Interlude: An Internet Retreat "Thought of the Day"

By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man.
Immanuel Kant

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
Mohandas K. Gandhi

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.
Martha Washington

You could have golden treasure buried beneath your feet, and walk over it again and again, yet never find it because you don't realize it is there. Just so, all beings live every moment in the city of the Divine, but never find the Divine because it is hidden by the veil of illusion.
Chandogya Upanishad VIII. iii.2

The good of the people is the highest law.
Cicero, De Legibus (52 B.C.E.)

People wish to be settled. It is only as far as they are unsettled that there is any hope for them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love he may rule the world forever.
Lao-Tzu

The realization of Truth is brought about by perception, and not in the least by ten millions of facts.
Sankara

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
Samuel Johnson

Life is not easy for any of us. We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.
Marie Curie

The remarkable thing we have is a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
Charles Swindoll

What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.
Unknown

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.
George Bernard Shaw

We do not need to carry out grand things in order to show great love for God and for our neighbor. It is the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them into something beautiful.
Mother Teresa

I have found it advisable not to give too much heed to what people say when I am trying to accomplish something of consequence. Invariably they proclaim it can't be done. I deem that the very best time to make the effort.
Calvin Coolidge

Anger is mistaken as a friend because it brings extra energy, but the consequences are almost always negative.
The Dalai Lama

We are involved in a life that passes understanding and our highest business is our daily life.
John Cage

(Infinite Love) is a weapon of matchless potency. It is the Summum Bonum of life. It is an attribute of the brave. In fact it is their all. It does not come within the reach of the coward. It is no wooden or lifeless dogma but a living and life-giving force. It is the special attribute of the heart.
Mohandes Gandhi

Half of the confusion in the world comes from not knowing how little we need…I live more simply now, and with more peace.
Richard E. Byrd, explorer

We are sick with fascination for the useful tools of names and numbers, of symbols, signs, conceptions and ideas. Meditation is therefore the art of suspending verbal and symbolic thinking for a time, somewhat as a courteous audience will stop talking when a concert is about to begin.
Alan Watts

What stay we on earth except to grow.
Robert Browning

If you want to be happy, be.
Aleksy Konstantinovich Tolstoy

…happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.
Dale Carnegie

Time is not a line, but a series of now points.
Taisen Deshimaru

Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Precept is instruction written in the sand. The tide flows over it, and the record is gone. Example is graven on the rock, and the lesson is not soon lost.
William E. Channing

The game is not about becoming somebody, it's about becoming nobody.
Ram Dass

There is nothing to do. Just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say 'be yourself' since you do not know yourself. Just be.
Nisargadatta

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising.
John Muir

The world and its beings are the spontaneous overflow of creative, imaginative energy.
Houston Smith

Go to your bosom; Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.
William Shakespeare

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
Mark Twain

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller

When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
Martin Buber

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.
Albert Schweitzer

Except your own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in your power.
Rene Descartes

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

The first step toward change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do. Change is not something you do, it's something you allow.
Will Garcia

There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. True nobility is being superior to your former self.
Hindu Proverb

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
Chuang Tzu

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

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.
Joseph Addison

Perseverance is the ability to follow through on an idea long after the mood has passed.
Anonymous

In the power to change yourself is the power to change the world around you.
Anwar Sadat

Emotions are like waves. Watch them come and go in the vast ocean of existence.
Hindu saying

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.
Harold V Melchert

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.
Eleanor Roosevelt

You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You can be free only if I am free.
Clarence Darrow

Fun is fundamental. There is no way around it. You absolutely must have fun. Without fun, there is no enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, there is no energy. Without energy, there are only shades of gray.
Doug Hall, from Jump Start Your Brain

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes.
Marcel Proust

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott Adams

Enjoy each moment. Appreciate what is. Be completely here and now. That is where eternity is found.
Peter McWilliams

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
William Blake

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

The confidence we have in others stems directly from our confidence in ourselves.
Francois, Duc De La Rochefoucauld

We are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature.
Marcus Aurelius

Past Thoughts of the Day from Interlude: An Internet Retreat

By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man.

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.

You could have golden treasure buried beneath your feet, and walk over it again and again, yet never find it because you don't realize it is there. Just so, all beings live every moment in the city of the Divine, but never find the Divine because it is hidden by the veil of illusion.

The good of the people is the highest law.

People wish to be settled. It is only as far as they are unsettled that there is any hope for them.

By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love he may rule the world forever.

The realization of Truth is brought about by perception, and not in the least by ten millions of facts.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

Life is not easy for any of us. We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.

We do not need to carry out grand things in order to show great love for God and for our neighbor. It is the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them into something beautiful.

I have found it advisable not to give too much heed to what people say when I am trying to accomplish something of consequence. Invariably they proclaim it can't be done. I deem that the very best time to make the effort.

Anger is mistaken as a friend because it brings extra energy, but the consequences are almost always negative.

We are involved in a life that passes understanding and our highest business is our daily life.

Half of the confusion in the world comes from not knowing how little we need…I live more simply now, and with more peace.

We are sick with fascination for the useful tools of names and numbers, of symbols, signs, conceptions and ideas. Meditation is therefore the art of suspending verbal and symbolic thinking for a time, somewhat as a courteous audience will stop talking when a concert is about to begin.

What stay we on earth except to grow.

If you want to be happy, be.

…happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.

Time is not a line, but a series of now points.

Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension.

Precept is instruction written in the sand. The tide flows over it, and the record is gone. Example is graven on the rock, and the lesson is not soon lost.

The game is not about becoming somebody, it's about becoming nobody.

There is nothing to do. Just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say 'be yourself' since you do not know yourself. Just be.

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising.

The world and its beings are the spontaneous overflow of creative, imaginative energy.

Go to your bosom; Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Except your own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in your power.

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

The first step toward change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do. Change is not something you do, it's something you allow.

There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. True nobility is being superior to your former self.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

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

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

Perseverance is the ability to follow through on an idea long after the mood has passed.

In the power to change yourself is the power to change the world around you.

Emotions are like waves. Watch them come and go in the vast ocean of existence.

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.

You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You can be free only if I am free.

Fun is fundamental. There is no way around it. You absolutely must have fun. Without fun, there is no enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, there is no energy. Without energy, there are only shades of gray.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Enjoy each moment. Appreciate what is. Be completely here and now. That is where eternity is found.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.

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.

The confidence we have in others stems directly from our confidence in ourselves.

We are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.