Harvest Moon 2010

"Most everybody is overwhelmed. And they respond with various defense mechanisms. Denial, isolation, increased greed (I'll get it while I can), righteousness (It's their own fault). There are a whole set of mechanisms that people use to keep from being open, because the quality of the human heart uncontrolled by the mind is that it will give away everything. . . We have to find ways to exercise the compassion of our hearts, and at the same moment learn how to know what the limits are and be able to say no without guilt."
--- Ram Dass -see "How Can I Help" by Paul Gorman and Ram Das for many more inspirations.

Worthy of reflection...

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
Howard Zinn, from "The Optimism of Uncertainty"

Inner Chapters

"In ancient times, various holistic sciences were developed by highly evolved beings to enable their own evolution and that of others. These subtle arts were created through the linking of individual minds with the universal mind. They are still taught by traditional teachers to those who display virtue and desire to assist others. The student who seeks our and studies these teachings furthers the evolution of mankind as well as her own spiritual unfolding. The student who ignores them hinders the development of all beings."
Lau Tzu, Inner Chapters, Hua Hu Ching, #54

All human evil

All human evil comes from this: man's inability to sit still in a room.
Pascal

Loving kindness

"Loving kindness is greater than laws, and the charities of life are more than all ceremonies."
The Talmud