"Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame." - Gautama Buddha
I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain. --James Baldwin
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." - Lao Tzu "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius "Do nothing which is of no use." - Miyamoto Musashi "A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer." - Bruce Lee
The only sure way to lose weight is to become accustomed to being a little hungry most of the time. - Sydney Harris
"It takes two to lie" "To press start, press any key. Where is the ANY key?" "English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England" "You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way." "Alright brain, I don't like you and you don't like me. But lets just do this and I can go back to killing you with beer." All of the above belongs to the great Homer Simpson.
"What has not been examined impartially, has not been well examined. Skepticism is therefore the first step toward truth." - Denis Diderot "Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic." - Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity, opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are not even capable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein
"Cultivate a limitless heart." - Buddha "If you want to follow me to freedom, be prepared to swim upstream, against the river of conditioning. Be prepared to grapple continuously with the fierce flow of negative mental currents. In time our strokes will become effortless and our sense of purpose irresistible." - Buddha "Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed." - Buddha
The salt is supposed to symbolize daily strife, and the source of water is your perception. When your perception is small and closed off, strife will seem powerful, like the taste of salt in a glass of water. When your perception is open, you'll barely notice it.
Similar to Zerotonin's interpretation...mine is, Openness is related to the first quote, having a limitless heart, which relates to one's capacity to cope positively within one's experiences. The smaller your capacity, the easier it is for small things to adversely affect you. I suppose Openness can signify wide boundaries of your soul, like fear causes one to contract into a small protective stance, while love enables you to reach out, thus expansion occurs.
"When still, water accurately reflects the surrounding reality. Still water mirrors perfectly whatever is around it. When water is turbulent, its ability to accurately reflect is distorted. Perhaps we need to still our minds to perceive more clearly and accurately reflect on our current situation. On our own way of being in the world. Let your mind and heart be quieted by not making judgements and assumptions. Avoid fearful speculation." - Lloyd J. Thomas "Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." - Sir J. Lubbock "Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything - even mountains, rivers, plants and trees - should be your teacher." - Morihei Ueshiba "Learn this from water: loud splashes the brook but the oceans depth are calm." - Buddha "Water always receives whatever is thrown into it. It surrounds with itself whatever it receives. It never anticipates, or prepares. When your mind functions like water, you absorb whatever life throws your way. No matter what happens, you cope. If you are alive, you have already handled what life has thrown your way. You have taken everything in and surrounded it with who you are. If you hadn't, you would be dead. If you are still alive, you are more absorbent and stronger than you might think." - Lloyd J. Thomas
@Some Guy. I like the age. Would like to read some of it if that's okay, a chapter or two would be nice. Here's a snippet from a numerology reading of Kei Any resembalance to the character? "You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing."
Still on a water theme... "People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean , at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering." - St. Augustine "Crazy people who are productive, are geniuses. Crazy people who are rich, are eccentric. Crazy people who are neither productive nor rich are just plain crazy. Geniuses and crazy people are both out in the middle of a deep ocean...geniuses swim, crazy people drown. Most of us are sitting safely on the shore. Take a chance and get your feet wet." - Michael J. Gelb "Of what use is it to complain of the stinginess of the ocean if you approach holding only a thimble?" - Ramana Maharishi
"In fact if I wrote a book on narcissism it becomes a how-to-guide on how to achieve in the new world order". - Dr. Ramani Durvasula I didn't correct it. Wrote down, exactly as spoken.
