When our sense of self is confined to the prison of the ego’s habits and patterns, that self is, to a great extent, perpetuating its own misery. Rumi described egoism as “an inch-deep river in which we drown.”

The individual human being, even the sovereign individual, is not the creator of consciousness, will, intelligence, or love but the reflector of these qualities and capacities. Like a mirror, we can reflect a spectrum of qualities depending on how polished and clean our mirror is. Likewise, our mirrors can become distorted and corroded by egoism

Within ourselves, in our core, is a power, a sacred impulse, a holographic sample of the Infinite, that is waiting to be purified and focused.

To connect oneself to that charge requires a certain emptying of self: letting go of one’s preoccupations, agendas, and complexes. This rarely happens on one’s own. A spiritual community, a group of people who recognize a higher Source and who honor their own interdependence can become a vehicle for this higher energy and help. Through the rituals

The seeker has come to see how much they have been perpetuating the state of sleep, and out of this realization comes a sincere wish to be more sensitive, more awake.

the intention to awaken happens on a metalevel, just as presence is a meta-awareness on a higher level than physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts.

this desire to gain the approval of others leads us further and further away from our inner being, our essential self.

The saints and prophets are those who make a lasting contribution to civilization and humanity through new forms of art, literature, music, architecture, and society, above all by indicating and embodying the work of the soul.

The soul is a knowing substance because the soul is infused with the intelligence of Spirit.