The most powerful prayer, one well nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all, is the outcome of a quiet mind — the quieter it is, the more powerful, the worthier, the deeper, the more telling, and more perfect the prayer is. To the quiet mind, all things are possible.
What is a quiet mind? A quiet mind is one which nothing weighs on, nothing worries; which, free from ties, and from all self-seeking, is wholly merged into the will of God, and dead to its own. When we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.
There is a huge silence inside of each of us, that beckons us into itself. And the recovery of our own silence can begin to teach us the language of heaven.
Spirituality is not to be learned from flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by turning solitary, and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever, or with whomever, we may be. We must learn to penetrate things, and find God there.
The very best, and noblest attainment in this life, is to be silent — and let God work and speak within. Therefore, it is said, ‘in the midst of silence, the secret word was spoken to me…’
People should not worry as much about what they do, but rather, about what they are. If they, and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not think that holiness is based on what we do, but rather on what we are. For, it is not our works which sanctify us, but we who sanctify our works.
The soul in which this birth is to take place must keep absolutely pure, and must live in noble fashion — quite collected, and turned entirely inward. Not running out through the five senses into the multiplicity of creatures, but all in-turned and collected, and in the purest part —there is that place. Be sure of this: absolute stillness for as long as possible is best of all for you.
To be receptive to the highest truth, and to live therein, one must be without, before and after. Untrammeled by all their acts, or by any images they ever perceived: empty and free, receiving the divine gift in The Eternal Now, and bearing it back unhindered in the light of the same, with praise and thanksgiving. If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank you” — it will be enough.
Above thought is the intellect, which still seeks. It goes about looking, spies out here and there, picks up and drops. But above the intellect that seeks is another intellect, which does not seek, but stays in its pure, simple being, which is embraced in that light.
In silence, one can most readily preserve their integrity. Be willing to be a beginner every single morning. You may call God love, you may call God goodness, but the best name for God is compassion.
The most important hour is always the present. The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now. The most necessary work is always love.
Above all else, know this: be prepared at all times for the gifts of God and be ready always for new ones, for God is a thousand times more ready to give than we are to receive. Become aware of what is in you: announce it, pronounce it, produce it and give birth to it.
Love will never be anywhere, except where equality and unity are. And there can be no love, where love does not find equality. Or is not busy creating equality. Nor is there any pleasure without equality. Practice equality in human society, learn to love, esteem, consider all people like yourself. What happens to another, be it bad or good, pain or joy, ought to be as if it happened to you.
Whether you like it or not, whether you know it or not, secretly, all nature seeks God, and works towards truth. You need seek God neither below, nor above. God is no farther away than the door of the heart. God is like a person who clears his throat while hiding, and so gives himself away. God lies in wait for us, with nothing so much as love. But God cannot know Itself without me.
Those who dwell in God dwell in The Eternal Now. There exists only the present instant, a Now which always, and without end, is Itself new. There is no yesterday, nor any tomorrow, but only Now; as it was a thousand years ago, and, as it will be a thousand years hence.
Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light. So when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us. So, when I am able to establish myself in nothing, and nothing in myself, uprooting and casting out what is in me, then I can pass into the naked being of God, which is the naked being of the Spirit. Since it is God’s nature not to be like anyone, we have to come to the state of being nothing, in order to enter into the same nature that That is.
There is a power in the soul which touches neither time nor flesh, flowing from the spirit, remaining in the spirit, altogether spiritual. But if you seek truth, and seek it for your own profit and bliss, then in truth you are not seeking God. We find people who like the taste of God in one way, and not in another, and they want to have God only in one way of contemplation, not in another. I raise no objection, but they are quite wrong. I declare truly, that as long as anything is reflected in your mind, which is not The Eternal Word, or which looks away from The Eternal Word, then good as it may be, it is not the right thing. For they alone are a good person who, having set at naught all created things, stands facing straight, with no side-glances, towards The Eternal Word, and is imaged and reflected there, in righteousness. The human spirit must transcend number, and break through multiplicity, and God will break through them. And just as That breaks through into me, so I break through into That.
The only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won’t let go of your life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away, but they’re not punishing you, they are freeing your soul. If you are frightened of dying, and you’re holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. For the person who has learned to let go, and let be, nothing can ever get in the way again.
Treat all things as if they were loaned to you without any ownership, whether body or soul, sense or strength, external goods or honors, house or hall — everything. The more deeply we are our true selves, the less self is in us.
To the extent that you eliminate ego from your activities, God comes into them, but no more and no less. Begin with that, and let it cost you your uttermost. In this way, and no other, is true peace to be found.
Though it may be called a nescience and unknowing, yet there is, in it, more than all knowing and understanding without it. For this unknowing lures and attracts you from all understood things. And from yourself as well. For, to be full of things, is to be empty of God. To be empty of things, is to be full of God. The very best and highest attainment in this life is to remain still, and let God act and speak in you. But God is not found in the soul by adding anything, but by a process of subtraction.
Existence itself stands in need of nothing, for it lacks nothing. Whereas everything else needs it, because outside of it, there is nothing. Nothingness stands in need of existence, as a sick man lacks health and is in need. Health has no need of a sick man. To want nothing, therefore, characterizes the highest perfection, is fullest and purest existence.
When the soul wants to experience something, she throws out an image in front of her, and then steps into it. But everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in Unhampered Nothingness…
The shell must be cracked apart, if what is in it is to come out. For if you want the kernel, you must break the shell, and therefore, if you want to discover nature’s nakedness, you must destroy its symbols, and the farther you get in, the nearer you come to its essence. When you come to the One, that gathers all things up into itself, There you must stay. When a person sees the One in all things, they are above mere understanding. For God wants nothing from you, but the gift of a peaceful heart.