peace 2 |
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Each of
us seeks peace of mind, but we sometimes fear that it
means
giving up excitement and ecstasy. Peace sounds like
contentment,
which sounds like settling, letting the fire go out. Actually, peace
of
mind allows you to go more deeply into the
world and consequently
to experience more excitement and ecstasy. The fire burns brighter,
fueled by awareness instead of anxiety.
Jennifer James
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No
one can get inner peace by pouncing on it, by vigorously willing to
have it.
Peace is a margin of power around our daily need. Peace is a consciousness
of springs too deep for earthly droughts to
dry up.
Peace is the gift not of volitional struggle but of
spiritual hospitality. Peace is an awareness of reserves
from beyond ourselves, so that our power is not so much in us as
through us.
Harry
Emerson Fosdick
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Better than a
thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
the Buddha
Peace is such a
precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth.
Matthew Henry
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We should have much peace if we
would not busy
ourselves with the sayings and doings of others.
Thomas à Kempis
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Nothing
can produce so great a serenity of life as a mind free
from guilt and kept untainted, not only from actions, but purposes
that are wicked. By this
means the soul will be not only unpolluted
but also undisturbed. The
fountain will run clear and unsullied.
Plutarch
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We spend most of our time and energy
in a kind of horizontal thinking.
We move along the
surface of things going from one quick base to another,
often with a frenzy that wears us out. We collect data,
things, people, ideas,
"profound experiences,"
never penetrating any of them. . . .
But there are other
times. There are times when we stop.
We lose ourselves in
a pile of leaves or its memory.
We listen and breezes
from a whole other world begin to whisper.
James Carroll |
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Quiet
minds cannot be
perplexed
or frightened,
but go on in
fortune
or
misfortune at their own
private pace,
like a
clock
during a thunderstorm.
Robert
Louis Stevenson
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All our miseries derive
from
not
being
able to
sit in a quiet room alone.
Blaise Pascal
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Whatever peace I know rests in the
natural world,
in feeling myself a part of it, even in a
small way.
May Sarton |
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Happy people are not
their own enemies, do not carry on an endless
war with their souls. We may be fiercely at odds with the wrongs of
the world around us. But inside ourselves, near the core,
if we are happy, we are at peace.
Lewis B. Smedes |
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Ultimately,
we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large
areas of
peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and
to reflect
it towards others. And the more peace there is
in us, the
more peace there will be in our troubled world.
Etty
Hillesum |
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The most common use of the word peace is as
the opposite of war.
This is understandable but
unfortunate. Peace is not just the opposite
of violence
or turmoil but has a whole register of meanings all its
own.
The peace of a quiet landscape nurtures us. A calm
moment to ourselves
renews our energies. Interior peace
energizes us; exterior peace gives us direction.
A gentle
sun, a calm ocean, the loving smile of a friend--all of
these give us peace.
We are sustained in a sweet aerie of
calm.
The opposite of peace is war, but so are
agitation, anxiety, and violence.
Edward J.
Lavin, S.J. |
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The surface of life is
also in a state of constant flux, with good days and bad,
victory and defeat. To maintain, as the ocean does, a
deep inner calm, while the storms of misfortune, reverses,
fears and worries lash at the surface
of life, is to
discover the secret of serenity.
Years ago, when Thomas Edison's factory
burned down, he wasted no time bemoaning his fate. Immediately after the disaster the reporters found a calm,
quiet man already at work on plans for a new building.
When Emerson's home was destroyed by fire
and his precious books were being reduced to ashes,
Louisa May Alcott came to console him. The great
philosopher said, "Yes, yes, Louisa, they are all
gone, but let us enjoy the blaze now. Isn't it beautiful!"
Some people are ocean personalities. In their
inner depths they are not defeated by what happens to
them.
The towering waves of circumstances cannot
reach us when we go deep within to seek the peace that
passes all understanding. While the surface
of life is in
turmoil we can find an inner calmness to see us through.
Wilferd
A. Peterson |
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You cannot shake hands with a
clenched fist.
