Many / One

A database of 11,000+ illuminated guiding quotations in 40 categories from 600+ inspired books by our most brilliant and influential authors.
Compiled by JoAnn Kite

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1		"The Lord is One. All that exists, good and evil, justice and injustice, has its source in this fathomless and unutterable unity. All the powers of heaven and hell arise out of the One and serve it, each in its own way. We may not be able to understand how or why this should be, but so it is."

2		"There is something fundamental in the nature of the world whereby an effect is like its cause and will inevitably return to its progenitor….While it is true that bad things sometimes happen to good people, there is more justice in the universe than is commonly admitted, and most people most of the time receive their due."

3		"The Tree of Life is a universal symbol. To some extent it arises from the natural affection people feel for trees, but there is also something else at play. The tree is the most visible and obvious image for the essential unity of all that is. It has a single trunk yet ramifies outward in countless branches and twigs and leaves; it is the living representation of the world, which for all its multiplicity has its one life in God."

4		"When the true Self, the 'I' that is the kingdom of heaven, is the master of our being, we are free from the stress and strife of the world."

5		"God provides for us and for all creatures. 'Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And not one of them is forgotten before God.' (Luke 12:6)."

6		"Mastering – or, if you prefer, integrating – the psyche is the work of a lifetime….This mastery is not holding the psyche in rigid subjugation (which is impossible in any case), nor is it a matter of having a maniacally religious ego lording it over the emotions and the body. Rather, it is being centered in the still, small voice that is the true 'I' of the spirit."

7		"What are the characteristics of those who have reached the 'still point'? The 'Theologia Germanica' describes them thus: 'The illumined ones live in freedom….They live in pure surrender and obedience to the eternal Good, in love that frees."

8		"At some level, however unconscious,…you are not separate from other human beings but share something vital with them…..love your neighbor as yourself because essentially your neighbor IS yourself."

9		"There have always been teachers and groups that have managed to reach states of higher consciousness and have passed their knowledge on to the present."

10		"There is an underlying unity of being of which we are all part."

11		"There is no conflict between inner development and contributing to the larger good of humanity; in fact, an individual can develop fully only if he or she takes part in a larger work of this kind."

12		"Each of us is a microcosm of the universe. We can come to know ourselves by contemplating the grand scheme of things, and conversely we can understand the universe by exploring our own inner makeup. Moreover, this very exploration serves a central cosmic function: our experience of these different levels is essential to the life of the universe itself. Consciousness is the lifeblood of this universe; our own explorations of the inner and outer dimensions help this blood to circulate."

13		"The 'I' is ultimately the same in all of us. We are collectively one great being….This is why we are to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' – our neighbors are literally ourselves."

14		"Each of us is a microcosm, a reproduction of the universe in miniature."

15		"Everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people who ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years….There's something way down deep that's eternal about every human being." Thornton Wilder, 'Our Town'

16		"That in you which Sees, which peers out at the world through the telescope that is your soul and body, is deathless and impervious to pain. All the great religious teachings point to this truth."

17		"By penetrating to the core of our own being, we can make contact with the consciousness at the center of the universe."

18		"Ultimately, prayer is done not out of self-interest but as a service, as a means of fulfilling the great purpose for which we were brought into being."

19		"God's love and mercy are beyond measure and are extended to all indiscriminately."

20		"The world soul…contains within itself and unites with itself all particular living entities." Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900), Russian mystical philosopher

21		"The story of Christ is not only an account of a historical man but also a figurative representation of the path that each of us must follow to attain liberation."