wine at Communion, saying the mass in ordinary street clothes and reciting parts of it in German. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
Religious people stop being religious, perhaps because they find the prayers and ceremonies no longer express their feelings ("What do I have to be thankful for?"), perhaps as a way of "getting even with God." Sometimes tragedy makes nonreligious people religious in an angry, defiant way. "I have to believe in God," one man told me, "so that I have someone to blame, someone to curse and shout at, when I think of what I've gone through." —Harold S. Kushner
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. —John Quincy Adams
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
His name was John Trebonius, and it was his habit, when entering a classroom, to remove his hat and bow respectfully to the students. The young men were future burgomasters, chancellors, doctors, and regents, he would explain, and they deserved his respect. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
Luther agreed with the apostle Paul that God wanted some men to be princes and some to be peasants, so that there would be order and peace on the earth. This did not mean that all princes were automatically good, but God would punish such men. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
Business demands innovation. There is a constant need to feel around the fringes, to test the edges, but business schools, out of necessity, are condemned to teach the past. This not only perpetuates conventional thinking; it stifles innovation. I once heard someone say that if Thomas Edison had gone to business school we would all be reading by larger candles. —Mark H. McCormack
Guilt can be defined religiously as the permanent hangover of sin. —Robert Clyde Johnson Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or notżthat he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that violation. —Encyclopedia of Psychology
The textbook definition of depression is anger turned inward instead of being discharged outward. —Harold S. Kushner
"If I am shown my error, I will be the first to throw my books into the fire." —Martin Luther
The Gospels are utterly frank in their admission that the moment of the death of Jesus was one of complete disillusionment for his disciples. Rather than seeing it as "the supreme instance of the hand of God molding human history," they saw it as the defeat of their Master, and by that same token as the defeat of God. Rather than seeing it as "the final unveiling of the divine love," they saw it as brutal, tragic, and even (as one writer has put it) "obscene." The divine love was surely veiled, rather than unveiled, at the point. —Robert Clyde Johnson
For his answers he went to the Scriptures, and pretty soon he wrote a pamphlet On Monastic Vows. In it he stated that there was no special religious vocation, that one could serve God married as well as unmarried, leading an ordinary life as well as a monastic one. At Wittenberg monks began to leave the Augusinian order. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
His [Jesus'] most biting indictments are not of the morally degenerate, the traitors, prostitutes, adulterers, thieves, and murderers. They are of the "phonies," and particularly of the "religious" phonies. He brings his most caustic judgment down upon those who refuse to face the truth about themselves, and thus live their lives "play acting," pretending that they are other than what they are. —Robert Clyde Johnson
Our egos are so vulnerable, it is so easy to make us feel that we are bad people, that it is unworthy of religion to manipulate us in that way. Indeed, the goal of religion should be to help us feel good about ourselves when we have made honest and reasonable, but sometimes painful choices about our lives. —Harold S. Kushner
Luther answered in Latin, "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything; for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe." Then he added in German this brief prayer: "God help me. Amen." —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
You cannot hope to build a relationship with someone if you do not deeply respect them. People sense whether or not you respect them. If they sense you do not, this will shine through, in subtle ways, and you will never be able to build trust with the person in question. —James Kelly
There is the old tale of two friends who met on the street after not seeing each other for twenty-five years. One, who had graduated at the top of his class, was now working as an assistant branch manager of the local bank. The other, who had never overwhelmed anyone with his intellect, owned his own company and was now a millionaire several times over. When his banking friend asked him the secret of his success, he said it was really quite simple. "I have this one product that I buy for two dollars and sell for five dollars," he said. "It's amazing how much money you can make on a 3 percent markup." —borrowed from "What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School," Mark H. McCormack
The terms Luther and Lutheranism were being more widely used every day, although Luther did not like it at all. Again and again he asked people to call themselves Christians instead of Lutherans. "What is Luther?" he asked. "After all, my teaching is not mine, nor have I been crucified for anyone." —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
Have you ever seen a business executive, discovering there is a problem with an airline reservation, start to yell and scream at the ticket clerk? Here is the one guy left with the power to get that executive on that plane, and he goes out of his way to alienate him. —"What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School," Mark H. McCormack
Many years ago I was having dinner with Andre Heiniger, the chairman of Rolex, when a friend of his stopped by the table to say hello. "Howżs the watch business?" the friend asked. "I have no idea," Heiniger replied. His friend laughed. Here was the head of the worldżs most prestigious watchmaker saying that he didnżt know what was going on in his own industry. But Heiniger was deadly serious. "Rolex is not in the watch business," he continued. "We are in the luxury business." To me, Heinigerżs comment summed up the essence of "marketability." It is knowing what business you are really in and understanding the underlying perceptions that connect your product to the people it is being marketed to. —Mark H. McCormack
A dog food company was holding its annual sales convention. During the course of the convention the company president listened patiently as his advertising director presented a hot new campaign, his marketing director introduced a point-of-sale scheme that would "revolutionize the industry" and his sales director extolled the virtues of "the best damn product in the business." Finally it came to the president to take the podium and make his closing remarks. "Over the past few days," he began "we've heard from all of our division heads and of their wonderful plans for the coming year. Now as we draw to a close, I have only one question. If we have the best advertising, the best marketing, the best sales force, how come we sell less goddamn dog food than everyone else in the business?" Absolute silence filled the convention hall. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a small voice answered from the back of the room: "Because the dogs /hate/ it." —Mark McCormack "What They Donżt Teach You At Harvard Business School"
Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman. —Coco Chanel
The Lutheran churches see church and state as separate (so Lutherans understood the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution when it was drafted), but they do not see the state as completely separate from God. Though the state God rules man's outward actions; through the church He rules man's heart. Ideally, church and state should exist side by side and help each other, but neither should be under the control of the other. —A Man Called Martin Luther by Kathleen Benson
If a man talks bad about all women, it usually means he was burned by one woman. —Coco Chanel
Luck is the residue of diligence.
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. —Abraham Lincoln
"You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind." —Joyce Meyer
"Correction does much, but encouragement does more." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"The best thing to do when you find yourself in a hurting or vulnerable place is to surround yourself with the strongest, finest, most positive people you know." —Kristin Armstrong
"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." —Confucius
When I was young I was more impressed by outward factors—money, power, and glamour. But as I grow older and, theoretically, wiser, I've come to appreciate the importance of business character and other inner qualities and to see the relative insignificance of outward glitter, be it celebrity, position, or appearances. —"What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School," Mark H. McCormack
Several months ago I participated in a pro-am tennis exhibition. Just before we were to go on the course, I happened to overhear a conversation between our opponents. The pro, who was one of the top-ranked players in the world, said to his amateur partner, "Do you want to win this match or do you just want to play some tennis?" The amateur, who was a little intimidated, replied rather sheepishly, "Well, I guess I would like to win the match." "Fine," the pro said. "Then serve and get off the court!" This may have been the way for the pro to win that particular match, but it is hardly the best strategy for building a strong doubles team against tough competition over the long term. —Mark H. McCormack
"You cannot open a book without learning something." —Confucius
"A one-line memo has more impact than a two-line memo, and so on. Don't circle around the thought or dramatically build to reach it. There are no literary prizes for the Great American Memo." —Mark McCormack
http://seniorplanet.org/how-the-internet-put-a-powerful-quote-in-meryl-streeps-mouth/ żI no longer have patience for certain things, not because Iżve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and thatżs why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.ż
John DeLorean told me that shortly after he had become general manager of Chevrolet he attended a sales conference in Dallas, and when he arrived at his hotel suite he discovered that someone from the company had delivered a huge basket of fruit to his room. Remarking to an associate on the basketżs size and variety he commented, humorously, he thought, "What? No bananas?" From that moment on, the word throughout General Motors was "John DeLorean loves bananas." No matter how many times he attempted to explain that he had only meant to be amusing, bananas kept showing up in cars, chartered planes, hotel suites—even in meetingsżand followed him throughout his career at Chevrolet. —Mark H. McCormack
"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people." —Confucius
Today, I probably know more that I did twenty years ago, yet I find myself saying, "I don't know" more and more all the time. I'll use it even when I really do know, sometimes to get more information or to compare versions of what is already "known," but mostly because I believe the self-effacing approach is almost always more effective than the know-it-all approach. Even when you have a definite opinion, it is often better to soften it by allowing for the possibility that you may not be omniscient: "I don't know, but it appears to me that . . . ." —Mark H. McCormack
"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of." —Confucius
Reducing unnecessary [energy] withdrawals can also help avoid willpower bankruptcy, writes Levitt. President Obama uses this strategy by only wearing gray or blue suits. "I donżt make decisions about what Iżm eating or wearing because I have too many other decisions to make," he told Vanity Fair in October 2012. "You need to routinize yourself and focus your decision-making energy. You cannot be going through your day distracted by trivia."
The most common question asked me by non-profit executives is: What are the qualities of a leader? The question seems to assume that leadership is something you learn in charm school. But it also assumes that leadership by itself is enough, that itżs an end. And thatżs misleadership. The leader who basically focuses on himself or herself is going to mislead. The three most charismatic leaders in this century inflicted more suffering on the human race than almost any other trio in history: Hitler, Stalin, Mao. What matters is not the leaders charisma. What matters is the leaderżs mission.
"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." —Lao Tzu
Why is it called rush hour when everything moves so slow?
There are far too many of us who place far too much stock in being alive and far too little in living. ~ Author Unknown
In the non-profit agency, mediocrity in leadership shows up almost immediately. —Peter Drucker
Whenever we have conflicting desires, being good gives us permission to be a little bit bad. [...] the indulgers report feeling in control of their choices, not out of control. They also don't feel guilty. Instead they report feeling proud of themselves for earning a reward. They offer the justification, "I was so good, I deserve a little treat." This sense of entitlement too often becomes our downfall. Because we're quick to view self-indulgence as the best reward for virtue, we forget our real goals and give in to temptation. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. from The Willpower Instinct
In Shakespeare's Henry V, the young prince whose father just died—he's now kingżrides out. Falstaff, the old disreputable knight who has been the prince's boon companion in drinking and wenching, calls up to his "Sweet Prince Hal," and the new king rides by without even a look at him. Falstaff is cruelly hurt. He raised the prince because the old king was a very poor father and a cold one, and the young man found warmth only with that disreputable drunkard. Yet Henry is now king and has to set different standards for himself because he is visible. As a leader, you are visible; incredibly visible. And you have expectations to fulfill.
Believing that workers will automatically accept organizational goals is the sign of naive managerial optimism. The mechanism by which individuals involve themselves in the organization's objectives is more complex than that. You wouldn't be surprised to learn, for example, that the fellow you know as a database specialist is more inclined to describe himself as a father, a boy scout leader, and a member of the local school board. In these roles, he makes thoughtful value judgments all the time. What /would/ be a surprise is if he stopped making value judgments when he arrived at work. He doesn't. He is continually at work examining each claim for his individual energies and loyalty. —Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister
There are also true believers who are dedicated to a cause where success, failure, and results are irrelevant, and we need such people. They are our conscience. But very few of them achieve. Maybe their rewards are in Heaven. But that's not sure, either. —Peter Drucker
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. —Eleanor Roosevelt
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. —Winston Churchill
One of our clients tried to cancel a product that was judged to have no market. Cooler heads prevailed and the product was built. It became a huge success. The manager who had unsuccessfully tried to kill the project (he now had become president of the whole company) ordered a medal for the team, with the citation "First Annual Prize for Insubordination." He presented it with a speech, stating that others seeking the award had better be just as successful. Being an insubordinate failure wouldn't get anybody a prize. —Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister
"If you're going through hell, keep going." —Winston Churchill
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." —Winston Churchill
Non-profit institutions generally find it almost impossible to abandon anything. Everything they do is "the Lord's work" or "a good cause." But non-profits have to distinguish between moral causes and economic causes. [...] In an economic cause, one asks: Is this the best application of our scarce resources? There is so much work to be done. Let's put our resources where the results are. —Peter Drucker
Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. —Winston Churchill
"Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in installments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day's success." ż Israelmore Ayivor
"Leadership potential is in everyone; we all have it, but we all donżt know it until we have a direct individual encounter with the Holy Spirit of God. The principal source of leadership influence is the Holy Spirit." —Israelmore Ayivor
"Self-esteem is the switch in the circuit of your life that dims or brightness of your future. Bring it low and you donżt shine your light; raise it up and you brighten the corner where you are." —Israelmore Ayivor
"We are no longer in the dispensation of age and experience. We are in the era of knowledge and information. Information leads a true leader and a true leader leads others." —Israelmore Ayivor
"Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today." —Thich Nhat Hanh
According to the American Psychological Association, the most effective stress-relief strategies are exercising or playing sports, praying or attending a religious service, reading, listening to music, spending time with friends or family, getting a massage, going outside for a walk, meditating or doing yoga, and spending time with a creative hobby. (The least effective strategies are gambling, shopping, smoking, drinking, eating, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and watching TV or movies for more than two hours.) —Excerpt from "The Willpower Instinct" by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
Choice architecture designed to manipulate people's decisions is a controversial proposition. Some see it as restricting individual freedom or ignoring personal responsibility. And yet, people who are free to choose anything most often choose against their long-term interests. Research on the limits of self-control suggests that this is not because we are innately irrational, or because we are making deliberate decisions to enjoy today and screw tomorrow. Instead, we may simply be too tired to act against our worst impulses. If we want to strengthen self-control, we may need to think about how we can best support the most exhausted version of ourselves—and not count on an ideal version of ourselves to show up and save the day. —Excerpt from The Willpower Instinct, Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
ALBERT SHANKER: Let me illustrate what learning is not and what it is. Teachers are required to give a course in Nature, so they put bird charts around the room. They show flash cards and have the children give the names of the birds. The end result is an examination where the students regurgitate the names of the birds. But the kids donżt remember the names very long; all thatżs there a few months later is a permanent dislike of birds. In the Boy Scouts, when I was a youngster, they had a bird-study merit badge. You actually had to see forty different birds. You soon find you canżt do that by walking across the street to a park. You have to get up early in the morning and go to a swamp or woods. You donżt want to do it alone, so you find one or two friends who will go with you. Soon you find that the birds you see out there donżt look the way they do in pictures. What happens over the months of going out with your friends and looking at these birds is you begin to feel a sense of power. You can see birds around you that no one else can see.
ALBERT SHANKER: The way to deal with this is to ask: What kind of human being are we trying to produce? Most educators deal with the question very narrowly in terms of test scores, SAT scores, or narrow performance. But essentially performance in education occurs along three dimensions. One, of course, is knowledge. The second dimension, I would say, is being able to enter the world as a participating citizen and perform within the economy. The third has to do with the growth of the individual and participation in the cultural life of society. Unfortunately, we donżt do a very good job of even getting close to measuring these gains. —Albert Shanker was president of the United Federation of Teachers from 1964 to 1985 and president of the American Federation of Teachers from 1974 to 1997.
How do you deal with a competitive situation? Well, one way some early hospitals dealt with it was to pray that the world hadn't changed and that they would just survive. Now, prayer may have its role to play, but it is not the answer. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Some twenty years ago, a Girl Scout council in a major suburban area realized that the ethnic composition of the area was changing rapidly. It has been lily-white, and so had the Scouts. But now the area was rapidly becoming highly diverse: blacks, Hispanics, Asians were arriving in large numbers. That the Council had to offer scouting to the children of the newcomers was obvious to everyone. But so was the enormous cost of providing scouting to very poor neighborhoods. The question that seemed to demand a decision was, therefore, seen as a financial one: How do we raise the money? And the answer to that question seemed obvious: Have separate troops for different ethnic groups. Otherwise, it was feared, financial support from the affluent group, the whites, might be endangered. Fortunately, one of the leaders then asked: What is this decision all about? Is our mission to raise money, or is it to build a nation? It was clear at once that the decision was one of basic principle, to be decided contrary to all the Council's precedents. The answer had to be that, whatever the financial risk, we are not going to have ethnic troops. That is the past. We have to emphasize that young women are young women—not black, not white, not Italian, not Jewish, not Vietnamese—but young American women. That is what the decision was really all about. Once this was clear, the decision made itself. And the whole community accepted that decision without a murmur, once it was explained. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Many years later, long after he had left South Africa, Gandhi received a letter urging world leaders to draw up a charter of human rights. "In my experience," Gandhi wrote back, "it is far more important to have a charter of human duties." —Gandhi the Man, by Eknath Easwaran
Since the beginning of the world, young people have resented good manners as dishonesty. They think manners are substance. If you say "Good morning" while it rains outside, you are a hypocrite. But there is a law of nature that where moving bodies are in contact with one another, there is friction. And manners are the social lubricating oil that smooths over friction. Young people always fail to see this. The only difference is that in my youth you got slapped if you were not courteous; but we didn't feel like being courteous either. One learns to be courteous—it is needed to enable different people who don't necessarily like each other to work together. Good causes do not excuse bad manners. Bad manners rub people raw; they do leave permanent scars. And good manners make a difference. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
We may all have been born with the capacity for willpower, but some of us use it more than others. People who have better control of their attention, emotions, and actions are better off almost any way you look at it. They are happier and healthier. Their relationships are more satisfying and last longer. They make more money and go further in their careers. They are better able to manage stress, deal with conflict, and overcome adversity. They even live longer. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
I wish I could persuade everybody that civil disobedience is the inherent right of a citizen. He dare not give it up without ceasing to be a man. Civil disobedience is never followed by anarchy. Criminal disobedience can lead to it. Every state puts down criminal disobedience by force. It perishes, if it does not. But to put down civil disobedience is to attempt to imprison conscience. —Mahatma Gandhi
When I was thirteen, I had an inspiring teach of religion, who one day went right through the class of boys asking each one, "What do you want to be remembered for?" None of us, of course, could give an answer. So, he chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to answer it. But if you still can't answer it by the time you're fifty, you will have wasted your life." —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
There is a little-known effect of diet soda that contributes to hunger, overeating, and weight gain. The sweet taste tricks the body into taking up glucose from the bloodstream in anticipation of a blood sugar spike. You're left with less energy and less self-control, while your body and brain wonder what happened to the sugar rush they were promised. This may be why recent studies show that diet soda consumption is associated with weight gain, not weight loss. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
Willpower "failures" like addiction, obesity, and bankruptcy often come with a stigma in our society. We may wrongly assume that a person is weak, lazy, stupid, or selfish, and convince ourselves that they deserve to be shamed or excluded from the tribe. But we should be especially wary of shunning people who do not control their behavior in the way we would like. Besides being a pretty cruel way to treat people, it is a lousy strategy for motivating change. As Deb Lemire, president of the Association for Size Diversity and Health, says, "If shame worked, there'd be no fat people." —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
To do this, a person needs focus. Michael Kami, our leading authority on business strategy today, draws a square on the blackboard and asks: "Tell me what to put in there. Jesus? Or money? I can help you develop a strategy for either one, but you have to decide which is the master." —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Without craftsmanship, there is neither a good job, nor self-respect, nor personal growth. Many years ago I asked the best dentist I ever had, "What do you want to be remembered for?" And he answered, "When they have you on the autopsy slab, I want them to say that fellow really had a first-rate dentist!" —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Smokers who go without a cigarette for twenty-four hours are more likely to binge on ice cream. Drinkers who resist their favorite cocktail become physically weaker on a test of endurance. Perhaps most disturbingly, people who are on a diet are more likely to cheat on their spouse. It's as if there's only so much willpower to go around. Once exhausted, you are left defenseless against temptation—or at least disadvantaged. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
That man I love who is incapable Of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mine, And of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, Contented, self-controlled and firm resolve, with all his heart and all his mind given To Meżwith such a one I am in love. Not agitating the world, nor by it Agitated, he stands above the sway Of elation, competition and fear, Accepting life, good and bad, as it comes. He is pure, efficient, detached, ready To meet every demand I make on him As a humble instrument of my work . . . . Who serves both friend and foe with equal love, Not buoyed up by praise, nor cast down by blame, Alike in heat and cold, pleasure and pain, Free from selfish attachments and self-will, Ever full, in harmony everywhere, Firm in faithżsuch a one is dear to me. — The Bhagavad Gita, The Way of Love
I do not believe in short violent cuts to successż. However much I may sympathize with and admire worthy motives, I am an uncompromising opponent of violent methods even to serve the noblest of causes. There is, therefore, really no meeting-ground between the school of violence and myself. But my creed of non-violence not only does not preclude me but compels me even to associate with anarchists and all those who believe in violence. But that association is always with the sole object of weaning them from what appears to me to be their error. For experience convinces me that permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence. Even if my belief is a fond delusion, it will be admitted that it is a fascinating delusion. —Mahatma Gandhi
Every man and woman present rose to meet the challenge, and pledge nonviolent resistance even to the point of death. "Thus came into being," Gandhi wrote triumphantly, "the moral equivalent of war." —Gandhi the Man, by Eknath Easwaran
One of my mentors and teachers during World War II said to me: "Young man, if you ever grow up, you will learn that one needs both St. Paul and St. James." One needs faith /and/ works[....] —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Be a little leery, too, of the faithful assistant who for eighteen years has been at the boss's side anticipating his or her every wish, but has never made a decision alone. By and large, people who are willing and able to make decisions don't stay in that role very long. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
White defenders of the empire like Sir Winston Churchill fumed, Gandhi wore his khadi loincloth and shawl even to tea at Buckingham Palace, with his ubiquitous dollar pocket watch suspended by a safety pin from his waist. —Gandhi The Man, Eknath Easwaran
On some occasions he [Gandhi] would shame all India by refusing to enter the great temples whose gates had been closed for centuries to low-caste Hindu worshipers. "There is no God here," he would tell the crowds who gathered to hear him. "If God were here, everyone would have access. He is in every one of us." Because of the love the people bore him, such words went in very deep. Temples and homes throughout India, after centuries of exclusion, began to open their doors to all. —Gandhi The Man, Eknath Easwaran
The other thing I think that is unique about these United States is the fact that charitable giving is as much a force in the freedom of democracy as the right of assemblage or the right of vote or the right of free press. It's another way of expressing ourselves very, very forcefully. Someone who pays taxes does not think of himself or herself as getting involved in the welfare program. But if they become involved in a Salvation Army activity or the Visiting Nurses program, they /are/ involved. They are involved spiritually and they are involved monetarily. That makes a difference. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Gandhi was in jail again when the British decided to convene a "round table conference" to decided India's fate. India's "representatives," invited by British crown officials, were the maharajahs and politicians who were largely supported by the strength of British rule. Gandhi's American missionary friend Stanley Jones used to tell with great amusement how he was asked by Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India, if Gandhi should be invited too. "Gandhi is India," Jones replied. "If you invite him, you invite India. If you do not, no matter whom else you do invite, all India will be absent." Lord Irwin, a little embarrassed, served Gandhi His Majesty's invitation in the cell at His Majesty's Yeravda Prison. —Gandhi The Man, Eknath Easwaran
Studies also show that people with higher heart rate variability are better at ignoring distractions, delaying gratification, and dealing with stressful situations. They are also less likely to give up on difficult tasks, even when they initially fail or receive critical feedback. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
We have learned that one inspires the leaders. I once helped run a rapidly growing professional school in which I had to hire very young people who had never taught. And I had to throw them in and run large classes of advanced and demanding students. Every one of these green teachers came to me and asked, "What do I do?" I said, "Make sure you don't lose the top 10 percent of the class. If you lose those, you've lost everybody. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Mark Ansel, the psychologist who developed this approach, argues that religious communities should take on more responsibility for supporting behavior change. Places of worship could offer fitness classes and nutrition talks alongside religious services, and social events should serve healthier food. He points out that for this approach to work, religious leaders will have to be good role models. Before they start preaching morning walks, they need to get in shape themselves—and just like they wouldn't be caught in a brothel, they'll need to think twice about stepping into the local McDonald's. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
According to the American Psychological Associate, Americans name lack of willpower as the number-one reason they struggle to meet their goals. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
"It is because we have at the present moment everybody claiming the right of conscience without going through any discipline whatsoever that there is so much untruth being delivered to a bewildered world." —Mahatma Gandhi
It's an old theological axiom that prayer is no substitute for right action. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
Evolution prefers to add on to what it's created, rather than start from scratch. So as humans required new skills, our primitive brain was not replaced with some completely new model—the system of self-control was slapped on top of the old system of urges and instincts. —Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
And as to that apathy, don't forget that Jesus picked only twelve Apostles. If he had picked sixty, he couldn't have done it. He had a hard enough time with those twelve, always saying to them, "Don't you understand?" And it took a long time even for those handpicked, very exceptional young people. —Managing the Non-Profit Organization, Peter Drucker
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." —George Bernard Shaw
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." —Abraham Lincoln
"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." —William Shakespeare
"I believe that spirituality and science are different but complementary investigative approaches with the same greater goal, of seeking the truth." —Dalai Lama
"Regardless of different personal views about science, no credible understanding of the natural world or our human existence—what I am going to call in this book a worldview—can ignore the basic insights of theories as key as evolution, relativity, and quantum mechanics." —Dalai Lama
"The view that all aspects of reality can be reduced to matter and its various particles is, to my mind, as much a metaphysical position as the view that an organizing intelligence created and controls reality." —Dalai Lama
Although Buddhism has come to evolve as a religion with a characteristic body of scriptures and rituals, strictly speaking, in Buddhism scriptural authority cannot outweigh an understanding based on reason and experience. In fact the Buddha himself, in a famous statement, undermines the scriptural authority of his own words when he exhorts his followers not to accept the validity of his teachings simply on the basis of reverence to him. —Dalai Lama
It is most remarkable that since Independence in 1947, India has maintained the noble tradition of investing noted thinkers and scientists with the nation's presidency. —Dalai Lama
"This is the Popperian falsifiability thesis, which states that any scientific theory must contain within it the conditions under which it may be show to be false. For example, the theory that God created the world can never be a scientific one because it cannot contain an explanation of the conditions under which the theory could be proven false." —Dalai Lama
How is it possible that suffering that is neither my own nor of my concern should immediately affect me as though it were my own, and with such force that it moves me to action. ... This is something really mysterious, something for which Reason can provide no explanation, and for which no basis can be found in practical experience. It is nevertheless a common occurrence, and everyone has the experience. It is not unknown even to the most hard-hearted and self-interested. Examples appear every day before our eyes of instant responses of the kind, without reflection, one person helping another, coming to his aid, even setting his own life in clear danger for someone whom he has seen for the first time, having nothing more in mind that that the other is in need and in peril of his life. —Arthur Schopenhauer
There is another kind of breakup that takes place late in marriage, and this one just baffles me: people who break up when the kids are out of the house and launched. I have seen this happen in five or six cases to people whom I never would have thought would have had that happen. They are well on in their fifties, they have been living together, they've brought up a family together, had life together, and it goes to pot. They only thing holding them together had been the children. —Joseph Campbell
This is the way of the religion of law, where there are a lot of commands—ten commandments, a thousand commandments, a hundred and ten thousand commandments. It is a religion of fear. You have not awakened to the divine presence. It's out there, and you are here. This way is principally for people who have not had much time to devote themselves either to religious thinking or to love. —Joseph Campbell
The first half of life we serve society—engagement. The second half of life we turn inward—disengagement. —Joseph Campbell
To take a righteous attitude toward anything is to denigrate it. —Joseph Campbell
Oh, St. Louis, St. Louis—if only there were anything saintly about you. Anything heavenly, anything worthy of veneration. Anything not spackled with filth! But, no, alas. Praise for you I must limit to this: You are not Indianapolis. —Stephen B. Hockensmith
"Thatżs the problem with getting married. You must ask yourself, 'Can I open myself to compassion?' Not to lust, but to compassion. I donżt mean you have to have unconditional love. Committing yourself to a person unconditionally is very different from having unconditional love for everybody in New York City. Iżm not the Dalai Lama, whożs supposed to have unconditional love for everything in the world. Even God doesnżt have unconditional love. He throws people into hell. I personally donżt even think that unconditional love is an ideal. I think youżve got to have a discriminating faculty and let bastards be bastards and let those that ought to be hit in the jaw get it. In fact, I have a list. If anybody has a working guillotine, Iżd be glad to give them my list." —Joseph Campbell
Organizations need members who have the strength of their convictions. No one has said it better than St. Thomas Aquinas: "We love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth and both have helped in the finding of it." —"Doing Good Better" by Edgar Stoesz and Chester Raber
When two or three people meet informally, they are likely to be rational, engaging, even charming. They enjoy each other's company as they freely exchange ideas on topics of mutual interest. Put those same two or three people into a meeting with six or eight others like them, and something changes. some become shy. They clam up and hardly speak. Others get loud and domineering. —"Doing Good Better" by Edgar Stoesz and Chester Raber
"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." —Maya Angelou
A friend gave me a list of things that let you know you are old. Some of them are silly, others are serious. [...] The really serious one is ". . . when you've gotten to the top of the ladder and find it's against the wrong wall." And that's where so many people are. —Joseph Campbell
Visioning, like creativity, happens only in a receptive environment. Alexander Sozhenitsyn, the famous Soviet dissident, in his 1978 Harvard commencement address said, "Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relationships, this creates an atmosphere of spiritual mediocrity that paralyzes men's noblest impulses." —"Doing Good Better" by Edgar Stoesz and Chester Raber
7 billion people happy — automatically I get maximum benefit. 7 billion people . . . some trouble — how I can escape from that? —Dalai Lama
Nowadays, we are confronted by a huge gap between rich and poor. This is not only morally wrong, but practically a mistake. It leads to the rich living in anxiety and the poor living in frustration, which has the potential to lead to more violence. We have to work to reduce this gap. Itżs truly unfair that some people should have so much while others go hungry.
