Quote of the Week 49 - The Dignity of Difference

“Religious conflicts occur when religious people believe that they possess the totality of truth. In fact, the totality of truth can never by perceived from a single vantage point. That is why each great faith contributes something unique to the totality of knowledge because of its particular perspective. That is what I call the dignity of difference. By being what we uniquely are, we give humanity what we alone can contribute. That means that religions must now value, not fight against, diversity. This is the new paradigm we need if we are to avoid the ‘clash of civilizations.’”
--Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain

Quote of the Week 48 - Blank Mind, Free Heart

“Make my mind blank,
Set my heart free.
Mind that’s blank
And heart that’s free…”
--Joan Armatrading

“Turn off your mind
Relax
And float down stream
Is it not dying? Is it not dying?
Lay down all thought
Surrender to the void
Is it shining? Is it shining?
--John Lennon

Quote of the Week 47 - Understanding the Ordinary

There is only the ordinary. There is no special and exclusive communication that is the truth. There is no exclusive state of truth. But there is the understanding of the ordinary.
--Bubba Free John

Another Hebrew Mantra

This came to me in my meditation today. During the event when Moses encounters the burning bush on Mt. Sinai, when the voice of God calls out to Moses, his response is, “Hinani” (phonetically, “Hee-Nay-Nee”). This is translated as “Here I am”, or “I am here.”, but the commentary on the inner meaning of this response is very significant. This is not the common separative “I/self” asserting itself and indicating physical location, but rather the humble vestige of a separative self responding in awe to the greatness of the Almighty which it is beholding, and offering up itself in complete submission and service. “I am at your service”, would be a more correct translation capturing the inner meaning of the literal translation. Like Abraham’s earlier responding to God by addressing God as “Adonai”, here again is an utterance of another great servant of God in response to God’s call to him. So I believe that “Hinani” would be another suitable term to use as a Hebrew mantra.

Quote of the Week 46 - Meditation is a Philosophy of Transformation

Meditation is not a mere technique, but a complete philosophy of transformation.
--Source Forgotten