Only let the moving waters calm down, and the sun and moon will be reflected on the surface of your being. - Rumi.

If you would learn the secret of right relations, look only for the divine in people and things, and leave all the rest to God. - J. Allen.

The master said there is one thing in this world that must never be forgotten. If you were to forget everything else but were not to forget this, there would be no cause to worry; while if you remembered, performed and attended to everything else, but forgot that one thing, you would, in fact, have done nothing whatsoever. It is as if a king had sent you to a country to carry out one specific task. You go to the country and you perform a hundred other tasks, but if you have not performed the task you were sent for, it is as if you have performed nothing at all. So man has come into the world for a particular task, and that is his purpose. If he doesn't perform it, he will have done nothing. - Rumi.

We only truly learn from those we love. - Goethe.

Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. - Pope John Paul II.

The most important fact about the subject of education is that there is no such thing. Education is not a subject, and it does not deal with subjects. It is instead the transfer of a way of life. - G. K. Chesterton.

He is only wise who devotes himself to realizing, not reading only, the ancient revelations. Solve all your problems through meditation. Exchange unprofitable speculations for actual God-communion. Clear your mind of dogmatic theological debris; let in the fresh healing waters of direct perception. Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance; the Divine Voice has the answer to every dilemma of life. Though man's ingenuity for getting himself into trouble appears to be endless, the Infinite Succour is no less resourceful. - Lahiri Mahasaya.

Remember that you belong to no one and that no one belongs to you. Reflect that someday you will suddenly have to leave everything in this world - so make the acquaintance of God now. Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by riding daily in a balloon of divine perception. Through delusion, you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles. Meditate unceasingly that you quickly behold yourself as the infinite essence, free from every form of misery. Cease being a prisoner of the body; using the secret of Kriya, learn to escape into Spirit. - Lahiri Mahasaya.

It takes a village to raise a child - African proverb.

It may be a good thing to live on the top of mountains and the edge of precipices - you learn early not to fear the heights and depths. - Dalai Lama.

The Decaying Monastery

By Jim Ryan

The old monastery had fallen upon hard times. Once a great order, with wealth and lands, now things were bad and there were only the old Abbot and four elderly monks remaining; clearly it was a dying order. In the surrounding woods, there was the retreat of a local Rabbi, from the nearby town. The Abbot, thinking that there wasn't much time left for his order, decided to visit his old friend the Rabbi, and ask him if by some chance he could offer any advice that might save the monastery. 

The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot, but on hearing of his plight, could only commiserate with the Abbot, agreeing that certainly, the spirit has gone out of the people. It was the same for him, very few visited the synagogue also. So both shared their fears, ate, and prayed together. As he was leaving, the Rabbi expressed his sorrow at not being able to give the Abbot the help he wanted, but commented at their parting that one of them at the monastery was the Messiah!

On his return to the monastery, the Abbot relayed what had occurred to the other monks, adding the very puzzling statement about the Rabbi declaring that one of them was the Messiah. In the days, weeks, and months that passed, the old monks thought long and hard about this strange message. The Messiah is one of us? Which one? Could it be the Abbot? He had been in charge for a long time and was a devout man. On the other hand, Brother Thomas was so holy, he was always in prayer and contemplation. Or Brother Eldred, he seems to be always right. What about Brother Phillip, so peaceful and kind, always at hand to help? And each even thought about himself, could he be the Messiah? As an ordinary monk, each tried his best, but to be the Messiah, surely not!

As they contemplated in this manner, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one amongst them might be the Messiah. This aura of tremendous respect that began to surround the old monks seemed to radiate out from and permeate the atmosphere of the place. There was something strangely compelling and attractive about this place. Hardly knowing why, many visitors started to come to the old monastery and its beautiful grounds, to picnic, to play, to pray. They began to tell their friends, and they bought others to this special place.

Then it happened that some of the younger men who came started to talk more and more with the old monks. After a while one asked if he could join, then another, and another. So within a few years, the monastery had once again become a thriving order and a vibrant center of light and spirituality, all thanks to the Rabbi's gift.

Knowing which way to turn gives you self confidence. Taking a chance and going the opposite way gives you a chance to see what you are made of. - Bob Perks.

If you do not do the thing you fear, the fear controls your life. - Brian Tracy.

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others. - Archibald Rutledge.

Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there. - Anonymous.

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots. - Frank A. Clark.

Fascination is one step beyond interest. Interested people want to know if it works. Fascinated people want to learn how it works. - Jim Rohn.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Emerson.

Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. - Mary Kay Ash.

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. - Edith Wharton.

Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. - Lewis Mumford.

When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail. - Abraham Maslow.

Light is good in whatever lamp it may burn, even as a rose in whatever garden it may bloom. - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

The flower that follows the sun does so even on a cloudy day. - Leighton.

Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. - Chinese Proverb.

Before you discover, you must explore. - Anonymous.

You cannot discover new oceans unless you dare to lose sight of the shore. - Anonymous.

Every person I work with knows something better than me. My job is to listen long enough to find it and use it. - Anonymous.

Happiness is contagious. Start an epidemic today! - Anonymous.

It is right to be contented with what we have, never with what we are. - Anonymous.

Giving people a little more than they expect is a good way to get back more than you expected. - Anonymous.

Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. - Anonymous.

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. - Albert Schweitzer.

When you follow your bliss, doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else. - Joseph Campbell.

Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another. - George Eliot.

There is only one way to win the rat race - by quitting it. - Anonymous.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - African Proverb.

Love conquers all. - Anonymous.

There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential. - Rusty Berkus.

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. - Charles A. Beard.

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. - Anonymous.

For fast-acting relief try slowing down. - Lily Tomlin.

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. - Elizabeth Kubler Ross.

Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words? - Marcel Marceau.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. - Henry Brooks Adams.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. - Ursula K. Le Guin.

How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone. - Coco Chanel.

I'm not a teacher, but an awakener. - Robert Frost.

There is more to life than increasing its speed. - Gandhi.

Every man dies. Not every man truly lives. - Braveheart.

Kindness is wisdom. - Phillip J. Bailey.

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. - Antoine de Saint.

Follow your bliss. - Joseph Campbell.