“A Path Less Travelled” by Sean O’Laoire
I believe that we have to become serial killers in order to reach enlightenment. Firstly, we have to kill the ego, in the sense that it needs to be confined to its appropriate tasks (ensuring that I pay my taxes on time, stop at red lights and tie my shoe-laces) but not become my identity. Then I have to kill my father, by which I mean that I have to outgrow the cultural traditions into which I was born, and, instead, embrace a global identity.
“When Was I Less By Dying?” by Rumi
I died as a mineral and became a plant,
I died as plant and became animal,
I died as animal and I was human.
Why should I fear?
When was I less by dying?
“…in this universe, there is one great energy, and no name for it” — an Alan Watts quote
…That in this universe, there is one great energy, and we have no name for it. People have tried various names for it, like God, like Brahmin, like Tao, but in the West, the word God has got so many funny associations attached to it that most of us are bored with it. When people say 'God, the father almighty,' most people feel funny inside. So we like to hear new words, we like to hear about Tao, about Brahmin, about Shinto…”
“When I am Among the Trees” by Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
“Seijo's Two Souls” — Old Chinese Story
There was once an old man named Chokan, who lost his first daughter. As you might imagine, he was very attached to his second daughter. Sei was her name; Jo means young woman. Sei was very beautiful, and so was her neighbor, a boy named Ochu. The two of them were so cute together. The family would watch the two children playing and say, "Ah, what a great couple they make. How adorable." Chokan often said, “The two of you are so perfect together.”
“The Parable of the Good Samaritan” as told by Jesus the Christ
Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
“Finding Meaning in Life?” — Medicine path Podcast —an interview of John Vervaeke + Youtube Series: ‘Awakening from the Meaning Crisis’
Simple Overview of How:
Making pieces of information relevant to ourselves
Making pieces of information relevant to each other
What we are doing is (now becomes) relevant to others
★ The world now becomes a coherent arena for our action
“On the Power of Art” — quotations from ‘Sell Your Art In Healthcare For Artists’ by Renee Phillips
Georgia O’Keeffe remarked, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”
“It is through Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence”, stated Oscar Wilde.
“The Way is ‘Wu’” by William Martin
In this divided world, how does one take action
without opposing, judging,
and trying always to fix the others?
Getting “them” to behave as I would wish
by argument, shame, or force of law is futile.
“A Persian Philosopher in Damascus” (excerpt) — Of Ancient Gods and New — ‘Jesus the Son of Man: His Words and His Deeds As Told and Recorded by Those Who Knew Him’ by Kahlil Gibran
I cannot tell the fate of this man, nor can I say what shall befall His disciples.
A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible. Yet should that seed fall upon a rock, it will come to naught.
But this I say: The ancient God of Israel is harsh and relentless. Israel should have another God; one who is gentle and forgiving, who would look down upon them with pity; one who would descend with the rays of the sun and walk on the path of their limitations, rather than sit for ever in the judgment seat to weigh their faults and measure their wrong-doings.