"Jimmy and Roslynn Carter bring respect—even aweżto Habitat for Humanity by their association. What adds significantly to the Carters' contribution is that it is genuine. They don't just show up for photo opportunities." —"Doing Good Better" by Edgar Stoesz and Chester Raber
You can remain good human being without religion. It's possible. ... We must find a way to promote these values and not rely upon religion. That I call the secular way approach. The values are basically a biological factor. Even animals—dogs, cats, some birds. —Dalai Lama
"Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations." —Alan Watts
"What the devil is the point of surviving, going on living, when it's a drag? But you see, that's what people do." —Alan Watts
The reason we have poverty is that we have no imagination. There are a great many people accumulating what they think is vast wealth, but it's only money... they don't know how to enjoy it, because they have no imagination. —Alan Watts
In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe, becomes a person who has no faith at all. —Alan Watts
I owe my solitude to other people. —Alan Watts
The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present. —Alan Watts
"The difficulty for most of us in the modern world is that the old-fashioned idea of God has become incredible or implausible." —Alan Watts
"We have the hardest working steel workers in the world," said one Nucor executive. "We hire five, work them like ten, and pay them like eight. —Good To Great" by Jim Collins Today's Thought: Regarding Darwin Smith, CEO of Kimberly-Clark: "A man who carried no airs of self-importance, Smith found his favorite companionship among plumbers and electricians . . . ." —Good To Great" by Jim Collins
"All grown-ups were once childrenżbut only few of them remember it." —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." —Emile Zola
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. —Lao Tzu
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." —Lao Tzu
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. —Lao Tzu
"Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it." —Lao Tzu
Now I am not trying to say that we have to try to carry our religion over into the rest of the week. No, no, no! I am saying something much more radical than that. I believe that we need to abolish our religion! To live in the Spirit is to be guided, not by a system of religion, but by the inner presence of God. It is a continual, builtin guidance system for the whole of life. And when we live this life, we become normal people. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
If a man has money, he will find plenty who have scales. âold Chinese saying
Only imbeciles want credit for the achievements of their ancestors. âold Chinese saying
Abraham Lincoln once asked one of his secretaries, " If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a horse have?". "Five," replied the secretary. "No," said the President, "The answer is four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
âI'm not a young man. I'm old, tired and full of no coffee.â âsaid by character Philip Marlowe in a book by Raymond Chandler
Paradoxically the brilliant theories and experiments of Western science as they clarify the knowable also reveal the silence of the unknowable. âA.S. Kline
Aristotle pointed it out in The Poetics, his text on the rules of drama. The audience can come to terms with the good and virtuous meeting a tragic end, but not with the bad and immoral achieving final success. âStefan Stenudd
[...] a modern, highly specialized economy is extremely efficient, but does not necessarily provide employment that feels meaningful and worthwhile. The capitalistic economy can provide the resources we need to survive, but may fall short of providing the requirements of a fulfilling life. âPATRICK CROSKERY
Therefore the true Sage discards the light that dazzles and takes refuge in the common and ordinary. Through this comes understanding. âChuang Tzu (Lin YuTang)
When we know the way things work, no matter what we face, no matter how hard it is, we respond without losing inner tranquility. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
The future is not of the same kind as the past. The future is always possible. The past is always consumed. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
The perfect men of old were unsparing in censure of their own faults, but gentle in dealing with the shortcomings of others. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
For the next thirteen years Confucius wandered from land to land, followed by his disciples, seeking in vain for a ruler that was willing to employ him, and whom he was willing to serve. âThe Sayings of Confucius, translated by Leonard A. Lyall
Yet there is still only the âNowâ. Neither past nor future exist. The past configuration is not here. The future configuration is not here either. Yet past events âmust have happenedâ. We infer them from cause and effect. We remember them in the mind. They have left their traces âbound inâ as information and configuration in the present. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
258. A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned. âThe Dhammapada
". . . a mind confused by Knowledge, Cleverness, and Abstract Ideas tends to go chasing off after things that donât matter . . . ." âThe Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff)
I realize, too, that the less I preach, the more likely I am to be heard. âAlan Watts
The greatest ideal that man can aspire to is not to be a show-case of virtue, but just to be a genial, likable and reasonable human being. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
On my leisure days, I have passed out of the city and gone up on hills, where I saw a stretch of grave mounds. Do these belong to Yen or Han or Chin or Wei? Or were these people princes and dukes, or were they pages and servants? Or were they heroes or were they fools? How can I know from this stretch of yellow soil? I thought how they, when they were living, clung to glory and wealth, vied with one another in their ambitions and struggled for fame, how they planned what they could never achieve and acquired what they could never use. Which one of them did not worry and plan and strive? One morning their eyes closed for the eternal sleep, and they left all their worries behind. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
"Because you consider yourself to be only one thread of those which are in the tunic. Well then it was fitting for you to take care how you should be like the rest of men, just as the thread has no design to be anything superior to the other threads. But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright, and makes all the rest appear graceful and beautiful. Why then do you tell me to make myself like the many?" âDiscourses and Enchiridion,Epictetus
". . . he who works the hardest and does most for the common good deserves the highest recompense." âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon)
"However, the continuing emphasis on moral and literary knowledge in modern times came at the expense of scientific and technical knowledge. Confucianism encouraged an extreme conservatism and distrust of outsiders. It discouraged scientific inquiry and Western thought and technology." âTaoism and the Arts of China (various authors)
"I would like to take hold of God's people and shake them. We need to see how stupid we have been." âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
No one can hurt you without your consent. âEleanor Roosevelt They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them. âGandi
Cunning may deceive kings and princes, but cannot impose upon pigs and fishes.[8] Brute force may conquer an empire, but cannot win over the hearts of the people. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
âWhether he understands them or not, man must remain conscious of the world of the archetypes, because in it he is still a part of Nature and is connected with his own roots. A view of the world or a social order that cuts him off from the primordial images of life not only is no culture at all but, in increasing degree, is a prison or a stable.â âCarl Jung
First and foremost: Taoism respects the concept of God. Taoism offers the option to skip the comparison. This question is irrelevant. God could or could not exist, and either state doesnât change the way we lead our lives. Our lives are expressions of action between ourselves and the universe. To respect our surrounding environment is a furthering of respect to ourselves. This manner of living doesnât change regardless of the nature of God or the Tao. âTaoism 101: Introduction to the Tao (Julie and Casey)
The common man is apt to set his faith on what he can encompass with his provincial mind and do something about in his daily chores. This is the source of his search for smaller and often reactionary entities which will keep the world together, maintain sensible values, and make action rewarding. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
What men delight in is the spiritual essence of life. What they loathe is the material corruption of death. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
But it must be added that he [humans] also began to invent tools in order to wrest from nature what it would not just give. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
"If I wanted to be mischievous about it, I could go so far as to define science as a technique whereby noncreative people can create. This is by no means making fun of scientists. It's a wonderful thing it seems to me, for limited human beings, that they can be pressed into the service of great things even though they themselves are not great people. Science is a technique, social and institutionalized, whereby even unintelligent people can be useful in the advance of knowledge." â Abraham Maslow, 1971
The compulsive-obsessive kind of man that I mentioned earlier, in the extreme instance, can't play. He can't let go. Such a man tends to avoid parties for instance because he's so sensible and you're supposed to be a little silly at a party. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Persons who recklessly ask favours, should not be treated with the same consideration to which they would otherwise be entitled.â âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Nobody wants to be stuck in a relationship that isn't making them happy. Nobody wants to be stuck in a business doing work they hate and don't believe in. âMark Manson
All of Northern Germany jumped at the opportunity to limit Roman taxation on what seems like sound theological grounds; in the argument, the Germans began to hear the voice that argued, and it sounded like the kind of voice they had long waited for. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
But despite his laments in the form of confessions to his friends (and this orator, as others of his kind, was also a colossal crybaby) he worked and could work. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
In highly developed, psychiatrically healthy people, self-actualizing people, whichever you choose to call them, you will find if you try to rate them that they are extraordinarily unselfish in some ways, and yet also that they are extraordinarily selfish in other ways. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
In /Childhood and Society/, I reported a daily ritual of a California Indian tribe of salmon fishermen which indicates how the sanctity of intake was impressed on the children of a singularly avaricious and bitterly capitalistic tribe: âDuring meals a strict order of placement is maintained and the children are taught to eat in prescribed ways; for example, to put only a little food on the spoons, to take the spoons up to their mouths slowly, to put the spoon down when chewing the foodâand, above all, to think of becoming rich during the process.â âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
One then becomes more perceptive in the sense implied by Nietzsche when he says that one must have earned for oneself the distinction necessary to understand him. . . . As George Lichtenberg said of a certain book, "Such works are like mirrors; if an ape peeps in, no apostle will look out." âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
It cannot escape those familiar with psychoanalytic theory that the Renaissance is the ego revolution par excellence. It was a large-scale restoration of the ego's executive functions, particularly in so far as the enjoyment of the senses, the exercise of power, and the cultivation of a good conscience to the point of anthropocentric vanity were concerned, all of which was regained from the Church's systematic and terroristic exploitation of man's proclivity for a negative conscience. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Parents in Mexico will consider weak a parent who permits his child to throw a temper tantrum. "Niño malcriado." His parents are blamed for this. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Take the dichotomy of "religious" and "secular." The form of religion that was offered, to me as a child seemed so ludicrous that I abandoned all interest in religion and experienced no desire to "find God." Yet my religious friends, at least those who had gotten beyond the peasants' view of God as having a skin and beard, talk about God the way I talk about B-Values. The questions that theologians consider of prime importance nowadays are questions such as the meaning of the universe, and whether or not the universe has a direction. The search for perfection, the discovery of adherence to values is the essence of the religious tradition. And many religious groups are beginning to declare openly that the external trappings of religion, such as not eating meat on Friday, are unimportant, even detrimental, because they confuse people as to what religion really is, and are beginning once again to commit themselves in practice as well as in theory to the B-Values. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
One reason for mentioning this in this context is my conviction that it is a theoretical necessity in planning the Eupsychia (psychological utopia), the good society, that leadership must be separated from privilege, exploitation, possessions, luxury, status, power-over-the-people, etc. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
But success and failure are matters of opportunity; the worthy and the worthless are distinguished by their talents. Superior men of wide learning and wise schemes, who have failed from want of opportunity, are many indeed; why should I be the only one? âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
There are already data (115) which indicate that, for instance, high school girls think of scientists as monsters and horrors, and are afraid of them. They do not think of them as good potential husbands, for instance. I must express my own opinion that this is not merely a consequence of Hollywood "Mad Scientist" movies; there is something real and justified in this picture, even if it is terribly exaggerated. The fact is that the classical conception of science is the man who controls, the man who is in charge, the man who does things to people, to animals, or to things. He is the master of what he surveys. This picture is even more clear in surveys of the "image of the physician." He is generally seen at the semiconscious or unconscious level as a master, a controller, a cutter, a dealer out of pain, etc. He is definitely the boss, the authority, the expert, the one who takes charge and tells people what to do. I think this "image" is now worst of all for psychologists; college students now consider them to be, very frequently, manipulators, liars, concealers, and controllers. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
If adults force this choice upon him, of choosing between the loss of one (lower and stronger) vital necessity or another (higher and weaker) vital necessity, the child must choose safety even at the cost of giving up self and growth. (In principle there is no need for forcing the child to make such a choice. People just do it often, out of their own sicknesses and out of ignorance. We know that it is not necessary because we have examples enough of children who are offered all these goods simultaneously, at no vital cost, who can have safety and love and respect too.) âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Ordinarily we proceed under the aegis of means-values, i.e., of usefulness, desirability, badness or goodness, of suitability for purpose. We evaluate, control, judge, condemn or approve. We laugh-at rather than laugh-with. We react to the experience in personal terms and perceive the world in reference to ourselves and our ends, thereby making the world no more than means to our ends. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
In trying to figure out the brain, the obstacle is that we have no finer instrument than the brain itself for the purpose. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
They can be trained to be responsible, but they can't take responsibility for that training; in other words, they can't direct it. They can't change the programming. They're not even aware of it. âThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
The person is more apt to feel that life in general is worth while, even if it is usually drab, pedestrian, painful or ungratifying, since beauty, excitement, honesty, play, goodness, truth and meaningfulness have been demonstrated to him to exist. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
There is a rather nice story of two monks walking from one village to another and they come upon a young girl sitting on the bank of a river, crying. And one of the monks goes up to her and says, âSister, what are you crying about?â She says, âYou see that house over there across the river? I came over this morning early and had no trouble wading across but now the river has swollen and I canât get back. There is no boat.â âOh,â says the monk, âthat is no problem at allâ, and he picks her up and carries her across the river and leaves her on the other side. And the two monks go on together. After a couple of hours, the other monk says, âBrother, we have taken a vow never to touch a woman. What you have done is a terrible sin. Didnât you have pleasure, a great sensation, in touching a woman?â and the other monk replies, âI left her behind two hours ago. You are still carrying her, arenât you?â âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
The theme of the [Holy] Grail romance is that the land, the country, the whole territory of concern has been laid waste. It is called a wasteland. And what is the nature of the wasteland? It is a land where everybody is living an inauthentic life, doing as other people do, doing as you're told, with no courage for your own life. That is the wasteland. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
This demand for more and more experiences shows the inward poverty of man. We think that through experiences we can escape from ourselves but these experiences are conditioned by what we are. âFreedom from the Known (Krishnamurti)
Now the whole world is not enough reward for the "good," nor enough punishment for the "wicked." âThomas Merton/Chuang Tzu, /The Way of Chuang Tzu/
It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric is or even how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success. âThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
The boys go to school and give their time to learning justice and righteousness: they will tell you they come for that purpose, and the phrase is as natural with them as it is for us to speak of lads learning their letters. âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon and 431-c.360 BCE Xenophon)
The organization of the physical organism is far more complex than that of any political or a commercial corporation, and yet it works with a minimum of conscious control. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
I love Martin Luther. And I believe he played a very important part in the history of the church. But that doesn't make everything he did right. There was a mixture of flesh and Spirit, as there is with all of us. This is what creates the problems we have. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
Actually, we prefer a religious system in many cases because we can go to church on Sunday, then the rest of the week is ours. We do what we want then. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
292. What ought to be done is neglected, what ought not to be done is done; the desires of unruly, thoughtless people are always increasing. âThe Dhammapada
Don't ask me which church I belong to, because there is just the church. When you say "Baptist," "Methodist" or "Lutheran".. .be careful. Those names are bad words in the kingdom of God. Don't repeat them too often, because Jesus may wash your mouth out with soap if you keep on saying those things. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality, or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosophers or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself and that is why you must know yourself. âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
One who is Immortal and who has control of everything that happens to him strikes me as self condemned to eternal boredom, since he lives in a world without mystery or surprise. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
I donât know many people who have made money consistently following other peopleâs advice--be it the advice of brokers or investment advisors. âVan K. Tharp
charity begins at home phrase ofcharity 1. PROVERB one's first responsibility is for the needs of one's own family and friends.
Ordinarily one supposes that he would be free from all cares if he should become a millionaire, living in a mansion and having many servants. However, practically speaking, matters never turn out as he thinks. If there were a so-called paradise where people could lead idle lives doing nothing the whole day, they would become bored and generate the desire to do something. âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated b= y Nikkyo Niwano
God's will? We don't know God's will. There may be forgiveness that we don't know anything about. âPreist in La Questa del St. Graal
The son has to play a role like that of his father, so the father is a model, either a positive or a negative one. You may be disgusted with the kind of life your father lives, but you have that model, and responding negatively to it will be your life. If he's not there, it's almost impossible to relate effectively from where you are in your family to the outside world. âJoseph Campbell
It's a shame we have only one word for the two concepts. In India, there are severalâjiva, Atman, Brahmanâand they are all different. "God," our one word, is a really inadequate word. It always implies a personification, and unless one says, "Goddess," it implies a male personification. Our limited vocabulary is what binds us, what ties us up. âJoseph Campbell
Remain radiant in the filth of the world âJames Joyce
Saying you are a member of this church, that church, or the other is a social notion, a sociological phenomenon that has nothing to do with religion. What is your religion telling you? How to be a Jew? A Catholic? Or how to be a human being? âJoseph Campbell
Through it all, Lincoln was the risk-taker, assuming a bold stand and not wavering in the process. He had faith and confidence in himself and didn't need ego-stroking or constant reinforcement to know that this course of action was proper. âfrom Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
"If the misery in this country gets deep enough, the perception is going to be that we did well as a trading firm, while other people were hurt, because we had some knowledge. It is not that we had any unfair knowledge that other people didn't have, it is just that we did our homework. People just down want to believe that anyone can break away from the crowd and rise above mediocrity." âPaul Tudor Jones
Markets psend more time in trading ranges than in trends because aimlessness is more common among people than purposeful action. ==Dr. Alexander Elder
Many private traders keep their market opinions to themselves, but financial journalists and market letter writers spew them forth like open fire hydrants. Some writers are very bright, but both groups as a whole have poor trading records. âFrom "Trading For A Living" by Dr. Alexander Elder
If you balance your checkbook each month and understand that you can't operate with a negative balance indefinitely, you already know more about economics that most government policy makers. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
We should remember that Jesus did not earn his reputation as a friend of publicans and sinner by adopting an aloof or intolerant attitude toward the more earthy members of society. He not only associated with these people because they sought his help. He also mingled with them because he knew they were apt to be honest and genuine. He preferred their company to that of individuals who imagined they were made holy by following a code of outward behavior without taking the trouble to clean up the sewers of their minds. âLouis F. Presnall
To arrive is not important. To travel in the right direction, making a little progress every day, is the true test of life. Man's search is never done. Man's progress within the inner mind is never finished. Those who imagine they have arrived are the ones who have not really started. To think otherwise is to deny that part of life which commands us to continue growing without limit. The business of growth is the only thing which can be pursued through a whole lifetime without inducing a feeling of boredom. Things lose their appeal. Ideas become commonplace. People come and go. But growth always remains excitingâfull of surprises, full of promise. âLewis F. Presnall, "The Search for Serenity," 1959
Just because you've got the keys to a Formula One race car doesn't mean you're ready to compete in a Grand Prix. âBrian Dolan
Nine out of ten professionals in any field, be they lawyers, auto mechanics, or doctors, are not good enough. You don't trust an average auto mechanic or a doctor, but rather ask for referrals from friends you respect. âDr. Alexander Elder
"I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations, and my obligations to society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is; I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?" âHenry David Thoreau
Human society would be like an idealistic couple forever getting tired of one place and changing their residence regularly once every three months, for the simple reason that no one place is ideal and the place where one is not seems always better because one is not there. Very fortunately, man is also gifted with a sense of humor, whose function, as I conceive it, is to exercise criticism of man's dreams, and bring them in touch with the world of reality. It is important that man dreams, but it is perhaps equally important that he can laugh at his own dreams. That is a great gift, and the Chinese have plenty of it. âLin Yutang
I call no man wise until he has made the progress from the wisdom of knowledge to the wisdom of foolishness, and become a laughing philosopher, feeling first lifeâs tragedy and then lifeâs comedy. âLin Yutang
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried. âGilbert K. Chesterton
One of the great problems these days is that we spend half our life developing a fine reputation and then the rest of our life being tyrannized by it. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
There are no shortcuts for character, and one of the best things we could do with our leisure time would be to pursue the quality and excellence of life-style that our country and our community needs. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
An umbrella with holes in it is better than no umbrella at all. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
Empires have collapsed and the most powerful regimes and reigns of terror have broken down when the people were hungry. âLin Yutang
There is really no limit to the stupidity of bureaucrats. . . . âLin Yutang
And nothing is so uninteresting as to spend oneâs life with a paragon of virtue as a husband or wife. âLin Yutang
It seems we humans are destined to chatter in order to find out who is right. That is all right; chattering is a characteristic of the angels. âLin Yutang
Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind. âAlbert Einstein
This parental care gradually became more and more lengthened in period, so that while a savage child of six or seven is practically independent, the child in civilization takes a quarter of a century to learn to make his living, and even then has to learn it all over again. âLin Yutang
For who have started wars for us? The ambitious, the able, the clever, the scheming, the cautious, the sagacious, the haughty, the over-patriotic, the people inspired with the desire to âserveâ mankind, people who have a âcareerâ to carve and an âimpressionâ to make on the world, who expect and hope to look down the ages from the eyes of a bronze figure sitting on a bronze horse in some square. Curiously, the able, the clever, and the ambitious and haughty are at the same time the most cowardly and muddle-headed, lacking in the courage and depth and subtlety of the humorists. âLin Yutang
I see in the present generation of men both carnivorous and herbivorous animalsâthose who have a sweet temper and those who have not. The herbivorous men go their way through life minding their own business, while the carnivorous men make their living by minding that of others. If I abjured politics ten years ago, after having a foretaste of it during four months, it was because I early made the discovery that I was not by nature a carnivorous animal, although I enjoy a good steak. Half of the world spends its time doing things, and half the world spends its time making others do things for them, or making it impossible for others to do anything. âLin Yutang, 1937
Viscount James Bryce (1838 to 1922) thinks the system of democratic government in America is such that it is hardly calculated to attract the best men of the country into politics. âLin Yutang
But many wise men know that the desires for success, fame and wealth are euphemistic names for the fears of failure, poverty and obscurity, and that these fears dominate our lives. âLin Yutang
The decay of religion is due to the pedantic spirit, in the invention of creeds, formulas, articles of faith, doctrines and apologies. We become increasingly less pious as we increasingly justify and rationalize our beliefs and become so sure that we are right. That is why every religion becomes a narrow sect, which believes itself to have discovered the only truth. The consequence is that the more we justify our beliefs, the more narrow-minded we become, as is evident in all religious sects. âLin Yutang
The constant rush for progress must certainly one day reach a point when man will be pretty tired of it all, and will begin to take stock of his conquests in the material world. âLin Yutang
There is always plenty of life to enjoy for a man who is determined to enjoy it. âLin Yutang
It is somewhat difficult to see character in a type of life where every man is throwing away his last yearâs car and trading it in for the new model. âLin Yutang, The Importance of Living, 1937.
Water provides its benefits and moves on, without waiting for any benefits in return. We benefit others in the same way. When we provide assistance, we do so with no strings attached. âTao te ching, Derek Lin annotations
Marriage sheds more light on religion than religion sheds on marriage, because marriage is the one voluntary experience which is known almost universally as involving glad and courageous and unlimited commitment to the beloved. Religion is not merely a matter of falling in love; it is joyful dedication to the beloved. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
The common error of ordinary religious practice is to mistake the symbol for the reality, to look at the finger pointing the way and then to suck it for comfort rather than follow it. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
Thus the beings at the great assemblage included demons, which are generally regarded as harmful to human beings, as well as animals. This kind of description is a characteristic of Buddhism that cannot be found in other religions. The Buddha did not try to lead only man to enlightenment but had such vast benevolence as to save all creatures of the universe from their sufferings and lead them to the shore of bliss. Therefore, even man-eating demons were permitted to attend the assemblage to hear the Buddha preach. âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated by Nikkyo Niwano
When I noticed that the head of research, who never went out to lunch, began going out to lunch regularly, I started interviewing for another job. âMarty Schwartz
You cannot find a single joke in primitive societies. They don't have any jokes. Jews have the largest number of jokes. And they are the most bored people on the earth. âOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
[...] in all history there are scarcely three or four pairs of friends on record; âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
Is not prosperity robbed of half its value if you have no one to share your joy? On the other hand, misfortunes would be hard to bear if there were not some one to feel them even more acutely than yourself. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
Therefore I gather that friendship springs from a natural impulse rather than a wish for help: from an inclination of the heart, combined with a certain instinctive feeling of love, rather than from a deliberate calculation of the material advantage it was likely to confer. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
For who, in heaven's name, would choose a life of the greatest wealth and abundance on condition of neither loving or being beloved by any creature? That is the sort of life tyrants endure. They, of course, can count on no fidelity, no affection, no security for the goodwill of any one. For them all is suspicion and anxiety; for them there is no possibility of friendship. Who can love one whom he fears, or by whom he knows that he is feared? Yet such men have a show of friendship offered them, but it is only a fair-weather show. If it ever happen that they fall, as it generally does, they will at once understand how friendless they are. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
"You must eat many a peck of salt with a man to be thorough friends with him." âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
All living beings have many kinds of desires deeply rooted in their minds. Even if man's illusions seem to have been removed from his conscious mind, they remain in the subconscious mind and will arise again through force of fixed habit, given the right conditions. The Buddhist term for this phenomenon /jikke/, meaning the innate seeds that we possess within us. For example, we suddenly feel angry when someone insults us, though we had decided never to lose our temper and had thought we had become very even-tempered. This happens because of deeply rooted desires. As long as we do not remove them from our subconscious mind, we cannot be said to be truly free from the bonds of illusion and suffering. â Buddhism For Today, Nikkyo Niwano
People must not, for instance, regard as fast friends all whom in their youthful enthusiasm for hunting or football they liked for having the same tastes. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
You can stand up in front of a judge and in ten minutes get married. The marriage ceremony in India lasts three days. That couple is glued. âJoseph Campbell
Decay of lifetime means the uneasy state of the world caused because, due to their short lives, people seek immediate results and profit from their ideas and conduct, and they become anxious over trifles. If they could only awaken to the truth of man's eternal life, they would be saved from their sufferings without fail. âBuddhism for Today, Nikkyo Niwano
This is a distinctive and profound feature of Buddhism. To suppose that one can be free from care forever and lead an idle life once one has gone to paradise is a naive and shallow belief. âBuddhism for Today, Nikkyo Niwano
All the worldâs major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether. âDalai Lama
The mind of man, cleansed of secondary and merely temporal concerns, beholds with the radiance of a cleansed mirror a reflection of the rational mind of God. Reason puts you in touch with God. âJoseph Campbell
The story of Jesus, for example -- there's a universally valid hero deed represented in the story of Jesus. First he goes to the edge of the consciousness of his time when he goes to John the Baptist to be baptized. Then he goes past the threshold into the desert for forty days. In the Jewish tradition the number forty is mythologically significant. The children of Israel spent forty years in the wilderness, Jesus spent forty days in the desert. In the desert, Jesus underwent three temptations. First there was the economic temptation, where the Devil comes to him and says, "You look hungry, young man! Why not change these stones to bread?" And Jesus replies, "Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word out of the mouth of God." And then next we have the political temptation. Jesus is taken to the top of a mountain and shown the nations of the world, and the Devil says to him, "You can control all these if you'll bow down to me," which is a lesson, not well enough made known today, of what it takes to be a successful politician. Jesus refuses. Finally the Devil says, "And so now, you're so spiritual, let's go up to the top of Herod's Temple and let me see you cast yourself down. God will bear you up, and you won't even be bruised." This is what is known as spiritual inflation. I'm so spiritual, I'm above concerns of the flesh and this earth. But Jesus is incarnate, is he not? So he says, "You shall not tempt the Lord, your God." Those are the three temptations of Christ, and they are as relevant today as they were in the year A.D. 30. âJoseph Campbell
And of course what destroys reason is passion. The principal passion in politics is greed. That is what pulls you down. âJoseph Campbell
A great many believers are terribly discouraged with trying to live the Christian life because they have the old and the new covenants mixed up. They know that under the new covenant we are not under the law, but they still try to live according to the law. When they find they can't do it, they feel condemned. Our churches are full of condemned Christians. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
Unity and love is the heart of any spiritual path. Anything else is justifying poor behavior. âParaphrased from Dr. Carl Totton
When youâve never left your home country, the first country you visit inspires a massive perspective shift, because you have such a narrow experience base to draw on. But when youâve been to twenty countries, the twenty-first adds little. And when youâve been to fifty, the fifty-first adds even less. âMark Manson
The one who chases his own happiness will never catch it. He just rushes from the cradle to the grave. âStefan Stenudd
When youâve never left your home country, the first country you visit inspires a massive perspective shift, because you have such a narrow experience base to draw on. But when youâve been to twenty countries, the twenty-first adds little. And when youâve been to fifty, the fifty-first adds even less. âMark Manson
The people do not know where to turn for help. And I have heard you say that if a state be well governed, it may be passed over; but that if it be badly governed, then we should visit it. âChuang Tzu
For all men strive to grasp what they do not know, while none strive to grasp what they already know; and all strive to discredit what they do not excel in, while none strive to discredit what they do excel in. That is why there is chaos. âChuang Tzu
When I started teaching comparative mythology, I was afraid I might destroy my students' religious beliefs, but what I found was just the opposite. Religious traditions, which didn't mean very much to them, but which were the ones their parents had given them, suddenly became illuminated in a new way when we compared them with other traditions, where similar images had been given a more inward or spiritual interpretation. âJoseph Campbell
âThose who donât build must burn. Itâs as old as history and juvenile delinquents.â âRay Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
I came to Chicago because I believed that if I could get close to the action and meet people who knew how to trade, I could then learn from them. I was in for a very rude awakening. I was at Merrill Lynch Commodities, its second largest commodity office, with 38 account executives. At first I was shocked to find out only one of the account executives had any experience trading his own money. Then I was further shocked to learn that none of these account executives had any customers who were making any money. In fact, the typical customer lost his original stake within an average of four months. âMark Douglas
That's the credo. You believe, and then you go to confession, and you run down through the list of sins, and you count yourself against those, and instead of going into the priest and saying, "Bless me, father, for I have been great this week," you meditate on the sins, and in meditating on the sins, then you really become a sinner in your life. It's a condemnation, actually, of the will to life, that's what the credo is. âJoseph Campbell
If you change the way the brain perceives a situation, you will change the way it will respond to that situation forever.
    But marriage is marriage, you know. Marriage is not a love affair. A love affair is a totally different thing. A marriage is a commitment to that which you are. That person is literally your other half. And you and the other are one. A love affair isn't that. That is a relationship for pleasure, and when it gets to be unpleasurable, it's off. But a marriage is a life commitment, and a life commitment means the prime concern of your life. If marriage is not the prime concern, you're not married. âJoseph Campbell
Gold is tested by fire; man, by gold. âold Chinese saying
Anyway it is characteristic of humans to have a sad, vague and wistful longing for an ideal. âLin Yutang
When work becomes a personâs all-consuming interest, even if the work is good and necessary, it becomes a form of idolatry. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Optimistic about the conquests of science, I am less hopeful about the general development of a critical mind in dealing with human affairs, or about mankind reaching a calm and understanding far above the sway of passions. Mankind as individuals may have reached austere heights, but mankind as social groups are still subject to primitive passions, occasional backslidings and outcroppings of the savage instincts, and occasional waves of fanaticism and mass hysteria. âLin Yutang
Often, when the weeds are dead, so is the garden. âErik Erikson
One dog barks at something, and the rest bark at him. âold Chinese saying
"Thank God we took a mule with us on the picnic because when one of the boys was injured we used the mule to carry him back." "How did he get injured?" "The mule kicked him."
". . . everybody matures from the leader's example and becomes wiser by following the leader's directions."
In governing men and in serving heaven, there is nothing like moderation. âLao Tzu
She [Empress Wu] controlled the monarchy and the succeeding reigns of her two sons, whom she deposed, proclaiming herself Emperor of a new dynasty in 690AD and claiming to be a reincarnation of the Buddha Maitreya as a female ruler. âfrom Like Water Or Clouds, A.S. Kline
[The poet] Chungnan expresses his need for solitude and meditation relieved now and then by human companionship. âLike Water Or Clouds, A. S. Kline
Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.
Heaven, it is said, covers no one in particular; and Earth is the common resting-place of all men. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
"The people of to-day, rely on sacrifices. They do not improve their morals, but multiply their prayers; they do not honour their superiors, but are afraid of spirits. âWang Châung
Everyman fights his way through other men's words to find his own truth." â101 Zen Stories
Man, Hume writes, âis a sociable, no less than a reasonable being: But neither can he always enjoy company agreeable and amusing, or preserve the proper relish for them. Man is also an active being; but the mind requires some relaxation, and cannot always support its bent to care and industryâ
And still another danger is the danger of developing a policy of rush, of being gradually more and more obsessed by what one has to do next. In this way one may come to exist as in a prison, and oneâs life may cease to be oneâs own. âHow to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day (Arnold Bennett)
The Christian account reveals a God who is in all ways perfect, yet displays some suspiciously human characteristics such as jealousy and anger. This presentation seems strange until we consider the possibility that man actually created God in his image. âSTEPHEN FAISON
If Godâs wisdom is infinitely greater than ours, and all that happens is part of His master plan, why would He change His mind because we beg? If we believe the aforementioned, why would we beg? âSTEPHEN FAISON
". . . andâbecause all belief is fervent hope, and thus a cover-up for doubt and uncertaintyâreligions must make converts. The more people who agree with us, the less nagging insecurity about our position." âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
But Lao Tzu is no friend of obligations. He prefers such bonds to be voluntary. They should be consequences of one's virtue, and one's sense of what's natural, and not some laws to which we are forced to surrender. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
The wearing of a beard becomes the special prerogative of those who have become grandparents, and a man doing so without the necessary qualifications, either of being a grandfather or being on the other side of fifty, stands in danger of being sneered at behind his back. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
There is a story told of the fond Chinese mother who puts one gown on her boy when he sneezes once, puts on another when he sneezes twice, and puts on a third when he sneezes thrice. No Western mother can do that; she would be at her witâs end at the third sneeze. All she can do is to call for the doctor. I am led to believe that the only thing which saves the Chinese nation from extermination by tuberculosis and pneumonia is the cotton-padded gown. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
The danger of prescribing a course of compulsory studies is that it implies that a man who has gone through the prescribed course ipso facto knows all there is to know for an educated man. It is therefore entirely logical that a graduate ceases to learn anything or to read books after he leaves school, because he has already learned all there is to know. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
A monk asked Zen master Bankei, "Is it not harmless to joke around in spontaneous moments of levity?" Bankei said, "It's all right if you want to lose trust." â101 Zen Stories (Various)
The leader who is not opposed is the one showing the way by stepping out of it. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
When the palace is magnificent, The fields are filled with weeds, And the granaries are empty. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
For he had called on his father's patron saint (St. Anne), with the intent to disobey his father; to the saint who prevents sudden death, with a promise to enter the profession which prepares for death; to the saint who makes one rich, with a wish for life-long poverty. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
In the evaluation of the dominant moods of any historical period, it is important to hold fast to the fact that there are always islands of self-sufficient orderâon farms and in castles, in homes, studies, and cloistersâwhere sensible people manage to live relatively lusty and decent lives: as moral as they must be, and free as they may be, and masterly as they can be. If we only knew it, this elusive arrangement is happiness. But men, especially in periods of change, are swayed by alternating world moods which seem to be artificially created by the monopolists and manipulators of an era's opinions, and yet could not exist without the highly exploitable mood cycles inherent in man's psychological structure. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
And indeed, we now beat our children less, but we are still harrying them through this imperfect world, not so much to get them to the next one as to make them hurry from one good moment to better ones, to climb, improve, advance, progress. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
Societies, knowing that young people can change rapidly even in their most intense devotions, are apt to give them a /moratorium/, a span of time after they have ceased being children, but before their deeds and works count towards a future identity. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
235. He [Luther] objected to the concept of political and economic freedom; spiritual freedom, he said, was quite consistent with serfdom, and serfdom with the Scriptures. This, of course, corresponded to his medieval notions of the estate to which the individual is born; he wished to reform man's prayerful relation to God, not change his earthly estate. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
" . . . at one time his superior Staupitz mocked him in a letter in which he said that Christ was not interested in such trifles and that Martin had better see to it that he have some juicy adultery or murder to confessâperhaps the murder of his parents." âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Luther saw that God's justice is not consigned to a future day of judgment based on our record on earth when He will have the "last word." Instead, this justice is in us, in the here and now; for, if we will only perceive it, God has given us faith to live by, and we can perceive it by understanding the word which is Christ. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
He [Luther] ended up with apparently total pessimism, denying man's ability to gain God's Grace by the fulfillment of any earthly law or observance. He characterized as spiritual prostitution brazen attempts to gain eternal life with âacts of love.â âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
It must interest us that he [Luther] urged the postponement of monastic vows until the age of thirtyâthe age when sexual drive has passed its peak, when identity is firmly established, and when man's ideological pliability comes to an end. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
The vast majority of the representatives of an empire are not concerned with ideology. They mouth the current line of official doctrine, and rarely know what hits them when they suddenly find themselves on the losing side of an ideological issue because they bet on the wrong protectors. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
"[...], we are becoming accustomed to a conception of the universe so mysterious and so impressive that even the best father-image will no longer do for an explanation of what makes it run." âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
The past is part of a present mastery which employs a convenient mixture of forgetting, falsifying, and idealizing to fit the past to the present, but usually to an extent which is neither unknowingly delusional nor knowingly dishonest. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
The people of this world all rejoice in others being like themselves, and object to others being different from themselves. Those who make friends with their likes and do not make friends with their unlikes, are influenced by a desire to be above the others. âChuang Tzu
The rejection of a priestly caste that claimed to be exclusive custodians of a private hotline to the sacred was, in my opinion, a great step forward in the emancipation of mankind, and we have the mystics among others â to thank for this achievement. But this valid insight can also be used badly when dichotomized and exaggerated by foolish people. They can distort it into a rejection of the guide, the teacher, the sage, the therapist, the counselor, the elder, the helper along the path to self-actualization and the realm of Being. This is often a great danger and always an unnecessary handicap. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
A good example of what I mean is the mother who gave her son two ties for his birthday. As he put on one of them to please her, she asked sadly, "And why do you hate the other tie?" âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
From what we know of developments within individuals and within societies, a certain amount of spirituality is the extremely probable consequence of a satisfied materialism. (It is a great mystery to me why affluence releases some people for growth while permitting other people to stay fixated at a strictly "materialistic" level.) But it is just as probable that the religionist, fostering spiritual values, had better start with food, shelter, roads, etc., which are more basic than sermons. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Diminution can, of course, be reversible. Very frequently, simply supplying the need gratifications can solve the problem, especially in children. For a child who hasn't been loved enough, obviously the treatment of first choice is to love him to death, to just slop it all over him. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
This kind of transcendence of time is also true in another sense, namely that I can feel friendly, in a very personal and affectionate way, with Spinoza, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson, William James, Whitehead, etc., as if they still lived. Which is to say that in specific ways they do still live. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
It is one good solution of the human situation, teaching us that one way of solving a problem is to be amused by it. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Healthily growing infants and children donât live for the sake of far goals or for the distant future; they are too busy enjoying themselves and spontaneously living for the moment. They are living, not preparing to live. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
We may not be aware when we perceive in a /need-determined/ way. But we certainly are aware of it when we ourselves are perceived in this way, e.g., simply as a money-giver, a food-supplier, a safety-giver, someone to depend on, or as a waiter or other anonymous servant or means-object. When this happens we donât like it at all. We want to be taken for ourselves, as complete and whole individuals. We dislike being perceived as useful objects or as tools. We dislike being âused.â âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
"He resists enculturation. He becomes more detached from his culture and from his society. He becomes a little more a member of his species and a little less a member of his local group. My feeling is that most sociologists and anthropologists will take this hard. I therefore confidently expect controversy in this area. But this is clearly a basis for 'universalism.'" âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Many Utopias proceeded as if all human beings were interchangeable and were equal to each other. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow /From a class in which //Maslow//had students develop a Utopian society . . . . /
Often these have turned out to be no laws at all but only rules for living in a state of mild and chronic psychopathology and fearfulness, of stunting and crippling and immaturity which we donât notice because most others have this same disease that we have. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
We must once again learn to control our impulses. The days in which Freud treated overinhibited people are now long past, and today we are confronted with the opposite problemâthat of expressing every impulse immediately. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Pick up a bee from kindness, and learn the limitations of kindness. âSUFI PROVERB
What you are shouts so loudly in my ears that I cannot hear what you say. âRalph Waldo Emerson
Zhungzi notes that we "shoot out our âRight!â âWrong!â judgments like bolts from a crossbow." With each one we take on a new commitment that binds us to some later response. Thus, we pass through life going from a position of open-minded wonder to learning, to comfortable knowledge, to fixed certainty, to prejudice, and, eventually to mental death. The mind and body grow old and die together. âThe Complete Idiotâs Guide to Taoism
Greatness is always improbable. Petty and dullâthat is probable.
A famous maxim holds that descriptions of Zen are to Zen as a finger pointing to the moon is to the moon. If the finger actually gets you to look at the moon, thatâs wonderful. If you stare at someoneâs finger for 15 to 20 years, however, both you and the finger-pointer should consider the possibility that you have been missing something. âThe Complete Idiotâs Guide to Taoism
If we would follow the Spirit, our homes would be a witness in the community. But too often our homes are a mess. Our homes must come ahead of any ministry that we are involved in. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
âI donât want to change sides and just be told what to do. Thereâs no reason to change if I do that.â âFahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
/From a class in which Maslow had students develop a Utopian society . . . . / I assume that universal peace is not possible so long as there are separate and sovereign nations. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Since honesty rarely strengthens friendship, you may never know how a friend truly feels. When you decide to hire a friend, you gradually discover the qualities he/she has kept hidden. The receipt of a favour can become oppressive â it means you have been chosen because you are a friend, not because you are deserving. âThe 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene and Joost Elffers)
"If challenges begin to exceed skills, one first becomes vigilant and then anxious; if skills begin to exceed challenges, one first relaxes and then becomes bored." âThe Concept of Flow, Jeanne Nakamura & Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
But poetry, by creating, through words, a new world of the imagination, is in great danger of forgetting the real world. â R.H. Blyth
There is something suggested by it that is a newer testament,âthe gospel according to this moment. âHenry David Thoreau
Lao Tzu the author to whom the Tao Te Ching, the great classic of Taoism, is attributed says âMy words are simple and easy to use, but no one understands them or uses them.â âThe Way is straightforward but people prefer side tracks.â
I have come not to heal those who are well, but those who are ill. âJesus Christ
"If a man could ascend to heaven and get a clear view of the natural order of the universe, and the beauty of the heavenly bodies, that wonderful spectacle would give him small pleasure, though nothing could be conceived more delightful if he had but had some one to whom to tell what he had seen." âMarcus Tullius Cicero
    CAMPBELL: Well, the mother loves all her children â the stupid ones, the bright ones, the naughty ones, the good ones. It doesn't matter what their particular character is. So the feminine represents, in a way, the inclusive love for progeny. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
This is more true than ever in todayâs world, with its virtually endless entertainment options. To compensate for our dull and jaded senses, we turn the intensity of sensory stimuli way up. This gives us a temporary thrill, but soon it fades. We return to a dismal state of dissatisfaction, which drives us to seek even greater thrills. âTao te ching: annotated & explained (Derek Lin)
Think, for instance, of someone studying the piano. There is nothing worse than having somebody in the neighborhood studying the piano, practicing their exercises. There's nothing at all beautiful about them. Their function is to give you facility. Then presently there comes a point when you have the facility, it happens automatically, and you don not have to think, "do...re...me...fa...." Although analysis facilitates competent action, your spontaneity of action is inhibited when you are constantly thinking of the rules. This is true for everything. The one who attempts to be an artist and has not learned the craft is never going to be an artist. âJoseph Campbell
The essence of success and happiness results from actualizing your potential, which requires a constant process of learning and growing, as well as the recognition that making mistakes is an inevitable, even essential, part of life." âVic Spereando
William James said that faith is either a dull habit or an acute fever.
Hence, the distinction between Buddhism and Taoism is this: the goal of the Buddhist is that he shall not want anything, while the goal of the Taoist is that he shall not be wanted at all. Only he who is not wanted by the public can be a carefree individual, and only he who is a carefree individual can be a happy human being. â Chuangtse, the greatest and most gifted among the Taoist philosophers, continually warns us against being too prominent, too useful and too serviceable. âLin Yutang
It is hard to rid our minds completely of the haunting suspicion that the entire religious structure may be nothing more than a grand and beautiful castle in the air. Perhaps there is no Object worthy of our full commitment; perhaps God is just an idea in human minds, an idea as insubstantial as a mirage in the desert. It is easy to construct theories about the world, but we know very well that many of them are purely fanciful. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
There is a limit to our life, but to knowledge there is no limit. With what is limited to pursue after what is unlimited is a perilous thing; and when, knowing this, we still seek the increase of our knowledge, the peril cannot be averted. âThe Writings of Chuang Tzu
"When the Church said that eating meat on Friday was no longer a mortal sin, there was a crisis in the entire Catholic community. In New York City, where there are a lot of Catholics, there was a great crisis, part of which had to do with the fish merchants." âJoseph Campbell
On the whole, I think the Darwinian theory of evolution, at least with the additional insights of modern genetics, gives us a fairly coherent account of the evolution of human life on earth. At the same time, I believe that karma can have a central role in understanding the origination of what Buddhism calls "sentience," through the media of energy and consciousness. Despite the success of the Darwinian narrative, I do not believe that all the elements of the story are in place. To begin with, although Darwin's theory gives a coherent account of the development of life on this planet and the various principles underlying it, such as natural selection, I am not persuaded that it answer the fundamental question of the origin of life. âDalai Lama, The Universe in a Single Atom
If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, when once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause really be a just one. On the contrary, assume to dictate to his judgment, or to command his action, or to mark him as one to be shunned and despised, and he will retreat within himself, close all the avenues to his head and his heart; and though your cause be naked truth itself, transformed to the heaviest lance, harder than steel, and sharper than steel can be made, and though you throw it with more than Herculean force and precision, you shall be no more be able to pierce him, than to penetrate the hard shell of a tortoise with a rye straw. âAbraham Lincoln
Place a monkey in a cage, and it is the same as a pig, not because it isn't clever and quick, but because it has no place to freely exercise its capabilities. âHuainanzi (second century B.C.)
And if your life isn't play, or if you are engaged in play and having no fun, well, quit! The spirit of the sacred space is Shiva dancing. All responsibilities are cast off. There are various ways of doing this casting off, and it doesn't matter how it happens. The rest is play. âJoseph Campbell
"Traders often ask me how much money they need to begin trading. They want to be able to withstand a drawdown, a temporary drop in the account equity. They expect to lose a large amount of money before making any! They should like an engineer who plans to build several bridges that collapse before erecting his masterpiece. Would a surgeon plan on killing several patients while becoming an expert at taking out an appendix?" -- Dr. Alexander Elder
I didn't understand what motivated people who were obviously unhappy, even miserable to get up each day an be unhappy and miserable again without ever making an attempt to figure out what was wrong, much less change their behavior. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
Freedom to me means a lot more than political liberty; it means the ability to make a living doing what I want and like to do, which requires maintaining a financial independence so secure that nothing short of outright robbery or my own foolishness can take it away. Even as a teenager, the thought of relying on a paper route or a job as a bag boy at the corner grocery was tantamount to slavery in my mindâtoo much of the control was out of my hands. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
But the value of gratitude does not consist solely in getting you more blessings in the future. Without gratitude you cannot long keep from dissatisfied thought regarding things as they are. The moment you permit your mind to dwell with dissatisfaction upon things as they are, you begin to lose ground. You fix attention upon the common, the ordinary, the poor, and the squalid and mean; and your mind takes the form of these things. Then you will transmit these forms or mental images to the Formless, and the common, the poor, the squalid, and mean will come to you. To permit your mind to dwell upon the inferior is to become inferior and to surround yourself with inferior things. On the other hand, to fix your attention on the best is to surround yourself with the best, and to become the best. âWallace D. Wattles
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. âLogan Pearsall Smith
Two weeks later, we moved again, this time back to my parent's home in Pateros. I had the master's degree, but no job, and no money. We slept under the stars in Mom and Dad's apple orchard that summer. I'm sure my mom and dad wondered what good that master's degree was but they never said a critical work about our dilemma. They just accepted and supported us. âDan Miller, from âLiving, Laughing, and Loving Life!â
There are the three religions of China, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, all magnificent systems in themselves, and yet robust common sense dilutes them all and reduces them all into the common problem of the pursuit of a happy human life. âLin Yutang
Confucius said, âWhen young, beware of fighting; when strong, beware of sex; and when old, beware of possession,â which simply means that a boy loves fighting, a young man loves women, and an old man loves money. âLin Yutang
The typical view of the Christian life is one of deliverance from trouble. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Markets that make headlines tend to be overpriced and volatile. If you read an article on the front page of a financial newspaper about a bull market in biotech stocks or see a report on the evening news about the high price of coffee, those trends are probably nearer the end than the beginning, and buying biotech stocks or coffee futures is probably very dangerous. To understand a person or a group, it pays to know what they want and what they fear. Journalists and editors most fear making a mistake that will make them look foolish. They report trends only after anyone can see them because that way there is no mistake. Even if they knew how to catch trends early, which they donât, they wouldnât dare print their findings for fear of being wrong and appearing ignorant. Traders arenât afraid of mistakes as long as they use money management, but journalists cannot afford such risks. By the time they write up a trend, it has been going on for a while, volatility is high, risk management is difficult, and major reversal is probably in the cards. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
The evolution of the human skull shows us that it is nothing but an enlargement of one of the spinal vertebrae and that therefore its function, like that of the spinal cord, is essentially that of sensing danger, meeting the external environment and preserving lifeânot thinking. Thinking is generally very poorly done. âLin Yutang
Falling in the water. If you fight it, you drown. If you relax, the very water will lift you to save you.
https://questions.org/attq/should-i-offer-forgiveness-without-repentance/
Successful traders share a surprisingly large number of attitudes in regards to why they do it. For example, almost all claim that they do not trade for the money, but view the market as a difficult game that is constantly changing. They are by now rich and diversified enough to afford this attitude. âStanley W. Angrist, The Wall Street Journal
If you feel angry, betrayed, in need of revenge, apply to law school. Do not trade; you will crash land! âHoward Abell
Mulla Nasrudin's old friend Haider Ali died. He was the only atheist in the whole town but the people came to his wake just the same. Mulla Nasrudin, looking at the corpse laid out in his best suit, said: "What a waste! All dressed up and nowhere to go!"
Ask a wise man to wave his silk hat to a crowd and make seven speeches a day and give him a presidency, and he will refuse to serve his country. âLin Yutang, The Importance of Living, 1937
The improvement of our social and political life and international relationships comes from the aggregate action and temper of the individuals which compose a nation and is eventually based on the temper and quality of the individual. In national politics and the evolution of a country from one stage to another, the determining factor is the temperament of the people. âLin Yutang
". . . everything that we think God has in mind necessarily proceeds from our own mind; it is what we imagine to be in Godâs mind, and it is really difficult for human intelligence to guess at a divine intelligence." âLin Yutang
On the contrary, I rather think that philosophers who start out to solve the problem of the purpose of life beg the question by assuming that life must have a purpose. ⊠Had there been a purpose or design in life, it should not have been so puzzling and vague and difficult to find out. âLin Yutang
Great men of letters of this classâTâao Yuanming, Su Tungpâo, Po Chiiyi, Yiian Chunglang, Yiian Tsetsâaiâwere generally enticed into a short term of official life, did a wonderful job of it, and then got exasperated with its eternal kowtowing and receiving and sending off of fellow officials, and gladly laying down the burdens of an official life, returned wisely to the life of retirement. âLin Yutang
All persons who engage in the philosophy of religion are sincerely trying to be intellectually honest though devout. They recognize that the claims of the great religions are so important that no serious thinker can neglect them, but they recognize also that claims cannot be accepted uncritically. Belief in God, in the sense to be defined later in this book, may be false, and it may be true, but it cannot possibly be trivial. The philosophy of religion is, therefore, a highly important discipline, because it deals with matters which are important, if true. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
The more one studies attempted solutions to problems in politics and economics, in art, philosophy, and religion, the more one has the impression of extremely gifted people wearing out their ingenuity at the impossible and futile task of trying to get the water of life into neat and permanent packages. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
It is a surprising and beneficent revelation to many young people to learn that their elders have to fight continually within themselves in order to maintain their faith. They then begin to realize that their own experience is neither unique nor necessarily discouraging. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
The grandeur of the dream provides no certainty that it is more than a dream. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
Criticism must be sympathetic, or it will completely miss the mark; hut it must also he dispassionate and relentless. âWilliam Temple
"Lotus" (pundarika, lien-hua, renge) means the lotus flower. In India this flower was regarded as the most beautiful in the world, for a lotus is rooted in mud but opens as a pure and beautiful flower unsoiled by the mud. This is an allegorical expression of the fundamental idea of the Lotus Sutra, that though man lives in this corrupt world, he is not tainted by it nor swayed by it, and he can live a beautiful life with perfect freedom of mind." âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated by Nikkyo Niwano
I do not, however, press this too closely, like the philosophers who push their definitions to a superfluous accuracy. They have truth on their side, perhaps, but it is of no practical advantage. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
The Buddha's teachings instruct us that sin and evil did not originally exist in this world. They are due to the cessation of the proper progress of human life or the return to a wrong course. â Buddhism for Today by Nikkyo Niwano
Thus you may notice that it is the just who are most pained at injustice, the brave at cowardly actions, the temperate at depravity. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
[...] life can never be anything but joyless which is without the consolations and companionship of friends. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
People who are always bringing up their services are a nuisance. The recipient ought to remember them; the performer should never mention them. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
Joseph Campbell affirmed life as adventure. "To hell with it," he said, after his university adviser tried to hold him to a narrow academic curriculum. He gave up on the pursuit of a doctorate and went instead into the woods to read. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
A direct attack only strengthens people in their illusion, and at the same time, they become embittered. There is nothing that requires such gentle handling as an illusion if one wishes to dispel it. If anything prompts the prospective captive to set his or her will in opposition, all is lost. And this is what a direct attack achieves, and it implies moreover the presumption of requiring a person to make an admission to another, which could be more gainfully made in private. â Kierkegaard, The Point of View
"The secret cause of all suffering," he said, "is mortality itself, which is the prime condition of life. It cannot be denied if life is to be affirmed." âJoseph Campbell
I don't believe in being interested in a subject just because it's said to be important. âJoseph Campbell
When a religion decays, it is likely to be rejected by thinking people because it teaches that one can be reborn in paradise by merely uttering a magic formula. If that were all, it would not be so bad; but sometimes it preaches that no matter what evil one does, one can be saved and go to paradise if only one buys a certain talisman. âBuddhism for Today, Nikkyo Niwano
It is hard for us to know the present-day Lord Jesus Christ because we have made an idol of the story of His 33 years on earth almost 2,000 years ago. âOrtiz
Don Quixote was the last hero of the Middle Ages. He rode out to encounter giants, but instead of giants, his environment produced windmills. Ortega points out that this story takes place about the time that a mechanistic interpretation of the world came in, so that the environment was no longer spiritually responsive to the hero. The hero is today running up against a hard world that is in no way responsive to his spiritual need. âJoseph Campbell
MOYERS: You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to believe there was a Christ, or the miracles don't make sense. âBill Moyers
We all claim to have the truth, but we have different doctrines, even though we don't have different Christs. Christ is one, not many. But when we turn to our set of rules and doctrines, we are divided. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
Steal a hook and you hang as a crook; steal a kingdom and you are made a duke.
Studies have revealed that people who feel appreciated are much more likely to remain loyal to their jobs.
