In the beginning, there was no being and no non-being. There was no air, no sky, no death, no immortality. Darkness was hidden in the void, but what was hidden in it? The One breathed, but nothing else existed.
Then the One forced itself into existence. Desire entered the One and planted the seeds of mind and matter. A beam of light shot across the universe: creation, fertility, energy and desire came into being.
Who can say where creation came from? Or whether or not He produced it? Only He knows. Or perhaps He does not know.
FROM THE HYMN OF CREATION, THE VEDAS, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Once the One slept—not knowing of Its own existence. He was like an ocean with no shore, where no wind or waves moved. There were no stars, no sun, no earth. There was nothing but Him, but all things were in Him. He slept, unformed and un-manifested. He had knowledge of Himself, but did not know that he knew.
But then came the desire to know who He was. So He brought forth everything from nothing, and caused Himself to exist. He became rock, and thought that was who He was for millions of years. Then he thought he was vegetation, and lived as vegetation for millions of years. But He felt He was more than that, so he became all animals, and lived as worms and snails and fishes and birds and mammals for millions of years. But still He thought He was more than that and so created man. Now the One finally knew who He was, because in man, He saw his own reflection.
FRANCIS BRABAZON, SUFI
God said, “Let it be,” and it became.
The Un-manifest became manifest.
He gave life to the lifelessness, Created form out of formlessness.
Such a wonderful game He played with Himself.
So that His existence would be a secret, He hid behind a veil.
Then He lifted the veil to show that He exists in everyone.
What a wonderful game He plays.
BULLEH SHAH, SUFI
He is the form which is formless, the body without a body, the countenance that is invisible, the name that cannot be spoken, the mind which cannot be conceived of. He is a fountain, for all things flow from Him. He is the root of all that He planted, the Light that enlightens the world, the Love of those who love Him, the fortune of those for whom he cares, the wisdom of those to whom he has given wisdom, the power of those to whom he has given power. He gathers all things to Himself, and all things gather in Him. He is the revelation of all who seek, the eye of all who see, the breath of all who breathe, the life of all who live, the unity of All that is. All things exist in Him, and they are One.
THE TRIPARTITE TRACTATE, GNOSTIC-CHRISTIAN
In the beginning there was a beauty which polished the mirror of creation. It embraced every particle of a hundred thousand suns. Yet there was no witness to this glory until the eyes of humanity were opened. Only then was He known.
ABDUL-QADER BEDIL, SUFI
Human existence begins with the belief that we are separate, then moves on to trying to find our way back to the One of which we are not just a part, but who, in fact, we are.
RAM DASS, VEDANTA (HINDU)
The human body is the same as the cosmic body.
The human mind is the same as the cosmic mind.
The microcosm is the same as the macrocosm.
In one atom exists the entire universe.
THE UPANISHADS, VEDANTA (HINDU)
What exists between God and the soul? Nothing.
MOTHER JULIAN OF NORWICH, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Who is it who loves and suffers? It is He who is playing a game with Himself. We suffer because we think ourselves to be separate from Him. But if we come to recognize the One in all things and in all places, pain and suffering will come to an end.
SRI ANANDAMAYI MA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
When He takes possession of the soul, it is Love that eats His flesh and drinks His blood. But it is also Love which devours the soul itself, so that only He remains.
HADEWIJCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC
The Universe and I were born together. All things are only One thing.
CHUANG TZU, TAOIST
We may know Him by many names, but He is one and the same to all.
MAHATMA GANDHI
I am the highest and the lowest. I am all that exists.
MOTHER JULIAN OF NORWICH, ROMAN CATHOLIC
When my body became You, there was no one else to serve but You. When my mind became You, there was no one else I could call upon. After my own consciousness was lost in You, there was nothing else to know. Losing myself in You, “You” and “I” ceased to exist.
AKKA MAHADEVI, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Walking upon my path, I found that my former friends had become enemies. But I received solace from the One True Friend. When I realized Oneness, I became free of the many. Now I am His and He is mine.
