Quotes About Self

the deepest goal of spirituality is freedom from the illusion of the self—and to seek such freedom, as though it were a future state to be attained through effort, is to reinforce the chains of one's apparent bondage in each moment.

While thinking is a practical necessity, the failure to recognize thoughts as thoughts, moment after moment, is what gives each of us the feeling that we call "I," and this is the string upon which all our states of suffering and dissatisfaction are strung.

Although the insights we can have in meditation tell us nothing about the origins of the universe, they do confirm some well-established truths about the human mind: Our conventional sense of self is an illusion; positive emotions, such as compassion and patience, are teachable skills; and the way we think directly influences our experience of the world.

Am I free to do that which does not occur to me to do?

Consciousness is the one thing in this universe that cannot be an illusion

One must be able to pay attention closely enough to glimpse what consciousness is like between thoughts—that is, prior to the arising of the next one. Consciousness does not feel like a self. Once one realizes this, the status of thoughts themselves, as transient expressions of consciousness, can be understood.

But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.

Our conventional sense of self is an illusion; positive emotions, such as compassion and patience, are teachable skills; and the way we think directly influences our experience of the world.

the sense of self disappears when closely examined, and this is done through the practice of meditation.

Am I free to change my mind? Of course not. It can only change me.

There's certainly no unchanging self that is carried through from one moment to the next. Its a processes; it's not a thing. You're a verb more than you're a noun (from the point of view of neuroscience).

The mind is a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts arise because there is the thinker. The thinker is the ego. The ego, if sought, will automatically vanish.

It is perfectly obvious that I, as the conscious witness of my experience, am not the deep cause of it.

They should have focused more on me.

Most of the pressure comes from myself, not from others. I don't need a manager or a pundit to put pressure on me. I do all that myself before others do it.

You can't completely control the sport - Tiger Woods comes close. The test is against yourself and nature's own way. I find golf a particularly good metaphor for this story.

Run and become. Become and run. Run to succeed in the outer world. Become to proceed in the inner world.

Counting both times I cheated this week I won at solitaire twice.

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

It truly is the power that you have deep within yourself that gives you the strength to pursue your dreams.

Yes, forget your weakness, whatever that weakness may be. It is egotism, it is selfishness after. all, for it is a dwelling on self. Forget your weakness; and remember your strength.

Love must not entreat,' she added, 'or demand. Love must have the strength to become certain within itself. Then it ceases merely to be attracted and begins to attract.

Recover the source of all strength in yourself, and all else will be added to you ... political freedom, the mastery of human thought, the hegemony of the world.

For an impenetrable shield, stand inside yourself