Incidentally, let me correct your use of the term charity. I donât think in terms of charity. I think in terms of investing in the poor. If someone is starving and you hand him a buck, youâve taught him that what he needs is for someone to give him a handout. I prefer to invest in the poorâto provide capital so they can enhance their own productivity. What the poor need are cottage industries that allow them to become self-sufficient. Thatâs the type of funding I believe in, and it may not fit the conventional view of charity. âMark Ritchie, New Market Wizards
"At length, under lax laws, the wealthy began to use their riches for evil purposes of pride and self-aggrandisement and oppression of the weak." âSsu-Ma ChâIen (a.k.a. Sima Qian) 145 or 135 â 86 BC /(In reference to the Han dynasty of China, 206 BCâ220 AD)/
love of knowledge leads to a fashion for criticism âChuang Tzu
Tseng Kuofan, the great Confucian general who suppressed the Taiping Rebellion, had failed in his early campaign and began to succeed only one morning when he realized with true Taoist humility that he was âno good,â and gave power to his assistant generals. âChuang Tzu
How can we always say the same things to the Lord in our prayers? He must be really bored with all that protocol. Sometimes I think He must ask Himself, "Is that a cassette playing, or is it the person himself?" âJuan Carlos Ortiz
The ministry of priests is to change attitudesâto change the attitude of man toward God, and of God toward man. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
The punishment in hell is that you have for eternity that which you thought you wanted on earth. âJoeseph Campbell
History has taught us that noisy rulers usually ravage the country. Still, we tend to fall for them when they rise. We should always look for modesty in our leaders, and moderation in their use of power. Those who seek triumph are indifferent to what they need to trample on in order to reach it. âStefan Stenudd
Film directors actually donât change anything . . . . I donât think thereâs much prospect of a film director creating unity in the worldâthatâs one of the great myths of cinemaâthat we can create a universal language, which may be quite helpful, but in fact, in universal language not much is said. âFrederic Raphael, âGreat Lives, Alexander the Greatâ
The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. âThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell (William Blake)
Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy. âPatton
Instead of struggling with our outer world in efforts to improve it, which is a quest that seems endless, we might find greater satisfaction by working on our inner worlds. âStefan Stenudd
The worst ones are despised, having no merit in the eyes of their people. This is worse than fear, because it's shameful â for the leader, and even more so for those he leads, since they allow themselves to be ruled by someone they cannot respect. It's a reign of disgrace, which risks leading even the most splendid country into decay. âStefan Stenudd
The Taoist does not seek to change the natural except in accord with absolute necessity. Nature is not to be despoiled for inappropriate material gain. âA.S. Kline
"A man should not seek to see himself in water, but as reflected in other people." âsaying of Chinese ancients
"[âŠ] while women are slaves to the fashion game with its basic rule, 'I have conformed sooner than you.'" âAlan Watts
It was not a great success probably not through any lack of ability on his part, but more likely due to his uncompromising displays of principle and moral courage. âA.S. Kline
Like Sartreâs waiter, these stereotyped characters seem unable or unwilling to recognize their freedom to pick a course of action independent of their typecast jobs, social class, or milieux. âfrom Monty Python and Philosophy
When man's attachments are deep, their divine endowments are shallow. âChuang Tzu (Lin YuTang)
Evil men are, in fact, unable to form friendships; this privilege being reserved for the pure and good. And why? Simply because evil men love wealth and worldly advantage. Hence, as long as their interests are identical, they are friends. But when these begin to clash, first comes rivalry, and then a dissolution of their friendship. Sometimes they turn round and become bitter enemies, even of their own brothers and near relatives. There is therefore no reality about their friendships. âOu-Yang Hsiu (Ouyang Xiu) died 1072
But the trouble about the monkeys with typewriters is that when at last they get around to typing the Encyclopaedia Britannica, they may at any moment relapse into gibberish. âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
Nevertheless, respect flows both ways. If a Sensei does not respect the students, the students will not respect that Sensei. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
Nietzsche and Derrida both counsel hearty, healthy laughter. Really enjoy life, it is suggested, and keep in mind that you donât need God, a mission, or metaphysics to do this. âSTEPHEN A. ERICKSON
" . . . if having were as sweet as getting, the rich would be a thousand times more happy than the poor." âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon and 431-c.360 BCEÂ Xenophon)
245. But life is hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for what is pure, who is disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent. âThe Dhammapada
253. If a man looks after the faults of others, and is always inclined to be offended, his own passions will grow, and he is far from the destruction of passions. âThe Dhammapada
Letting go of things that society generally appreciates is the way of the monk, the elevated and spiritual human being. That's the message in just about any philosophy and religion. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
The Japanese have a word for this kind of work: shugyo. It means hard training that leads to enlightenment. What makes the training hard is not its physical aspects. It is the intentionality of the practice, working on being a 100% present in a given situation. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
If a man will be sensible and one fine morning, when he is lying in bed, count at the tips of his fingers how many things in this life truly give him enjoyment, invariably he will find food is the first one. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
It is well known that modern education and the modern school system in general tend to encourage scholarship at the expense of discernment and look upon the cramming of information as an end in itself, as if a great amount of scholarship could already make an educated man. But why is thought discouraged at school? Why has the educational system twisted and distorted the pleasant pursuit of knowledge into a mechanical, measured, uniform and passive cramming of information? Why do we place more importance on knowledge than on thought? How do we come to call a college graduate an educated man simply because he has made up the necessary units or week-hours of psychology, medieval history, logic, and âreligion?â Why are there school marks and diplomas, and how did it come about that the mark and the diploma have, in the studentâs mind, come to take the place of the true aim of education? The reason is simple. We have this system because we are educating people in masses, as if in a factory, and anything which happens inside a factory must go by a dead and mechanical system. In order to protect its name and standardize its products, a school must certify them with diplomas. With diplomas, then, comes the necessity of grading, and with the necessity of grading come school marks, and in order to have school marks, there must be recitations, examinations, and tests. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
âas they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not matureâ (Luke 8:14).
. . . there are no words so fine that they can turn cowards into brave men on the day of hearing, nor make good archers out of bad, nor doughty spearmen, nor skillful riders, no, nor even teach men to use their arms and legs if they have not learned before.â âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon)
Quite radically, he had come to the belief that the authority of the Bible (the 'Word') was far more important than the authority of an institution. âErik Erikson
But insight in the West has more often meant instances of revelation than consistent durable attitude. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
''Happiness is the deferred fulfillment of a prehistoric wish. That is why wealth brings so little happiness; money is not an infantile wish." âSigmund Freud
I know this kind of parent-child relationship all too well from my young patients. In the America of today it is usually the mother whose all-pervasive presence and brutal decisiveness of judgmentâalthough her means maybe the sweetestâprecipitate the child into a fatal struggle for his own identity: the child wants to be blessed by the one important parent, not for what he does and accomplishes, but for what he is, and he often puts the parent to mortal tests. The parent, on the other hand, has selected this one child, because of an inner affinity paired with an insurmountable outer distance, as the particular child who must /justify the parent/. Thus the parent asks only: what have you /accomplished/? And what have you done for /me/? âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
Some day, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well-considered, and yet fervent and public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child spirit; for such manipulation undercuts the life principle of trust, without which every human act, may it feel ever so good and seem ever so right, is prone to perversion by destructive forms of conscientiousness. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
The crisis in such a young man's life may be reached exactly when he half-realizes that he is fatally over committed to what he is not. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
He [Luther] saw with awe the halves of the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul, which have been weighed to prevent injustice to the church harboring the other halves. The churches were proud of the saintly slices: some later saints, immediately after their souls' departures, had been carefully boiled to prepare their bones for immediate shipment to worthy bidders. With these and other relics, the various churches maintained a kind of permanent fair where one could see, for a fee, Jesus's footprint in a piece of marble, or one of Judas's silver coins. One sight of this coin could save the viewer fourteen hundred years in purgatory. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
"They teach us to doubt," he [Luther] said later; and indeed, it would be hard to think of the system more designed to aggravate doubtingâin a doubter. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Because no matter how rational we are, our unconscious seeks ways in which it can manifest itself. If we do not live in a time and a place which permit it creative manifestation, we are easy prey to the experts and the leaders who somehow know how to exploit or unconscious without understanding the magic reasons for their success; and consequently their success contribute to their being corrupted by leadership. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
190. Occamism was eagerly ideologized at a time when the empire of faith was threatening to fall apart into all-to-concrete, all-too-human entities: a God with the mind of a usurer, a lawyer, and a police chief; a family of saints, like holy aunts and uncles, with whom people made deals, instead of approaching the distant Father; a Church that had become a state, and a Pope who was a warring prince; priests who had lost their own awe and failed to inspire it in other people, and thus became more contemptible as they became only to understandable; observances which at the earthly end of the vertical were measured in hard cash, and at the other, in aeons of purgatory. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Being and Becoming are, so to speak, side by side, simultaneously existing, now. Traveling can give end-pleasure; it need not be only a means to an end. Many people discover too late that the retirement made possible by the years of work doesn't taste as sweet as the years of work did. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Do the makers of movies, TV shows, etc., have any responsibility for educating and improving public taste? Whose business is this? Or is it nobody's business? âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
"The wise person knows about what is right, the inferior person knows only about what will pay." âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
Words are not deeds, so words about deeds give no guarantee as to how they will turn out. This is evident in modern politics, where passionate speeches are a dime a dozen, but still most problems wait for their solutions. âStefan Stenudd
They get into a blind alleyâand stay thereâin which religious behavior is separated off from all other behavior so that all they deal with through the whole book is the external behaviorâgoing to church or not going to church, and saving or not saving little pieces of wood, and bowing or not bowing before this or that or the other thing, thereby leaving out of the whole book what I might call small "r" religion entirely, that is, the religious people who may have nothing to do with institutions or with supernaturals or with idolatry. This is a good example of atomistic thinking, but I've got plenty of others. One can think atomistically in any department of life. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
A friend of mine had an operation a couple of years ago, and he still remembers feeling uneasy and afraid until he met his surgeon. Fortunately, he turned out to be a nice obsessional type of man, very precise, perfectly neat with a little hairline mustache, every hair in place, a perfectly straight, controlled, and sober man. My friend then heaved a sigh of reliefâthis was not a "creative" man. Here was a man who would do a normal, routine, pedestrian operation, not play any tricks or try any novelties or experiments or do any new sewing techniques or anything like that. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
But will revolutions against exploiters settle the issue of exploitation, or must man also learn to raise truly less exploitable menâmen who are first of all masters of the human life cycle and of the cycle of generations in man's own life space? âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
His (Staupitz who supervised Martin Luther) answer to Martin's remark made "under the pear tree," which must have been a favorite spot for their sessions, that Staupitz was "killing him" with his demand that he prepare himself for a professorship is justly famous. "That's all right," he said, "God needs men like you in heaven, too." âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
What is crucially important is the fact itself that there are many kinds of pay other than money pay, that money as such steadily recedes in importance with increasing affluence and with increasing maturity of character, while higher forms of pay and metapay steadily increase in importance. Further- more, even where money pay continues to seem to be important, it is often so not in its own literal, concrete character, but rather as a symbol for status, success, self-esteem with which to win love, admiration, and respect. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Mankind is one and the cosmos is one, and such concepts as the "national interest" or "the religion of my fathers" or "different grades of people or of IQ" either cease to exist or are easily transcended. If we accept as the ultimate political necessities (as well as today the most urgent ones), to think of all men as brothers, to think of national sovereignties (the right to make war) as a form of stupidity or immaturity, then transcenders think this way more easily, more reflexively, more naturally. Thinking in our "normal" stupid or immature way is for them an effort, even though they can do it. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
The questions of how to escape corruption in living and how in death to give meaning to life. Because he experiences a breakthrough to the last problems so early in his life maybe such a man had better become a martyr and seal his message with an early death; or else become a hermit in a solitude which anticipates the Beyond. We know little of Jesus of Nazareth as a young man, but we certainly cannot even begin to imagine him as middle-aged. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
The theologians have long struggled with the impossible task of reconciling sin and evil and pain in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, all-loving, all knowing God. A subsidiary difficulty has been presented by the task of reconciling the necessity of rewards and punishments for good and evil with this concept of an all-loving, all-forgiving God. He must somehow both punish and not punish, both forgive and condemn. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
To adjust well to the world of reality means a splitting of the person. It means that the person turns his back on much in himself because it is dangerous. But it is now clear that by so doing, he loses a great deal too, for those depths are also the source of all his joys, his ability to play, to love, to laugh, and, most important for us, to be creative. By protecting himself against the hell within himself, he also cuts himself off from the heaven within. In the extreme instance, we have the obsessional person, flat, tight, rigid, frozen, controlled, cautious, who can't laugh or play or love, or be silly or trusting or childish. His imagination, his intuitions, his softness, his emotionality tend to be strangulated or distorted. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
"This person's view is not pro-science. It is pro-Scientism. Likewise, Watts' views are not 'anti-science', but anti-Scientism. There is a distinct difference. 'Anti-science' is a smear term used by the acolytes of Scientism to tarnish anyone who does not grant absolute epistemological authority to scientific methods."
. . . ethics and laws come at a stage of degeneration in social life that requires such devices. The true person/sage intuitively is able to feel the correct way to behave thus alleviating the need for right and wrong. They have what is called "true virtue." âWhat is Tao (Taoist Institute)
As a radical method of cure one can only say that psychoanalysis helps those who are well enough to tolerate it, and intelligent enough to gain by it over and above the cure of symptoms. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
In -201, The second year of the empire, a general Tsâao, one of the great generals of the revolution, was made governor of the populous and economically advanced state of Châi on the eastern coast. He selected an old philosopher to be his chief adviser. This old man was a follower of Lao-tzu and told the governor that the best way to govern his great state comprising 70 cities was to do nothing and give the people a rest. The governor religiously carried out his advice throughout his nine years of governorship. The people became prosperous, and his administration was rated the best in the Empire. When he was appointed prime minister of the empire in -193, he again practice his philosophy on a national scale. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isnât merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper . . . . âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
As in all monopolistic enterprises, the law interferes with convenience only if some fanatic, or fool, dragged an issue into the open. Thus many bishops and priests lived in concubinage, their female companions being respectfully greeted, by their titles of âMrs. Vicker,â or whatever it was. But marriage was against the law. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
A newborn baby is not a blank slate but comes wired ready to perceive certain archetypal patterns and symbols. This is why children fantasize so much, Jung believed: They have not experienced enough of reality to cancel out their mind's enjoyment of archetypal imagery. â50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do (Tom Butler-Bowdon)
My Master said: That which acts on all and meddles in none-is heaven. The Kingly Man realizes this, hides it in his heart, Grows boundless, wide-minded, draws all to himself. And so he lets the gold lie hidden in the mountain, Leaves the pearl lying in the deep. Goods and possessions are no gain in his eyes, He stays far from wealth and honor. âThomas Merton/Chuang Tzu, The Way of Chuang Tzu
Too much focus on PC (Production Capacity) is like a person who runs for three or four hours a day, bragging about the extra 10 years of life it creates, unaware he's spending them running. âThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
I speak on Jesus Christ. I feel deep sympathy for him. I would like to suffer with him and I would like to carry his cross a little while by his side. But we remain parallel, we never meet. He is so sad, so burdened â burdened with the miseries of the whole of humanity. He cannot laugh. If you move with him too long you will become sad, you will lose laughter. A gloominess surrounds him. I feel for him but I would not like to be like him. I can walk with him a little while and share his burden â but then we part. Our ways are different ways. He is good, but too good, almost inhumanly good. âOsho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Vol 1, Talks on Fragments from Lao Tzuâs Tao Te Ching
A father loves his child. Many times he will be angry also and he will hit and beat the child. And a child is never offended by anger, never. A child is offended when you are simply angry without any cause, when you are destructive without any cause. When a child cannot understand why, then he cannot forgive you. If he can understand why â he has broken a clock, now he understands that the father is going to hit him, and he accepts it. In fact, if the father does not hit him he will carry the guilt and that is very destructive. âOsho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Volume One: Talks on Fragments From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
In his view man's justice was a vain thing; only God's justice mattered. âThe Stranger (Albert Camus)
When people fight, their egos are on a collision course. Their pride is on the line. They get mean, vicious, and blood thirsty. There is little or nothing socially redeeming about that. Fights create a lot of bad feeling and may lead to an unending cycle of revenge. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
The church has a tendency to be a Christian club. . . . When we gather together around principles or doctrines, that's a club. Anything that is centered in a set of rules or concepts is a club. But when we gather together around a living person whose name is Jesus, we are a church. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
It doesn't matter whether you believe in the millennium, or you don't believe in the millennium; whether you believe in the coming of Christ before or after the tribulation. Those things divide the people of God and have no value for living. They are just an intellectual approach to the philosophy of the Bible. They may be interesting, but they have nothing to do with whether or not we are brothers. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
It is as if less developed people lived in an Aristotelian world in which classes and concepts have sharp boundaries and are mutually exclusive and incompatible, e.g., male-female, selfish-unselfish, adult-child, kind-cruel, good-bad. A is A and everything else is not-A in the Aristotelian logic, and never the twain shall meet. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
As we grow older we may have finished with the demands of our physical appetites but then we demand wider, deeper and more significant experiences, and we try various means to obtain themâexpanding our consciousness, for instance, which is quite an art, or taking various kinds of drugs. âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
"It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them."âââAlfred Adler "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." â Groucho Marx
Consider the lives of birds and fishes. Fish never weary of the water; but you do not know the true mind of a fish, for you are not a fish. Birds never tire of the woods; but you do not know their real spirit, for you are not a bird. It is just the same with the religious, the poetical life: if you do not live it, you know nothing about it.⊠â Chomei, Hojoki, 1212 AD
If we want God, we want him as a Father, not as a stream of tendency, and this is the secret of the power of Christianity. Its so-called anthropomorphism is nothing less than the nature of the mind which cannot be satisfied with anything but whole things. âR.H. Blyth
" You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind." âJoyce Meyer
"It is believed that Jesus, having risen from the dead, ascended physically to heaven (Luke 24:51), to be followed shortly by his mother in her sleep (Early Christian belief, confirmed as Roman Catholic dogma on November 1, 1950). It is also written that some nine centuries earlier, Elijah, riding a chariot of fire, had been carried to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Now, even ascending at the speed of light, which for a physical body is impossible, those three celestial voyagers would not yet be out of the galaxy." âJoseph Campbell
Lincoln, Stanton began to think, was not the buffoon he originally believed him to be. Lincoln, in turn, came to respect, admire, and understand Stanton. He realized that under a somewhat surly exterior existed and honest, devoted, and thoroughly capable administrator. âExcerpt from "Lincoln on Leadership" by Donald T. Phillips
"To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings." âBodhidharma
The Buddha, in the conversations known as the "Medium-length Dialogues," says, "Oh, Monks, supposing a man, wishing to get to the yonder shore, should build himself a raft, and by virtue of that raft, achieve the yonder shore; then, out of gratitude for the raft, he picks it up and carries it about on his shoulder. Would that be an intelligent man?" The monks reply, "No, Master, that would not be an intelligent man." "So," says the Buddha, "the laws and experiences of the order of yoga have nothing to do with /nirvana/. The vehicle of the doctrine is the way that you get to yonder shore, and having attained it, you cast way the raft and forsake it."
70% of American check their smartphones every 6 minutes. âPSFK, Portrait of the Modern Consumer, May 7, 2015
"We have lost our gods. We lost [faith] in the media: Remember Walter Cronkite? We lost it in our culture: You canât point to a movie star who might inspire us, because we know too much about them. We lost it in politics, because we know too much about politicians' lives. We've lost itâthat basic sense of trust and confidenceâin everything." âLaura Hansen, an assistant professor of sociology at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.
In religion, one speaks of the fear of God and the love of God. Fear of God will block you. Love of God will carry you on. âJoseph Campbell
Make no explanation to your enemies. What they want is a squabble and a fuss; and that they can have if you explain, and they can not have if you don't. âLincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
"As Alexander Fleming found when he accidentally discovered penicillin, our brains achieve synthesis of a new idea after long, grinding analysis." âThe Global Trader by Barbara Rockefeller
To "speculate" is to take an unusual risk with the expectation of an unusual gain; to trade with leverage is to speculate, since leverage constitutes and usually high risk of lass. Good speculators work extra-hard at identifying the unusual risks that may deliver the unusually high return. *Bad speculators are buyers of lottery tickets, where the positive expectancy is infinitesimal.* âBarbara Rockefeller
Charting is a little like surfing. You don't have to know a lot about the physics of tides, resonance, and fluid dynamics in order to catch a good wave. You just have to be able to sense when its happening and then have the drive to act at the right time.
Most people go through life making the same mistakes at sixty that they made at twenty. Others structure their lives to succeed in one area while acting out internal conflicts in another. Very few people grow out of their problems. == Dr. Alexander Elder
"The best way to rid the mind of an objectionable thought or pattern is to concentrate on a new thought or pattern." âLewis Presnall
It is strange. In a country abounding with financial opportunity there exists a love-hate relationship with money. Some people view money as something that enslaves them, thinking, in effect, âIf I weren't trapped by the pursuit of the almighty dollar, then I could do what I want and be fulfilled in life.â Other people view money as an end in itself and spend their lives acquiring it without ever learning to enjoy it. One's view of money is intimately related to any concept of success. We all know the old adage which says, âMoney can't buy happiness,â and it is quite true, but money maintains it allure nonetheless. Why? What can money buy? âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
Coincidences are miracles where God prefers to remain anonymous.
Many people give little thought to life's important decisions. They stumble into them by accidents of geography, time, or chance. Where to live, where to work, what markets to tradeâmany of us decide on a whim, without much serious thought. No wonder so many are dissatisfied with their lives. âDr. Alexander Elder
Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking. âThoreau
From many a hill I can see civilization and the abodes of man afar. The farmers and their works are scarcely more obvious than woodchucks and their burrows. Man and his affairs, church and state and school, trade and commerce, and manufactures and agriculture even politics, the most alarming of them allâI am pleased to see how little space they occupy in the landscape. âHenry David Thoreau
âThis last is the same as saying that human personality is the last thing to be reduced to mechanical laws; somehow the human mind is forever elusive, uncatchable and unpredictable, and manages to wriggle out, of mechanistic laws or a materialistic dialectic that crazy psychologist and unmarried economists are trying to impose upon him.â âLin Yutang
Tyrants die; traitors commit suicide; the grasping fellow is seen selling his property; the sons of a powerful and rich collector of curios (about whom tales are told of grasping greed or extortion by power) are seen selling out the collection on which their father spent so much thought and trouble, and these same curios are now being dispersed among other families; murderers are found out and dead and wronged women are avenged. âLin Yutang
A young man longed to see God. He had heard for many years of a wise old man who lived in the mountains nearby. After searching elsewhere for God in vain, the young man finally went to talk with the old man. âOld man, tell me, how can I see God?â The old man stopped, and looked at him deeply. He immersed himself in thought. The young man waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally: âYoung man, I don't think that I can be of help to you, for you see I have a problem that is quite different. I can't not see Him.â âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Gurus teach people profound truthsâat least that's how it is supposed to work. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
People say that a neurotic is a person who builds castles in the clouds, a psychotic lives in them, and a psychiatrist is the fellow who collects the rent. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
The span of life vouchsafed us, threescore and ten, is short enough, if the spirit gets too haughty and wants to live forever, but on the other hand, it is also long enough, if the spirit is a little humble. âLin Yutang
A man may own a thousand acres of land, and yet he still sleeps upon a bed of five feet. âChinese saying
I've noticed a curious difference in how people react to the 2% Rule. Poor beginners think this number is too low. Someone asked me at a recent conference whether the 2% Rule could be increased for small accounts. I answer that when he goes bungee jumping, it doesn't pay to extend the cord. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
The average mind, however, is charming rather than noble. Had the average mind been noble, we should be completely rational beings without sins or weaknesses or misconduct . . . . âLin Yutang
So, it would seem, few and fewer thoughts visit each growing man from year to year, for the grove in our minds is laid wasteâsold to feed unnecessary fires of ambition, or sent to millâand there is scarcely a twig left for them to perch on. âHenry David Thoreau
I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create. âWilliam Blake
My number-one job is to make a living, not to be a millionaire overnight. I've got to put bread and butter on the table, pay my bills. I've got to make a living. This is what I do for my job, so I need a steady, consistent equity curve. âLinda Bradford Raschke
The quality of the bride and bridegroom is more important than the conventions of marriage and divorce, and the men administering or upholding the laws are more important than the laws themselves. âLin Yutang
Probably more harm is done by a forward-looking philosophy delivering man over to a life of futile, wasteful activities than is ever done by all the cynicism of the ancient and modern philosophies combined. âLin Yutang
There is a wealth of humbug in this life, but the multitudinous little humbugs have been classified by Chinese Buddhists under two big humbugs: fame and wealth. ⊠From my own observation of life, this Buddhist classification of lifeâs humbugs is not complete, and the great humbugs of life are three, instead of two: Fame, Wealth and Power. There is a convenient American word which again combines these three humbugs into the One Great Humbug: Success. âLin Yutang
The great question that bothers theological minds is not human happiness, but human "salvation"âa tragic word. âLin Yutang
I understand there is a rich woman living on Park Avenue, who bought up a neighboring lot to prevent anybody from erecting a skyscraper next to her house. She is paying a big sum of money in order to have space fully and perfectly made useless, and it seems to me she never spent her money more wisely. âLin Yutang
Chinese philosophy may be briefly defined as a preoccupation with the knowledge of life rather than the knowledge of truth. âLin Yutang
The only point is who are the wise, the loafers or the hustlers? Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves and that it frays our nerves in trying to get things done perfectly. âLin Yutang
Although sages have no wish to draw attention, people single them out and look to them for leadership. Although the sages place themselves last out of humility, the people push them to the forefront, into positions of responsibility. Long after the sages have passed on, memories of them endure. People continue to remember with reverence their words and actions. Just like Heaven and Earth, the legacy of the sages lasts forever. âTao te ching, Derek Lin annotations
"Hell" is the mental state in which our minds are consumed by anger. Everyone and everything seems to be an enemy when we burn with anger. For example, when a man has quarreled with his wife, he hates even the dishes, which have nothing at all to do with the quarrel, and may even smash them. But by smashing dishes or striking an opponent, he cannot really destroy the dishes or the opponent. The one who suffers most is the person who is angry. âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated by Nikkyo Niwano
[...] the Buddha's teaching that all lives can be lived rightly, each in its own way, and that this is the way that makes the whole world work for what is right. Commit no evil, do all that is good, purify your mind. âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated by Nikkyo Niwano
When you are twenty-five, seeing friends from college in different cities around the country is very exciting, but when you get in your thirties, it gets real stale. âMarty Schwartz
â[...] and to be severely distressed at one's own misfortunes does not show that you love your friend, but that you love yourself.â âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
And the moment a person asks: "What is the meaning of it?" boredom enters, because there is no meaning in anything, really. âOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
I would not recommend quantitative trading for an account with less than $50,000 capital. â Ernest P. Chan
For nothing inspires love, nothing conciliates affection, like virtue. Why, in a certain sense we may be said to feel affection even for men we have never seen, owing to their honesty and virtue. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
He used to complain that there was nothing on which men bestowed so little pains: that every one could tell exactly how many goats or sheep he had, but not how many friends; and while they took pains in procuring the former, they were utterly careless in selecting friends, and possessed no particular marks, so to speak, or tokens by which they might judge of their suitability for friendship. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
The fates lead him who will; him who won't they drag. âJoseph Campbell
"[âŠ] the essence of life is that it lives by killing and eating [âŠ.]â âJoseph Campbell
Guzzling Salt Water Like thirsty people guzzling salt water, achievement only creates a greater desire for accomplishing more, dehydrating us of true satisfaction and fulfillment. âJoshua Medcalf
For in friendship and relationship, just as those who possess any superiority must put themselves on an equal footing with those who are less fortunate, so these latter must not be annoyed at being surpassed in genius, fortune, or rank. But most people of that sort are forever either grumbling at something, or harping on their claims; âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
CAMPBELL: They're [Myths are] stories about the wisdom of life, they really are. What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. âJoseph Campbell
. . . in America we have people from all kinds of backgrounds, all in a cluster, together, and consequently law has become very important in this country. Lawyers and law are what hold us together. There is no ethos. âJoseph Campbell
When you interact with others, see them not as physical bodies, but as spiritual energy. How does this change the way you feel about them? âDerek Lin
Something that's characteristic of our sedentary lives is that there is or may be intellectual excitement, but the body is not in it very much. So you have to engage intentionally in mechanical exercises, the daily dozen and so forth. I find it very difficult to enjoy such things, but there it is. Otherwise, your whole body says to you, "Look, you've forgotten me entirely. I'm becoming just a clogged stream." âJoseph Campbell
Compliance gets us friends, plain speaking hate. ... Plain speaking is a cause of trouble, if the result of it is resentment, which is poison of friendship; but compliance is really the cause of much more trouble, because by indulging his faults it lets a friend plunge into headlong ruin. âMarcus Tullius Cicero
The fact that you read the Bible is not in itself a guarantee that you will grow spiritually. There are great theologians who know the Bible can help, but it is not a guarantee. But if you know the Bible and you also know the present-day Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible can be a great help. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
If you can love today more than you did yesterday, it means that you grew. Not that today you know more doctrine than yesterday: that is just to fatten your intellect. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
"Deal with the small before it becomes large," is a well-known dictum from Lao Tzu.
Mental and social structures ideally increase the overall potency of life. âLivia Kohn
Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. âAlbert Camus
Decision-making based on emotional intuition, without the aid of reason to keep it in line, pretty much always sucks. âMark Manson
Happiness is lighter than a feather, but no one knows how to support it; calamity is heavier than the earth, and yet no one knows how to avoid it. âChuang Tzu
Tranquil inaction has given place to love of disputation; and disputation alone is enough to bring chaos upon the world. âChuang Tzu
"If people don't have to work, they usually don't , which says something about work in America." âRichard K. Irish
Distrust poisons society much quicker than blind faith ever does. âStefan Stenudd
Someoneâs eyebrows falling out is the traditional consequence of falsely preaching the Dharma.
One man spreads a false report and a hundred report it as truth. âold Chinese saying
Armies are maintained for years, to be used on a single day. âold Chinese saying
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods doing froggy things, when two of them accidentally fell into a deep pit! All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. She fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as she could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at her to stop the pain and just die. She began jumping even harder and finally made it out. When she got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that she was partly deafâshe thought they were encouraging her to jump out of the hole the entire time.
