This is the most important dimension of blessing: sincerity that comes from the heart. This is the power that transforms and heals, elevates and restores. It is the very antipode of a stereotyped ritual. Spontaneous blessing is a flowing fountain that, like a mountain stream, cascades and sings. It expresses perpetual morning—defined as freshness, openness, gratitude, inspiration, newness, alertness, expectation of good, wakefulness, fresh beginning, purity, threshold, (re) birth, joy, innocence, wonder.
~ Pierre Pradervand, “The Gentle Art of Blessing”
Sunrise, Caswell Bay, Wales – photo by Leighton R, bigstockphoto.com
On its own, a tree cannot establish a consistent local climate. It is at the mercy of wind and weather. But together, many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity. And, in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old.
~ Peter Wohlleben
The universe is the supreme manifestation of the sacred. This notion is fundamental to establishing a cosmos, an intelligible manner of understanding the universe or even any part of the universe… We must remember that it is not only the human world that is held securely in this sacred enfoldment but the entire planet. We need this security, this presence throughout our lives. The sacred is that which evokes the depths of wonder.
~Thomas Berry
One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.
~ Albert Einstein
Diversity is the nature of evolution. Evolution has worked for billions of years to create biodiversity, cultural diversity, religious diversity, linguistic diversity and truth diversity. But now, in our mistaken view of the world, we are turning this diversity, which we should be celebrating, into divisions. And now we see each other as separate. When you create divisions you have a conflict. Conflict leads to wars, poverty and injustice. If we wish to reduce, or hopefully remove altogether, the possibilities of conflict, wars, poverty, exploitation, then we have to rise above these divisions which we have created in the world and celebrate our diversity.
~ Satish Kumar
Arches National Park, UT – photo by reisegraf.ch, bigstockphoto.com
In a real sense all life is inter-related. All persons are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, Australia – photo by Greg Brave, bigstockphoto.com
What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses.
~ Bruce Lipton
Elf Garden – Iceland, photo by Ragnhildur Johnsdottir
There is such a need in the world today of the most tender and immense compassion and deeper, more unselfed caring and giving, and blessing is one a simple and efficient way of doing it. It is also an amazing tool for learning instantaneous, unconditional forgiveness, a practice upon which, given our dramatic divisions in the world, our survival as a race literally depends…And when I speak of blessing, I mean that spontaneous outflowing of compassion from the heart which surrounds one’s neighbour with the most caring tenderness, and not some liturgical or ecclesiastical practice.
~ Pierre Pradervand
Morning Mountain Landscape – photo by Alex Ugalek, bigstockphoto.com
I believe that humanity is suffering from a great separation sickness – a real disconnect from nature. My sense is that by understanding animals more deeply, we can begin to heal ourselves.
~ Anna Breytenbach
Young Brown Bear – photo by byrdyak, bigstockphoto.com
People who believe in oneness — the idea that everything in the world is connected and interdependent — appear to have greater life satisfaction than those who don’t, regardless of whether they belong to a religion or don’t, according to new research.
While oneness scores did vary by religion (Muslims had the highest median score while atheists had the lowest), they were much better predictors of life satisfaction than religious beliefs.
~ American Psychological Association
Bohey Dulang Island, Botneo – photo by Zulkiffie Mohd Kassim, bigstockphoto.com
Even if I go as far as I can go, deep down into the watery caverns of memory or way up to the limits of my imagination: still you are there, waiting to find me. You are everywhere at once. Once and always, an endless presence around every cosmic corner, patient and enduring, trustworthy and infinitely good. You are now and forever now, the start and the finish, the laughter and the tears, the Spirit of all creation, the loving Spirit of all our dreams for as long as we have been dreaming. You were there, Spirit of life, when I first breathed your air into my lungs and you will be there when I hand that life back again. You are everywhere at once, once and always, my source and my goal, Spirit of endless beauty, my home
and my destination.
~ Steven Charleston
Yangshuo Guilin, China – photo by kenny001, bigstockphoto.com
Those who make compassion an essential part of their lives find the joy of life. Kindness deepens the spirit and produces rewards that cannot be completely explained in words. It is an experience more powerful than words. To become acquainted with kindness one must be prepared to learn new things and feel new feelings. Kindness is more than a philosophy of the mind. It is a philosophy of the spirit.
~ Robert J. Furey
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan – photo by vichie81, bigstockphoto.com
The Koyukon Indians of north central Alaska live “in a world that watches, in a forest of eyes.” They believe wherever we are, we are never truly alone because the surroundings, no matter how remote, are aware of our presence and must be treated with respect.
~ Duane Elgin
Iceland Sunset – photo by Ragnhildur Jonsdottir
The soul given to each of us is moved by the same living spirit that moves the universe.
~ Albert Einstein
Tree Elder – photo by Ric011, bigstockphoto.com
The current state of the world evokes great anguish and despair for anyone paying attention, but this is especially true for those with mature hearts, who feel the world’s degradation all the more acutely. We must learn to behold and hold all this dying and loss, including our own, and still act to preserve and protect what we can.
~ Geneen Marie Haugen
South Rim, Grand Canyon – photo by David Hintz, bigstockphoto.com
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- …
- 299
- Next Page »