Quotes About Contemplation

I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. — HENRY DAVID THOREAU AMERICAN NATURALIST

If you wish to grow in your spiritual life, you must not allow yourself to be caught up in the workings of the world; you must find time alone, away from the noise and confusion, away from the allure of power and wealth. — THOMAS À KEMPIS AUGUSTINIAN MONK

Very few of us ever walk in the fields and the woods, not talking or singing songs, but just walking quietly and observing things about us and within ourselves. — J. KRISHNAMURTI INDIAN PHILOSOPHER

The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak. — SPINOZA DUTCH PHILOSOPHER

It was an important day in my life when at last I understood that if he needed forty days in the wilderness at one point, I very likely could use three or four.

The command is Do no work. Just make space. Attend to what is around you. Learn that you don't have to DO to BE. accept the grace of doing nothing. Stay with it until you stop jerking and squirming.

The key, then, to loving God is to see Jesus, to hold him before the mind with as much fullness and clarity as possible. It is to adore him.

The "interior castle" of the human soul, as Teresa of Avila called it, has many rooms, and they are slowly occupied by God, allowing us time and room to grow.

It is much more important to cultivate the    quiet, inward space of a constant listening than to always be approaching God for specific direction.

At some point in the late afternoon, preferably before dinner, while you are still experiencing the strength and rest of God, take fifteen minutes in quiet solitude to review and examine the day.

making sure to leave the evening free as the start of your time with Jesus.

Seek not to speak, but that you might have something to say.

The key, then, to loving God is to see Jesus, to hold him before the mind with as much fullness and clarity as possible. It is to adore him. For

Often a good starting point when trying to help those who do not believe in God or accept Christ as Lord is to get them to deal honestly with the question: Would I like for there to be a God? Or, would I like it if Jesus turned out to be Lord? This may help them realize the extent to which what they want to be the case is controlling their ability to see what is the case.

Set aside days to spend alone with God to seek his face and to imagine that face shining with joy as it looks at you. As the ancient Jewish benediction puts it: The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you [look right at you] And give you peace. (NUM. 6:24–26)

when it comes to experiencing the sufficiency of God, we are not talking about what God can do; we are talking about what we need to do. And what we need to do is to turn our minds to God.

Develop the habit of seeing the world through God's eyes.

Sit in the companionship of God—the one who shows up and can be seen.

Imagine how different a world might be if more leaders took time to ponder the finality of death before racing off to war.

I believe that thinking about the problem … is your problem.

RELIGION: BECAUSE THINKING IS HARD.

Which would you choose? A world without religion? Or a world without science?

maybe the questions are more powerful than the answers.

What if God was wrong?