". . . institutions tend to institutionalize, rather than serve, their customers." âStephen A. Erickson
Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness. âChuang Tzu
'What is the meaning of Reality? Wait until there is no one around and I can tell you.' âLike Water Or Clouds, A.S. Kline
"What men wanted was women not of high station but with true and delicate sensibilities who would hint to them of their feelings through poems and letters as the clouds passed and the blossom and grasses flowered and faded." âLike Water Or Clouds, A. S. Kline
âFor enjoyment is an art and a skill for which we have little talent or energy.â âAlan Watts
"Well," answered Lien Shu, "you don't ask a blind man's opinion of beautiful designs, nor do you invite a deaf man to a concert. And blindness and deafness are not physical only. There is blindness and deafness of the mind. âThe Chuang Tzu, Translated by Yutang Lin
âI have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty.â âConfucius
". . . success in this world is vanity." âexcerpted from "Book On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are" (Alan Watts)
The host is happy when the guest has gone. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
What leads to the permanent sorrowfulness of burglars is that their principles are contrary to burglary. If they genuinely believed in the moral excellence of burglary, penal servitude would simply mean so many happy years for them; all martyrs are happy, because their conduct and their principles agree. âHow to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day (Arnold Bennett)
âa man who has much must spend much on the gods and his friends and his guests, and if he takes intense delight in his riches, spending will cause him intense annoyance.â âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon and 431-c.360 BCE Xenophon)
". . . a plump, small man with huge black-rimmed glasses, who made me think of an overfed weasel." âfrom The Stranger (Albert Camus)
We absolutely have no language for feelings other than the language of how they affect others and the world. What does a âfeeling-in-itselfâ feel like? I know but cannot tell. I only hope you also know. We try to evoke the feeling through art, through action, through the spaces between words. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
Alas! the times are evil for him who would seek an honest fame, and aim at the practice of virtue. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Mankind may be intelligent enough to invent the radio and wireless telephones, but mankind is simply not intelligent enough to stop wars, nor will ever be. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
âNow wealth and power and the glories of this world are things in which people easily get drowned. I sometimes see an old man with white hair on his head marching slowly with a stoop in an official procession, still clinging to these things and unwilling to let them go. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
We cannot safely assume that other people's minds work on the same principles as our own. All too often, others with whom we come in contact do not reason as we reason, or do not value the things we value, or are not interested in what interests us. âIsabel Briggs Myers
It is not more in the buddhas and not less in ordinary people. To insist on calling it the way is already defiling . . . â101 Zen Stories (Various authors)
MOYER: So the courage to love became the courage to affirm one's own experience against traditionâthe tradition of the Church. Why was that important in the evolution of the West? CAMPBELL: It was important in that it gave the West this accent on the individual, that one should have faith in his experience and not simply mouth terms handed down to him by others. It stresses the validity of the individual's experience of what humanity is, what life is, what values are, against the monolithic system. The monolithic system is a machine system: every machine works like every other machine that's come out of the same shop. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
âOne disease, long life. No disease, short life.â âChinese saying
You know already that you should not grieve over bad shots; learn how not to rejoice over the good ones. You must free yourself from the buffetings of pleasure and pain, and learn to rise above them in easy equanimity, to rejoice as though not you but another had shot well. âZen in the Art of Archery (Eugen Herrigel)
It is certain, however, that the disciplinary climate of home and school, and the religious climate in community and church, were lumped together in his mind as decidedly more oppressive than inspiring; and that, to him, this seemed a damned and unnecessary shame. âErik Erikson, Young Man Luther
âThe infant can only experience complete enjoyment if the capacity for love is sufficiently developed; and it is enjoyment that forms the basis for gratitude. Freud described the infantâs bliss in being suckled as the prototype of sexual gratification. In my view these experiences constitute not only the basis of sexual gratification /but of all later happiness/, and make possible the feeling of unity with another person.â âMelanie Klein, Envy and Gratitude, 1957
Some of the American Plains Indian tribes were (as I had an opportunity to relate and to discuss twenty years ago) deeply shocked when they first saw white people beat their children. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
177. The particular Christian combination of a Higher Identity in the form of a Personal Maker of an absolutist moral bent, and a father figure who became more human in heaven as he became more totalitarian on earth was, we suggest, gradually robbing medieval man of just that existential identity which religion owed him. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
I often write about howâas the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has only recently rediscoveredâmost alcohol and drug dependent people recover on their own. (See my article for PT, "The Surprising Truth About Addiction.")Â Despite the NIAAA's announcing this discovery in a prominent place at its Web site, most people don't believe it, and never will. âDr. Marsha Linehan https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/addiction-in-society/201112/the-opposite-mental-disease
âFor a few years of his life,â he [Kierkegaard] wrote about Luther, âhe was the salt of the earth; but his later life is not free of the staleness of which his tabletalks are an illustration: a man of God, who sits in a small-bourgeois coziness, surrounded by admiring followers who believe that if he lets go of a fart, it must be a revelation, or the result of an inspiration . . . . Luther has lowered the standards of a reformer, and has helped create in later generations that pack, that damned pack of nice, hardy people, who would all like to play at being reformers . . . . Luther's later life has accredited mediocrity. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
âGod bestows all good things; but you must take the bull by the horns, you must do the work, and so provide God with an opportunity and a disguise.â âMartin Luther
The Great (universe) gives me this form, this toil in manhood, this repose in old age, this rest in death. Surely that which is such a kind arbiter of my life is the best arbiter of my death. âChuang Tzu (Lin YuTang)
He who interferes with what doesn't concern him finds what doesn't please him. âArabic saying
MOYERS: Do you think Jesus today would be a Christian? CAMPBELL: Not the kind of Christian we know. Perhaps some of the monks and nuns who are really in touch with high spiritual mysteries would be of the sort that Jesus was. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
A burro is an ass. A burrow is a hole in the ground. As a journalist you are expected to know the difference. âThe UPI Stylebook
Regarding "a man who knows he can't succeed but who goes on trying." To the Taoists it showed the worthlessness of public life. To Confucius it revealed the magnitude of the task. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
How many times have you heard someone put down an idea you're excited about by saying, âIf it's such a good idea, why isn't everyone doing it?â This is the battle cry of mediocrity. âMark Ritchie
The medieval world have four ways of interpreting Biblical material: *literally*, which put stress on the real historical meaning of the text; *allegorically*, which viewed Biblical events as symbolic of Christian history, the Church's creation, and dogma; *morally*, which took the material as figurative expression of proper behavior for a man of faith; and *anagogically*, which treated the material as an expression of the life hereafter. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
There can be the enmity-amity complex among intellectuals, in which loyalty to Freud or to Clark Hull, or for that matter to Galileo or Einstein or Darwin, can be a kind of local excluding-others type of patriotism in which one forms a club or fraternity as much to keep other people out as to include some in. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
One is not truly penitent because one anticipates God's love, but because one already possesses it. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
He looks with longing at the state of grace that others have reached and knows that a component of his own personality will always prevent the spiritual journey being an easy one. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
In simple terms of time, bright ideas really take a small proportion of our time. Most of our time is spent on hard work. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
The new Emperor, only twenty-one years of age, and obviously stirred by the proceedings, reaffirmed his identity: âI am descended from a long line of Christian emperors . . . a single friar who goes counter to all Christianity for a thousand years must be wrong . . . . I will have no more to do with him.â He put a ban on the monk. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
How much the ugliness affects you depends on your sensitivity and the ease with which you can turn your attention away from the obnoxious stimuli. To carry the point further, living in an unpleasant environment with nasty people is a pathological force. If you choose beautiful and decent people to spend your time with, you will find that you feel better and more uplifted. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Our conventional education looks mighty sick. Once you start thinking in this framework, that is, in terms of becoming a good human being, and if then you ask the question about the courses that you took in high school, "How did my trigonometry course help me to become a better human being?" an echo answers, "By gosh, it didn't!" In a certain sense, trigonometry was for me a waste of time. My early music education was also not very successful, because it taught a child who had a very profound feeling for music and a great love for the piano not to learn it. I had a piano teacher who taught me in effect that music is something to stay away from. And I had to relearn music as an adult, all by myself. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Therefore, the truly great man does not injure others and does not credit himself with charity and mercy. He seeks not gain, but does not despise the servants who do. He struggles not for wealth, but does not lay great value on his modesty. He asks for help from no man, but is not proud of his self-reliance, neither does he despise the greedy. He acts differently from the vulgar crowd, but does not place high value on being different or eccentric; nor because he acts with the majority does he despise those that flatter a few. The ranks and emoluments of the world are to him no cause for joy; its punishments and shame no cause for disgrace. He knows that right and wrong cannot be distinguished, that great and small cannot be defined. âChuang Tzu (Lin YuTang)
The absence of love certainly stifles potentialities and even kills them. Personal growth demands courage, self-confidence, even daring; and non-love from the parent or the mate produces the opposite, self-doubt, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness and expectations of ridicule, all inhibitors of growth and of self-actualization. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
It should also be pointed out that the mysticism of the Brothers of the Free Spirit, the Anabaptists, the Levellers, and the Quakers underlies the political philosophy of Jefferson and others who formulated the sadly neglected Constitution of the United States. As I have suggested elsewhere, there is a peculiar contradiction in trying to be the loyal citizen of a republic while believing that the universe is a monarchy. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
I have had students with fewer than six months of practice who were ready to give me tips on techniques. They already âknewâ how to make them more effective. Once in that frame of mind, students are impossible to teach. They approach each lesson with a critical eye (âbut, wouldnât it be better to it this way?â). Needless to say, the attitude always amazes me. Nothing is more contrary to learning an art than trying to change it before you can see the whole picture. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
The Americans have learned that political democracy and economic prosperity donât in themselves solve any of the basic value problems. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
When his [Liu Pang] revolutionary army triumphantly entered the capital, he called a mass meeting of the elders of the people and declared to them that he knew their long-suffering under the tyrannical rule of the Châin  Empire and would abolish all its repressive laws. So he proclaimed that âhere after only three simple laws shall prevail: namely, that manslaughter she'll be punished by death, and that assault and theft shall be justly punished according to the facts of each case.â âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
Ultimately, the best âhelperâ is the âgood person.â So often the sick or inadequate person, trying to help, does harm instead. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
I come into this society, so I've got to live in terms of this society. It's ridiculous not to live in terms of this society because, unless I do, I'm not living. But I mustn't allow this society to dictate to me how I should live. One has to build up one's own system that may violate the expectations of the society, and sometimes society doesn't accept that. But the task of life is to live within the field provided by the society that is really supporting you. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
Humanists for thousands of years have attempted to construct a naturalistic, psychological value system that could be derived from man's own nature, without the necessity of recourse to authority outside the human being himself. Many such theories have been offered throughout history. They have all failed for mass practical purposes exactly as all other theories have failed. We have about as many scoundrels in the world today as we have ever had, and many more neurotics, probably, than we have ever had. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control it proliferates laws of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important then what has actually been done. About this one might go on and onâbut in the current anxiety concerning overpopulation, pollution, ecological imbalance, and the potential disasters of nuclear fission, it is only seldom recognized that governed nations have  become self-destroying institutions paralyzed and bogged in their own complications, and suffocated beneath mountains of paper. The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
âThe man of spirit, on the other hand, hates to see people gather around him. He avoids the crowd. For where there are many men, there are also many opinions and little agreement. There is nothing to be gained from the support of a lot of half-wits who are doomed to end up in a fight with each other.â âThe Way of Chuang Tzu, Thomas Merton
Laozi's point was that the focus on learning to be "discriminating" leads to a chronic dissatisfaction; we become so discriminating that we cannot enjoy anything but the best wine, the most elite movies, the rarest paintings, and so on. Acquiring such sophistication is a kind of unnatural bondage. To the Taoist, there is a profound appeal in the idea of âreturning to the childâ who finds excitement in everything. âThe Complete Idiotâs Guide to Taoism
The Buddhist priest Bukkoku wrote: Although it does not mindfully keep guard, In the small mountain fields the scarecrow does not stand in vain.
He seems to have remained unaffected by his fame and popularity, and at the approach of death he instructed his disciples, âBury my body in the mountain behind the temple, cover it with dirt, and go home. Read no sutras, hold no ceremony. Receive no gifts from either monk or laity. Let the monks wear their robes, eat their meals and carry on as on normal days.â âThe Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho
It has always been common knowledge around the Kodokan that the best competitors tend to be lousy teachers. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
âThose who donât build must burn. Itâs as old as history and juvenile delinquents.â âFahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
. . . a person who has something to prove will move mountains for you. âThe 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene and Joost Elffers)
I have also found useful a recent memorandum by John Shlien (155) on the difference between passive listening and active, forceful listening. The good therapist must be able to listen in the receiving rather than the taking sense in order to be able to hear what is actually said rather than what he expects to hear or demands to hear. He must not impose himself but rather let the words flow in upon him. Only so can their own shape and pattern be assimilated. Otherwise one hears only oneâs own theories and expectations. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
The name Lao-tzu means the Old Boy, derived from the legend that he was born with white hair. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
Reasonable, unfanatical, humanistic, Confucianism is one of the most workable patterns of social convention that the world has known. â'The Way of Zen' - Alan Watts
The Way is not far from man; if we take the Way as something super human, beyond man, this is not the real Way. âConfucius The Way is clear, But men seek it afar. It is in easy things, but men seek for it in difficult things. âMencius The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. âJesus, Luke 17:21
For example, the ten commandments say, "Thou shalt not kill." Then the next chapter says, "Go into Canaan and kill everybody in it." That is a bounded field. The myths of participation and love pertain only to the in-group, and the out-group is totally other. This is the sense of the word "gentile" -- the person is not of the same order. âJoseph Campbell
As everybody knows, there are terrible conflicts in the world, with diametrically opposite positions espoused. How are these conflicts to be overcome? The truth of an issue cannot be determined by killing one another, for then the outcome merely indicates who is stronger, not who is right. But if violence is no solution, neither is voting, because the majority may be wrong and often has been wrong. The only satisfactory solution is for us to engage in thought, both separately and together, until a viewpoint is reached that is intellectually satisfactory. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
- A compartmentalized religion is a poor thing and will not endure. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
The five colors, five sounds, and five flavors denote the vast array of sensory stimulations in the material world. Excessive indulgence in these stimulations leads to sensory overload, followed by fatigue, numbness, boredom, and apathy. âTao te ching: annotated & explained (Derek Lin)
In this chapter he points out that a ruler should execute his powers mildly. If people are too burdened by their ruler, they will cease to respect him, and obey him as little as they can get away with. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
âLife is the art of drawing without an eraser.â ~John W. Gardner
Lincoln would inspect the troops where they were encamped on the banks of the Potomac River, or he'd salute them from the streets. On one rainy day, later in the war, Lincoln got drenched while he stood on the same balcony as the soldiers cheer him enthusiastically. "If they can stand it, " he said, "I guess I can." âExcerpt from "Lincoln on Leadership" by Donald T. Phillips
Lincoln always did the right thing, or at least he attempted to do so. He simply did not deal with people he knew to be dishonest. "Stand with anybody that stands right," he preached. "Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong." âLincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
The Bhagavad Gita says: Get in there and do your thing. Don't worry about the outcome. Recognize sorrow as of the essence. When there is time, there is sorrow. We can't rid the world of sorrow, but we can choose to live in joy.
[...] in the orthodoxy tangible things are not regarded as being informed by the Christ. It is only in the Thomas Gospel that we read, "Split the stick, there am I. Lift the stone, I am there." And so, in the Christian tradition, one finds only anecdotal art. âJoseph Campbell
Even the president's two sons, Willie and Tad, were aware of their father's frequent pardons. Having sentenced their doll soldier to death as punishment for sleeping on guard duty, they obtained mercy from their father. "The doll Jack is pardoned. By order of the President," he commanded on Executive Mansion stationery, signing it just as he signed all of this pardons: A. Lincoln. âfrom Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
For most people, the life of art is an all-absorbing matter, and it requires a hell of a lot of work. What Ramakrishna said about illumination is also true about art: "Unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond, don't pursue it." It is too difficult. âJoseph Campbell
Schutz' needs are: 1. the need for inclusion 2. the need for control 3. the need for affection
. . . if you are near retirement or already retired, your prospects for an increase in earned income is very low or zero. Can you trade you way to a bigger rainy-day fund? Yes, if you have aptitude and a willingness to work fairly hard, at least several hours a day. No, if you lack intrinsic aptitude and are not willing to put in the hours. âBarbara Rockefeller
"Our new definition of the global trader is one who is not afraid of the word 'speculation,' who appreciates that it's hard work and not a hobby, and who is aware that, in this area, more person fail than succeed. The global trader never goes into a position expecting to hold it foreverâin fact, he has an exit strategy." âBarbara Rockefeller
"If you seek therapy for your trading problems, choose a competent therapist who knows what trading is about. You are ultimately responsible for your own therapy and must monitor its progress. I usually tell my patients that if a month goes by without clear signs of improvement, then therapy is in trouble. When therapy shows no progress for two months, it is time to seek a consultation with another therapist." âDr. Alexander Elder
âWell, I think the leading cause of financial disablement is the belief that you can rely on the experts to help you. It might, if you know the right expert. For example, if you happen to be Paul Tudor Jones' barber, and he is talking about the market, it might not be a bad idea to listen. Typically, however, these so-called âexpertsâ are not traders. Your average broker couldn't be a trader in a million years. More money is lost listening to brokers than any other way. Trading requires and intense personal involvement. You have to do your own homework, and that is what I advise people to do.â âMichael Marcus
"Many policy makers are little more than political cowards who are afraid to tell special interest groups that they can't have something for nothing." âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
The word "decide" comes from Latin roots that mean âto cut off.â When you really make a decision, your mind has concluded that no other alternative is either desirable or possible. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
Some people may live a long life without ever having been aware of their potential and without having fulfilled themselves. They may even amass great wealth and be considered by others to be eminently successful. Yet their failure to know themselves and to cultivate their potential is a dereliction in their uniqueness as humans. Amassing wealth is not a uniquely human train, since squirrels hoard more nuts than they can consume, and other animals are also known to accumulate what is wealth for them. The human uniqueness is not acquiring from without, but in maximizing that which is within. This is an essential of spirituality. âAbraham Twerski
By the time you figure out the game, its cost may equal that of a college education, only most students never graduateâthey drop out and get nothing for their money except for memories of a few wild rides. âDr. Alexander Elder
. . . in China, philosophy is married to poetry rather than to science as it is in the West. âLin Yutang
Many professional people are preoccupied with being right. Engineers believe that everything can be calculated, and doctors believe that if they run enough tests, they'll come up with the right diagnosis and treatment. Curing a patient involves a lot more than precision. It is a running joke how many doctors and lawyers lose money in the markets. Why? Certainly not for lack of intelligence, but for lack of humility and flexibility. âDr. Alexander Elder Interesting. Love ya, \Toad
Mark Twain once said, âTo get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.â âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
I believe that of a hundred liberal Christians today who still believe in God in some form or other, not more than five believe in a real Devil, except in a figurative sense. Also the belief in a real Hell is disappearing before the belief in a real Heaven. âLin Yutang, The Importance of Living, 1937
Confidence is the mental state of effortlessly expecting a good result based on hard work, discipline, and an effective (tested and proven) methodology. âHoward Abell
The apostle Paul said, âI have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may beâ (Phil. 4:11).
The skins of the tiger and the leopard, when they are tanned, are as the skins of the dog and the sheep tanned. âConfucius
Which is the best man to deal withâhe who knows nothing about a subject, and, what is extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, or he who really knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all? âHenry David Thoreau
Even if it were a dark dungeon, we still would have to make the best of it; it would be ungrateful of us not to do so when we have, instead of a dungeon, such a beautiful earth to live on for a good part of a century. Sometimes we get too ambitious and disdain the humble and yet generous earth. Yet a sentiment for this Mother Earth, a feeling of true affection and attachment, one must have for this temporary abode of our body and spirit, if we are to have a sense of spiritual harmony. âLin Yutang
Somewhere in our adult life, our sentimental nature is killed, strangled, chilled or atrophied by an unkind surrounding, largely through our own fault in neglecting to keep it alive, or our failure to keep clear of such surroundings. In the process of learning âworld experience,â there is many a violence done to our original nature, when we learn to harden ourselves, to be artificial, and often to be cold-hearted and cruel, so that as one prides oneself upon gaining more and more worldly experience, his nerves become more and more insensitive and benumbedâespecially in the world of politics and commerce. As a result, we get the great âgo-getterâ pushing himself forward to the top and brushing everybody aside; we get the man of iron will and strong determination, with the last embers of sentiment, which he calls foolish idealism or sentimentality, gradually dying out in his breast. It is that sort of person who is beneath my contempt. The world has too many cold-hearted people. If sterilization of the unfit should be carried out as a state policy, it should begin with sterilizing the morally insensible, the artistically stale, the heavy of heart, the ruthlessly successful, the cold-heartedly determined and all those people who have lost the sense of fun in lifeârather than the insane and the victims of tuberculosis. âLin Yutang
Is your goal to become an analyst or a trader? You must answer that question. If your technical analysis is turning you into a Ph.D. In the S&P, join a university faculty. You'll save money! Trading is not about scholarship. It's about making money. âHoward Abell
Most wise men choose to marry a not too smart wife, and most wise girls choose a not too smart husband as a life companion. âLin Yutang
From the Taoist point of view, an educated man is one who believes he has not succeeded when he has, but is not so sure he has failed when he fails, while the mark of the half-educated man is his assumptions that his outward successes and failures are absolute and real. âLin Yutang
Laughter also has this subtle advantage, that it need not remain without an overtone of sympathy and brotherly understanding; as the laughter that greets Don Quixoteâs absurdities and misadventures does not mock the heroâs intent. âLin Yutang
The rain waters weeds and orchids equally; the sun shines on everyone with the same brightness and warmth despite variations in individual merits. The sage, in emulating the Tao, also regards everyone in the same egalitarian lightânone higher and none lower. âTao te ching
While the two activities are widely different, and strictly incompatible at any moment, they can and do alternate with great rapidity. It is important to understand the difference and to see the value of both approaches. Things can be different without being better or worse. To say that philosophy and religion are not the same is not to be under the necessity of choosing between them. It is helpful to realize that religion is essentially a matter of "enjoyment," [or direct experience] while philosophy is essentially a matter of "contemplation." âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
For their [modern apologists for religion] most forceful arguments for some sort of return to orthodoxy are those which show the social and moral advantages of belief in God. But this does not prove that God is a reality. It proves, at most, that believing in God is useful. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
Furthermore, science and industry have so increased both the tempo and the violence of living that our packages seem to come apart faster and faster every day. There is, then, the feeling that we live in a time of unusual insecurity. In the past hundred years so many long-established traditions have broken downâtraditions of family and social life, of government, of the economic order, and of religious belief. As the years go by, there seem to be fewer and fewer rocks to which we can hold, fewer things which we can regard as absolutely right and true, and fixed for all time. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
Though we have different emphases, each thoughtful man is to some degree a scientist, each a moralist, and each an artist. In the same way, a man can be both a philosopher and a man of faith. In short, a normal human life is big enough to include and comprehend more than one approach to reality. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
â[âŠ] except for man, no animal is capable of laughter. So laughter shows a very high peak in the evolution of life.â âOnly that animal can laugh which can get bored.â "The higher the intelligence, the greater is boredom.â âOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
"[...] the suddenness of his death saved him the sensation of dying." âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
Now friendship may be thus defined: a complete accord on all subjects human and divine, joined with mutual goodwill and affection. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
[...] as long as you are aware of the limitations of your tools and data, you can cut many corners and still succeed. â Ernest P. Chan
[...] the most difficult thing in the world was for a friendship to remain unimpaired to the end of life. So many things might intervene: conflicting interests; differences of opinion in politics; frequent changes in character, owing sometimes to misfortunes, sometimes to advancing years. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
[âŠ] and should test our friends' characters by a kind of tentative friendship. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
"It's what Goethe said in Faust but which [George] Lucas has dressed in modern idiom â the message that technology is not going to save us. Our computers, our tools, our machines are not enough. We have to rely on our intuition, our true being." âJoseph Campbell
Man should not be in the service of society, society should be in the service of man. When man is in the service of society, you have a monster state, and that's what is threatening the world at this minute. âJoseph Campbell
MOYERS: where do these kids get their myths today? CAMPBELL: They make them up themselves. This is why we have graffiti all over the city. These kids have their own gangs and their own initiations and their own morality, and they're doing the best they can. But they're dangerous because their own laws are not those of the city. They have not been initiated into our society.
I imagine some kings and queens are the most stupid, absurd, banal people you could run into, probably interested only in horses and women, you know. But you're not responding to them as personalities, you're responding to them in their mythological roles. When someone becomes a judge, or President of the United States, the man is no longer that man, he's the representative of an eternal office; he has to sacrifice his personal desires and even life possibilities to the role that he now signifies. âJoseph Campbell
Actually, I have a great respect for the Bible, because everything which belongs to Jesus is always a blessing. There is a sense in which it is never old. But the Gospels are only a starting point in a relationship with Jesus, because He still is alive today. The history of His life is not yet finished. ... Of course, that book will always be unfinished, because the Lord is still alive and you can't finish a book about a person who is still alive. How can you finish a biography of a living person? âJuan Carlos Ortiz
The Hindus, for example, don't believe in special revelation. They speak of a state in which the ears have opened to the song of the universe.
MOYERS: In the political sense, is there a danger that these myths of heroes teach us to look at the deeds of others as if we were in an amphitheater or coliseum or a movie, watching others perform great deeds while consoling ourselves to impotence? CAMPBELL: I think this is something that has overtaken us only recently in this culture. The one who watches athletic games instead of participating in athletics is involved in a surrogate achievement.
That's the reduction of mythology to theology. Mythology is very fluid. Most of the myths are self-contradictory. You may even find four or five myths in a given culture, all giving different versions of the same mystery. Then theology comes along and says it has got to be just this way. Mythology is poetry, and the poetic language is very flexible. Religion turns poetry into prose. God is literally up there, and this is literally what he thinks, and this is the way you've got to behave to get into proper relationship with that god up there. âJoseph Campbell
When I talk about knowing Him, I am not referring to knowing more of the Bible. I have seen people studying the Bible continually in seminary, but they didn't grow one bit spiritually. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
The Prince is a haughty person, filled with pride, and his moods are fickle. No one opposes him, and so he has come to take actual pleasure in trampling upon the feelings of others. âChuang Tzu, translated by Lin Yutang
What is much? What is little? Be thankful for the gift. âChuang Tzu
The inundation of the exceptional makes people feel worse about themselves, makes them feel that they need to be more extreme, more radical, and more self-assured to get noticed or even matter. âMark Manson
All men know the advantage of being useful, but no one knows the advantage of being useless. âChuang Tzu
Here's a fun expression I read: "strove for material objects to the last."
"love of duty leads to perversion of principles;" âChuang Tzu
Itâs strange that in an age when we are more connected than ever, entitlement seems to be at an all-time high. âMark Manson
"Yes I am bold because to pity this fool does him no good. Why do you worry about matters that do you no good?" âAeschylus: Prometheus Bound
The first thing people ask me is, "Brother Ortiz, which church are you from?" I tell them that I am from the church. "The church of what?" "The church. The church, period." âJuan Carlos Ortiz
One more good man on earth is better than an extra angel in heaven. âold Chinese saying
Without such gratuitous assumptions, biology has not at all destroyed a whit of human dignity, or cast doubt upon the view that we are probably the most splendid animals ever evolved on this earth. âLin Yutang
The ideal of the family system is necessarily dead set against the ideal of personal individualism. âLin Yutang
For who, in heavenâs name, would choose a life of the greatest wealth and abundance on condition of neither loving or being be loved by any creature? That is the sort of life tyrants endure. They, of course, can count on no fidelity, no affection, no security for the good will of any one. For them all is suspicion and anxiety; for them their is no possibility of friendship. Who can love one whom he fears, or by whom he knows that he is feared? Yet such men have a show of friendship offered them, but it is only a fair-weather show. If it ever happen that they fall, as it generally does, they will at once understand how friendless they are. â Cicero (106 B.C.â43 B.C.)
