“Sanctuary is wherever I find safe space to regain my bearings, reclaim my soul, heal my wounds, and return to the world as a wounded healer.  It’s not merely about finding shelter from the storm: it’s about spiritual survival” Parker J. Palmer (Seeking Sanctuary in Our Own Sacred Space)

“Don’t burden others with your expectations.  Understanding their limitations can inspire compassion instead of disappointment, ensuring beneficial and workable relationships.  Remember that you have only a short time together.  Be grateful for each day you share.” Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (Change of Heart: The Bodhisattva Peace Training of Chagdud Tulku)

“Ultimately, only a ‘person’ has solid preferences.  A consciousness emptied of the illusion of a separate self simply recognizes what contains the most benefit for all and acts accordingly.” Bentinho Massaro

“Teach us that even as the wonder of the stars in the heavens only reveals itself in the silence of the night, so the wonder of life reveals itself in the silence of the heart.  In the silence of our heart we may see the scattered leaves of all the universe bound by love.”  The Bhagavad Gita

“Craving creates tunnel vision: we see only what we yearn for.  Mindfulness allows us to see that and much more, giving us the choice not to act on our desires.  The one-pointedness with which we fixated on the object of desire can be turned to an object of contemplation, such as the breath.”  Joan Duncan Oliver (Drink and A Man)

“But if you try to escape from this world merely by leaving the city and hiding yourself in solitude, you will only take the city with you into solitude; and yet you can be entirely out of the world while remaining in the midst of it, if you let God set you free from your own selfishness and if you live for love alone.” Thomas Merton (New Seeds of Contemplation)

“Every positive change – every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness – involves a rite of passage.  Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation.  I have never found an exception.” Dan Millman (No Ordinary Moments: A Peaceful Warrior’s Guide to Daily Life)