"We each have within ourselves the ability to shape our own destinies. That much we understand. But, more important, each of us has an equal ability to shape the destiny of the universe. Ah, that you find more difficult to believe. But I tell you it is so. You do not have to be the leader of the Council of Seven. You do not have to be elven king or human monarch or the head of a dwarven clan to have a significant impact on the world around you.

"In the vastness of the ocean, is any drop of water greater than another?

" 'No,' you answer, 'and neither has a single drop the ability to cause a tidal wave.'

" 'But,' I argue, 'if a single drop falls into the ocean, it creates ripples. And these ripples spread. And perhaps—who knows—these ripples may grow and swell and eventually break foaming upon the shore.'

"Like a drop in the vast ocean, each of us causes ripples as we move through our lives. The effects of whatever we do—insignificant as it may seem—spread out beyond us. We may never know what far-reaching impact even the simplest action might have on our fellow mortals. Thus we need to be conscious, all of the time, of our place in the ocean, of our place in the world, of our place among our fellow creatures.

"For if enough of us join forces, we can swell the tide of events—for good or for evil."

The above is a portion of a speech made to the Council of Seven in the days just prior to the Sundering, shortly after the creation of the Seventh Gate. The speaker was an elder Sartan of great wisdom. His true Sartan name may not be given here, since he is still alive and I do not have his permission to reveal it. (His permission cannot be obtained, because he has tragically lost all memory of what he was.) We know him now as Zifnab. No Trackbacks

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****
The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.

George Bernard Shaw 1856 No Trackbacks

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****
"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not
in doing, not in having."

-- Alice Mary Hilton

As a human being, as spirit manifested in form, you are innately worthy. Your worthiness does not have to be strengthened or improved. However, you may
not PERCEIVE yourself to be worthy.

If you doubt your self-worth, consciously or unconsciously, you will limit the good things you will allow into your life.

Do you consider yourself worthy? It may help to answer these questions:

- Do you find it easier to give than to receive?
- Do you have as much money as you would like?
- Do you feel driven to improve yourself?
- Do you value other people's time more highly than your own?
- How would you feel if someone offered to pay you a salary of $1 million/year?

If you find you lack self-worth, don't despair. Just being aware of your self-worth issues will help you let them go.

"Every achiever that I have ever met says, ‘My life turned around when I began to believe in me.’"

-- Dr. Robert H. Schuller

"We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our heart of hearts we deserve to have."

-- James R. Ball No Trackbacks

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Selections from "Chinese Proverbs from Olden Times",
(c) 1956 Peter Pauper Press,
loosely organized into
four categories:
Speech, Conduct, Teaching/Learning and Reminders.




------
SPEECH ------




The swiftest horse
cannot overtake a word once spoken




Two good talkers...
not worth one good listener




In multitudes of words
surely some mistakes




Water and words...
easy to pour
impossible to recover




Too much talk
beware trouble...
too much food
beware indigestion




If the first words fail...
ten thousand
will not then avail




-------
CONDUCT
-------




Honest scales
and full measure
hurt no man




You want no one
to know it?...
then don't do it




Forget the favors
you have given...
remember those received




The careful foot
can walk anywhere




The saving man
becomes the free man




Laws control
the lesser man...
right conduct controls
the greater one




The wise man
hearkens to his mind...
the foolish man
to his cronies




If you always give
you will always have




Men fated to be happy
need not haste




The wise man tarries not
to instruct the fool




Three early risings
make an extra day




Slow work... fine work




-----------------
TEACHING/LEARNING
-----------------




To know the road ahead,
ask those coming back




A good teacher...
better than a barrowful of books




Learning is a treasure
no thief can touch




Teachers open the door...
you enter by yourself




No road to happiness
or sorrow...
find them in yourself




--------- REMINDERS
---------




A good neighbor...
a found treasure




The mind...
emperor of the body




At birth we come
at death we go...
bearing nothing No Trackbacks

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God created the heavens and the earth to manifest the truth; let him be exalted above all gods. He created human beings from a single seed; yet human beings
openly dispute with him.

-Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:3-4
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In order to grow, friendships need loyalty, love, mutual consideration, and willingness to see the other's point of view. You choose your pleasures, your
books, and your occupations, but you do not choose your friends; you only discover them.

Quote From:
A Book of Courtesy
The Art of Living with Yourself and Others
by Mary Mercedes No Trackbacks

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1. No one can ruin your day without YOUR permission.

2. Most people will be about as happy, as they decide to be.

3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can
do it permanently.

4. Whatever you are willing to put up with,is exactly
what you will have.

5. Success stops when you do.

6. When your ship comes in.... make sure you are willing
to unload it.

7. You will never "have it all together."

8. Life is a journey...not a destination. Enjoy the trip!

9. The biggest lie on the planet: "When I get what
I want, I will be happy."

10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.

11. I've learned that ultimately, 'takers' lose and
'givers' win.

12. Life's precious moments don't have value, unless
they are shared.

13. If you don't start, it's certain you won't arrive.

14. We often fear the thing we want the most.

15. He or she who laughs......lasts.

16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

17. Look for opportunities...not guarantees.

18. Life is what's coming....not what was.

19. Success is getting up one more time.

20. Now is the most interesting time of all.

21. When things go wrong.....don't go with the flow.
--Author Unknown No Trackbacks

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I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R L I F E

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your
actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandonment. No Trackbacks

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One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds: Mahatma Gandhi

=
We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war: Albert Einstein

=
Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy
this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day":
Theodore Roosevelt, April 19, 1906

=
"The slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing":
Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791 No Trackbacks

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Have you ever sat very silently, not with your attention fixed on anything, not making an effort to concentrate, but with the mind very quiet, really still?
Then you hear everything, don't you? You hear the far off noises as well as those that are nearer and those that are very close by, the immediate sounds--which
means really that you are listening to everything. Your mind is not confined to one narrow little channel. If you can listen in this way, listen with ease,
without strain, you will find an extraordinary change taking place within you, a change that comes without your volition, without your asking; and in that
change there is great beauty and depth of insight.

Quote From:
Book of Life, The
Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti
by J. Krishnamurti No Trackbacks

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