Quotes About Meditation

All of the Eastern contemplative traditions stumbled onto this brilliant principle: When difficulties arise, give yourself to them.

Abandon all supports," says Krishna to Arjuna in one of his great final teachings. "Cast off your dependency on everything external, Arjuna, and rely on the Self alone." We work first because we have to work. Then because we want to work. Then because we love to work. Then the work simply does us. Difficult at the beginning. Inevitable at the end.

We need not be afraid of silence; sometimes it can help us listen to our precious inner messages.

In my solitude I have seen things very clearly That were not true —Antonio Machado, 1983

As you sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest, or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream, the great door, that does not look like a door, opens.

A thought that is ignored soon goes away. And there it is! The space between thoughts. How wonderful to see!

When we encounter spiritual realities for the first time, whether just starting to meditate or at the time of death, our minds are usually inflexible with ingrained self-interest and belief in the reality of the everyday world. It is good to be as comfortable as possible for it is painful to witness the disintegration of our world as the senses upon which it was based crumble and dissolve.

There is a value in repetition. When we repeat certain phrases and even actions, like fingering prayer beads, we create a quiet rhythm within our spirits. The beating of our heart is a repetition as is the rhythm of our breathing. All of life has its rhythms, and the repetition of familiar prayers can bring our interior spirits into harmony with the Divine Heartbeat and the breathing of the Divine Christ.

We seem especially susceptible to this pitting of spirituality against theology in American evangelical contexts. Perhaps we can chalk this up to the influence of pietism, which courses through the veins of many evangelicals. Pietism should not be confused with piety. Piety means simply the spiritual practices of praying, Bible reading and meditation, fasting, and gifts of charity.

George Müller once said, "I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up.

The more you understand your true spiritual identity, and your connection with the Supreme, the easier it will be to love your Self.

Sit down, have a nice cup of coffee read a book in another language - the fountain of youth!

In essence, the idea is to let your body fall asleep while you keep your mind awake.

try to let your first thought upon awakening be, "What was I just dreaming?" Before attempting to write down the dream, go over the dream in your mind, retelling the dream story to yourself until you remember it as a whole.

You have to remember one life, one death–this one! To enter fully the day, the hour, the moment whether it appears as life or death, whether we catch it on the inbreath or outbreath, requires only a moment, this moment. And along with it all the mindfulness we can muster, and each stage of our ongoing birth, and the confident joy of our inherent luminosity. (24)

healing comes not from being loving but from being itself. It is not a case of being clear but of clear being. This healing is not about anything else but being itself. Nothing separate, no edges, nothing to limit healing. Entering, in moments, the realm of pure being, the gateless gate swings open-- beyond life and death, our original face shines back at us.

It is the job of poetry to clean up our word-clogged reality by creating silences around things.

Knowledge is better than practice; meditation is better than knowledge; and best of all is surrender, which soon brings peace.

Hmm,' said the King. 'I must write that down in my book of aphorisms. I don't know if it is deep, but it sounds deep.

True poetry is born of scrutiny, Scrutiny, the son of meditation, Meditation, the son of lore, Lore, the son of inquiry, Inquiry, the son of investigation, Investigation, the son of knowledge, Knowledge, the son of understanding, Understanding, the son of wisdom, Wisdom, the son of Surrender to the Divine Will. The

Even when in the midst of disturbance, the stillness of the mind can offer sanctuary.

Using your mind is a faster method to getting what you want. I mean, all you have to do is sit there. What could be easier?

When you reach a calm and quiet meditative state, that is when you can hear the sound of silence.

To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.