Indira Gandhi |
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Learning
to distance yourself from all the negativity is
one of the
greatest lessons to achieve inner peace.
Roy T. Bennett
The Light in the Heart
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All people desire peace;
few desire
the things which make for peace.
unattributed |
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peace 2
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Calm soul of all things! make it
mine
To feel, amid the city's jar,
That there abides a peace of thine,
Man did not make, and cannot mar!
The will to neither strive nor cry,
The power to feel what others give!
Calm, calm me more! nor let me die
Before I have begun to live.
Matthew Arnold |
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To be
glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and
to
work
and to play and to look up to the stars; to be
satisfied with
your possessions,
but not contented with
yourself until you have
made the best of them;
to despise
nothing in the world except
falsehood and meanness,
and
to fear nothing except cowardice; to
be governed by your
admirations
rather than by your disgusts; to
covet
nothing that is your neighbors'
except their kindness of
heart
and gentleness of manners.
Henry
van Dyke |
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Every time we hold our tongue instead of returning the
sharp retort,
show patience for another's faults, show a little more love and kindness;
we are helping to stockpile more of these peace-bringing qualities in the
world.
Constance Foster
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Inner
peace is certainly the ultimate resource for those dealing
with suffering on a daily basis. But this isn't something achieved
by distancing yourself from the suffering around you. Inner peace
is more a question of cultivating perspective, meaning, and
wisdom even as life touches you with its pain. It is more a
spiritual quality than a mental quality.
Rachel Naomi Remen
Kitchen
Table Wisdom |
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Thinkers - the people behind the words
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If
you do not find peace in yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.
Paula A. Bendry |
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Thinking
about interior peace destroys
interior peace. The patients
who
constantly feel their pulse are
not getting any better.
Hubert van Zeller
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In truth, to attain to interior peace,
one must be willing
to pass through the contrary to peace.
Swami Brahmananda |
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Peace
comes not from doing, but from undoing;
not from getting, but from letting go.
Satchidananda |
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We
have no freer or quieter place
to which we may retire
than into
our own souls,
particularly when we have within us
such thoughts that
by
looking into them we are
immediately
in perfect
tranquility. And I
affirm that tranquility is nothing
else
than the good ordering of the mind.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus |
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Peace is not
something you fight for
With bombs and missiles that kill,
Nor can it be won in a "battle of words"
One fashions by scheming and skill
For those who are greedy and warlike,
Whose avarice for power cannot cease,
Can never contribute in helping
To bring this world nearer to peace
For in seeking peace for all people
There is only one place to begin
And that is in each home and heart--
For the fortress of peace is within!
Helen Steiner
Rice
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Inner
peace is not found by staying
on the surface of life, or by attempting
to escape from life through any means. Inner peace is found by facing life
squarely, solving its problems, and
delving as far beneath the surface as
possible to discover its verities
and realities.
Peace
Pilgrim
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There
is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace.
You will find that deep place of silence right in your room,
your garden or even your bathtub.
Elisabeth
Kuebler-Ross
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First keep peace within yourself,
then you can also
bring peace to others.
Thomas à Kempis
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Peace can
reign only where there is no disturbance, and
disturbance is due to thoughts that arise in the mind.
Ramana Maharshi |
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We tend to
feel at peace when things are under control. And we do the
best we can to control or manage our lives according to our ideas of
order.
But if inner peace depends on that control, your peace of mind could
frequently be at risk. Can you control the economy or energy
supplies?
Another person's behavior or actions? The choices and destinies of
loved
ones or others on whom you depend? When you take a long, honest, and
sincere look, there may be very little outside yourself that you can
control. Therefore, real peace must be an inside job!
A person is truly wise who knows that the heart is the place where lasting
peace may be found. The changeability from one day to the next of
your
personal world, or the world at large, may make outer things an unreliable
source of peace. Try going away to the mountaintop, or to any place
that
seems serene and carefree to you, and you can still find yourself
disturbed
over something--a memory, a concern about a current situation, a fear
about the future, or a mere gnat flying around--if you fail to realize
that peace dwells at the center of your being.
