Interlude: An Internet Retreat "Thought of the Day"

Meditation is not a technique of practice but a universal state of Being, where the Soul abides in the Ocean of the Now.
Aziz Kristof

Accustomed long to contemplating Love and Compassion, I have forgotten all difference between myself and others.
Milarepa

It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.
Margaret Mead

Hold fast to time! Use it! Be conscious of each day, each hour! They slip away unnoticed all too easily and swiftly.
Thomas Mann

Mindfulness refers to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality. It is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves.
Thich Nhat Hanh

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy.
Anne Frank

The meaning of life is not to be found in a distant world of abstraction, but in paying attention to everyday happenings and details in one's life. One's perception has to be in the field of living. In contemplating where the truth may be found, it just might be right before you.
Yuezhou Quianfeng

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
Helen Keller

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

Only our concept of time makes it possible for us to speak of the Day of Judgment by that name; in reality it is a summary court in perpetual session.
Franz Kafka

I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all that there is.
Alan Watts

The most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people and reality to something more positive…and begin to act accordingly.
Shakti Gawain

All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.
Kahlil Gibran

Mercy has no enemies. In the face of compassion, all perverse and evil forces melt into nothingness.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun

Do not become attached to the things you like; do not maintain an aversion to the things you dislike. Sorrow, fear and bondage come from likes and dislikes.
Gautama Buddha

When water surrenders to the flow of the river it reaches the ocean, so also must we surrender in order to reach our Source.
Anonymous

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that's your own self.
Aldous Huxley

Most people don't really need advice. They just need support and discipline in doing what they already know works.
Marianne Williamson

Not one of us knows what effect his life produces, and what he gives to others; that is hidden from us and must remain so, though we are often allowed to see some little fraction of it, so that we may not lose courage. The way in which power works is a mystery.
Albert Schweitzer

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.
John F. Kennedy

The first proof of a well-ordered mind is to be able to pause and linger with itself.
Seneca

There is in the body a current of energy, affection and intelligence, which guides, maintains and energizes the body and mind. Discover that current and stay with it.
Nisargadatta Maharaj

Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King Jr.

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all!
Rumi

We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.
William Shakespeare

If we face our unpleasant feelings with care, affection, and nonviolence, we can transform them into the kind of energy that is healthy and has the capacity to nourish us.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Cultivate peace first in the garden of your heart by removing the weeds of lust, hatred, greed, selfishness, and jealousy. Then only you can manifest it externally. Then only, those who come in contact with you, will be benefited by your vibrations of peace and harmony.
Sivananda

If you follow the present-day world, you will turn your back on the Way; if you would not turn your back on the Way, do not follow the world.
Takuan

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.
Robert F. Kennedy

Each of us as we journey through life, has the opportunity to find and give his or her unique gift. Whether this gift is quiet or small in the eyes of the world does not matter at all–not at all; it is through finding and the giving that we may come to know the joy that lies at the center of both the dark times and the light.
Helen Luke

A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
Epictetus

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
Richard Bach

Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
Charles Reade

To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.
Thich Nhat Hanh

There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.
Carl Jung

Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.
Nicholas Murray Butler

You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.
Patricia Schroeder

Sacred refers to that which helps take us out of our little selves into the whole mountains-and-rivers mandala universe.
Gary Snyder

I often compare the mind in meditation to a jar of muddy water: The more we leave the water without interfering or stirring it, the more the particles of dirt will sink to the bottom, letting the natural clarity of the water shine through.
Sogyal Rinpoche

Love is eternal–the aspect may change, but not the essence…love makes one calmer about many things, and that way, one is more fit for one's work.
Vincent Van Gogh

The wise man does not lay up his treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
Lao-tzu

I take the assumption that every religion has been rooted in some mystical or transcendent experience. From that assumption, I just look at all the different systems as metaphors or doorways to God.
Ram Dass

When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as though they were his own, he or she has attained the highest spiritual union.
Bhagavad Gita

The sun and the moon are not mirrored in cloudy water. Thus the almighty cannot be mirrored in a heart that is obsessed by the idea of me and mine.
Ramakrishna

Anyone who is truly kind can never be unhappy. Anyone who is truly wise can never be muddled.
Confucius

Past Thoughts of the Day from Interlude: An Internet Retreat

Meditation is not a technique of practice but a universal state of Being, where the Soul abides in the Ocean of the Now.

Accustomed long to contemplating Love and Compassion, I have forgotten all difference between myself and others.

It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.

Hold fast to time! Use it! Be conscious of each day, each hour! They slip away unnoticed all too easily and swiftly.

Mindfulness refers to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality. It is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy.

The meaning of life is not to be found in a distant world of abstraction, but in paying attention to everyday happenings and details in one's life. One's perception has to be in the field of living. In contemplating where the truth may be found, it just might be right before you.

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

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

Only our concept of time makes it possible for us to speak of the Day of Judgment by that name; in reality it is a summary court in perpetual session.

I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all that there is.

The most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people and reality to something more positive…and begin to act accordingly.

All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.

Mercy has no enemies. In the face of compassion, all perverse and evil forces melt into nothingness.

Do not become attached to the things you like; do not maintain an aversion to the things you dislike. Sorrow, fear and bondage come from likes and dislikes.

When water surrenders to the flow of the river it reaches the ocean, so also must we surrender in order to reach our Source.

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that's your own self.

Most people don't really need advice. They just need support and discipline in doing what they already know works.

Not one of us knows what effect his life produces, and what he gives to others; that is hidden from us and must remain so, though we are often allowed to see some little fraction of it, so that we may not lose courage. The way in which power works is a mystery.

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.

The first proof of a well-ordered mind is to be able to pause and linger with itself.

There is in the body a current of energy, affection and intelligence, which guides, maintains and energizes the body and mind. Discover that current and stay with it.

Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all!

We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.

If we face our unpleasant feelings with care, affection, and nonviolence, we can transform them into the kind of energy that is healthy and has the capacity to nourish us.

Cultivate peace first in the garden of your heart by removing the weeds of lust, hatred, greed, selfishness, and jealousy. Then only you can manifest it externally. Then only, those who come in contact with you, will be benefited by your vibrations of peace and harmony.

If you follow the present-day world, you will turn your back on the Way; if you would not turn your back on the Way, do not follow the world.

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.

A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.

Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.

There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.

Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.

You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.

Sacred refers to that which helps take us out of our little selves into the whole mountains-and-rivers mandala universe.

I often compare the mind in meditation to a jar of muddy water: The more we leave the water without interfering or stirring it, the more the particles of dirt will sink to the bottom, letting the natural clarity of the water shine through.

Love is eternal–the aspect may change, but not the essence…love makes one calmer about many things, and that way, one is more fit for one's work.

The wise man does not lay up his treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.

I take the assumption that every religion has been rooted in some mystical or transcendent experience. From that assumption, I just look at all the different systems as metaphors or doorways to God.

When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as though they were his own, he or she has attained the highest spiritual union.

The sun and the moon are not mirrored in cloudy water. Thus the almighty cannot be mirrored in a heart that is obsessed by the idea of me and mine.

Anyone who is truly kind can never be unhappy. Anyone who is truly wise can never be muddled.