SARMAD, SUFI, JEWISH
It is beyond human expression—that I am rich, It is a marvel that cannot be expressed. Although I have riches, it makes me needy like one who imagines that he has nothing. Even as I possess so much, I say, “Who will give me?” Even though I am in the midst of abundant waters, I say, “I am thirsty.” I see the One every day, yet say, “Where will I find it?” There is nothing to hold onto, the One within me—that which is beyond the world and invisible.
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN, EASTERN ORTHODOX
We will never find God until we learn that He exists in every living being, including ourselves.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
I seek only One thing: the All that exists in everything. All things are born of the One. All things flow from the One. The One is not just in all things, but above all things. This God holds me within my own heart.
DAME CATHERINE GASCOIGNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC
All that is, is One Mind. It is eternal and clear. It embraces all realities—both the visible and the invisible.
PADMASAMBHAVA, TIBETAN BUDDHIST
When the Many are reduced to One, to what is the One reduced?
ZEN KOAN
When you were already One, you became two. Now what will you do?
JESUS, THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
One master asked his teacher: “Where can Tao be found?” The teacher replied: “Where can't Tao be found?”
CHAN BUDDHIST STORY
He is the knowledge, the knower, and that which is known. All things are united in Him, and are imbued with His essence. He is Being—in which all things have their existence and perfection.
MOSES CORDOVERO, FROM THE KABALA, JEWISH
Blessed are they who find the One within their own being.
JESUS, THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
Be joyful and behold the One in all things.
MOTHER JULIAN OF NORWICH, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Only that which is in you—which is also in me—can hear what I'm saying.
RAM DASS, VEDANTA (HINDU)
All that appears different in the world is a matter of degree, not kind. The secret is, all things are One.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Let your presence within me set me on fire, so that I am transformed into You—so that all separation between You and me ceases in Your all consuming love.
THOMAS A' KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Once a person attains unity, others can no longer relate to him. He exists beyond both being and non-being. While others still want to transcend ordinary life, he just returns from the farthest shore and sits down in coal and ashes.
TUNG-SHAN, CHAN BUDDHIST
I come from the One who is beyond all distinctions. Anyone who is solitary and united within himself becomes full of light. But anyone who is divided within himself is filled with darkness.
JESUS, THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.
PLOTINUS
It is a mystery how Your body possesses my mind, and my soul becomes yours. What I was, I no longer am. You come, You go, but You have sown the seed that will lead to glory long after this body turns to dust.
EDITH STEIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Break a stalk of bamboo in half and make the top half male and the bottom half female. Rub them together like kindling until they ignite. Now, which part of the fire is male and which is female?
DERVA DASIMAYYA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
After the birds have left for the day, and the last cloud disappears, the mountain and I sit together until only the mountain remains.
LI PO, TAOIST
I behold God with the same eye with which he beholds me.
MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC
God, the Father of everything, the invisible One, cannot be penetrated or divided. That which is above everything is incorruptible, without limits, and eternal. He is the pure Light into which no one can look. He is pure Mind.
THE APOCRYPHON OF JOHN, GNOSTIC-CHRISTIAN
You ask what Tao is, but words cannot describe what It is. You want further explanation? This means This.
LI TUNG PO, TAOIST
There is no point in coming and going like the waves of the ocean. That which ebbs is the same as that which flows. The people of the world and the heart of the Buddha; what difference is there?
HSU YUN, CHAN BUDDHIST
I sang with You during the day, and we slept together at night. But I am confused; I thought I was I, but it was You.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
Humanity is like coverings for pillows. Some are one color, some are another. Still, they are all made from the same material. It is the same with humanity. One man may be handsome and another not. One may be sinful, while another is pure. But the same spirit of the One dwells within them all.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Our true home of majesty lies beyond duality.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
The wise man faithfully remains with the One and becomes an example for all to see. He does not stand out so he is a light for all. He thinks nothing of himself, so others honor him.
THE TAO TE CHING, TAOIST
There is nowhere you can go where I am not. I am in you and you are in Me. My seed is in everything. When you gather the harvest, you gather Me.