If you suspect a man, donât employ him; if you employ him, donât suspect him âConfucius
Deep people donât say shallow things. âOld Chinese saying
He who has a hundred miles to walk should reckon ninety as half the journey . . . . âAwa Kenzo
As a desire for immortality in the sense of endless life it was the exact opposite of the Buddhist desire for release from the Wheel of Rebirths and thereby for escape from life and death. âLike Water or Clouds, A.S. Kline
âMadness cannot be found in a raw state. Madness only exists in society. It does not exist outside the forms of sensibility that isolate it and the forms of repulsion that exclude or capture it.â âMichel Foucault
âAt firstâ said Châing-yĂŒan âI thought that mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers. Later, on considering these things, I realized that mountains were not mountains and rivers were not rivers. Eventually I achieved enlightenment. I came to understand that mountains are mountains, and rivers are rivers.â
For fifty years, in a history that spans four thousand years, Chinese civilisation achieved a peak of cultural sophistication. âLike Water or Clouds, A.S. Kline
Hume complains about âthe strong propensity of mankind to [believe in] the extraordinary and the marvellous,â and notes that this alone âought reasonably to beget a suspicion against all relations of this kind.â To believe that one has a secret, that one knows something remarkable that others donât know, can bring a palpable sense of oneâs own specialness that is so agreeable that it is hard to resist. According to Hume, the desire to feel this is the primary motivation for gossipâand it is also the motivation to create and to spread stories of miracles. âKevin Schilbrack
For him who falls to rise no more, the hour of repentance is past. âCh'ao Ts'o, died 155 B.C.
On the other hand, persons who hang about the vestibules of the rich and great, and brag of their wonderful powers in big words,âwhat are they more than common adventurers in search of pelf? âPâEI LIN, 9th century a.d.
How do we know if we have âarrivedâ in our practices? Is it all about accumulating ranks and belts or is it about internal transformation? âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
Nothing is frozen, everything unfolds. âLike Water Or Clouds - The T'ang Dynasty and the Tao (A. S. Kline)
The hallucination of separateness prevents one from seeing that to cherish the ego is to cherish misery. âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
Idolatry is not the use of images, but confusing them with what they represent, and in this respect mental images and lofty abstractions can be more insidious than bronze idols. âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
Born within the domain of refinement and justice, I passed into an environment of vulgar ignorance. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
But the mistake in the beginning was to think of solids and space as two different things, instead of as two aspects of the same thing. The point is that they are different but inseparable, like the front end and the rear end of a cat. âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
The cherished and enriched should avoid displaying this, or they might invite a forced change to the opposite. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
Dripping water hollows out the stone, not through force but through persistence. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
A little injustice in the breast can be drowned by wine; but a great injustice in the world can be drowned only by the sword. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
The stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter... we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. ââJames Jeans in The Mysterious Universe, [14] I incline to the idealistic theory that consciousness is fundamental, and that the material universe is derivative from consciousness, not consciousness from the material universe... In general the universe seems to me to be nearer to a great thought than to a great machine. It may well be, it seems to me, that each individual consciousness ought to be compared to a brain-cell in a universal mind. ââJames Jeans, addressing the British Association in 1934, recorded in Physics and Philosophy, [15]
". . . they will obey with joy the man whom they believe to be wiser than themselves." âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon)
By using restraint you have a better chance to understand the nuances of each technique. It takes at least two years of practice before you can discover the subtleties of the art. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
Science is completely objective only where its findings are of no importance to us. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
Furthermore, the younger members of our society have for some time been in growing rebellion against paternal authority and the paternal state. For one reason, the home in an industrial society is chiefly a dormitory, and the father does not work there, with the result that wife and children have no part in his vocation. He is just a character who brings in money, and after working hours he is supposed to forget about his job and have fun. Novels, magazines, television, and popular cartoons therefore portray "Dad" as an incompetent clown. And the image has some truth in it because Dad has fallen for the hoax that work is simply something you do to make money, and with money you can get anything you want. âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
From childhood on, I knew I had to turn pale and be terror-striken when I heard the name of Christ; for I was taught only to perceive him as a strict and wrathful judge. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
... But in his later years, with increasing frequency and vehemence, he divorced himself from the German peasant whom he condemned for being vulgar, violent, and animal-like. During the great Peasants War, he used his efficient propaganda machine to suggest the ruthless extermination of all rebellious peasantsâthose same peasants who, at the beginning, had looked to him as one of their natural leaders. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
Even a few days before his death, Luther saw the devil sitting on a rainpipe outside his window, exposing his behind to him. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
The play-it-safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they donât look clearly and objectively at situations, they donât recognize or believe in their own abilities, and they wonât stretch those abilities to overcome even the smallest amount of risk. âThe Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff)
Yet it is obvious that rituals, observances, and performances do evoke transitory effects which can be put on for the occasion and afterward hung in the closet with one's Sunday clothes. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Society is obsessed with the eagerness to change. âStefan Stenudd
This singleminded pursuit of victory is, of course, the opposite of the deeper goal of the art. When the only thing that matters is being a champion, one is constantly feeding oneâs ego instead of building oneâs character. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
"Now, Han YĂŒ objects to the Buddhist commandments. He objects to the bald pates of the priests, their dark robes, their renunciation of domestic ties, their idleness, and life generally at the expense of others. So do I." âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
CAMPBELL: We just don't know very much about Jesus. All we know are four contradictory texts that purport to tell us what he said and did. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
Once you accept the premise that a life is worthwhile only if it is truly notable and great, then you basically accept the fact that most of the human population (including yourself) sucks and is worthless. âMark Manson
At length, under lax laws, the wealthy began to use their riches for evil purposes of pride and self-aggrandisement and oppression of the weak. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Some one asked Confucius, saying, Master, what think you concerning the principle that good should be returned for evil? The Master replied, What then will you return for good? No: RETURN GOOD FOR GOOD; FOR EVIL, JUSTICE. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Since Taoism is essentially a wisdom tradition it does not proselytize or seek to convert others to its practice.
Lao Tzu states, "The Sage is good to people who are good. He is also good to people who are not good."
All these four holy men failed to get a single dayâs enjoyment out of life. Dead, their fame will last for ten thousand generations; but they will get no reality out of that. Though praised, they do not know it; though rewarded, they do not know itâany more than if they were logs of wood or clods of clay. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
I have used the words "therapy," "psychotherapy," and "patient." Actually, I hate all these words and I hate the medical model that they imply because the medical model suggests that the person who comes to the counselor is a sick person, beset by disease and illness, seeking a cure. Actually, of course, we hope that the counselor will be the one who helps to foster the self-actualization of people, rather than the one who helps to cure a disease. The helping model has to give way, too; it just doesn't fit. It makes us think of the counselor as the person or the professional who knows and reaches down from his privileged position above to the poor jerks below who don't know and have to be helped in some way. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
The therapist's difficulties with his patients, their refusal to accept an interpretation, their anger and fighting back, their stubbornness, almost surely, in some cases, arises for a refusal to be rubricized. Such resistance may therefore be seen as an assertion of and protection of personal uniqueness, identity or selfhood against attack or neglect. Such reactions not only maintain the dignity of the individual; they also serve to protect him against bad psychotherapy, textbook interpretation, âwild analysis,â over-intellectual or premature interpretations or explanations, meaningless abstractions or conceptualizations, all of which imply to the patient a lack of respect; for a similar treatment, see OâConnell. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
To complain about the garden programs in the city where I live, to have committees of women heatedly coming in and complaining that the rose gardens in the parks are not sufficiently cared for, is in itself a wonderful thing because it indicates the height of life at which the complainers are living. To complain about rose gardens means that your belly is full, that you have a good roof over your head, that your furnace is working, that you're not afraid of Bubonic plague, that you're not afraid of assassination, that the police and fire departments work well, that the government is good, that the school system is good, that local politics are good, and many other preconditions are already satisfied. This is the point: The high-level complaint is not to be taken as simply like any other complaint: it must be used to indicate all the preconditions which have been satisfied in order to make the height of this complaint theoretically possible. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
We know that tearing away a functional neurotic symptom by force, or by too direct a confrontation or interpretation, or by a stress situation which cracks the personâs defenses against too painful an insight, can shatter the person altogether. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
We are beginning to find out through such agencies as Synanon that drug addicts, who are killing a part of themselves, will give up drugs easily if you offer them instead some meaning to their lives. Psychologists have described alcoholics as being fundamentally depressed, basically bored with life. They describe their existence as an endless flat plain with no ups or downs. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
This is all to emphasize that this book is not about some new tricks of management, or some âgimmicksâ or superficial techniques that can be used to manipulate human beings more efficiently for ends not their own. This is not a guide to exploitation. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
One is best preserved by floating along without stress, all of which is the same as Jesus' doctrine of not being anxious for the morrow, and the Bhagavad-Gitaâs principle of action without concern for results (nishkama karma). âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
In this way old-fashioned Japanese carpenters use no blueprints and judge everything by eye, putting together marvelous pieces of joinery without nails or glue. But the art is being lost because their children, who should begin studying the craft at least by the time they are seven years old, must instead be sent to school to learn bureaucracy and business. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
MOYERS: That's why I'm not so sure the future of the race and the salvation of the journey is in space. I think it might be right here on earth, in the body, in the womb of our being. âThe Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers)
Lao Tzu is unique among all the ancient philosophers in consistently highlighting the pitfalls of knowledge. In several chapters, including this one, he points to the link between intelligence and arrogance. He also points to the ease with which we can use knowledge in a shrewd way to twist the truth. âTao te ching: annotated & explained (Derek Lin)
This is what pleases Godâa love for all men. Not, "Oh God, judge these terrible sinners." âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
If others had not been foolish we should have been so. âThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell (William Blake)
In the last few years there has been a rash of conferences, books, symposia, not to mention newspaper articles and Sunday magazine sections, about what the world will be like in the year 2000 or in the next century. I have glanced through this "literature," if one could call it that, and have generally been more alarmed than instructed by it. A good 95 per cent of it deals entirely with purely technological changes, leaving aside completely the question of good and bad, right and wrong. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
At the age of ninety he took leave of his disciples. He said goodbye to them, and he said, âNow I am moving towards the hills, towards the Himalayas. I am going there to get ready to die. It is good to live with people, it is good to be in the world while you are living, but when one is getting nearer to death it is good to move into total aloneness, so that you move towards the original source in your absolute purity and loneliness, uncontaminated by the world.â âOsho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Vol 1, Talks on Fragments from Lao Tzuâs Tao Te Ching
Above all, concerning your honored sonâs behavior, it is going at things backwards to attack a childâs wrongdoings if the parent himself is incorrect. If you will first make your own conduct correct and then voice your opinions, not only will he naturally correct himself, but his younger brother, Master Naizen, will learn from his conduct and become correct as well. Thus will father and sons become good men. This would be a happy outcome. âThe Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho
My concern is that when many parents spank their children, it's not to the degree of the child's obedience but rather as a result of the parents' impatience. When we are in a good mood, we often are too lenient. This confuses children. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
Another important goal of intrinsic education is to see that the child's basic psychological needs are satisfied. A child cannot reach self-actualization until his needs for security, belongingness, dignity, love, respect, and esteem are all satisfied. In psychological terms, the child is free from anxiety because he feels himself to be love-worthy, and knows that he belongs in the world, that someone respects and wants him. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
I once heard a tremendous sermon on how the righteousness of God covers us like a new coat. But I wonder how it can be that God sees us in that coat, yet we cannot see each other in it? âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
Now, if you want to stop violence, if you want to stop wars, how much vitality, how much of yourself, do you give to it? Isnât it important to you that your children are killed, that your sons go into the army where they are bullied and butchered? Donât you care? My God, if that doesnât interest you, what does? Guarding your money? Having a good time? Taking drugs? Donât you see that this violence in yourself is destroying your children? Or do you see it only as some abstraction? âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
It seems to me that one of the greatest stumbling blocks in life is this constant struggle to reach, to achieve, to acquire. We are trained from childhood to acquire and to achieveâthe very brain cells themselves create and demand this pattern of achievement in order to have physical security, but psychological security is not within the field of achievement. âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment? âEpictetus
As a young man, the artist Andy Warhol had the revelation that it was generally impossible to get people to do what you wanted them to do by talking to them. They would turn against you, subvert your wishes, disobey you out of sheer perversity. He once told a friend, âI learned that you actually have more power when you shut up.â âThe 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene and Joost Elffers)
More certainly than many things written in the Gospels, Christ went to the lavatory. This action was no less holy and no more symbolical than the breaking of bread and drinking wine at the Last Supper. âR.H. Blyth
One day the Master [Joshu] announced that a young monk had reached an advanced state of enlightment. The news caused some stir. Some of the monks went to see the young monk [Kyogen]. "We heard you are enlightened. Is that true?" they asked. "It is," he replied. "And how do you feel?" "As miserable as ever," said the monk.
Behavioral studies at Harlow's Primate Laboratory come to the same conclusion. Isolated animals suffer the loss of various capacities, and beyond a certain point these losses frequently become irreversible. At the Jackson Labs in Bar Harbor, to take another example, it was found that dogs allowed to run loose in the fields and in packs, without human contact, lose the potentiality for becoming domesticated, that is, pets. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Counseling is not concerned with training or with molding or with teaching in the ordinary sense of telling people what to do and how to do it. It is not concerned with propaganda. . . . As a kind of model of this process we might think of a therapist who, if he is a decent therapist and also a decent human being, would never dream of imposing himself upon his patients or propagandizing in any way or of trying to make a patient into an imitation of himself. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Now those who seek happiness and avoid misery, rejoice or grieve according as they are successful or otherwise. But manâs desires are endless, while his means of gratifying them are limited. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
A society that glorifies some of its citizens promotes envy, competition, and calamity â unfortunately also stupidity. If we make superficial things our quests, we only find what we searched for, which is superficiality. To reach the profound, we must do away with distractions of that kind. Otherwise the mud never settles, and we never see clearly. âStefan Stenudd
Seriousness, after all, is only a sign of effort, and effort is a sign of imperfect mastery. âLin Yutang
If you can put your five fingers through it, it is a gate, if not a door. âUlysses, James Joyce
In old age, your only relationship to the world is your begging bowl, which in our cultures is your bank account. That's what you've already earned, and it has to support this relatively carefree last stage of life. Since I am myself in that stage now, I can tell you that it is the best part of life. It's properly called, in this wonderful language that we have, the "Golden Years." It is a period when everything is coming up and flowering. It is very, very sweet. âJoseph Campbell
Well, there was a big Roman Catholic conference of the mediation ordersâCistercians, Trappists, and so forthâin Bangkok, and John was there as an observer. By the way, it was while attend this conference that Thomas Merton died. He was electrocuted by a bad fixture in some absurd Thai hotel. John later said that the talk that Merton had given just before his death was one of the most magnificent he'd ever heard. When John came back, he said the Christian monks and Buddhist monks had no problem communicating. As anyone who's tried to be a poet knows, when youve had a spiritual experience, the words don't render it. All they can do is give a clue. The experience goes beyond anything that can be said. The religious sense is implied in the metaphoric language of religion. "But," he said, "the lay clergy who have never had the experience, but have only read the books, are in collision all the time."
Indian reincarnation's principle: you cannot truly die until you have attained release from life.
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. âSchopenhauer
In the later part of 1864, at a time close to an election in which he could be voted out of office, the president kept his faith in the people. Lincoln believe that, in the end, his course would be vindicated. "I cannot run the political machine," he once said, "I have enough on my hands without that. It is the people's businessâthe election is in their hands. If they turn their backs to the fire, and get scorched in the rear, they'll find they have to sit on the blister." âfrom Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
If you are going to stay in the village compound, the town will take care of you. But if you go on the adventure, it is prudent to go at the right time. This is a real problem if you are overcome late in life, if you have already taken on responsibilities when the light goes on: like Gauguin, who made a total mess, not only of his life, but of his family's life. But as he went to pieces, his art became greater and greater. He did not go into painting seriously until he was around forty-five years old, and then his life was in his paintings. His was a hero's journey, but at a very high price. It is an ironic situation: you'd say he made a mess of it as a man, but as an artist, he was a triumph. âJoseph Campbell
Commissions and slippage are to traders what death and taxes are to all of us. They take some fun out of life and ultimately bring it to an end. A trader must support his broker and the machinery of exchanges before he collects a dime. Being simply "better than average" is not good enough. You have to be head and shoulders above the crowd to win a minus-sum game. == Dr. Alexander Elder
"Theodore Adorno and other sociologists showed in their two-volume study, /The American Solider/, that the single best predictor of an individual's effectiveness in combat was his relationship with his sergeant. A soldier who trusts his leader will literally follow him to his death." ==From the book "Trading for a Living" by Dr. Alexander Elder
Now let me project into the future a little bit using the same principles. The recent increase in the legal minimum wage will decrease the profitability of fast food stores and other retail outlets, forcing some out of business and others to lay off workers. Automation devices will enjoy increased use as they become relatively more valuable due to the increased cost of labor. Unemployment among the unskilled labor force and youth with increase, and the demand for government assistance programs will increase. "[I]n the name of caring for the people" the government will once again contribute to the impoverishment of the nation. Government intervention doesn't circumvent the laws of supply and demand; it simply maldistributes factors on both sides of the equation. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
To think truth regardless of appearances is laborious and requires the expenditure of more power than any other work man is called upon to perform. There is no labor from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and consecutive thought. âWallace Wattles
Developing a trade plan and sticking to it are the two main ingredients of trading discipline. If we were to name the one defining characteristic of successful traders, it wouldnât be technical analysis skill, gut instinct, or aggressiveness - though theyâre all important. Nope, it would be trading discipline. Traders who follow a disciplined approach are the ones who survive year after year and market cycle after market cycle. They can even be wrong more often than right and still make money because they follow a disciplined approach. Yet establishing and maintaining trading discipline is an elusive goal for many traders. âBrian Dolan
Choosing a winning stock or fund is a lot harder than listening to tips at a party or scanning headlines in a newspaper. âDr. Alexander Elder
Getting the story on a company is a lot easier if you understand the basic business. Thatâs why Iâd rather invest in panty hose than in communications satellites, or in motel chains than in fiber optics. The simpler it is, the better I like it. When somebody says, âAny idiot could run this joint,â thatâs a plus as far as Iâm concerned, because sooner or later any idiot probably is going to be running it. âPeter Lynch
Many people, whether rich or poor, feel trapped and bored. As Henry David Thoreau wrote almost two centuries ago, âThe mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.â We wake up in the same bed each morning, eat the same breakfast, and drive to work down the same road. We see the same dull faces in the office and shuffle papers on our old desks. We drive home, watch the same dumb shows on TV, have a beer, and go to sleep in the same bed. We repeat this routine day after day, month after month, year after year. It feels like a life sentence without parole. What is there to look forward to? Perhaps a brief vacation next year? Weâll buy a package deal, fly to Paris, get on a bus with the rest of the group, and spend 15 minutes in front of the Triumphal Arch and half an hour going up the Eiffel Tower. Then back home, back to the old routine. Most people live in a deep invisible grooveâno need to think, make decisions, feel the raw edge of life. The routine does feel comfortableâbut deathly boring. Even amusements stop being fun. How many Hollywood movies can you watch on a weekend until they all become a blur? How many trips to Disneyland can you take before all the rides in plastic soap dishes feel like one endless ride to nowhere? To quote Thoreau again, âA stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them.â âDr. Alexander Elder
To enjoy a thing exclusively is commonly to exclude yourself from the true enjoyment of it. âHenry David Thoreau
Chinese go so far as to assume that Heaven or God Himself is quite a reasonable being, that if you live reasonably, according to your best lights, you have nothing to fear, that peace of conscience is the greatest of all gifts, and that a man with a clear conscience need not be afraid even of ghosts. âLin Yutang
The God at the end of the journey is the same one you knew at the beginning. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Go on the Internet and find a website that gives you the 100 most active stocks on the NASDAQ (and if you do not know how to find such a website, you haven't got what it takes to trade them). âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
Also choose to laugh at the crazy things that always want to go on vacation with youâflat tires, flat hair, flat spirits, flat experiences. A couple of summers ago when melting ice caused a river to flood our campsite, a friend woke me with the comment that âthe dew was a little heavier this morning.â âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
. . . all the worldâs creative artists are vastly better at minding their own business than minding that of others . . . . âLin Yutang
When a scuba diver jumps off a boat, he has a device called an octopus attached to his air tank. It consists of several tubes, one leading to his mouthpiece, another to his flotation vest, and yet another to an instrument that shows how much air he has left in his tank. If it falls too low, he may not have enough to get back to the surface, which is why scuba is such a deadly sport for illiterates and hotheads. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
Such is human psychology that if we donât express our joy, we soon cease to feel it. âLin Yutang
Many of us still have tragically limited understandings of grace. Unknowingly we still serve a God we think is stingy, who loves us only in proportion to how much we work for him, who is embarrassed by laughter and surprised by spontaneity. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
I bet on the Americans being as human as the Chinese. The only difference is the Americans havenât got insight into human nature or havenât proceeded logically to organize their political life in accordance with it. âLin Yutang (1937)
Idealism is merely that state of mind which believes in another world order, no matter what kind of an order, so long as it is different from the present one. âLin Yutang
If you would go to the political world, follow the great road, follow that market-man, keep his dust in your eyes, and it will lead you straight to it; for it, too, has its place merely, and does not occupy all space. âHenry David Thoreau
Mere survival of these times is not sufficient. One of the problems inherent in man's tremendous abilities is his ability to adapt to almost anything. The danger is that we begin to simply endure our seasons rather than celebrate them, and we let life slip away imperceptibly by the mere passage of time. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
The plain fact is, Joan Crawford thinks less of Joan Crawford and Janet Gaynor thinks less of Janet Gaynor than the world thinks of them. âLin Yutang
Given enough time, all problems great and small will be resolved one way or another. Given enough time, even the proudest achievements of humankind will be reduced to dust. âTao te Ching
But the essential fact remains that human life has got too complicated and the matter of merely feeding ourselves, directly or indirectly, is occupying well over ninety per cent of our human activities. âLin Yutang
There was a time when one didnât have to be rich in order to travel, and even today travel doesnât have to be a luxury of the rich. âLin Yutang
Man, as a being of sense, wants his life to make sense, and he has found it hard to believe that it does so unless there is more than what he seesâunless there is an eternal order and an eternal life behind the uncertain and momentary experience of life-and-death. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
The instinctual shortcut that we take when we have âtoo much informationâ is to engage with it selectively, picking out the parts we like and ignoring the remainder, making allies with those who have made the same choices and enemies of the rest. âNate Silver, âThe Signal and the Noiseâ
A faith that has never been tested is not only not appreciated, it is not even understood. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
This has two results. On the one hand, there is the anxiety that one may be missing something, so that the mind flits nervously and greedily from one pleasure to another, without finding rest and satisfaction in any. On the other, the frustration of having always to pursue a future good in a tomorrow which never comes, and in a world where everything must disintegrate, gives men an attitude of âWhatâs the use anyhow?â âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
It is conceivable that the entire evolutionary process, involving millions of years, is purely meaningless, in the sense that it involves no purpose and reflects no mind. It is possible that the only example of consciousness in the entire universe is that which we know in our little lives on one particular planet, and that, beyond the surface of our earth, there is neither life nor consciousness nor understanding anywhere, but only space and planets and stars. To say that we know better by the light of faith is not a convincing answer; the early Greeks had faith, but their faith was centered on nonexistent objects. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
When you cannot compete with someone, hatred is the result. âOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
For I am not one of these modern philosophers who maintain that our souls perish with our bodies, and that death ends all. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
It is important not to have a need for immediate profits to sustain your daily living, as strategies have intrinsic rates of returns that cannot be hurried (see Chapter 6). âErnest P. Chan
[âŠ] we should not be swayed by flattery or praise of the good we may do but should quietly reflect on our conduct. We should not feel superior to others but should maintain a modest attitude when everything goes smoothly. â Nikkyo Niwano
For things have come to such a point with us, my dear Fannius and Scaevola, that we are bound to look somewhat far ahead to what is likely to happen to the republic. The constitution, as known to our ancestors, has already swerved somewhat from the regular course and the lines marked out for it. Tiberius Gracchus made an attempt to obtain the power of a king, or, I might rather say, enjoyed that power for a few months. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
For it is not so much what one gets by a friend that gives one pleasure, as the warmth of his feeling; and we only care for a friend's service if it has been prompted by affection. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
â[âŠ] if they have the Buddha knowledge they come to realize that this world is a quiet and peaceful state, with no suffering. But living beings cannot attain such a state of mind naturally. It is a mental state that they cannot enter until they have devoted themselves to their practice with assiduity.â
Koran: "Do you think that you shall enter the Garden of Bliss without such trials as came to those who passed away before you?"
I would say that if the marriage isn't a first priority in your life, you're not married. âJoseph Campbell
CAMPBELL: Yes, but another reason for the high level of violence here is that America has no ethos. MOYERS: Explain. CAMPBELL: In American football, for example, the rules are very strict and complex. If you were to go to England, however, you would find that the rugby rules are not that strict. When I was a student back in the twenties, there were a couple of young men who constituted a marvelous forward-passing pair. They went to Oxford on scholarship and joined the rugby team and one day they introduced the forward pass. And the English players said, "Well, we have no rules for this, so please don't. We don't play that way." Now, in a culture that has been homogeneous for some time, there are a number of understood, unwritten rules by which people live. There is an ethos there, there is a mode, an understanding that, "we don't do it that way." MOYERS: A mythology. CAMPBELL: An unstated mythology, you might say.
"I admire those cold, proud beings who adventure upon the paths of great and daemonic beauty and despise 'mankind'; but I do not envy them. For if anything is capable of making a poet of a literary man, it is my hometown love of the human, the living and ordinary. âJoseph Campbell
MOYERS: Isn't that why conservative religions today are calling for the old-time religion? CAMPBELL: Yes, and they're making a terrible mistake. They are going back to something that is vestigial, that doesn't serve life. MOYERS: But didn't it serve us? CAMPBELL: Sure it did. But the models have to be appropriate to the time in which you are living, and our time has changed so fast that what was proper fifty years ago is not proper today.
MOYERS: How do we transform our consciousness? CAMPBELL: That's a matter of what you are disposed to think about. And that's what meditation is for. All of life is a meditation, most of it unintentional. A lot of people spend most of life in meditating on where their money is coming from and where it's going to go. If you have a family to bring up, you're concerned for the family. These are all very important concerns, but they have to do with physical conditions, mostly. But how are you going to communicate spiritual consciousness to the children if you don't have it yourself?
Now, the biblical tradition is a socially oriented mythology. Nature is condemned. [...] But when nature is thought of as evil, you control it, or try to, and hence the tension, the anxiety, the cutting down of forests, the annihilation of native people. And the accent here separates us from nature. âJoseph Campbell
Whether you call someone a hero or a monster is all relative to where the focus of your consciousness may be. âJoseph Campbell
A public assembly, though composed of men of the smallest possible culture, nevertheless will see clearly the difference between a mere demagogue (that is, a flatterer and untrustworthy citizen) and a man of principle, standing, and solidity. âMarcus Tullius Cicero
The information would have been found in Thomas Jefferson's library. These were, after all, learned men. The eighteenth-century Enlightenment was a world of learned gentlemen. We haven't had men of that quality in politics very much. âJoseph Campbell
Transmit the message exactly as it stands; do not transmit it with any overflow of language; so is (the internuncio) likely to keep himself whole. âChuang Tzu
"Burnout sets in, and you realize that maybe it isn't so much fun to be on this emotional roller coaster." âTom Basso
"In your personal life be courteous, in business be serious, with everyone be sincere." âConfucius
"But many laws detract from, rather than contribute to, our quality of life and overall well-being." âFound on: How Many Federal Laws Are There?
But, in the âfreeâ West, my Russian teacher continued, there existed an abundance of economic opportunityâso much economic opportunity that it became far more valuable to present yourself in a certain way, even if it was false, than to actually be that way. Trust lost its value. Appearances and salesmanship became more advantageous forms of expression. Knowing a lot of people superficially was more beneficial than knowing a few people closely. âMark Manson
Highs come in many forms. Whether itâs a substance like alcohol, the moral righteousness that comes from blaming others, or the thrill of some new risky adventure, highs are shallow and unproductive ways to go about oneâs life. âMark Manson
". . . consistency is achievable if you practice day in and day out." âLinda Bradford Raschke
Human life is limited, but knowledge is limitless. To drive the limited in pursuit of the limitless is fatal; and to presume that one really knows is fatal indeed! âChuang Tzu
There are but few good men in the empire, and many bad ones. The good follow right principles, and the bad defy the will of God. Yet the lives of bad men are not therefore shortened, nor the lives of good men prolonged. How is it that God does not arrange that the virtuous shall always enjoy a hundred years of life, and that the wicked shall die young, as punishment for their guilt? âWANG CH'UNG,1st Century a.d.
The joy of giving in to greed is quickly replaced by the disappointment of its minute reward. âStefan Stenudd
Adventures lose their appeal when they become routine. Nothing is so exhilarating that we can do it constantly without getting bored. âStefan Stenudd
If you sleep on the floor, you cannot fall out of bed. âold American saying
Exceptional work demands exceptional men. A bolting or a kicking horse may eventually become a most valuable animal. A man who is the object of the worldâs detestation may live to accomplish great things. As with the untractable horse, so with the infatuated man;âit is simply a question of training. âWu Ti, 140-87 B.C.
