To suppose that God Almighty has confined his goodness to this world, to the exclusion of all others, is much similar to the idle fancies of some individuals in this world, that they, and those of their communion or faith, are the favorites of heaven exclusively; but these are narrow and bigoted conceptions, which are [...]

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do [...]

By the River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept by Paulo Coelho

Rarely do we realize that we are in the midst of the extraordinary. Miracles occur all around us, signs from God show us the way, angels plead to be heard, but we pay little attention to them because we have been taught that we must follow certain formulas and rules if we want to find [...]

Lighthouses are more helpful than churches. – Benjamin Franklin

The religion of the future: a cosmic religion. Should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Natural and the spiritual, should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description…If there is any religion that could cope with modern [...]

Vedanta Philosophy by Swami Vivekananda

The word which is “creation” in English language is in Sanskrit exactly “projection.” Western Creation: Something that coming out of nothing. Vedanta Creation: Projection of that which already existed. We are all one, and the cause of evil is the perception of duality. As soon as I begin to feel that I am separate from [...]

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts

This feeling of being lonely and very temporary visitors in the universe is in flat contradiction to everything know about man (and all other living organisms) in the sciences. We do not “come into” this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean “waves,” the universe “peoples.” Every individual [...]

The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

The integrity of an artist lifts a man above the level of the world without delivering him from it. Not that we ever had any money: but any fool knows that you don’t need money to get enjoyment out of life. Here was a will, neutral, undirected, a force waiting to be applied, ready to [...]

Story of a Pessimistic Russian

A man who wished to test the intelligence of religious believers, so he began to practice asceticism and to utter ersatz profundities. He quickly attracted thousands of disciples to whom he preached his made-up doctrines. They proclaimed him a saint. Then one day, to show his followers how easily they’d been duped, he announced that [...]

Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins

…still he is not likely to allow objectivity to nudge him off the pillar of his own perspective. Logic only gives man what he needs. Magic gives him what he wants. The most important thing in life is style. That is, the style of one’s existence – the characteristic mode of one’s actions – is [...]