FRAGMENT FROM THE LOST GOSPEL OF EVE, GNOSTIC-CHRISTIAN
We are two souls in one body. It is You that I love in myself. See me and you see Him. See Him and you see everyone.
MANSUR AL-HALLAJ, SUFI
We dwell in your heart, and You dwell in ours. We come forth from You like the petals of a flower. You plant the seed in us so that we may grow and bear fruit in Your garden—so that we may return the fruit to You. The One dwells like a fish in the sea and the sea in the fish.
CATHERINE OF SIENA, ROMAN CATHOLIC
No one can know the truth if they are concerned with their wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. The Self is without gender. It is everyone's father, mother, child, friend and foe. The One is in all. Only the Self exists.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Studying Buddha nature is the same as studying yourself. Studying yourself requires forgetting yourself. To become enlightened is to become free—which means being free of one's own mind and body as well as the minds and bodies of others. Once achieved, even this enlightenment disappears, and cannot be found anywhere even though it exists forever.
DOGEN, ZEN BUDDHIST
You are the absolute Light which can see with pure eyes beyond the haze of our limitations. Your light is hidden everywhere in the world, and the world reveals Your beauty.
Your gift to me was to become one with You. It is Your blood that runs through my veins. I have become one with Your pure body—transparent, holy and filled with light.
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN, EASTERN ORTHODOX
The beginning of things is the same as the end of things. Creation is no different than destruction. All things are one and the same in the Tao.
CHUANG TZU, TAOIST
Joyfulness comes in realizing that our soul and the soul of the entire world are one and the same. Such recognition is love supreme.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE, VEDANTA (HINDU)
I and the Father are One.
JESUS, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
The many do not exist; there is only the One. At-one-ment is the realization that duality is an illusion.
PADMASAMBHAVA, TIBETAN BUDDHIST
Do all the normal things in life. Come and go, look, listen, smell, touch, taste. Pass your time in simple conversation, but let the mind not stray from oneness.
SARAHA, BUDDHIST
Passing over all multitude of things, and serving Me with resolute devotion, such a person becomes ready to attain oneness with the Supreme.
THE BHAGAVAD GITA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Once my body became Yours, who else could I serve? Once my mind became Yours, who else could I appeal to? After my perception became Yours, who else could I know? Because of You, I have forgotten You.
AKKA MAHADEVI, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Whether there be joy or sorrow, happiness or anger, all emotions cease when one realizes that all of creation is One. United in One, the physical body becomes nothing more than the dust of the earth.
CHUANG TZU, TAOIST
Where can I find you Lord? Your place is grand and undisclosed. And where can I find You not? Your glory is everywhere upon the earth.
JUDAH HALEVI, JEWISH
All things are Brahman—that from which all things originate, and that into which all things will dissolve.
THE CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD, VEDANTA (HINDU)
He has no form and no qualities, and yet He takes on form and qualities. He plays this illusory game of hide and seek with Himself alone. His cosmic game is endless, having no beginning and no end. He is the whole and He is the part—such is His perfection.
SRI ANANDAMAYI, VEDANTA (HINDU)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
He is always with them, and they are never separated even for an instant. If only they knew.
MANSUR AL HALLAJ, SUFI
Where is God? Where is He not? God penetrates all things like a string running through a garland of flowers. He is hidden as fire in wood, scent in flowers, salt in seawater. As restless rivers rush ever onward to rejoin the sea, so we remain restive until we become one with Him. God is our source and our destination.
SWAMI SIVANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Nature could not exist if it were not filled with God. Nature is mystical. It seeks the One.
MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC
The animating principle of all things is the Self, the One within many. The wise see His existence inside themselves and attain to eternal bliss.
THE KATHA UPANISHAD, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Your love shines through my eyes, for you fill me with Yourself.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
Where is Tao?
If you look for it, you won't see it. It comes in and goes out, but doesn't use doors. It is the very smallest of all things, yet it is everywhere. If you fail to recognize it, you will meet it without knowing.