Women share adversity better than prosperity. âold Chinese saying
There has been such a thing as letting mankind alone; there has never been such a thing as governing mankind [with success]. Letting alone springs from fear lest men's natural dispositions be perverted and their virtue late aside. But if their natural dispositions be not perverted nor their virtue set aside, what room is there left for government? âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
Every one gives a shove to the tumbling wall. âold Chinese saying
In your studies, make teaching your aim. âold Chinese saying
A Quaker had this sign put up on a vacant piece of land next to his home: THIS LAND WILL BE GIVEN TO ANYONE WHO IS TRULY SATISFIED. A wealthy farmer who was riding by stopped to read the sign and said to himself, "Since our friend the Quaker is so ready to part with this plot, I might as well claim it before someone else does. I am a rich man and have all I need, so I certainly qualify." With that he went up to the door and explained what he was there for. "And are you truly satisfied?" the Quaker asked. "I am indeed, for I have everything I need." "Friend," said the Quaker, "if you are satisfied, what do you want the land for?"
People suffer in a country with a bad ruler. They will suffer more, during the process of correcting things. âStefan Stenudd
Religion, the supposed vehicle of answers, seems to have gone stale, offering anesthetized or outrageous answers to people who, claiming to believe in them, nonetheless act as if the proposed answers are not worth a passing nod, let alone living by. âSTEPHEN A. ERICKSON
Too many students use school to evade life. âRichard K. Irish
We frequently witness examples of this in modern day politics, where pompous dignitaries fall from grace when they refuse to admit any wrongdoings, although evident. Those who confess humbly and regretfully, on the other hand, can find themselves even more praised than ever before. We do love to forgive a repenting sinner. âStefan Stenudd
"The great power of science is that it aims simply to describe the world, not to determine what ought to be." âMorton Tollboll
The establishment of a canon of Confucian texts spurred the development of an examination system as a way to select candidates for government service positions. This system continued with only a few disruptions until 1905. âTaoism and the Arts of China
Gold, silver, and jewels, are powerless to allay the pangs of hunger or to ward off the bitterness of cold; yet the masses esteem these things because of the demand for them among their betters. Light and of limited bulk, a handful of such valuables will carry one through the world without fear either of cold or hunger. It is for these things that a minister plays false to his prince. It is for these things that a man lightly leaves his home:âa stimulus to theft, the godsend of fugitives! âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
The doctrine of the Trinity was a Buddhist dogma long before it was adopted by the Christian Church. See Chu Hsi, âTaoism and Buddhism.â âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Now the great and profound mistake which my typical man makes in regard to his day is a mistake of general attitude, a mistake which vitiates and weakens two-thirds of his energies and interests. âArnold Bennett
More trees are upright, than men. âold Chinese proverb
By constantly striving to live as wise and loving of a life as you can, you can teach the path of love to everyone you meet simply by being yourself; a few of these people will pass on your good example to others. â101 Zen Stories (Various)
'To be a good son and a friend to thy brothers is to show how to govern.' This, too, is to govern. Must one be in office to govern? âThe Sayings of Confucius (Confucius)
The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering. âMark Manson
For the same reasons, it is ever more difficult to operate a small business which cannot afford to take care of the financial and legal red-tape which the simplest enterprises must now respect. âAlan Watts
We must beware, because those who have the desire to be first in the world will spare no efforts to get there. Once they do, it's extremely difficult and costly to get rid of them. So, we have to consider very carefully what persons we allow to be our leaders. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
Confucius, that great artist of life, "never lay straight" = in bed "like a corpse," but always curled up on one side .
People like to show off their rich splendor not because they love it, but because they are lacking in originality, and besides trying to show off, they are at a total loss to invent something else. That is why they have to put up with mere splendor. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
" . . . when the weather is not fit for sailing, we sit down and torment ourselves, and continually look out to see what wind is blowing. It is north. What is that to us? When will the west wind blow?" âDiscourses and Enchiridion (Epictetus)
Our society produces the necessary conditions for freedom while at the same time producing greater oppression. . . . Individual workers continue to engage in alienating labor although their labor has produced enough wealth to sustain them without ongoing toil. The problem is that the capitalist system is structured in such a way that all of the wealth goes to the minority who own or control the means of production. Although wealth is socially produced, its ownership and use is restricted to a few individuals. âHerbert Marcuse (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
rituals â the ignorant commitment to customs and beliefs that have lost their meaning. That is mankind at its lowest, repeating things of old just because of habit, sticking desperately to outdated fragments of thoughts, as if their lack of reason were proof of their elevation. As if ignorance is bliss. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
â. . . that since royalty, nobility, and the exercise of supreme power, are all characterised with transitoriness, nothing can prevent their decline, which will be as sure as the dispersion of the clouds in the sky . . . .â âAçvaghosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the MahĂąyĂąna (Teitaro Suzuki)
Far from reflecting the Taoist ideal of wholeness and independence, this incomplete and unbalanced creature divides all kinds of abstract things into little categories and compartments, while remaining rather helpless and disorganized in his daily life. âThe Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff)
If you wait to be acted upon, you will be acted upon. âThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
My father had destined me for theology when I was still a small boy. But when he saw that legal knowledge everywhere /enriched those who cultivated it/, he was induced by this hope suddenly to change his intentions. Thus it was brought about that I was recalled from the study of philosophy to the learning of law; but although in obedience to my father I tried to give it my faithful attention, God guided my course by the secret bridal of His providence in another direction. âJohn Calvin
Many children through the ages, like the juvenile delinquents of today have found incomprehensible the absolutism of an adult conscience that insist that a little theft, if not pounced upon with the whole weight of society's wrath, will breed many big ones. Criminals are thus often made; since the world treats such small matters as a sure sign of potential criminality, the children may feel confirmed in one of these negative identity fragments which under adverse circumstances can become the dominant identity element. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
The schizoid personality, however, feels that the dissociation is permanent. Their experience is life, without feeling alive. Invoking a literary allusion, Laing observed that Shakespeare's characters are often flawed types with significant personal conflicts, yet they still remain in the flow of life and in possession of themselves. âexcerpt from 50 Psychology Classics
I have risen by sheer gravitation, too industrious by acquired habit to stop working (I work as my father drank). âGeorge Bernard Shaw
Christ did not live and die in order to make man poorer in the fear of his future judgment, but in order to make him abundant today. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
I have called this the ârock bottomâ attitude, and explained it as the sign of a perverted and precocious integrity, an attempt to find that immutable bedrock on which the struggle for a new existence can safely begin and be assured of a future. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
The church could never have become an ideological institution on the basis of hermitism. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
You can only waste the passing moment. You cannot waste to-morrow; it is kept for you. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
For, short as our lives are, the influence of the men we elect, support, or tolerate as great can indeed be a curse felt far beyond the third and fourth generation. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
In truly significant matters people, and especially children, have a devastatingly clear if mostly unconscious perception of what other people really mean, and sooner or later royally reward real love or take well-aimed revenge for implicit hate. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
The idea of a heavenly treasure of the works of supererogation was an ancient one; but the capitalistic interpretation of a reserve which the Church can dispose of by retail was officially formulated only in 1343 by Clement VI, who established the dogma that the wide distribution of the treasure would be lead to an increase in meritâand thus to continued to accumulation of the treasure. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Present day society is obsessed with money, and it's taken for granted that being rich guarantees happiness. âStefan Stenudd
The metapathologies of the affluent and indulged young come partly from deprivation of intrinsic values, frustrated "idealism" from disillusionment with a society they see (mistakenly) motivated only by lower or animal or material needs. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
It is true that only in a culture can we learn a spoken language. But it is just as true that in that same cultural environment a chimpanzee will not learn to speak. I say this because it is my vague impression that communication is studied too exclusively at the sociological level and not enough at the biological level. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Most people lose or forget the subjectively religious experience, and redefine Religion as a set of habits, behaviors, dogmas, forms, which at the extreme becomes entirely legalistic and bureaucratic, conventional, empty, and in the truest meaning of the word, antireligious. The mystic experience, the illumination, the great awakening, along with the charismatic seer who started the whole thing, are forgotten, lost, or transformed into their opposites. Organized Religion, the churches, finally may become the major enemies of the religious experience and the religious experiencer. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
The first and overarching Big Problem is to make the Good Person. We must have better human beings or else it is quite possible that we may all be wiped out, and even if not wiped out, certainly live in tension and anxiety as a species. . . . This Good Person can equally be called the self-evolving person, the responsible-for-himself-and-his-own-evolution person, the fully illuminated or awakened or perspicuous man, the fully human person, the self-actualizing person, etc. In any case it is quite clear that no social reforms, no beautiful constitutions or beautiful programs or laws will be of any consequence unless people are healthy enough, evolved enough, strong enough, good enough to understand them and to want to put them into practice in the right way. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Tetzel [a Dominican] had, in certain cases, dispensed with confession altogether, and was distributing sealed letters of credit for sins as yet contemplated. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
. . . the discovery that human nature has been sold short, that man has a higher nature which is just as "instinctoid" as his lower nature, and that this higher nature includes the needs for meaningful work, for responsibility, for creativeness, for being fair and just, for doing what is worthwhile and for preferring to do it well. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Suppose you woke up out of your sleep and felt somehow that God was either in the room or looking in at you, how would you feel? The tendency was for the secure people to feel comforted, and protected; and for the insecure to feel terrified. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
They can convince only those who already agree with them, and a few more. Science is the only way we have of shoving truth down the reluctant throat. Only science can overcome characterological differences in seeing and believing. Only science can progress. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
The trouble is that the human species is the only species which finds it hard to be a species. For a cat there seems to be no problem about being a cat. It's easy; cats seem to have no complexes or ambivalences or conflicts, and show no signs of yearning to be dogs instead. Their instincts are very clear. But we have no such unequivocal animal instincts. Our biological essence, our instinct remnants, are weak and subtle, and they are hard to get at. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Only recently have the Chinese set their hearts upon some kind of Utopia, but this must be understood as the necessary reaction to years and years of foreign exploitation, anarchy, and extreme poverty. ⊠And looking back into Chinese history, there has been one revolution after another, each swinging with equal urgency to the opposite extreme from the previous government. Cyclically, after an equilibrium has been attained, a new imbalance begins to rise to its height, then a new revolution becomes necessary. Most Chinese view the present Chinese government as one phase of the moon. The name of the king or ruler may change from time to time, but the Chinese people, the human being and his nature, will remain constant. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
He revealed the Crux of this tragedy shared by most men in this unbalanced time by admitting, "But I don't like myself when I am sober," as he surrendered to another shot of Vodka at a time when he knew he need not and should not rely on it anymore. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
Religions try to use mechanisms analogous to dreamlife, reinforced at times by a collective genius of poetry and artistry, to offer ceremonial dreams of great recuperative value. It is possible, however, that the medieval Church, the past master of ceremonial hallucination, by promoting the reality of hell too efficiently, and by tampering too successfully with man's sense of reality in this world, eventually created, instead of a belief in the greater reality of a more desirable world, only a sense of nightmare in this one. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
Silently shall I endure abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured. âThe Dhammapada (Unknown author)
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. âThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell (William Blake)
This is so because the greatest cause of our alienation from our real selves is our neurotic involvements with other people, the historical hangovers from childhood, the irrational transferences, in which past and present are confused, and in which the adult acts like a child. (By the way, it's all right for the child to act like a child. His dependencies on other people can be very real. But, after all, he is supposed to outgrow them. To be afraid of what daddy will say or do is certainly out of place if daddy has been dead for twenty years.) âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Traditional Christianity also emphasizes the desirability of eternal life in a way that his quite unlike Buddhism. Buddhists take eternal life as a givenâthe problem, not the solution. âThe Complete Idiotâs Guide to Taoism
His life may be summed up by his own admonition, âIf you follow the present-day world, you will turn your back on the Way; if you would not turn your back on the Way, do not follow the world.â âThe Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho
The same has happened between wives and husbands in the West, and now it is happening in the East â because in fact the East is disappearing. By the end of this century, the whole world will be West. There will be no East, it will exist only in the books of history, in museums; it will be a nostalgia. The East is disappearing â it will be there in geography, but in the human consciousness it will have no place. âOsho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Volume One: Talks on Fragments From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Each of us has many, many maps in our head, which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities, and maps of the way things should be, or values. âThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
Our attitude is that we want a nice religion which makes us feel comfortable. [âŠ] Jesus didn't come to begin a nice club in which we all could feel comfortable. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
Although he [Confucius] was employed briefly as a magistrate, he spent most of his life wandering and teaching. In this way, he hoped to inspire aristocratic young men to bring about social and political change. âTaoism and the Arts of China (various)
/From a class in which Maslow had students develop a Utopian society . . . . / Even the best individuals placed under poor social and institutional circumstances behave badly. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Another example which I wouldnât take seriously were it not that so many others do take it seriously, is the Harry Stack Sullivan type of effort to define a Self simply in terms of what other people think of him, an extreme cultural relativity in which a healthy individuality gets lost altogether. Not that this isnât true for the immature personality. It is. But we are talking about the healthy fully-grown person. And he certainly is characterized by his transcendence of other peopleâs opinions. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
In one of the letters, heâs [Alan Watts] pitching article ideas to a magazine. In one, âWhat to Do on Sunday?â he writes, âWhy don't we have the consideration to realize that God must be utterly bored with most of our church services, with being flattered, wheedled, and told how to run the universe? If you were God, what would you like people to do in your honor for you, with you, or about you? [The article would offer] revolutionary suggestions on what to do with all that real estate called church.â
Have a care then, or you may be scourged to death when you come home to Persia, if you learn in your grandfatherâs school to love not kingship but tyranny, and hold the tyrantâs belief that he and he alone should have more than all the rest.â âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon and 431-c.360 BCE Xenophon)
"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesarâs and unto God the things that are Godâs. This has a fine eloquence, but leaves the mind unillumined and uninspired. The things of Caesar are the things of God." âR. H. Blyth
". . . a large part of our nature is indefinable until the end of Living." âTaoism 101: Introduction to the Tao
Here is a very complex problem. For centuries upon centuries man has been violent; religions have tried to tame him throughout the world and none of them have succeeded. âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
All in all, you can't make a man a Christian unless you first make = him believe he is a sinner. âLin Yutang, 1937
MOYERS: Did these stories begin to collide with your Catholic faith? CAMPBELL: No, there was no collision. The collision with my religion came much later in relation to scientific studies and things of that kind. âJoseph Campbell
Organizational leaders should remember that the Swiss had their first turn at the revolutionary digital watch, but they turned it down because of their single-minded commitment to the conventional watch (another illustration of faulty assumptions). âDoing Good Better, Edgar Stoesz and Chester Raber
In terms of historical action, Christianity and Islam have the same character. They're going to remake the world for their God. âJoseph Campbell
Just as one cannot conceive of a watch without a watchmaker, so it is difficult to conceive of an orderly universe without an intelligence behind it. âDalai Lama, The Universe in a Single Atom
When the Dalai Lama, the incarnation of AvalokiteĆvara, first came to New York, there was an interesting event. At his first reception, in St. Patrick's Cathedralâwhere there were Roman Catholic clergy, Eastern patriarchs, Jewish rabbis, and, I suppose, even psychiatristsâwhat he said was, "All of your ways are valid ways to expansion of consciousness and illumination." Of course, Cardinal Cooke had to get up and say, "No, we're different. Our religion is not to be confused with these other ways." âJoseph Campbell, from "Reflections on the Art of Living"
âRabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully. "Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever." "And he has Brain." "Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain." There was a long silence. "I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.â
If you read the historical "facts" as metaphors, however, then you will discover in Christianity a marvelous array of psychologically valid symbols that are fundamentally okay until they're concretized. Concretization is alright for teaching little children, who don't understand metaphor. Matters such as these, they tend to take concretely. what has to happen at a certain point in one's development is that these childhood concretizations have to be opened up. You can't get rid of them, because symbols that are taken concretely are put right into you. They are internalized and can't just be dismissed. They have to be reread. I know. Until I was twenty-five-years old I took Christianity concretely. And I must say I'm grateful for having been exposed to such rich symbolism. âJoseph Campbell
In 1858, when Stephen A. Douglas made several false charges against him, Lincoln began a reply by stating: "When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes himâat least, I find it so with myself; but when the misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him." âfrom Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
People who don't have a concept of the whole can do very unfortunate things in neighborhood development. âJoseph Campbell
If you wanted to become an engineer, a gardener, or a cook, you would go to school, read books, and practice, practice, practiceâbut, for some reason, people feel they should be able to make investing and trading decisions with no preparation at all. In the real world, though, there are two essential paths down which you must go in order to succeed in investing in trading. âBarbara Rockefeller
"Position traders enter and exit positions within days or weeks. Day-traders enter and exit trades within a few hours if not minutes. You need to become a competent position trader before you can day-trade. You can compare position trading and day-trading to playing a video game at level one or level nine. You run the same mazes and dodge the same monsters, but the pace of the game is so fast that at level nine your reactions must be almost automatic. If you stop to think, you are dead. Learn to analyze the markets and trade at level one â learn to be a position trader before attempting to day-trade." âDr. Alexander Elder
"A retired woman from Texas, a highly successful trader, described her approach to me. She is very religious and thinks it would not please the Lord for her to lose money. She cuts her losses very fast because of that." âFrom "Trading For A Living" by Dr. Alexander Elder
The mechanical trader is very logical. He constructs his models visually in his imagination. He is very precise in his language and thinking. His models tend to focus on his concept of how to trade successfully and of how the economy works. He does not believe that his models are adequate until they can be converted into algorithms for the computer that match his own mental processes. As a result of this belief, he has computerized his models, modifying both his constructed image and his computer output, until both models matchâin his words, "until they both look right." This is a very slow and laborious process. I think it hinders his decision making on everyday events, and he tends to agree with me, but it helps him in the long run. When his mental image and the computer model match, he virtually takes himself out of the trading picture. The computer does everything, so at that point, decision making is easy for him. âDr. Van K. Tharp
Why is this important to spirituality? Because if individuals are comfortable and secure with their own convictions, they have no need to make others "see the truth." Perhaps it is too broad a generalization, but when people try to convert others to their way of thinking, it is often for an ulterior motive: the need to reinforce their own fragile convictions. âAbraham Twerski
. . . and since we are alike under the skin, what touches the human heart in one country touches all. âThe Importance Of Living, 1937, (Lin YuTang)
Luke 18:9-14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 âTwo men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: âGod, I thank you that I am not like other peopleârobbers, evildoers, adulterersâor even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.â 13 âBut the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, âGod, have mercy on me, a sinner.â 14 âI tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.â
The best that we can hope for in this life is that we shall not have sons and grandsons of whom we need be ashamed. âLin Yutang (1937)
Traders go through three stages in their attitudes towards gurus. In the beginning, they drink in their advice, expecting to make money from it. At the second state, traders start avoiding gurus like the plague, viewing them as distractions from their own decision-making process. Finally, some successful traders start paying attention to a few gurus who alert them to new opportunities. âDr. Alexander Elder
If happiness could be found in having material things, and in being able to indulge yourself in things that you consider pleasurable, then we, in America, would be deliriously happy. We would be telling one another frequently of our unparalleled bliss, rather than trading tranquilizer prescriptions. âJohn Gardner, Self-Renewal
Alvin Toffler, among others, has been incisive in his diagnosis of our age. He says we live in an age of unprecedented change, eruption, and above all else, hurry. We live in a precooked, prepackaged, plastic-wrapped, instant society where relationships are increasingly temporary. âFuture shockââtoo much change in too short a time. Weâve come to look for instant intimacy, instant leisure, instant happiness. We develop simulated, artificial everything (including lifestyles) in an effort to catch up with a world that is changing faster than we can cope with it. The result is dissatisfaction and overwhelming feelings of instability. The result is an attempt to keep up, which forces us to increasing levels of superficiality. The problem is that most people donât recognize the way our hurry-up culture is shaping us. âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Chuangtse said that he once dreamed of being a butterfly, and while he was in the dream, he felt he could flutter his wings and everything was real, but that on waking up, he realized that he was Chuangtse and Chuangtse was real. Then he thought and wondered which was really real, whether he was really Chuangtse dreaming of being a butterfly, or really a butterfly dreaming of being Chuangtse. âFrom âThe Importance of Livingâ by Lin Yutang
Late in his life John Steinbeck, winner of the Nobel Prize, decided to travel around the country he loved to explore it more deeply, to enjoy it more deeply, and in the process perhaps to write of his discoveries. Interestingly enough, very few people encouraged him to go. Friend after friend reminded him it was simply too late in his life. âAnd I had seen so many,â he wrote, âbegin to pack their lives in cotton, wool, smother their impulses, hood their passions and gradually retire from their manhood into a kind of spiritual and physical semi-invalidism. In this they were even encouraged by their wives and relatives, and itâs such a sweet trap.â âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. âRalph Waldo Emerson
Am I anti-intellectualistic? Perhaps yes; perhaps no. I am merely in love with life, and being in love with life, I distrust the intellect profoundly. âLin Yutang
And we shall not learn the lesson of true humility until science has explored the limits of the universe. âLin Yutang
It seems to me the worst comment on dictatorships is that presidents of democracies can laugh, while dictators always look so seriousâwith a protruding jaw, a determined chin, and a pouched lower lip, as if they were doing something terribly important and the world could not be saved, except by them. ⊠[âŠ] it is terribly serious when our rulers do not smile, because they have got all the guns. âLin Yutang
Evidently this kind of philosophy enables a man to stand a few hard knocks in life in the belief that there are no such things as hard knocks without advantages. âLin Yutang
Mulla Nasrudin: "I can't eat this stuff." Mrs. Mulla Nasrudin: "Never mind, dear. I have some lovely recipes for making use of left-overs." Nasrudin: "In that case I'll eat it now."
The great paradox of day-trading is that it demands the highest level of discipline, while attracting the most impulsive, addictive, and gambling-prone personalities. âDr. Alexander Elder, "Come Into My Trading Room"
Anyone can run over the names of his friends and associates in his mind and verify this fact for himself, that those we like are not those we respect for distinguished ability and those we respect for distinguished ability are not those we like, and that we like a stupid servant because he is more reliable, and because in his company we can better relax and do not have to set up a condition of defense against his presence. âLin Yutang
Knowing then our human frailties, we have the more reason to hate the despicable wretch who in demagogue fashion makes use of our human foibles to hound us into another world war; who inculcates hatred, of which we already have too much; who glorifies self-aggrandizement and self-interest, of which there is no lack; who appeals to our animal bigotry and racial prejudice; who deletes the fifth commandment in the training of youth and encourages killing and war as noble, as if we were not already warlike enough creatures; and who whips up and stirs our mortal passions, as if we were not already very near the beast. âLin Yutang, The Importance of Living, 1937
I prefer talking with a colored maid to talking with a mathematician; her words are more concrete, her laughter is more energetic, and I generally gain more in knowledge of human nature by talking with her. âLin Yutang
On the whole, the enjoyment of leisure is something which decidedly costs less than the enjoyment of luxury. âLin Yutang
Regarding Tao Yuanming, Lin says: What he tried to escape from was politics and not life itself. âLin Yutang
I was thinking one day about how judgmental I used to be about the way some people dressed. Not long ago, I might have thought that I couldn't wear jeans and teach, but my son said to me, "Do you really think that God anoints polyester more than denim?" âJoyce Meyer
The ancient Chinese noted that women were responsible for the miracle of life, and therefore had to possess a measure of divine power. âTao te ching, Derek Lin annotations
There is something servile in the habit of seeking after a law which we may obey. We may study the laws of matter at and for our convenience, but a successful life knows no law. It is an unfortunate discovery certainly, that of a law which binds us where we did not know before that we were bound. âHenry David Thoreau
Always in the effort to be reasonable about our faith we must sail between two dangerous reefs. On the left is the danger of dogmatic negativity, in which we make sweeping denials far beyond what is reasonable in view of our modest position in the universe. On the right is the danger of /easy belief/, especially belief in what is comforting or merely traditional and generally accepted. [âŠ] The ideal mood is that which combines a genuine openmindedness with a constant demand for evidence. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
The ten evils are killing, stealing, committing adultery, lying, improper language, a double tongue, ill speaking, covetousness, anger, and ignorance. âA Modern Interpretation of The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Translated by Nikkyo Niwano
When we see how the maddening ânoiseâ of complex bureaucracy and too many laws hasten failure, we would naturally want to reach for its oppositeâthe quietness of simplicity. âTao te ching, Derek Lin annotations
But when I finally got it, when the light bulb clicked on, it was like looking at a magnificent painting. I really experienced the joy of learning and working hard there. Before, studying was only a means to an end; now, I found that learning itself was a real joy. âMarty Schwartz
Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless?" âTeachings of Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda)
While the reasons of the heart give power, the reasons of the head give balance and sanity, and it is always the combination which succeeds, in so far as man ever succeeds. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
All I can do is to urge on you to regard friendship as the greatest thing in the world; for there is nothing which so fits in with our nature, or is so exactly what we want in prosperity or adversity. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
Ah! it was naturally easy for the justest of men to stand up for justice. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
* benevolence [the desire that one's own life make others happy] * compassion [the desire that one's conduct remove others' pain] * joy [the enjoyment of the sight of those who have obtained happiness] * impartiality [the mind that has abandoned both the idea of revenge for injury inflicted by others and attachment to recompense for one's good deeds].
We may not wish to admit it, but most of us care very much what other people think. We fret over positive opinions as well as negative ones. It isnât just the prospect of being ridiculed that makes us anxious; we also feel anxiety over not receiving accolades that we feel we deserve. âTao te ching: annotated & explained (Derek Lin)
For the advantages of genius and virtue, and in short, of every kind of superiority, are never realized to their fullest extent until they are bestowed upon our nearest and dearest. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
How did the Vietnam experience change you? The major change was that I went from being a rule follower to thinking for myself. When I realized that the leaders in the country didnât necessarily know what they were doing, I became much more independent. â Randy McKay
We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget that the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it's all about. âJoseph Campbell
CAMPBELL: If you want to find out what it means to have a society without any rituals, read the New York Times. MOYERS: And you'd find? CAMPBELL: The news of the day, including destructive and violent acts by young people who don't know how to behave in a civilized society.
But when he left to live with the bohemians, he found that they were so disdainful of life that he couldn't stay with them[....] âJoseph Campbell
But today there are no boundaries. The only mythology that is valid today is the mythology of the planet -- and we don't have such a mythology. ⊠The closest thing I know to a planetary mythology is Buddhism, âJoseph Campbell
Here you have Napoleon ravaging Europe and now about to invade Russia, and Tolstoy raises this question: Is the leader really a leader, or is he simply the one out in front on a wave? In psychological terms, the leader might be analyzed as the one who perceived what could be achieved and did it. âJoseph Campbell
Democracy assumes that anybody from any quarter can speak, and speak truth, because his mind is not cut off from the truth. All he has to do is clear out his passions and then speak. âJoseph Campbell
The Buddha, too, goes into the forest and has conferences there with the leading gurus of his day. Then he goes past them and, after a season of trials and search, comes to the bo tree, the tree of illumination, where he, likewise, undergoes three temptations. The first is of lust, the second of fear, and the third of submission to public opinion, doing as told. âJoseph Campbell
This may make you laugh, but on one occasion I found myself in a situation in my own church which demonstrates the difference between having a concept and experiencing the life. There was a song leader in our church and he said, "Let's start the meeting with hymn 224, 'Since Jesus came into my heart.'" We sang the hymn. Then he announced, "Now let's sing hymn 191, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.'" What happened between the first hymn and the second? In the first hymn He was there, but in the second He is not thereâHe has to come! We were more concept- and doctrine-centered than life-centered. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
Any ruler needs to be just, no matter how difficult that may be at times. Any ruler. That includes a parent settling an argument between the children, as well as an emperor deciding the fate of his captured enemy. Ruling is an act of responsibility, never to be taken lightly. âStefan Stenudd
The role model is practically the reverse of splendid royalty. Instead of luxury and elevation, the sage should seek a humble place, simplicity, and calm. âStefan Stenudd
It's not a question of envy. We can live with the success of others, even congratulate them wholeheartedly. But not if they brag. We accept that other people have power over our lives, but not if they are rude. We need to feel that privileged people are worthy of their privileges. âStefan Stenudd
âSure, making a lot of money makes you feel good, but it wonât make your kids love you,â or âIf you have to ask yourself if you trust your wife, then you probably donât,â or âWhat you consider âfriendshipâ is really just your constant attempts to impress people.â âMark Manson
âKids are a crazy commitment. Nobody in their right mind would have them.â âBrendan Baber, Menâs Health magazine
There is a premise that underlies a lot of our assumptions and beliefs. The premise is that happiness is algorithmic, that it can be worked for and earned and achieved as if it were getting accepted to law school or building a really complicated Lego set. If I achieve X, then I can be happy. If I look like Y, then I can be happy. If I can be with a person like Z, then I can be happy. This premise, though, is the problem. Happiness is not a solvable equation. âMark Manson
"if there really is no reason to do anything, then there is also no reason to not do anything;" âMark Manson
There are still certain things he cannot quite give up, but he has already given up some things. âChuang Tzu
With what society, what social group, do you identify yourself? Is it going to be with all the people of the planet, or is it going to be with your own particular in-group? âJoseph Campbell
In your experience, what do you believe is the essential element in achieving happiness? I believe the single most important factor is having control of your own life. Everything else is secondary. âRobert Krausz
âAlas!â cried the augur, âwhat is there that Heaven can bestow save that which virtue can obtain?â âLiu Chi A.D. 1311-1375
You cannot impress the mind of God by having a special Sabbath day set apart to tell Him what you want, and the forgetting Him during the rest of the week. You cannot impress Him by having special hours to go into your closet and pray, if you then dismiss the matter from your mind until the hour of prayer comes again. âW. D. Wattles
. . . the animal qualities, which have to do with self-interest. âJoseph Campbell
". . . friendship can only exist between good men." âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
The faults which a man condemns when out of office, he commits when in. âold Chinese saying
If you owe a man money, there is nothing like seeing him often. âold Chinese saying
With money you can move the Gods; without it, you canât move a man. âold Chinese saying
Greed has no upper limit.
