Appearances

"If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies... It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it." - Albert Einstein

Vanity

"Don't let the sellers of stuff,
power enough,
to rob you of your grace.
Love is all over the place.
There's nothing wrong with your face."

Ani DeFranco

Posessions

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it. ~ Robert Brault

Health

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" - J Krishnamurti.

Being Deworlded

"Richard Kearney sums up catharsis as a matter of 'acknowledging painful truths'.   He says it 'stops us in our tracks, throws us off kilter, deworlds us'.  To a person intent on getting somewhere, these are not appealing developments, but to the human soul it is important to get out of the busy life, to be dissuaded from familiar activities, and to step outside the paradigm that has become habitual and taken for granted.   To be 'deworlded' mean you have a rare opportunity to consider a different way of life.   You can't renew life without stepping out of the pattern that is in place."   Thomas Moore

Travel

"Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people.  Let your memory be your travel bag."  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 

Why do we forget what's most important?  That being, who we have touched, who has touched us, what you are leaving behind in the hearts of the people is more important than any wealth you accumulate.  We forget because:

• We get distracted by stories other people have told us about ourselves
• That we are not enough
• That we will be happy if we have material goods
• That material goods will keep us safe
• None of this is true
• What is true is that we have each other

Rachel Naomi Remen

Self Esteem

"When you need more of anything to feel positive about yourself, you are always in a race without a finish line."  Wayne Dyer

Ego

"The ego tries to keep you looking outward in this futile attempt to find peace, you convince yourself that possessions will bring you peace and fulfillment you yearn for..   It rejoices as you focus all your energy on acquisitions.  It is impossible to consume your way to peace.  It leads to a lifetime of striving without ever arriving.  The ego is threatened  and frightened of your arriving.   It wants you to push yourself to new and more elaborate ways.  When you discontinue seeking what cannot be gotten from outside of yourself, you arrive and relax in peacefulness."  Wayne Dyer

Possessions

"Complete possession is proved only by giving.   All you are unable to give possesses you."   Andr'e Gide

Purpose

"There is an enormous irony that comes with reaching purpose in your life.   The things that you previously believed to be so significant lose their allure.   You no longer care about what is coming your way, yet lo and behold you find that those very things arrive in your life in larger and larger amounts...Giving becomes more important than getting.   You no longer want the burdens of collecting, catagorizing, insuring and worrying about possessions."   Wayne Dyer

Purpose

"When you go beyond outcome in life you find yourself unconcerned about what is in it for you.   Thoughts, feelings and behaviors focus more and more on the fulfillment of your purpose.   You go beyond success, achievement and performance as indications of your life's mission.  Instead every moment is lived fully and lovingly.   Material possessions cease to dominate your thoughts, which is not to say they disappear.   They simply cease to be the focus of life.   Instead your purpose takes hold and you gain a sense of joy and inner harmony knowing that you are divinely fulfilling your reason for being here."   Wayne Dyer

Culture

"Our culture is fast moving and complex.  We have a sharp eye for authoritarianism and control in their direct and obvious forms.  We are, in ironic contrast, almost completely blind to the huge control and subtle authoritarianism of consumerist image culture.   On the other hand, we are warriors for the freedom view and on the other hand, simultaneously, are absolute disciples of the God of Quantity.  Our society is addicted to and incessantly nourishes and inflates the spectacular."   John O' Donahue

Consumerism

"Consumerism is the new religion.   Quantity is the new divinity; the more you have the greater your status."  John O' Donahue 

Consumerism

"The consumerist functionalist mind only multiplies everything.  It fills its own house to the brim.  With its creed of acquisition, it becomes a helpless victim of the insidious multiplication of things until there is such false fullness that the natural light of life cannot get in anymore."   John O' Donahue

Asceticism

"When you practice even some small asceticism, your experience gains a new sense of focus.   Consumerism and its greed are an awful perversion of our longing; they damage our very ability to experience things.   They clutter our lives with things we do not need and subvert our sense of priority."   John O' Donahue