Take Precautions

Take precautions not to do or say anything that could convince you that this is a permanent state of being. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 29 April)

Cynicism arises from fear, a sense of powerlessness, and a desire to be in control. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 82)

... it is safer to hear and accept advice than to give it. (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 9, p. 38)

... walk away from yourself - let go of yourself - and you will enjoy great inner peace.  (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 37, p. 129)
23 May 2012

Spiritual Principles

To lament endlessly over past failures prevents us from making the most of the present. (Karen Casey, Keepers of the Wisdom, 20 April)

We need to say no to people, places, and events that weaken our connection with ... [Spiritual] Principles, even when saying yes might seem fun, enjoyable, exciting or comforting. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 87)

Without labor there is no rest; without struggle there is no victory. (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 19, p. 107)

I must pay more attention to the messages I receive from my life. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 2 April)
8 May 2012

Growth

Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight. (Touchstones, 18 March)

If you say you want to grow but make no steps to make it happen, it probably will not happen. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 26 March)

People who fear responsibility sometimes use a lifestyle of chaos to help them avoid responsibility -- and to block out their fear of it. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 85)

People learn by example, and you are a living example. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 30 April)

Persistance is necessary if you are to advance in spiritual things. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 18 March)
7 May 2012

Consequences

(Photo: Mr. Dickie - dogs next door)

... most of what happens in a day is of little lasting consequence. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 14 March)

A long life does not always improve us; in fact, it often adds to our problems! (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 23, p. 55)

If you had an extended illness or recovery from surgery or have grieved the loss of someone close to you, you know something about the isolating impact of illness and grief. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 7 June)

Anxiety, it seems, is the raw material of guilt.  At the very least, anxiety is a standard companion to good behavior. (Ratey and Johnson, Shadow Syndromes, p. 281)

We look at our fellow men too much from the standpoint of our own prejudices. (Elizabeth Prentiss in A Gentle Spirit, 1 April)

You always have options.  In every situation, you can chose how you are going to deal with it and how you are going to feel about it. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Pulling Your Own Strings, p. 208)

[Blows or trauma to the head are never trivial.] Inside the brain, a car crash today keeps right on happening tomorrow and the day after; it is a terrifying process to contemplate. (Ratey and Johnson, Shadow Syndromes, p. 344)

... trouble comes to pass, not to stay. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 31 January)

... the easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.  This principle works equally well for individuals, corporations, societies, and nations. (Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws, p., 31)

Many of us grew up in families with an addicted parent. (Touchstones, 6 January)

It is not a sign of loving someone to withhold information you think will distrub them. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 16 February)

If the best man's faults were written on his forehead, it would make him pull his hat over his eyes. (Gaelic Proverb, in Touchstones, 8 February)

"Mediocrity finds safety in standardization." (Frederick Crane in Pulling Your Own Strings by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, p. 77)

Gangs are classic examples of mass cowardice. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 115)
7 April 2012

Ignorance

Among adults, the most common form of ignorance is looking to others -

• other people,
• institutions,
• codes,
• religions,
• movements, and
• forms of authority -

to tell us what to believe and how to act.
(Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 208)
25 February 2012

Self-Development

A huge part of self-development - whether it takes place through therapy, life coaching, a Twelve Step group, religious or spiritual practice, or simple self-reflection - is being able to step back, notice what we are guilty of, and admit it. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 110-11) 13 February 2012

Justice For All

... not only in its material standards, but also in its spiritual vitality, ... Western civilization [has] been falling steadily and with increasing rapidity into ruin and desolation.  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost Of Discipleship, p. 34)

Whether you like it or not, everything that is happening at this moment is a result of the choices ... [we've] made in the past. (Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success, p. 40)

If you are an average citizen, don't expect Washington to address your concerns. (Jeffrey D. Sachs, The Price Of Civilization, p. 64)

... the omission of information is the same as a lie. (Iylana Vanzant, Until Today!, 21 January)

[People often] ... choose to distort information in order to use it as a weapon to gain power.  (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 69)

The way to correct distortions is to withdraw your faith in them and invest it only in what is true.  You cannot make untruth true.  (A Course In Miracles, Book 1, Chapter 3, II, 6, p. 39)

If you meet someone who claims to know "The Truth," turn and run away as fast as you can.  Pretending that "my truth" is "The Truth" is dangerous at best, evil at worst.  Those who claim to know "The Truth" are almost always looking for power and a way to control others.  They want us to submit to them and "their truth;" if we do this well enough and completely enough, we become one of the anointed "knowers" with special rights and privileges.  (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 98-9)

Words, unless they come from the heart and soul and are followed by action, are pretense.  (Daniel H. Mundt in The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 31 May)

On issue after issue, Washington politics back the special interests rather than broad public values. (Jeffrey D. Sachs, The Price Of Civilization, p. 114)

Inequality is a way we seek to protect ourselves by placing ourselves in a superior position.  Once one has fallen in love with the sensations of power this brings, inequality will easily be justified.  Inequality works to preserve the "me" over the "we."  This is the most dangerous element of inequality.  Inequality creates separateness and marginalizes others.  (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 102)

Men will never listen to one who preaches endurance from the comfort of an easy chair, nor to one who preaches heroic courage to others while he himself has sought a prudent safety. (William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Vol. 1, p. 39)

... why should you run your life on the basis of what others say. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Pulling Your Own Strings, p. 48)

... admitting and embracing our failures is painful, the inability to face them can be lethal.  (Johann Christoph Arnold, Escape Routes, p. 50-1)

Old habits are hard to break, and no one is easily led beyond his own point of view.  (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 14)

Progress and growth are impossible if you always do things the way you've always done things. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Pulling Your Own Strings, p. 53)

Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there "must" be a better way.  (A Course In Miracles, p. 22)

... strength means being able to stop trying to get everyone else to feel what you are feeling, and stand up for what you believe. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Pulling Your Own Strings, p. 79)

It should be apparent that there will be no return to "normal," because the old normal got us into our present predicament and can't possibly get us out.  So what comes next? (Robert B. Reich, Aftershock, p. 75)

If nothing is done to counter present trends, the major fault line in American politics will no longer be between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.  It will be between the establishment -- political insiders, power brokers, the heads of American business, Wall Street, and the mainstream media -- and an increasingly mad-as-hell populace determined to "take back America" from them.  Eventually the Independence Party, or its equivalent will prevail. (Robert B. Reich, Aftershock, p. 145)

[Fixing the mess we are in] ... is both an economic challenge and a moral challenge; concentrated income and wealth will threaten the integrity and cohesion of our society, and will undermine democracy. (Robert B. Reich, Aftershock, p. 65)

Enough is Enough (Mr. Dickie, 5 February 2012)