Philosopher's Stone

What we require is an unshakeable conviction that life has an ultimate meaning. In the alchemy of the soul, such an awareness acts like the fabled Philosopher's Stone and transforms our base desires into noble aspirations.

Castaway

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.--Mark Twain

Life is an adventure. Do not let Death catch you still moored to the dock or grounded in shallow waters.

Consult with those who have successfully navigated within and returned to tell the tale. Listen to their sage advice and avoid being shipwrecked or marooned on a desert island:

"Here be dragons. There the Sirens sing that have lured many a sailor to utter ruin."

Wake Up Call

The fraud committed on us is so close to home that it is difficult to realize when we are headed in the wrong direction. When we are involved in egoistic ideas we can easily lose our way. Our intuition is mute and the truth is obscured by the noise and confusion of our daily lives.

What we need at such times is a good tonic to restore mental clarity and a sense of purpose.

The books of Eric Hoffer are just what the doctor ordered. His aphorisms and insights into human nature are refreshing. In addition, his pungent criticism of society acts as a clarion call that forewarns the spiritual sojourner of the pitfalls that lie in wait for those who are sleepwalking.

Let Me Quote

“I quote others only to better express myself.”― Michel de Montaigne

Black Root

From the barren ground of an individual existence arises the black desire for fame.

Task Master

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “universe,” a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few people near us.

"Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." — Albert Einstein

Do You Hear What I Hear?

For most people, the call for justice is in truth a cloaked desire for vengeance.