~ Thoughts and Quotes ~

THOUGHTS: what one thinks, attention or consideration of ideas or concepts, the power of reasoning, a process of mental activity, QUOTES: to use the exact words of another, either repeated exactly or in a summary and to identify the person, bring forward as an example of authority Gathered here is a collection of thoughts and quotes from the wise and wild, the teachers and visionaries, the healers and shamans, the essence of which does reside in all of us.

"Artists of all kinds are dear to God. He endows them with their skill, in rare cases their genius, and delights in the way they make use of them. Woe betide an idle artist neglecting God's Gifts – a point that Milton makes in one of his greatest sonnets where he writes of"talent which is death to hide". Paul Johnson "There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he's absolutely free to choose." William M. Bulger (1934-, American Educator, Senator) "It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover." Henri Poincare "Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love and a misunderstanding is never ended by argument but by tact, diplomacy, conciliation, and a sumpathetic desire to see the other person's viewpoint." The Buddha “. . . the heart is pure protean marvel . . . It is a dwelling with a door of its own, on which truth can knock, enter, illumine with the light of certainty, and rain down gentleness within . . . It can pant with anxiety and seethe with ferverish corruptive thoughts, or be the starting place for our climb of the upward paths, singing our sons of ascent.” In the Confessions of St. Agustine “Civilized people depend too much on man-made printed pages. I turn th the Great Spirit’s book which is the whole of creation. you can read a big part of that book if you study nature. You know, if you take all your books, lay them out under the sun and let the snow and rain and insects work on them for a while,there will be nothing left. But the Great Spirit has provided you and me with an opportunity to study in nature’s university the forests, the rivers, the mountains and the animals which include us.” Walking Buffalo “Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with person, neither to weigh thought nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” Anonymous Shoshone “Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks; as the birds and animals that shared, alike with us, the storms and blessings of earth. We learned to do what only the students of nature ever learn, and that was to feel beauty.” Chief Luther Standing Bear “He knew that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too. So he kept his children close to nature’s softening influence.” Chief Luther Standing Bear “What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” Crowfoot “There is no death. Only a change of worlds.” Chief Seattle “Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.” Black Elk

On Stillness Be still, and know that I am God. Psalms 46.10 When you pray, go into your room where your prayer in secret will be heard by God in secret. Jesus, Matthew 6.4 I will speak to you when you are alone, be still know I am God. Vision of Enoch The pure, absolute, and immutable mysteries of theology are veiled in the dazzling obscurity of the secret Silence. Dionysius, Mystical Thology If only all might be hushed, sense impressions, the soul itself, all imagery, all symbols, all things transient, then we might hear the very voice of the eternal, and if that experience were prolonged, we would indeed enter into the joy of our Lord. St. Augustine Passion is overcome only by him who has won through stillness of spirit the perfect vision; it comes through the contentment that is regardless of the world. Santideva, 600 This experience will come, waiting in silence and stillness. Family of Love, 1500 I am God, who enable the humble-minded to understand more of the ways of the everlasting Truth in a single moment than ten years of study in the Schools. I teach in silence. Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ 3.43 If God is to be worshipped in spirit, the mind must be cleared of images, the doors of the senses must be shut. Albertus Magnus, 1250

“In the life of the Indian, there was only one inevitable duty — the duty of prayer — the daily recognition of the Unseen and Eternal.” Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa) “The mother’s spiritual influence was supremely important. Her attitude and secret meditation must be such as to instill into the unborn child the love of the Great Mystery and a sense of connectedness with all creation.” Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and the affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves form this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living things and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein

"Whatever it is you are meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible." Doris Lessing Just a thought ... how old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? ccjandreau "The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." John Ruskin "Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the world." Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks "Just as blood is a fact and part of your physical body, so creativity is the blood of your spiritual body. You don't have to invent it, it is already there . . . waiting." author unknown " If the mountain can forgive the scarring and mining and can cover over her gashes with the fresh grasses of spring, should I not, too, be able to cover over my gashes with fresh grasses of kindness and understanding?" If the forest can survive the murder of all her children, and rise again once more in beauty, should I not, too, be able to survive the murder of my people and once again raise my heart toward the sun?" Dan, Neither Wolf nor Dog " . . . and when you come to the end of yourself and the very edge of all you know ... believe that when you step out into the abyss of the unknown, you will be given something to stand on or wings to fly." author unknown "There is a finer realm where angels live which gives the heart its magic and the world its art." Karen Goldman, Angel Voices "You have two choices in life: you can dissolve into the mainstream, or you can be distinct. To be distinct, you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no one else but you can be." Alan Ashley-Pitt "Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." Mark Twain