There is a part of us that summarily rejects the moments when we see -- by a light that we would rather not see -- our actual condition. And in that moment of helplessness, we have a choice to recognize that were it not given to us in that moment by something greater than what we don't want to see, we would never be able to see it... and never have the opportunity to transcend ourselves...

Learn to be actively passive as you observe the nature that either accepts or rejects the moment. Be watchful of the tendency to instantaneously identify with your thoughts, opinions, expectations, and then begin to realize that there is another way in which you can meet life.

Surrender of self is not the beginning of something "better" to come; it does not set the stage for the gain of anything, but spells the end of that nature in ourselves that ever holds onto the hope of "saving" itself with what it can imagine.

The degree to which we judge others, and would make them pay for their shortcomings, is inseparable from the false belief that our nature is somehow different, superior to those seen through the eyes of our disdain.

With few exceptions, the usual focus of our attention and interactions with others is centered on our self and the fulfillment of its desires. "How do I feel about you?" "What do I want from him?" or "When will she realize that I know best?" In other words, the mindset of the false self, under most circumstances, is: "Me first." By forever placing its own considerations befor...

iving within us dwells an order of being that knows, without thinking about it, what is authentically good for us and others.

Through our willingness to work deliberately at placing our usual self in "second place," we agree not only to change the way we see our relationships, but we also agree to be changed by the truths our new relationships will inevitably show us about us.

Here's a special spiritual exercise designed to develop harmonious human relationships -- it's called the "You-I" Maneuver...

In any relationship, the one who is hurt most by the absence of compassion is the one in whom compassion is absent.

By and large, everything we condemn in others is just a way of hiding something similar within ourselves.

We are at our core a creature of the stars: beings whose original and celestial stuff is not only born of light, but also intended to live unbound.

True respect for oneself must include the presence of a humility that tempers the temptation inherent in all forms of self-evaluation; otherwise, what we call respect for ourselves is really just a form of secret self-admiration: a false, fearful state that has as much in common with real self-respect as does a postcard picture of a rugged coastline with the towering cliffs and surging waves t...