Interlude: An Internet Retreat "Thought of the Day"

You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event–it is a habit.
Aristotle

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
Denis Waitley

Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.
Irish proverb

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.
Ovid

We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew…Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful…and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
Desmond Tutu

Enlightenment consciously chosen means to relinquish your attachment to past and future and to make the Now the main focus of your life.
Eckhart Tolle

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace…It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Celebrate what you want to see more of.
Tom Peters

The more willing you are to surrender to the energy within you, the more power can flow through you.
Shakti Gawain

Fear is excitement without the breath.
Fritz Perls, M.D.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. LeGuin

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Rabindranath Tagore

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top.
Arnold Bennett

Sit here for a bit. Place yourself outside the frenzied pace of life. Slow down long enough to appreciate birds in flight, water drops like prisms in the grass and countless shades of green. Step off the fast track and listen to the sound of breath and birdsong. Take a moment to just be, and in the being, know the whole of this creation….
From Danna Faulds' Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.
Benjamin Disraeli

Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.
St. Francis De Sales

The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is for us to harmonize with this order.
Henry Miller

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall–think of it, ALWAYS.
Mahatma Gandhi

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
Albert Schweitzer

Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Arthur Somers Roche

When there is peace and meditation, then there is neither anxiety nor doubt.
St. Francis of Assisi

The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence.
Sogyal Rinpoche

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts.
Nikki Giovanni

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living.
Tecumseh

To be truly conscious, go beyond the words into the silence within. Be content for it to be beyond description.
John MacEnulty

Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.
William Blake

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.
George Washington Carver

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
HH the Dalai Lama

The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Meditation is to be aware of what is going on–in our bodies, in our feelings, in our minds, and in the world…Life is both dreadful and wonderful. To practice meditation is to be in touch with both aspects. Please do not think we have to be solemn to meditate. In fact, to meditate well, we have to smile a lot.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Spiritual awakening is the difficult process whereby the increasing realization that everything is as wrong as it can be flips suddenly into the realization that everything is as right as it can be. Or better, everything is as It as it can be.
Alan Watts

The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.
Sebastien-Roch Nicolas Chamfort

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
Albert Camus

A quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party: there is no battle unless there be two.
Seneca

You cannot have the peace you seek until you let go of what is taking its place.
Beth Johnson

What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.
Vern McLellan

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.
Charles R. Swindoll

While God waits for His temple to be built of love, men bring stones.
Rabindranath Tagore

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.
Mother Teresa

Eventually institutional violence will disappear, not as a result of external action, but thanks only to the calls of conscience of men who have awakened to the truth.
Leo Tolstoy

We must find our own particular way of loving the world and put our energy into it. Decide your way of loving and you will be rewarded.
Bernie Siegel

The battle to heal human evil will always begin at home. And self-purification will always be our greatest weapon.
M. Scott Peck

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton

Love doesn't just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
Ursula K. LeGuin

The first and necessary step of grief is discovering what you have lost. The next step is discovering what is left. What is possible.
John Schneider

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
William James

Circumstances and situations do colour life, but you have been given the mind to choose what the colour shall be.
John Homer Miller

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.
Abraham Lincoln

We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew…Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful…and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
Desmond Tutu

The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving–with passion and compassion, and humor and style, and generosity and kindness.
Maya Angelou

Dwelling on past mistakes is a waste of time. If the Ego needs to rectify a misdeed, have it do something that creates good in the present, this will certainly spawn good will for the future and create balance in your life.
Beth Johnson

What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.
Mignon McLaughlin

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.
Mahatma Gandhi

The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates. At the first gate, we ask ourselves,"Are these words true?" If so, we let them pass on; If not, back they go. At the second gate, we ask, "Are they necessary?" At the last gate, we ask, "Are they kind?"
Eknath Easwaran

The only myth that's going to be worth thinking about in the immediate future is one talking about the planet–not this city, not these people, but the planet and everybody on it.
Joseph Campbell

