Quotes from " From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives"

I liked Robert Fulghum's "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" bestseller, so when he came out with this volume "From Beginning to End", I quickly snapped a copy. This book talks about rituals, transformations and transitions, the very same issues I was coming to terms with in my personal life in May 1995 when I bought it. Here are the highlighted sentences and passages in my copy:

On Elemental Religious Questions:

"Every human being asks the elemental religious questions: Who am I? What am I doing here? Where did I come from before birth and what happens after I die? What's right and wrong and how do I know? What is the meaning of life, and how do I give meaning to my life? How do I account for the awesome, mysterious majesty of the universe, and what's my place in the scheme of things?"

On Personal Habits:

"...habits are sacred because they give deliberate structure to our lives. Structure gives us a sense of security. And that sense of security is the ground of meaning."

On Crossing Thresholds:

"Only with the passage of time, the accumulation of information about the similar experiences of others, and the opportunity to fit a given moment into the overall scheme of one's life does a threshold experience become understood."

On Life:

"Life is nothing but moments of crossing over."

On First Times:

"There are no parties or gifts or certificates to mark these times. Most often, nobody else knows or takes notice."

On Rites of Passage:

"The most powerful rites of passage are reflective--when you look back on your life again and again, paying attention to the rivers you have crossed and the gates you have opened and walked on through, the thresholds you have passed over."

On Reunions:

"It is not about high school. It is about Who am I? and What has become of me?"

* * *

"...you should go at least once. Go and see who you were or else you will never fully understand who you are and who you yet may become."

* * *

"Revisiting the music of one's youth is part of the reunion with self."

On Memories:

"The sweetest memories are seldom the result of planning."

On Celebrations:

"It never makes sense to wait until your life is in a state of grace to celebrate its joys and passages. Never hestitate to celebrate."

On Revival:

"All our exits may become entrances."

--Robert Fulghum

Quotes From "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire"...Last Part

On Emotions:

"Emotions are just recycled energy."

* * *

"Emotions are never created in isolation; they always come about because of some interaction with the eviroment. In the absence of circumstances or relationships, there is no emotion."

* * *

"Each emotion is dependent on the context, circumstances, relationships that defie your reality at that moment."

On Genius :

"This is the nature of genius, to be able to grasp the knowable even when no one else recognizes that it is present."

On Personality :

"Personality gets created through selective identification with situations and through relationships."

On Soul :

"The soul is the observer who interprets and makes choices based on karma; it is also a confluence of relationships, out of which contexts and meaning, and it is this flow of context and meaning that creates experience."

* * *

"Your soul is the part of you that is universal ad individual at the same time, and it is a reflection of all other souls."

On Intention :

"Everything that happens in the universe starts with intentions."

* * *

"All learning, remembering, reasoning, drawing of inferences, and motor activity are preceded by intent. Intent is the very basis of creation."

* * *

"Our destiny ultimately comes from the deepest level of desire and also from the deepest level of intention."

* * *

"When intention is repeated that creates habit. The more an intention is repeated, the more likely it is that the universal consciousness will create the same pattern and manifest the intention i the physical world."

* * *

"Intention orchestrates infinite possibilities."

* * *

"Intent creates coincidences; it is the reason why when you're thinking of something, it happens."

* * *

"We can restore the power of intent through a return to the true self, or self-actualization."

On Good Luck :

"Good luck is opportunity and preparedness coming together."

On Life :

"...life is the ultimate mystery."

* * *

"What makes life mysterious is that our destiny seems hidden from us, and only at the end of our lives will we be in a position to look back and see the path we followed."

--Deepak Chopra

Quotes From "The Spontaneous Fulfillment Of Desire"...Part 1

I bought "The Spontaneous Fulfillment Of Desire" also on a February (2005) so, maybe, I should feature the lessons that I learned from this book today. At that time, this was (and still is) a must-have book for me for two reasons. It is a book on coincidences, which topic I continue to adore, and it is a book by Deepak Chopra, one of the contemporary spiritual thinkers whose writings strike a harmonic chord with what I believe in. This is the fourth volume authored by him in my personal collection. Read on...

On Coincidences:

"I do not believe in meaningless coincidences. I believe every coincidence is a message, a clue about a particular facet of our lives that requires our attention."

* * *

"The coincidences or little miracles that happen every day of your life are hints that the universe has much bigger plans for you than you ever dreamed of for yourself."

* * *

"The more attention you give to coincidences, the more likely they are to appear, which means you begin to gain greater and greater access to the messages being sent to you about the path and direction of your life."

* * *

"Notice the coincidences in your life. Coincidences are messages. They are clues from God or spirit or nonlocal reality, urging you to break out of your karmic conditioning, your familiar patterns of thinking."

* * *

"A coincidence is a clue to the intention of the universal spirit, and as such it is rich with significance."

* * *

"...I believe 'meaningful coincidence' is redundant because every coincidence is meaningful, otherwise it would not happen in the first place."

* * *

"The meaning does not come from the coincidence itself. It comes from you, the person who is having the experience."

* * *

"Nothing--absolutely nothing--would exist were it not for a remarkable set of coincidences."

* * *

"...the more attention you put on coincidences, the more you attract other coincidences, which will help you clarify their meaning."

* * *

"People who are sensitive to events and stimuli around them will be sensitive to coincidences sent from the universe."

* * *

"The most powerful and unusual stimuli will naturally draw your attention. Those are the things in your environment you need to look at most closely. And the more unlikely the coincidence, the more potent the clue."

* * *

"When a coincidence arises, don't ignore it. Ask yourself, What is the message here? What is the significance of this?"