HAN-SHAN, TAOIST, CHAN BUDDHIST
If you seek God, become molten and let yourself melt away. Take the path of understanding and give yourself totally to the journey. Where there was nothing, find Being. Get drunk on the wine of God.
HAKIM ABU-AL-MAJD, SUFI
If one does not recognize God, the barrier lies within his own mind. For God is all things, and has become all things within the individual.
MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC
That which dwells in all creatures—the Self—is that which controls the universe. He is manifest in all objects and creatures, and those who find it within themselves have eternal Bliss.
THE KATHA UPANISHAD, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Duality proceeds from the One, but let go of clinging even to this One. When the mind is fully stable, no mind, no blame, no phenomena remain. The observer vanishes along with the object of observation. Both disappear into oblivion since that which is observed exists only in the mind of the observer. When the observer and that which is observed disappear, duality ceases.
SENG-TS'AN, CHAN BUDDHIST
I cannot speak of the great mystery within. Words fail to describe it. Neither can I hold onto the One which exists beyond that. Being invisible, having no form, not being mixed with anything else, such reality is ineffable. I have found myself moving within this Totality like a candle's flame lighting another candle. When this light fills every part of us, manifesting reality, all that was hurtful, dark, full of shame is transformed by Him.
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN, EASTERN ORTHODOX
Men will live and wander within creation from the beginning of creation until the end. It is possible for him to align his nature with the One.
CHUANG TZU, TAOIST
Having examined all religions, I have realized that God is the Whole and I am His part. We are One. He manifests Himself in never-ending forms to fulfill the desires of those devoted to Him. But He, Himself, is formless. He cannot be divided because He is the Absolute.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
I am not a distant God. I dwell within you as a brother and a friend. You, in turn, dwell within Me. Behold. We are One!
WILLIAM BLAKE
I am intoxicated with my oneness with You. There is nothing else I need, want or care about.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
You have no beginning or end, yet have become He who preserves and protects us. You are the All, beyond comparison, beyond limits, without visual essence, without attributes, beyond division, beyond description, beyond understanding. You are imperishable.
You may only be seen by those with spiritual eyes, even though you are everywhere and within everything—both manifest and un-manifest simultaneously. No one can see you without divine eyesight, even though You are everywhere and in everything. You are both manifest and un-manifest. You are infinite power and bliss. You are the Knower and that which is known. You are Truth, Bliss, Love. You are beyond the beyond.
MEHER BABA, SUFI
Suddenly, like an explosive crack across the universe, there is clear understanding. It is that which consumed the Buddhas and ancestors before you. Follow no one; seek union.
DOGEN, ZEN BUDDHIST
The only thing that God expects from you is that you leave yourself behind and realize that you are made of Him.
MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Understanding at last. Suddenly the ocean is dried out and there is nothing to block the view. Nothing else exists.
JOHO, ZEN BUDDHIST
Wherever I wander, there is only You. Whatever I think about, it is You. Everywhere, there is only You. In the sky, upon the earth, above us and below us, in the beginning and at the end, there is only You!
LEVI YITZCHAK, JEWISH
Free will does not exist, since all things are subject to cause and effect. Yet there is something behind the will that is free.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Beyond and within all existence is the One.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
A certain man rejected all other emanations of God but Shiva—even though Shiva, himself, rebuked the man for his narrow-mindedness.
To make his point, Shiva took on the appearance of Hari-har. Half of him was Shiva and half of him was Vishnu. It made no difference. The man refused to worship the half that was Vishnu.
Shiva said to the man, “You are an impossible dogmatist. Even by taking on a dual aspect I could not convince you that all gods and goddesses are just aspects of the One, Absolute, Brahman.”
SRI RAMAKRISHNA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
I see His hand move my hand, It is He who speaks in my voice. As I go from room to room, I find no one there but Him.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
How can You be the source of water as well as the fire? How do You make us One with You?
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN, EASTERN ORTHODOX
We may appear separate, but we are one. He never leaves me. We go everywhere together—like the flower and its fragrance.