John Marks
Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life
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To the peaceful a
house is like a forest and to the restless even a
forest is like a crowded city. To one who is at peace, the entire
world is a peaceful forest. To one who is restless with
a thousand thoughts, it is an ocean of sorrow.
Yoga Vasistha |
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Few
find inner peace but this is not because they try and fail, it is because
they do not try. . . When your life is governed by the divine nature
instead
of the self-centered nature you have found inner peace.
Peace Pilgrim |
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When
I think of peace, I think of a world where human beings
are no
longer brutalized on account of such accidents of
birth as sex, race,
religion, or nationality. For me,
peace is a way of structuring human
relations where daily
acts of kindness and caring are tangibly rewarded.
It is a
way of thinking, feeling, and acting where our essential
interconnection with one another is truly honored.
I
pray for a world where we live in partnership rather than
domination;
where "man's conquest of nature" is
recognized as suicidal and sacrilegious;
where power is no
longer equated with the blade, but with the holy
chalice:
the ancient symbol of the power to give, nurture, enhance
life.
And I not only pray, but actively work, for the day
when it will be so.
Riane
Eisler
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peace 2
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Our capacity to make
peace with another person and with the world
depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves. If
we are at war with our parents, our family, our society, or our church,
there is probably a war going on inside us also, so the most basic work
for peace is to return to ourselves and create harmony among the
elements within us--our feelings, our perceptions, and our mental
states. . . . We must recognize and accept the conflicting elements
that are within us and their underlying causes. It takes time, but
the
effort always bears fruit. When we have peace within,
real dialogue with others is possible.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Living Buddha, Living Christ |
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After
a quarter of a century of personal experience and
professional
observation, I have come to understand that peace of mind is
the true goal
of the considered life. I know now that the sum of all
other possessions
does not necessarily add up to peace of mind; on the other
hand, I have
seen this inner tranquility flourish without the material
supports of property
or even the buttress of physical health. Peace of mind
can transform a
cottage into a spacious manor hall; the want of it can make
a regal
residence an imprisoning shell.
Joshua Loth
Lieberman |
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I want
first of all to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye,
a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to
carry
out these obligations and activities as well as I can. I want, in
fact--to
borrow from the language of the saints--to live "in grace" as
much of the
time as possible. I am not using this term in a strictly theological
sense.
By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be
translated into outward harmony. I am seeking perhaps what Socrates
asked for. . . "May the outward and inward person be at one."
Anne Morrow
Lindbergh
Gift from the Sea |
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Peace
does not require that each person love his or her neighbor--
it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance,
submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.
John F. Kennedy |
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Serenity is knowing that your worst shot is still pretty
good.
Johnny Miller |
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We are all
human beings, whatever our positions. If we
open our hearts and speak with sincerity, we can communicate
and touch others on the deepest level. World peace starts
with trust between one individual and another.
Daisaku Ikeda
Buddhism
Day by Day |
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From the
spiritual side: |
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Lord,
thou madest us for thyself, and we
can find no rest till
we find rest in thee.
St. Augustine
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O God,
grant us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed;
the courage to change what can be changed;
and the wisdom
to know one from the other.
Reinhold
Niebuhr |
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A great many people are trying to
make peace, but that has
already been done. God has not left it for us to do;
all we have to do is enter into it.
Dwight L. Moody |
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There
may be those on earth who dress better or eat better,
but
those who enjoy the peace of God sleep better.
L. Thomas Holdcroft |
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Whoever lives in the spirit lives in
perennial peace. It is a happy peace,
a smiling peace, but one is not lost in it. One is aware also of the
suffering
which exists around him or her and the world at large.
Paul Brunton |
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Matthew Arnold counted
as the greatest single line in all poetry
that saying of
Dante's poetic insight: "In Thy will is our peace."
Philemon F. Sturges |
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Only
those to whom God is present
in everything
and who employ
their reason in the highest
degree
and have true enjoyment in it know
anything of
true peace
and have a real kingdom of heaven.
Meister Eckhart |
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