Quotes About Contemplation

for it is the pure, *intellectual* soul alone, that can receive delight from solitude.

Attention is no more than this - the power of giving your mind to what you are about

These months drive us to listen within.

Plus notre coeur est tumultueux et bruyant, plus le calme et le silence nous attirent.

Hesitating, at the threshold of various illusory paths of life, I considered them one by one, without daring to pursue any one of them.

He stayed close, and he stayed quiet. It was easy to do, almost; the silence above was so alarmingly complete that it was easier to keep it than to break it.

One is forced to examine one's life when trapped in the wall by a Murphy bed.

Cheryl Mendelson

It had been so silent in the wake of that commotion, a kind of potent silence that seemed to contain everything. The songs of the birds and the creak of the trees. The dying snow and the unseen gurgling water. The glimmering sun. The certain sky. The gun that didn't have a bullet in its chamber. And the mother. Always the mother. The one who would never come to me.

Thinking deeply about your choices and actions from the stance of your future self can serve as both a motivational and a corrective force.

I saw no one, but, strange as it was, I missed no one. I

a prayer marched through my head, though prayer is not the right word to describe that march. I wasn't humble before God. I didn't even believe in God. My prayer was not: Please, God, take mercy on us. I

Someone's in here," I called, though that was obvious. Someone was in here. It was me. I was here. I felt in a way I hadn't in ages: the me inside of me, occupying my spot in the fathomless Milky Way.

I felt it in a way I hadn't in ages: the me inside of me, occupying my spot in the fathomless Milky Way.

La solitudine era sempre stata un luogo reale per me, come se fosse una stanza dove potevo rifugiarmi per essere davvero me stessa.

All of my life has been a relearning to pray- a letting go of incantational magic, petition, and the vain repetition "Me, Lord, Me," instead watching attentively for the light that burns at the center of every star, every cell, every living creature, every human heart. Learning to pray, then, as I understand it, is learning to listen with the mind and heart- making oneself attentive to each exquisite detail of the world.

He inspected himself glumly in the rearview mirror, probing tentatively at the full-blown shiner that now graced his left eye socket. Deep reds and purples adorned it in bold, splashy strokes; and the moisture from his icepack gave it the appearance of a high-gloss finish. He briefly considered turning it in as his next art project, then stifled the thought.

Busquei abrigo num quiosque, e me perguntei se algum dia saberia viver longe do mar, em cidade que não terminasse assim num acidente, mas agonizando para todos os lados.

Esse silêncio todo me atordoa Atordoado, eu permaneço atento

Me curvo en posición fetal y estiro los brazos entre las piernas dobladas, como desperezándome hacia dentro.

No soul can grow to its full stature without spells of solitude.

I saw above a sea of hills A solitary planet shine, And there was no one near or far To keep the world from being mine.

Scarce heard, beneath yon arching trees, The silver-crested ripples pass; And, like a mimic brook, the breeze Whispers among the grass. Here from the world I win release, Nor scorn of men, nor footstep rude, Break in to mar the holy peace Of this great solitude. Here may the silent tears I weep Lull the vexed spirit into rest, As infants sob themselves to sleep Upon a mother's breast...

I'm not anti-social. I'm pro-solitude.