SARMAD, SUFI
As the sea of knowing-mind runs dry, shining jewels appear on their own. Watching the cosmos reduced to dust, I see a moon hanging all alone. I cast a net into space and caught dragon and phoenix. I walk through the cosmos alone, linking together the past and its people.
HSU YUN, CHAN BUDDHIST
When self-love ceases, and love of goodness takes its place, then you will be One with the Beloved. Loving Him, He must also love you. That love draws you to Him and Him to You. And the two become One. In such union there is no division.
JACOPONE DA TODI, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Phenomena are really nothing more than the veils in which God cloaks Himself. Were it not for your estrangement, you would look upon Him face to face.
AL-GHAZZOLI, SUFI
The divine is like a wheel or a circle that cannot be grasped by the human mind. And as a circle, it has no beginning or end.
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC
Throughout eternity, that which we call Mind has never been born and has never died. Changeless, it has no past or future. It is not subject to cause and effect. It is not good or evil, true or false, male or female. Mind is no one's property and it does not seek liberation. It is formless and hard to perceive since it is not subject to the senses. Many are those who seek It, yet they do not realize that it already lies within themselves. It is what gives them life.
BODHIDHARMA, ZEN BUDDHIST
I will know that I am free from bondage on the day when I can finally see God in every human being, and every being as the temple of God, When I stand in reverence of the One in all, all else will vanish and I will be free.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
God is in you and God is in me. He is hidden in all things, so let go of your pride and vanity and seek Him within yourself.
KABIR, SUFI
I am the reflection of you, Lord.
MECHTHILD OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC
That which is truly real lies within everyone in the world.
DOGEN, ZEN BUDDHIST
Men and women blush should their nakedness be revealed. But the entire world is the eye of God, and it sees everything everywhere. What is there to hide?
AKKA MAHADEVI, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Everything is God—the pot, the pan, the comb, the stick, the string of a bow. Gods are so numerous there is no room left to set down one's foot. Yet God is One, and the One is the only God.
BASAVA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
What is there between you and God?
NIFFARI, SUFI
Universal form is like crystal. Its perception changes according to circumstances.
SARYAJNAMITA, TANTRIC BUDDHIST
You assume all shapes, ride the winds and make Your way through storms. The sea itself becomes Your road. Your emissaries take every form and complete every mission with fear and trembling, terror and awe—then, at long last, open to You.
YANNI, JEWISH
You will only be fully fit to serve others when you no longer see the difference between yourself and others. Winning success in serving others you will meet Me and in finding Me you will reach Buddhahood.
MILAREPA, TIBETAN BUDDHIST
When I thought of the greatness of what was human, I found myself in the divine.
JUAN RAMON JIMENEZ
Teach me to worship you in all that exists. Fill the stillness of my soul and make me aware of Your Presence in me and around me.
PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA, VEDANTA (HINDU)
Finally have I realized that I am what I have been seeking. I have found bliss is the realm beyond the knower and the known. Mind, form, will, thought—all have ceased. The goal has been reached and the truth has been revealed. I am the way—the soul of God. My cosmic play has ended.
SRI CHINMOY, VEDANTA (HINDU)
I am far too weak and feeble to express the mysteries of the Blessed. But I am His image and temple.
THOMAS TRAHERNE
When quitting time, I am Myself eternity. I shall be one with God, God shall be one with me.
ANGELUS SILESIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC
The nighttime is empty—nothing from the mountains to the sea. But I am not alone, for You rock me. The sky is deserted. Even the moon falls into the sea. But I am not alone, for You hold me. The world itself is deserted, all creatures are sad to see. But I am not alone, for You hug me.
GABRIELA MISTRAL
I am you and you are me. We exist interdependently. As we work on ourselves personally, others benefit at the same time.
THICH NHAT HANH, ZEN BUDDHIST
You wake my heart, and this light within me has been lit by You. Now I know that You and I are not separate.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE, VEDANTA (HINDU)
When you perceive that the two are One, that the outer is the same as the inner, that which is above is the same as that which is below, that the male and the female are one and the same—then you will enter the kingdom of God.
