Quotes About Contemplation

a remarkably gentle and insightful monk, Theophan, who says, "You must descend from your head to your heart. At present your thoughts of God are in your head. And God Himself is, as it were, outside you, and so your prayer and other spiritual exercises remain exterior. Whilst you are still in your head, thoughts will not easily be subdued but will always be whirling about, like snow in winter or clouds of mosquitoes in the summer.

most of us are rarely inside the present moment. We spend a disproportionate amount of time plotting the future or revisiting past events. But when we swim, or shower, or take a bath, we have little choice but to position ourselves in the present, giving our thoughts room to float and wander

At night always carry in your heart something from Holy Scriptures to bed with you, meditate upon it like a ruminant animal, and go softly to sleep; but this must not be too much, rather a little that may be well pondered and understood, that you may find a remnant of it in your mind when you rise in the morning.

It is better to think of church in the ale-house than to think of the ale-house in church.

Rather than walk about holy places we can thus pause in our thoughts, examine our heart, and visit the wheel promised land.

I sit and feel lonely. Sitting and feeling lonely is something I am a spectacular success at. I can do it for hours. Everyone is good at something.

It may not look like much, not with all these other distractions, but we make things holy by the kind of attention we give them.

I have sometimes imagined my own death and brought myself to tears.

As you are thinking about the past, the past you are thinking about the future.

Auf jeden Fall werde ich, oder wenigstens will ich, wenn nicht, dann doch, allerdings müsste ich, und kann nicht.

Thinking is good," Uman said. "We like thinking.

She watched until it became an indistinct dot in the sky.

Cómo puedo haber llegado hasta aquí? Se lo cuento rápido. Momento a momento.

The attendants of the bridal chamber have only one name, and that is rest. When they are together, they need no other form, [for they are in] contemplation…perception. They are superior…among those in…the glories of glories….

In the quiet of this day, may you know the greatness of your spirit and may your hopes fly on the wings of possibility

The worst thing about loneliness is that it brings one face to face with oneself.

We sat side by side in the morning light and looked out at the future together.

Once in a while you have to take a break and visit yourself.

Love is a conflict between reflexes and reflections.

Then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink

I've sometimes thought of marrying, and then I've thought again.

Marriage can be viewed as the waiting room for death.

Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren't in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life.

Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something molded.