I searched through rebellion, drugs, diets, mysticism, religions, intellectualism and much more, only to begin to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clean and right.
Chick Corea

The truth that many people never understand until it is too late is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer.
Thomas Merton

Do not say, "I follow the one true path of the Spirit," but rather, "I have found the Spirit walking on my path," for the Spirit walks on all paths.
Khalil Gibran

At times helping happens simply in the way of things. It's not something we really think about, merely the instinctive response of an open heart. Caring is a reflex…You live, you help.
Ram Dass & Paul Gorman in How Can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein

It is not hard to live through a day, if you can live through a moment. What creates despair is the imagination, which pretends there is a future, and insists on predicting millions of moments, thousands of days, and so drains you that you cannot live the moment at hand.
Andre Dubus

Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.
Milton Erickson, M.D.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.
Mark Twain

Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.
Paul Johannes Tillich

Genius is the power of lighting one's own fire.
John Foster

All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you.
Rainer Maria Rilke

Past Thoughts of the Day from Interlude: An Internet Retreat

You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event–it is a habit.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.

Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.

Enlightenment consciously chosen means to relinquish your attachment to past and future and to make the Now the main focus of your life.

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace…It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.

Celebrate what you want to see more of.

The more willing you are to surrender to the energy within you, the more power can flow through you.

Fear is excitement without the breath.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved, but hope for the patience to win my freedom.

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.

Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.

The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is for us to harmonize with this order.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall–think of it, ALWAYS.

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.

When there is peace and meditation, then there is neither anxiety nor doubt.

The real glory of meditation lies not in any method but in its continual living experience of presence.

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts.

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living.

To be truly conscious, go beyond the words into the silence within. Be content for it to be beyond description.

Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire.

Spiritual awakening is the difficult process whereby the increasing realization that everything is as wrong as it can be flips suddenly into the realization that everything is as right as it can be. Or better, everything is as It as it can be.

The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

A quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party: there is no battle unless there be two.

You cannot have the peace you seek until you let go of what is taking its place.

What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

While God waits for His temple to be built of love, men bring stones.

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.

Eventually institutional violence will disappear, not as a result of external action, but thanks only to the calls of conscience of men who have awakened to the truth.

We must find our own particular way of loving the world and put our energy into it. Decide your way of loving and you will be rewarded.

The battle to heal human evil will always begin at home. And self-purification will always be our greatest weapon.

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

Love doesn't just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.

The first and necessary step of grief is discovering what you have lost. The next step is discovering what is left. What is possible.

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

Circumstances and situations do colour life, but you have been given the mind to choose what the colour shall be.

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving–with passion and compassion, and humor and style, and generosity and kindness.

Dwelling on past mistakes is a waste of time. If the Ego needs to rectify a misdeed, have it do something that creates good in the present, this will certainly spawn good will for the future and create balance in your life.

What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.

The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates. At the first gate, we ask ourselves,"Are these words true?" If so, we let them pass on; If not, back they go. At the second gate, we ask, "Are they necessary?" At the last gate, we ask, "Are they kind?"

The only myth that's going to be worth thinking about in the immediate future is one talking about the planet–not this city, not these people, but the planet and everybody on it.

I searched through rebellion, drugs, diets, mysticism, religions, intellectualism and much more, only to begin to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clean and right.

The truth that many people never understand until it is too late is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer.

Do not say, "I follow the one true path of the Spirit," but rather, "I have found the Spirit walking on my path," for the Spirit walks on all paths.

At times helping happens simply in the way of things. It's not something we really think about, merely the instinctive response of an open heart. Caring is a reflex…You live, you help.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.

It is not hard to live through a day, if you can live through a moment. What creates despair is the imagination, which pretends there is a future, and insists on predicting millions of moments, thousands of days, and so drains you that you cannot live the moment at hand.

Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.

Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.

Genius is the power of lighting one's own fire.

All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you.

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for the patience to win my freedom.

Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.