Self Pity (D. H. Lawrence)

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

We have no reason to mistrust
our world, for it is not against us.
Has it terrors, they are our terrors;
has it abysses, those abysses belong to us;
are dangers at hand, we must try to love them.
And if only we arrange our life
according to that principle
which counsels us that we must
always hold to the difficult,
then that which now still seems
to us the most alien
will become what we most
trust and find most faithful.
How should we be able to forget
those ancient myths
that are at the beginning of all peoples,
the myths about dragons
that at the last moment turn into princesses;
perhaps all the dragons of our lives
are princesses who are only waiting
to see us once beautiful and brave.
Perhaps everything terrible
is in its deepest being something
helpless that wants help from us.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

For As Long As Space Endures


For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I, too, abide
To dispel the misery of the world.

- Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

Holy health and safety at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire

"Erosion"

"For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.
"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!"

--------Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Henry Nouwen on Prayer

“When we say to people, “I will pray for you,” we make a very important commitment. The sad thing is that this remark often remains nothing but a well-meant expression of concern. But when we learn to descend with our mind into our heart, then all those who have become part of our lives are led into the healing presence of God and are touched by God in the center of our being. We are speaking here about a mystery for which words are inadequate. It is the mystery that the heart, which is the center of our being, is transformed into God’s own heart, a heart large enough to embrace the entire universe. Through prayer we can carry in our heart all human pain and sorrow, all conflicts and agonies, all torture and war, all hunger, loneliness, and misery, not because of some great psychological or emotional capacity, but because God’s heart has become one with ours.”

The Ten Illusions of Humans
by Neale Donald Walsch
in Communion with God
[excerpt]

1. God has an agenda. (need exists)
2. The outcome of life is in doubt. (failure exists)
3. You are separate from God. (disunity exists)
4. There is not enough. (insufficiency exists)
5. There is something you have to do. (requirement exists)
6. If you do not do it, you will punished. (judgment exists)
7. The punishment is everlasting damnation. (condemnation exists)
8. Love is, therefore, conditional. (conditionality exists)
9. Knowing and meeting the conditions renders you superior. (superiority exists)
10. You will not know that these are illusions. (ignorance exists)

There are all sorts of books which describe how to meditate and what formulas to pronounce during these meditations. I do not deny that they are beautiful, useful, and effective. But there are two words which are never mentioned, words which for me are the most powerful of all, words which clarify, which harmonize, and which heal, and these words are "thank you".


Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov