Nearly Mythical

"The teachings of all the world's great wisdom traditions remind us that we have both an ordinary and a extraordinary identity, a personal and a universal nature, a self that is anchored in both the relative world of conditioned appearances, and also within the absolute dimension that is the mysterious, imperceptible source or ground of being that gives rise to all things and all beings. Interestingly, an analogue of this view is alluded to by our colleagues in modern cosmology and physics, who often remind us that only 4 percent of the universe is measurable, and that the remaining 96 percent exists as "dark energy" and "dark matter" which are both nearly mythical in their undefinability."
-Michelle and Joel Levey, excerpted from Reflections on Wisdom, Wellness, and Wholeness

We move toward turbulence and doubt

"On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky.  Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can.  We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is.   At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down.  With us move millions of others, companions in awakening from fear.  

Pema Chodron

  

"Only a spontaneous feeling of empathy with others can really
inspire us to act on their behalf. Nevertheless, compassion does not arise mechanically. Such a sincere feeling must grow gradually, cultivated within each individual, based on their own conviction of its worth. Adopting a kind attitude thus becomes a personal matter. How each of us behaves in daily life is, after all, the real test of compassion."
--The Dalai Lama

"When you listen to your body   you eavesdrop on the mind of the universe" - Deepak Chopra "The more you listen, the more you will hear. The more you hear, the more and more deeply   you will understand." - Kyentse Rinpoche

A dialogue between philosopher Krishnamurti and physicist David Bohm

Krishnamurti: "Through insight the activity of the cells that

   dominate consciousness in the brain can change - insight

   being out of time.

Bohm: This insight will be through the action of the mind,

   intelligence, and attention.

K: When there is that insight, intelligence wipes away suffering.

B: ...there is a contact from mind to matter which removes the

   whole physical chemical structure which keeps us going on

   with suffering.

K: That's right. In that ending, there is a mutation in the

   brain cells.

B: That mutation just wipes out the whole structure that makes

   you suffer...

K: Matter is limited, thought is limited.

B: But we are saying that the pure energy of mind is able to

   reach into the limited energy of man.

K: Yes, that's right, and change the limitation."

-- From "Limits of Thought" by J. Krishnamurti and physicist David Bohm

"I went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out until sundown for going out I found was really going in.  When we try to pick anything out by itself we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."

John Muir