The spiritual function of fierce terrain (in the apophatic tradition) is to bring us to the end of ourselves, to the abandonment of language and the relinquishment of ego. A vast expanse of jagged stone, desert sand, and towering thunderheads has a way of challenging all the mental constructs in which we are tempted to take comfort and pride, thinking we have captured the divine. The things that ignore us save us in the end.
~ from THE SOLACE OF FIERCE LANDSCAPES by Belden Lane
We know joy when we are happy to take from life what is given. When we experience the joy of the soul and higher states of consciousness, this joy is the essence of completion and fulfillment. There is nothing that can add to it or take away from it. Joy is our natural state.
~ from BODY OF TIME, SOUL OF ETERNITY by Jerry Thomas
Love is the principle of action, not a quality of behavior. We cannot learn unconditional love. To love unconditionally, we must become Love. And love is the natural outcome of union with the Inner Self or Soul.
~ from BODY OF TIME, SOUL OF ETERNITY by Jerry Thomas
