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1 " Quoting from Thomas MertonDialogues With SilenceThe true contemplative is not one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants or expects to hear, but is one who remains empty because he knows that he can never expect to anticipate the words that will transform his darkness into light. He does not even anticipate a special kind of transformation. He does not demand light instead of darkness. He waits on the Word of God in silence, and, when he is answered it is not so much by a word that bursts into his silence. It is by his silence itself, suddenly, inexplicably revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God. (17) "
― , The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living
2 " Quoting from Phillip MoffittWill Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life?The most profound change I’m aware of just now is a growing realization that life is not personal. This may seem a surprising or even strange view to those unfamiliar with Eastern spirituality, but it has powerful implications. It’s very freeing to see that events in my life are arising because of circumstances in which I am not involved, but that I’m not at the center of them in any particular way. They’re impersonal. They’re arising because of causes and conditions. They are not “me.” There is a profound freedom in this. It makes life much more peaceful and harmonious because I’m not in reaction to events all the time. (134) "
3 " Our unconscious ideals cause us to sacrifice our true lives to a beautiful chimera, a haunting dream, a compelling illusion. "
4 " Struggle,” says Swami Kripalu, “changes an ordinary human into a spiritually awake person. "
5 " When consciousness is disturbed, Pure Awareness cannot be distinguished from the waves of mind. The restlessness of the mind, like a choppy pond, fractures the reflection. When consciousness is stilled, however, a great mystery is revealed: Pure Awareness abides in its very nature. And what is this nature? This consciousness, when stilled, has two remarkable characteristics: it is reflective, reflecting Pure Awareness back to itself; and it is transparent, allowing itself to be completely seen and penetrated. It is one of the glories of this technique that the end of the path is present even in the beginning. For even from the first days of practice, the meditator begins to “know” and “be known.” And to understand that knowing and seeing is what it is all about. "
6 " Willpower is the caveman approach to life. "