Still, those who want to appear learned make sure to memorize a lot of such names, and thereby claim to have a perfect understanding of the things named. âStefan Stenudd
"Nature" is the universe untouched by the human.
Eagerness to act tends to create more problems than it solves. âStefan Stenudd
Hence quarrels are occasioned by nothing so much as by artful words and oneâsided speeches. âChuang Tzu
The concept of the "will to power" is important in this context: "every living thing does everything it can not to preserve itself but to become more." âEDWARD SLOWIK
I think what most peopleâespecially educated, pampered middle-class white peopleâconsider âlife problemsâ are really just side effects of not having anything more important to worry about. âMark Manson
Lacking such self-awareness, he offered up comedy of the worst sort; comedy that mocks rather than amuses or enlightens his audience. âAlan Richardson
. . . the question is whether we can walk the path in serenity despite everything life throws our way. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
All language is not in books, nor all thoughts in language. âproverb
When the priest dons his robe, cap, and shoes, he begins the ceremonial process, assuming a new guise and acquiring a new persona. âTaoism and the Arts of China
The political and personal morality of the West, especially in the United States, isâfor lack of this senseâutterly schizophrenic. It is a monstrous combination of uncompromising idealism and unscrupulous gangsterism, and thus devoid of the humor and humaneness which enables confessed rascals to sit down together and work out reasonable deals. âAllan Watts, written 1966
". . . the crowd of unbelievers is laughing at the man who would be sincere."
One always has exaggerated ideas about what one doesn't know. âThe Stranger (Albert Camus)
He really takes an interest in His friends. âJuan Carlos Ortiz
". . . war is easier to start than to end." âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
It is amazing how few people are aware of the value of solitude and contemplation. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
The Chinese enjoyment of croaking frogs, chirping crickets and intoning cicadas is immeasurably greater than their love of cats and dogs and other animal pets. âThe Importance of Living (Lin Yutang)
The story goes that Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), the great Roman Catholic saint, was complaining to God after once again being kicked out of another Spanish town by yet another bishop who did not appreciate her reforming spirit. As she sat on her suitcases she prayed aloud, âLord, if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!â
And there is one charge the judges do not hesitate to deal with, a charge which is the source of much hatred among grown men, but which they seldom press in the courts, the charge of ingratitude. The culprit convicted of refusing to repay a debt of kindness when it was fully in his power meets with severe chastisement. âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon)
It is not for man to be either an angel or a devil, and the would-be angels should realize that, as their ambition succeeds, they evoke hordes of devils to keep the balance. This was the lesson of Prohibition . . . . âBook On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (Alan Watts)
Most things in the world correct themselves, given time. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
Lao Tzu deplores those who keep to themselves much more than they could ever consume. To him, that's robbery. Sadly, such robbers take pride in their gluttony. âTao Te Ching Explained (Stefan Stenudd)
In an oppressive/repressive society the forces of liberation and the forces of domination do not develop in isolation from each other. Instead, they develop in a dialectical relationship where one produces the conditions for the other. âHerbert Marcuse
The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion. âWilliam Blake
As the plough follows words, so God rewards prayers. âWilliam Blake
In their late teens and early twenties, even when there is no explicit ideological commitment or even interest, young people offer devotion to individual leaders and to teams, to strenuous activities, and to difficult techniques; at the same time they show a sharp and intolerant readiness to discard and disavow people (including, at times, themselves). This repudiation is often snobbish, fitful, perverted, or simply thoughtless. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
I bought supplies of white paper, demy size, by six pennâorths at a time; folded it in quarto; and condemned myself to fill five pages of it a day, rain or shine, dull or inspired. I had so much of the schoolboy and the clerk still in me that if my five pages ended in the middle of a sentence I did not finish it until next day. On the other hand, if I missed a day, I made up for it by doing a double task on the morrow. On this plan I produced five novels in five years. âGeorge Bernard Shaw
Nobody is just, he said, because he does just works; the works are just /if/ the man is just: quia justus, opera justa. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
With a vengeance he could claim to have taught German even to his enemies. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
There is no glamour in war. Weapons are instruments of fear, not glory. âThe Tao of Judo (Keo Cavalcanti)
From being a Unity, minus a lost capacity, it presses toward becoming a new kind of Unity in which the lost capacity no longer destroys its Unity. It governs itself, makes itself, re-creates itself. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Few things are as pleasing when we get them, as they were tempting when we longed for them. âStefan Stenudd
I recall one occasion when two young women, daughters of a friend of mine, came to me tearfully, complaining about their father's harshness and lack of understanding. They were afraid to open up with their parents for fear of the consequences. And yet they desperately needed their parents' love, understanding, and guidance. I talked with the father and found that he was intellectually aware of what was happening. But while he admitted he had a temper problem, he refused to take responsibility for it and to honestly accept the fact that his emotional development level was low. It was more than his pride could swallow to take the first step toward change. â Stephen R. Covey
No more than three or four pictures by eminent artists should ever be hung in one room. After these have been enjoyed for four or five days, others should be substituted. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
The more money you have, the more it dominates your life. âStefan Stenudd
It is important to take note of the fact that Maslow had little in common with the psychologists who regard their work as helping people to "adjust" to their environment. Suppose it is a bad environment? Adjusting to it will only hide a person's ills with the covering of conformity. His thinking along these lines was covered by certain penetrating questions: "How good a society does human nature permit?" and, "How good a human nature does a society permit?" âMASLOW'S LEGACY, Manas, Volume XLI, No. 39
/From a class in which he had students develop a Utopian society . . . ./ It can be assumed that contentment is for practically all people a transient state, no matter what the social conditions may be, and that it is useless to seek for permanent contentment. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
They know old age as a state of weakness: they do not perceive that it is a state of ease. They know death only as an abomination: they do not perceive that it is a state of rest. âGems of Chinese Literature Prose (Herbert A. Giles)
Desacralizing. Let me talk about one defense mechanism that is not mentioned in the psychology textbooks, though it is a very important defense mechanism to some youngsters of today. It is the defense mechanism of desacralizing. These youngsters mistrust the possibility of values and virtues. They feel themselves swindled or thwarted in their lives. Most of them have, in fact, dopey parents whom they don't respect very much, parents who are quite confused themselves about values and who, frequently, are simply terrified of their children and never punish them or stop them from doing things that are wrong. So you have a situation where the youngsters simply despise their eldersâoften for good and sufficient reason. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
/From a class in which Maslow had students develop a Utopian society . . . . / What cannot be tolerated? What must be punished? How tolerant can a society be of stupidity, falsehood, cruelty, psychopathy, criminality, etc.? âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Established law tries to formulate obligations and privileges, restraints and freedoms, in such a way that man can submit to law and order with a minimum of doubt and with loss of face, and as an autonomous agent of order can teach the rudiments of discipline to his young. âYoung Man Luther, Erik H. Erikson
And although the universe cannot be said to love the human being, it can be said at least to accept him in a nonhostile way, to permit him to endure, and to grow and, occasionally, to permit him great joy. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
This dependency colors and limits interpersonal relations. To see people primarily as need-gratifiers or as sources of supply is an abstractive act. They are seen not as wholes, as complicated, unique individuals, but rather from the point of view of usefulness. What in them is not related to the perceiverâs needs is either overlooked altogether, or else bores, irritates, or threatens. This parallels our relations with cows, horses, and sheep, as well as with waiters, taxicab drivers, porters, policemen or others whom we use. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
An example is the changing attitude of psychologists toward popularity, toward adjustment, even toward delinquency. Popular with whom? Perhaps it is better for a youngster to be unpopular with the neighboring snobs or with the local country club set. Adjusted to what? To a bad culture? To a dominating parent? What shall we think of a well-adjusted slave? A well-adjusted prisoner? Even the behavior problem boy is being looked upon with new tolerance. Why is he delinquent? Most often it is for sick reasons. But occasionally it is for good reasons and the boy is simply resisting exploitation, domination, neglect, contempt, and trampling upon. Clearly what will be called personality problems depends on who is doing the calling. The slave owner? The dictator? The patriarchal father? The husband who wants his wife to remain a child? It seems quite clear that personality problems may sometimes be loud protests against the crushing of oneâs psychological bones, of oneâs true inner nature. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Having a second baby, and learning how profoundly different people are even before birth, made it impossible for me to think in terms of the kind of learning psychology in which one can teach anybody anything. Or the John B. Watson theory of "Give me two babies and I will make one into this and one into the other." It is as if he never had any children. We know only too well that a parent cannot make his children into anything. Children make themselves into something. The best we can do and frequently the most effect we can have is by serving as something to react against if the child presses too hard. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Again, to cite psychotherapeutic experience, the more eager we are to make a diagnosis and a plan of action, the less helpful do we become. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
I have pointed out elsewhere that the aging body and nervous system is less capable of tolerating a really shaking peak-experience. I would add here that maturing and aging means also some loss of first-time-ness, of novelty, of sheer unpreparedness and surprise. âThe Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow
Much disturbance in children and adolescents can be understood as a consequence of the uncertainty of adults about their values. As a consequence, many youngsters in the United States live not by adult values but by adolescent values, which of course are immature, ignorant and heavily determined by confused adolescent needs. An excellent projection of these adolescent values is the cowboy, âWesternâ movie, or the delinquent gang (105). âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Great power is worry, and total power is boredom, such that even God renounces it and pretends, instead, that he is people and fish and insects and plants:Â the myth of the king who goes wandering among his subjects in disguise. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
The reason we are not good priests today is because we don't know too much about friendship. We have a religion instead of a relationship. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
If a man find no prudent companion who walks with him, is wise, and lives soberly, let him walk alone, like a king who has left his conquered country behind â like an elephant in the forest. âThe Dhammapada (Unknown author)
The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion. âThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell (William Blake)
When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind. âFreedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti
Taoists noticed that wars were usually fought for what each side thought was morally important, seldom for self-interest. âThe Complete Idiotâs Guide to Taoism
When facing a single tree, if you look at a single one of its red leaves, you will not see all the others. When the eye is not set on any one leaf, and you face the tree with nothing at all in mind, any number of leaves are visible to the eye without limit. But if a single leaf holds the eye, it will be as if the remaining leaves were not there. âThe Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho
In your love hate is hidden, because when there was hate you tried to smile and pose; now it is in your blood and when you love it is mixed in it. Man now is an adulterated phenomenon, impure. And this has happened because of the wrong teachings of your so-called religions and moralists. They have all tried to make you live on one pole. That pole they call God, compassion, love â all that is good, all goodie-goodie. The other pole they call the devil, all that is bad. âOsho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Volume One: Talks on Fragments From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Under the old covenant, they went to church. But in the new covenant, we are the church! âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
245. But life is hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for what is pure, who is disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent. âThe Dhammapada
If we cannot have an active part in bringing about unity, we can certainly play a passive role by shutting our mouths. This will foster peace. âLiving With Jesus Today (Juan Carlos Ortiz)
It is very difficult, I have found, to communicate to others my simultaneous respect for and impatience with these two comprehensive psychologies. So many people insist on being either pro-Freudian or anti-Freudian, pro-scientific-psychology or anti-scientific-psychology, etc. In my opinion all such loyalty-positions are silly. Our job is to integrate these various truths into the whole truth, which should be our only loyalty. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Evil behaviors seem to most psychologists to be reactive as in these examples, rather than instinctive. This implies that though âbadâ behavior is very deeply rooted in human nature and can never be abolished altogether, it may yet be expected to lessen as the personality matures and as the society improves. âToward A Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow
Speech and writing are undoubtedly marvelous, but for this very reason they have a hypnotic and fascinating quality which can lead to the neglect of nature itself until they become too much of a good thing. âTao: The Watercourse Way, Alan Watts
. . . wherever you wish to seem wise, be wise. âCyropaedia (431-ca.360 BCE Xenophon and 431-c.360 BCE Xenophon)
It was not an overnight process. I spent four years of solid research before doing any serious trading. After literally thousands of hours of poring over charts, going back as far in history as I could, I began to recognize certain patterns that became the basis of my trading approach. âAl Weiss, profiled in The Market Wizards
The Earth is in the center of this universe; but, alas, it is minute, not more than a point. It does exist in a paradox as tantalizing as man's: although central, it is negligible; and /a man, seemingly so frightfully important to God/, remains quite expendable. âErik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther
He who does *something *at the head of one Regiment, will eclipse him who does *nothing *at the head of a hundred. âAbraham Lincoln
You can't separate economic thinking from a view of the nature of human beings. The dominant philosophic view of humanity in any culture will determine the nature of its political structure and therefore the nature of its economic activity. âfrom Methods of a Wall Street Master by Vic Sperandeo (1993)
The abbot and his friend, a great Daoist master, once strolled thus with Tao Yuanming, so carefree that when the abbot strayed beyond the point on the mountain he had vowed never to cross, and realized it, the three merely laughed. Many a popular Chinese painting depicts the scene, a peaceful synthesis of Buddhism and Daoism in the Confucian-bred but sublimely Chinese Tao Yuanming.
Persons who judge on the basis of one-sided facts are by definition unjust. The pursuit of justice must include a willingness to hear both sides before forming an opinion. âU.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld
/Vegetarianism// //is the first turning away from life,// //because life lives on lives.// //Vegetarians are just eating // //something that can't run way./ âJoseph Campbell
People know there is a way to have this spiritual development take place, but the Church is not helping us do it, because it's talking about metaphorical events as if they were historical facts. The Pope is having a hard time now because nobody believes any of it. Who believes in the Virgin Birth? The Virgin Birth is metaphorical, and so is the Ascension. Sure, I can believe in the Ascension of Jesus, but I've turned the outer space into the inner space: he went into the place where heaven is: right inside. His Ascension represents the inward, mythological journey. And the Virgin Birth refers to the birth of the spiritual life in the human. âJoseph Campbell
What has always been basic to Easter, or resurrection, is crucifixion. If you want resurrection, you must have crucifixion. Too many interpretations of the Crucifixion have failed to emphasize that relationship and emphasize instead the calamity of the event. If you emphasize the calamity, you look for someone to blame, which is why people have blamed the Jews. But crucifixion is not a calamity if it leads to new life. Through Christ's crucifixion we were unshelled, which enabled us to be born to resurrection. That is not a calamity. So, we must take a fresh look at this even if its symbolism is to be sensed. âJoseph Campbell
Without changing the world, there is escape from sorrow just by shifting the perspective. âJoseph Campbell
To learn requires motivation to learn. Love ya, \Toad
âFirst-time speculators want to make a killing in the market. They want too much, too fast, without doing the necessary study and preparation or acquiring the essential methods and skills. They are looking for an easy way to make a quick buck without spending any time or effort really learning what they are doing.â âWilliam O'Neil
Traders react to losses like frogs to hot water. If you throw a frog into a boiling kettle, it will jump in response to sudden pain, but if you put a frog into cool water and heat it slowly, you can boil it alive. If a sudden price change hits traders, they jump from pain and liquidate losing positions. The same losers can be very patient if their losses increase gradually. âFrom "Trading For A Living" by Dr. Alexander Elder
Bulls and bears each get a seat at the table, but pigs get slaughtered.
A man consulted a psychiatrist. âWhat is your problem?â the psychiatrist asked? âI don't have any problems,â the man answered. âThen why have you come to consult me?â the psychiatrist asked. âBecause my family thinks there is something wrong with me,â the man answered. âWhat is it that your family thinks is wrong?â the psychiatrist asked. âThe think I'm crazy because I love pancakes,â the man said. âThat's absurd!â the psychiatrist said. âThere is nothing wrong with loving pancakes. Why I like pancakes myself.â The man's eyes brightened. âYou do?â he exclaimed? âThen you must come to my house. I have trunks full of them in my attic.â
But there is a greater pleasure in picking up a small pearl in an ash-can than in looking at a large one in a jewelerâs window. âThe Importance Of Living (Lin YuTang)
The modern man takes life far too seriously, and because he is too serious, the world is full of troubles. âLin Yutang
If you were to paint a picture of the Christian life today from your perspective, what kinds of color would you use? Is life something to be celebrated or endured? âTim Hansel, âWhen I Relax I Feel Guilty,â 1979
Shocking but true, most people who write books on trading do not trade. In putting together their books, they reply on the power of well-chosen hypothetical examples. The only people obligated to disclose their track records are money managers. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
You have to be more than disciplinedâto trade commodities you must be colder than a freezer. If you cannot follow money management rules, better go to Las Vegas. The entertainment value is just as high and the outcome is the same, but the drinks are free and the floor show more glitzy. âDr. Alexander Elder, âCome Into My Trading Roomâ
International conferences, in the midst of discussion of the most absorbing and most critical political situations, have to break up for the noon meal. Parliaments have to adjust their schedule of sessions to meal hours. . . . Friends that meet at meals meet at peace. . . . It is for this reason that, with the Chinese deep insight into human nature, all quarrels and disputes are settled at dinner tables instead of at the court of justice. The pattern of Chinese life is such that we not only settle disputes at dinner, after they have arisen, but also forestall the arising of disputes by the same means. In China, we bribe our way into the good will of everybody by frequent dinners. It is, in fact, the only safe guide to success in politics. Should some one take the trouble of compiling statistical figures, he would be able to find an absolute correlation between the number of dinners a man gives to his friends and the rate or speed of his official promotion. âFrom âThe Importance of Livingâ by Lin Yutang
Man began to be philosophical only when he saw the vanity of this earthly existence. âLin Yutang
" . . . the human psychology of fear, hope, and greed has changed little in the last 60 or so years." âTushar Chande
Is it not plain that passion rather than reason rules the world? âLin Yutang
After all, we talk in order to influence people, and if we know we can influence people, or control them, where is the need for talking at all? âLin Yutang
Question: That they're really not suited for it, but they just think it's a quick way to make some fast money and they don't want to put in the time? Jeff Jensen: Yes, exactly. It's like there's a lot of get rich quick schemes out there for people who haven't been able to be successful in one area and they think trading is just the magic bullet!
The greater success a man has made, the more he fears a climb down. âLin Yutang
Many cultured persons were able to escape the lure of wealth, but only the very greatest could escape the lure of fame. Once a monk was discoursing with his pupil on these two sources of worldly cares, and said: âIt is easier to get rid of the desire for money than to get rid of the desire for fame. Even retired scholars and monks still want to be distinguished and well-known among their company. They want to give public discourses to a large audience, and not retire to a small monastery talking to one pupil, like you and me now.â âLin Yutang
Anyone who refuses to take the entire panorama of reality on its surface value, or refuses to believe every word that appears in a newspaper, is more or less a philosopher. He is the fellow who refuses to be taken in. âLin Yutang
So far as adaptation to nature is concerned, all natureâs creatures are marvelously perfect, for those that are not perfectly adapted she kills off. But now we are no longer called upon to adapt ourselves to nature; we are called upon to adapt ourselves to ourselves, to this thing called civilization. All instincts were good, were healthy in nature; in society, however, we call all instincts savage. âLin Yutang
This has made it possible for religion to be associated with the worst forms of bigotry, narrow-mindedness and even pure selfishness in personal life. Such a religion nourishes a manâs selfishness not only by making it impossible for him to be broad-minded toward other sects, but also by turning the practice of religion into a private bargain between God and himself . . . . âLin Yutang
Against the old contention, however, that we must all be useful, be efficient, become officials and have power, the old reply is that there are always enough fools left in the world who are willing to be useful, be busy and enjoy power, and so somehow the business of life can and will be carried on. âLin Yutang
There are limitations to science, but they are not limitations in the field of valid inquiry. Any claim to truth ought to be submitted to the demand for evidence. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
Unexamined faith is not worth having. âDavid Elton Truebood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
It is simply self-evident that during the past century the authority of science has taken the place of the authority of religion in the popular imagination, and that skepticism, at least in spiritual things, has become more general than belief. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
Consequently our age is one of frustration, anxiety, agitation, and addiction to âdope.â Somehow we must grab what we can while we can, and drown out the realization that the whole thing is futile and meaningless. This âdopeâ we call our high standard of living, a violent and complex stimulation of the senses, which makes them progressively less sensitive and thus in need of yet more violent stimulation. We crave distractionâa panorama of sights, sounds, thrills, and titillations into which as much as possible must be crowded in the shortest possible time. To keep up this âstandardâ most of us are willing to put up with lives that consist largely in doing jobs that are a bore, earning the means to seek relief from the tedium by intervals of hectic and expensive pleasure. These intervals are supposed to be the real living, the real purpose served by the necessary evil of work. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
As a matter of fact, our age is no more insecure than any other. Poverty, disease, war, change, and death are nothing new. In the best of times âsecurityâ has never been more than temporary and apparent. But it has been possible to make the insecurity of human life supportable by belief in unchanging things beyond the reach of calamityâin God, in manâs immortal soul, and in the government of the universe by eternal laws of right. Today such convictions are rare, even in religious circles. âAlan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity, 1951
In a similar way morality is concerned with the entire field of human experience. The whole idea of the moral life is defeated if moral considerations are limited to special areas. Morality is as much concerned with what men do in factories as with what they do in homes. Morality is concerned with the way a man pays his taxes, the way he uses his time, the way he spends his money. The good life consists not in performing one special class of actions, but in performing all actions well. There is nothing we can do, say or even think that is totally devoid of ethical significance. âDavid Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 1957
I found that, on Wall Street, the best way to receive a pay increase was to change jobs. âMarty Schwartz
[âŠ] there are three types of laughter. The first is when you laugh at someone else. This is the meanest, the lowest, the most ordinary and vulgar when you laugh at the expense of somebody else. This is the violent, the aggressive, the insulting type Deep down this laughter there is always a feeling of revenge. The second type of laughter is when you laugh at yourself. This is worth achieving. This is cultured. And this man is valuable who can laugh at himself. He has risen above vulgarity. He has risen above lowly instincts â hatred, aggression, violence. The third is just Cosmic. You laugh at the whole situation as it is. The whole situation, as it is, is absurd â no purpose in the future, no beginning in the beginning. âOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
What can be more delightful than to have some one to whom you can say everything with the same absolute confidence as to yourself? âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
For as we are not beneficent and liberal with any view of extorting gratitude, and do not regard an act of kindness as an investment, but follow a natural inclination to liberality; so we look on friendship as worth trying for, not because we are attracted to it by the expectation of ulterior gain, but in the conviction that what it has to give us is from first to last included in the feeling itself. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
I conclude, then, that the plea of having acted in the interests of a friend is not a valid excuse for a wrong action. [âŠ] For, seeing that a belief in a man's virtue is the original cause of friendship, friendship can hardly remain if virtue he abandoned. âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
It is not in human nature to be indifferent to political power; and if the price men have to pay for it is the sacrifice of friendship, they think their treason will be thrown into the shade by the magnitude of the reward. This is why true friendship is very difficult to find among those who engage in politics and the contest for office. Where can you find the man to prefer his friend's advancement to his own? âTreatises on Friendship and Old Age, Marcus Tullius Cicero
An inflated sense of self-importance causes us to become attached to the praise and approval of our peers. It also causes us to fear disapproval and rejection. âTao te ching: annotated & explained (Derek Lin)
Preachers err, he told me, by trying "to talk people into belief; better they reveal the radiance of their own discovery." â Bill Moyers on Joseph Campbell
We learned the times tables without understanding their grand principle, simply because we had the capacity and no alternative. âMaya Angelou, âI Know Why the Caged Bird Singsâ
"The shift from a geocentric to a heliocentric world view," he wrote after the astronauts touched the moon, "seemed to have removed man from the center -- and the center seemed so important. âJoseph Campbell
When a judge walks into the room, and everybody stands up, you're not standing up to that guy, you're standing up to the robe that he's wearing and the role that he's going to play. What makes him worthy of that role is his integrity, as a representative of the principles of that role, and not some group of prejudices of his own. âJoseph Campbell
[âŠ] the only way you can describe a human being truly is by describing his imperfections. The perfect human being is uninteresting -- the Buddha who leaves the world, you know. It is the imperfections of life that are lovable. ⊠[âŠ] some people have a very hard time loving God, because there's no imperfection there. You can be in awe, but that would not be real love. It's Christ on the cross that becomes lovable. âJoseph Campbell
So I began to read American Indian myths, and it wasn't long before I found the same motifs in the American Indian stories that I was being taught by the nuns at school. âJoseph Campbell
When you are doing something that is a brand-new adventure, breaking new ground, whether it is something like a technological breakthrough or simply a way of living that is not what the community can help you with, there's always the danger of too much enthusiasm, of neglecting certain mechanical details. Then you fall off. "A dangerous path is this." When you follow the path of your desire and enthusiasm and emotion, keep your mind in control, and don't let it pull you compulsively into disaster. âJoseph Campbell
CAMPBELL: Our life evokes our character. You find out more about yourself as you go on. That's why it's good to be able to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature rather than your lower. "Lead us not into temptation." âJoseph Campbell
Here you have the important transition that took place about 500 B.C. This is the date of the Buddha and of Pythagoras and Confucius and Lao-tzu, if there was a Lao-tzu. This is the awakening of man's reason. No longer is he informed and governed by the animal powers. No longer is he guided by the analogy of the planted earth, no longer by the courses of the planets -- but by reason. âJoseph Campbell
And that's why they rejected the idea of the Fall, too. All men are competent to know the mind of God. There is no revelation special to any people. âJoseph Campbell
In acting after the manner of men, it is easy to fall into hypocrisy; in acting after the manner of Heaven, it is difficult to play the hypocrite. âChuang Tzu
For the past two thousand years traditional Western thinking has been dominated by a dualistic, either-or approach: either something is good, or it is bad; desirable or undesirable; someone is an ally or an enemy. We perceive experiences to be either positive or negative and we expend much energy in trying to eradicate that we consider to be negative. âTed Kardash
Nothing is easy for those who wish to live the better life. A. S. Kline
Crushing disappointment is often the reward for unbridled greed. âTim Wilcox
Much of the self-help world is predicated on peddling highs to people rather than solving legitimate problems. âMark Manson
Then, as we grow older and enter middle age, something else begins to change. Our energy level drops. Our identity solidifies. We know who we are and we accept ourselves, including some of the parts we arenât thrilled about. And, in a strange way, this is liberating. âMark Manson
The old saying goes that no matter where you go, there you are. Well, the same is true for adversity and failure. No matter where you go, thereâs a five-hundred-pound load of shit waiting for you. And thatâs perfectly fine. The point isnât to get away from the shit. The point is to find the shit you enjoy dealing with. âMark Manson
An ability to see streaming live quotes does not also confer understanding, experience, and knowledge of how to think about this information. The ability to execute a trade in seconds does not also imbue the trader with wisdom about the risk and reward of the trade. Mere information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom. âBarbara Rockefeller
People who abnormally develop charity exalt virtue and suppress nature in order to gain a reputation, make the world noisy with their discussions and cause it to follow impractical doctrines. âChuang Tzu
The genius of men who possess is stunted by possession. Wealth only aggravates the natural imbecility of fools. Besides, a rich man is an eyesore to all. âSHU KUANG., 1st Century b.c.
"The function of the society is to cultivate the individual. It is not the function of the individual to support society." âJoseph Campbell
But now you are devoting your intelligence to externals, and wearing out your vital spirit. âChuang Tzu
The warrior who hungers for victory will indulge in it and try to extend it. For each victory the hunger will increase, and each new enemy will be treated with less mercy. âStefan Stenudd
He wears the human form without human passions. Because he wears the human form he associates with men. Because he has not human passions the questions of right and wrong do not touch him. Infinitesimal indeed is that which belongs to the human; infinitely great is that which is completed in God. âChuang Tzu
In your career, make restraint of language your aim. âTSĂNG KUO-FAN, A.D. 1811-1872
