Many / One

A database of 11,000+ illuminated guiding quotations in 40 categories from 600+ inspired books by our most brilliant and influential authors.
Compiled by JoAnn Kite

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How To Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation
Rudolf Steiner

1 "Our will life is based upon the fact that human nature is embedded in the cosmic whole so that what happens in us through our will is also simultaneously a part of the whole cosmic process."

2 "If I meet other people and criticize their weaknesses, I rob myself of higher cognitive power. But if I try to enter deeply and lovingly into another person's good qualities, I gather in that force."

3 "In every evil we must seek out the elements that allow us to transform it into good."

4 "Everything in the universe is related to everything else."

5 "The sources of strength in the world that we can draw from are inexhaustible."

6 "All the philosophies that acknowledge the existence of a spiritual world…did not bequeath these instructions to humanity on the basis of some vague feeling….They formed their moral precepts on the basis of their cognition. They knew that these precepts would affect humanity's finer and nobler nature, and they wanted their disciples gradually to train this nature. To live by such world views and philosophies means to work on perfecting ourselves spiritually. Only when we do this do we serve the cosmos as a whole."

7 "Self-knowledge, of course, is difficult. The temptation to deceive oneself is enormous. But if we make a habit of being honest with ourselves, the doors to greater insight open for us."

8 "We will always find ways and means of discovering more and more of human nature….As we do so, we gradually progress to the point of glimpsing the mysterious kinship between human nature and all else that exists in the universe."

9 "Every sound spiritual practice begins with moral development. This is as true of Buddhism and the mystical traditions of Christianity as it is of Anthroposophy…Esoteric schooling never has as its goal the accumulation of spiritual treasures for personal gain. If one seeks for oneself, one actually achieves nothing. Every striving, every accomplishment is properly placed only when it is placed at the service of others." Christopher Bamford, Afterword

10 "You are linked together with all sentient beings."

11 "Only if I love something can it reveal itself to me."

12 "Anything we do for our own improvement benefits not just ourselves but also the world."

13 "Experienced spiritual researchers know what strength they gain by always looking for the good in everything and withholding their critical judgment. This practice should not remain simply an outer rule of life, but must take hold of the innermost part of the soul."

14 "Whatever we do, even the smallest task, can benefit the whole of humanity."

15 "Our task is to harvest from the mortal world fruits for the immortal. When we contemplate our being, which we ourselves have built up in the past, we must say to ourselves: 'We bear within ourselves the elements of a dying world. These elements work within us. Yet gradually, with the help of the new immortal elements awakening within us, we are able to break their power.' In this way, our path takes us from death to life."

16 "We ourselves must give birth to a new, higher being within us."

17 "The cognitive insights of a person who has [spiritual] vision can provide healthy food for all. All of us can apply these insights to our lives; and if we do so, we shall soon realize the possibilities of life in every area."

18 "The most trivial tasks we have to carry out and the most trivial experiences that come our way are woven together with world events. Once this interconnection becomes clear to us…we will enter our daily round of activities with new and increased strength, because now we know that all our work and all our suffering are work and suffering for the sake of a great, spiritual, cosmic interrelationship."

19 "As a member of humanity as a whole, I am jointly responsible, with all human beings, for everything that happens."

20 "Something within us is eternal and unlimited by birth and death."

21 "We shall not allow ourselves to think of our fellow human beings in any way that is incompatible with the profound respect due their dignity and freedom."

22 "Every insight that you seek only to enrich your own store of learning and to accumulate treasure for yourself alone leads you from your path, but every insight that you seek in order to become more mature on the path of the ennoblement of humanity and world evolution brings you one step forward."

23 "The world around us is filled everywhere with the glory of God."

24 "It cannot be emphasized often enough that the sure path to higher worlds leads through careful self-knowledge and the self-assessment of our own nature."

25 "All now appears as one great connected and interrelated whole."

This body of quotes compiled by JoAnn Kite