--Deepak Chopra

Quotes From "Soul Mates, Karma & Reincarnation"...Part 2

On Karma:

"Karma is simply a confrontation with ourselves. It is meeting the consequences of our own thoughts and actions in the past for nothing ever happens by chance."

* * *

"Each of us comes to earth for a definite purpose or mission, either to learn a specific lesson in human kindness, adjust a wrong committed against another in a past life, or correct a fault in character which we acquired in the past."

* * *

"Only by discovering our true mission can we find real and lasting happiness and inner harmony."

* * *

"We are too busy earning a living and seeking purely earthly pleasures that we often forget to ask why we are even alive."

* * *

"The soul never forgets, and no earthly circumstances or artificial barriers can prevent the fulfillment of a karmic assignment or relationship."

* * *

"Seek the answer within. There is no other way. Soon you will realize the awesome truth that you are always what you have chosen to be. And you alone are responsible for what you are."

* * *

"Our lives always have a purpose. When it is time for a person to know the truth about his/her past, if knowledge of it will help in the spiritual development, then such a fact will be made known."

* * *

"...the laws of karma or universal justice are exact. We get what we deserve in excat measure, nothing less and nothing more. And there is no escaping the karmic consequences of our acts."

* * *

"If we all belived in karma, we would probably have a more peaceful and loving society."

* * *
On Reinarnation:

"It is admittedly correct that the word 'reincarnation' is not found anywhere in the Bible. But neither can we find the words 'telephone', or 'airplane', or 'computer' in it."

* * *

"The memory of our past lives is hidden from us until we are ready to use such knowledge to our advantage."

* * *

"Memory of our past lives is also embedded in our personality, ou physical and emotional characteristics, and in our talents or special skills."

* * *

"Some physical weakness or ailment could also be traced to a reincarnational memory."

* * *
"It is true that there is no universally accepted scientific proof of reincarnation."


--Jaime T. Lichauco

Quotes From "Soul Mates, Karma & Reincarnation"...Part 1

This book by Jaime T. Lichauco, a local author who is considered a foremost authority on esoteric topics, is one of several in my collection dealing with soulmates, karma and reincarnation. As it is my habit to date my books as I acquire them, I can see that this copy has been in my personal library for 10 years now! Since I usually buy books to help me answer questions that preoccupied my mind at that point in time, this means that soul mates, karma and reincarnation were the topics that were "bothering" me around 1997. Now, what was I doing in 1997 and why was I intrigued about these things? Anyway, whatever the answer to that is, these are the quotations which caught my interest in this book.

On Soul Mates:

"One never consciously seeks out one's soul mate...The soul mate finds you. He or she merely appears in one's life when the right time and circumstances come."

* * *

"When soul mates meet, there is from the very beginning instant recognition of each other stemming from the very core of their beings, and this recognition has an aura of certainty that defies logic. This is commonly called 'love at first sight'."

* * *
"Soul mate relationships can never be one-sided, for the two meet because they are mutually attracted to each other in this incarnation from the highest levels of their consciousness. If they did not attract each other, they would never have met in this lifetime."

* * *

"A soul mate encounter brings about a stirring of soul memory and one recognizes a soul mate intuitively from the very recesses of the soul."

* * *

"When it's time for souls to meet, there's nothing on earth that can prevent them from meeting, no matter where each may be located on planet Earth."

* * *

"A soul mate encounter is spiritually uplifting."

* * *

"There can only be one soul mate for each person because only one individual can be a perfect partner at all levels of his or her being and only one individual (which is the other half) who can share exactly the same pattern of soul evolution and destiny."

* * *

"Karmic partners are often mistaken for soul mates because some karmic encounters are very strong or powerful."

* * *

"Soul mates may or may not be partners in life, legally speaking. And more often than not, they may not be married to each other. That is, perhaps, the reason why so many marriages flounder."

* * *

"We must realize that we seldom meet a person by accident. Almost everyone we meet in this lifetime is an old acquaintance we met in a distant past."

* * *

"A meaningful encounter between two individuals is always karmic in character. Deep frienships are of the same category. Parent and child, boss and subordinate, and sweetheart relationships are also karmic."

* * *

"Those who have multiple meaningful partners (i.e. several wives or husbands) may have several karmic debts with various individuals."

* * *

"A true soul mate encounter has no ifs or buts."


--Jaime T. Lichauco

Quotes From "The Road Less Travelled"

"The Road Less Travelled" was a gift from my investment banking staff for my 44th birthday. I don't recall any of them asking me before about my taste for books, so I was only too delighted to receive this bestseller which, thankfully, I have not bought yet. My copy, if you'll see it, is dog-eared and highlighted in many pages. See if you'll like what I liked in these pages.

On Discipline:

"Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems. Without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some discipline we can solve only some problems. With total discipline we can solve all problems."

On Problems:

"Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually."

On Delaying Gratification:

"Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only decent way to live."

On Reality:

"Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are, and if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost."

On Wisdom:

"The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action."

On Human Nature..Part 1:

"The tendency to avoid challenge is so omnipresent in human beings that it can properly be considered a characteristic of human nature."

On Human Nature..Part 2:

"Another characteristic of human nature - perhaps the one that makes us most human - is our capacity to do the unnatural, to transcend and hence transform our own nature."

On Falling In Love:

"Falling in love is not an act of will. It is not a conscious choice. No matter how open to ar eager for it we may be, the experience may still elude us."

On Falling Out Of Love:

"...the experience of falling in love is invariably temporary. No matter whom we fall in love with, we sooner or later fall out of love if the relationship continues long enough."

On Serendipity:

"The paradox that we both choose grace and are chosen by grace is the essence of the phenomenon of serendipity. Serendipity was defined as 'the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for'."

--M. Scott Peck