JESUS, THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
No longer am I trapped by the illusion that my body is anything more than the play of the universe. I have escaped from this illusion. That which is within is the same as that which is without. That which is infinite is the same as that which is finite. Seeing all things anew, I have become drunk with the light of God that fills the universe. Life and death no longer have any hold on me.
KABIR, SUFI
I saw the One before me in the desert. In the vastness there was only You. Now these roses in my soul will never wither, no matter the vagaries of life.
VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX
It is a secret that every illumined being is aware of, and this secret is hidden even from the heavens. The mullah thinks that Ahmad went to heaven. Sarmad says that heaven was already inside Ahmad.
SARMAD, SUFI, JEWISH
Some say that there is a darkness in God, but perhaps what appears to be dim is due to not seeing clearly. I long for this dark night so that I might live in Him.
HENRY VAUGHN
I have tried to be near to You, calling out for you with my voice. But when I went out to look for You, I saw You coming to me.
JUDAH HALEVI, JEWISH
As I walk I know that it is You who is walking, even if I don't see You. I try to visit You, but sometimes I forget You exist. I talk, but the One remains silent. This One is forgiving, even when I am not. This One goes walking while I remain inside. This One will remain standing when I die.
JUAN RAMON JIMENEZ
Our lives are in God, as God is within us. He nurtures all creatures, and even though His splendor is often hidden from us, it abides in all life. God is the life of all that exists.
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC
You are in me as water is mingled with wine. There is nothing that happens to You that doesn't also happen to me. You and I are One soul.
MANSUR AL-HALLAJ, SUFI
Two are not without God, but the one who is unified within himself is God. With such vision I am found everywhere—beneath a stone, even within a piece of wood.
JESUS, FRAGMENT OF A LOST GOSPEL
A beggar with bowl in hand knocks on his own door because he has forgotten who he really is. This is an illness that my teacher has cured me of: God asking God for alms.
KABIR, SUFI
I am the frog that swims happily in the pond. But I am also the snake that feeds on the frog.
THICH NHAT HANH, ZEN BUDDHIST
Only the One who manifests form out of formlessness is able to win my heart. He laughs at the world, which is Himself.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
I praised You during the day and stayed with You at night. I always thought it was me, but I was You all along.
JELALUDDIN RUMI, SUFI
What is there to argue about? Both Hindus and Muslims are Him. Eliminate duality. Think of everyone as good. Do not recognize the existence of thieves. He resides in everyone, though He tricks us by putting on masks.
BULLEH SHAH, SUFI
He painted all the worlds with colors, but the colors are only fantasy. The colors, “I” and “you,” cannot be purchased. Better to take on His colorlessness.
AYAN AL-QOZAT HAMADANI, SUFI
Put yourself into His arms and do not recognize any difference between the worlds.
SARMAD, SUFI
When I am near to your Heart, I forget everything else. I am no longer in the grip of fear. Let me have a place in Your heart. Become One in me.
THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX, ROMAN CATHOLIC
God leaned over me and whispered sweet words in my ear. He embraced me like the sea embraces the stream that rushes to her. When I found myself down in the valley, God was also there.
KAHLIL GIBRAN
It is simple to mistake the One for the other, and the other for the One, for they are both one image.
HEKHALOT HYMN, JEWISH
You flow through us as tears flow from our eyes. You dwell in our innermost regions: our hearts and souls. Nothing that has motion and nothing that rests is not filled with You.
MANSUR AL-HALLAJ, SUFI
The circle of the world embraces all things.
HADEWIJCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC
If we were worthy enough we would hear the grass singing to God—a song without motive or expectation of reward. The best place to meditate is where things grow, for there we can better compose our thoughts in God's presence. Go to the grassy field. It will awaken your heart.
NACHMAN OF BRATZLAV, JEWISH
You are only the manifestation of the You which is un-manifest.
ABU-SAID ABIL-KHEIR, SUFI
