The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
RUMI 'The Guest House'
An empty day without events.
And that is why
it grew immense
as space. And suddenly
happiness of being
entered me.
Anna Swir, Milosz and Nathan, trans. TALKING TO MY BODY 'Priceless Gifts'
How is it possible to remain peaceful in such a violent world?
You have to want to lose your appetite for violence or aggression. And to do that, you have to lose your self-righteousness. You have to realize that you cannot continue to have your habitual reaction to something, especially if your reaction ends with violence-physical or verbal-against yourself or somebody else, or even against the government of your country or the terrorists or whomever. You have to accept in your gut that the habitual reaction is poisonous not only to you but to the rest of the world.
Pema Chodron
...the 8 factors (limbs) of Patanjali's Yoga could usefully be arranged in a circle since it is by their combined power that the yogin propels himself forward along the path of internalisation.
George Feuerstein THE YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI 'The Eightfold Yoga'
Contentment brings supreme happiness.
Patanjali trans.Bernard Bouanchaud THE ESSENCE OF YOGA, 'sutra 2.42'
