Integral Spirituality Quotes

A Super-Integral Spirituality has all the features of an Integral Spirituality, plus, among other things, an inherent conjunction of each stage with a given state, giving all of its stages a transpersonal or spiritual flavor (at least the possibility of either gross nature mysticism, subtle deity mysticism, causal formless mysticism, or nondual Unity mysticism). These mystical states are, of course, available to virtually all the lower 1st- and 2nd-tier stages, although there are likely some significant differences in 3rd tier, given its inherent conjunction of structures and states. ~ Ken Wilber

Although one of the points of an Integral approach to any problem is to language that issue in a s large a number of levels as possible (Magic, Mythic, Rational, Pluralistic, Integral, and Super-Integral - and this includes the "conveyor belt" of spirituality), this doesn't mean to cavalierly overlook Integral itself. The Integral level is a prerequisite for "Integral We" practices (although anybody can be invited to those practices; but realize that an "Integral" depth of the "We" will not be achieved in any group the majority of whose individuals are not themselves at Integral). ~ Ken Wilber

The skin is an integral part of the body and depends upon the general system for its supply of food and to carry away its waste. Skin health depends primarily upon the general health of the body. All attempts to deal with the skin as an independent entity, without due regard to its reliance upon the general system, must of necessity result in failure. The skin is nourished by the blood and there is no other source from which it can draw sustenance. "Skin foods" are all frauds. These are composed chiefly of grease. No fat can be assimilated by the skin or other tissues of the body until it has first been broken down into its constituent fatty acids in the process of digestion. Even were this not true, the skin contains very little fat and these "skin foods" would still not constitute proper nourishment for it. Blood is the only skin food. ~ Herbert M. Shelton

...God is not located in some far-off celestial abode but is met in the embrace of daily life; that spirituality is, quite simply, about vulnerability and openness and falling in love with solid ground. ~ Marilyn Lacey

Spirituality is a boundless ability to respond and experience. ~ Jaggi Vasudev

Christ is the measure of every age. ~ Pope John Paul II

You cannot transcend what you do not know. To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Meditation works in many layers. It works in our genes, in our DNA ~ Amit Ray

I see the Koran very much as an outsider. It stands in the great prophetic tradition of trying to return people to the basic principles of spirituality. Taken for its time, it was an extraordinarily progressive declaration of principle. It is also extraordinary for a Christian to read: for example, there are more references to Mary than in the Gospels. The tragedy is that it has been so warped and misapplied. ~ Tony Blair

Perhaps fate has a way of turning things around and making something good out of the action of someone who failed humanity without meaning to. ~ Janvier Chouteu-Chando

Truth has nowhere to hide in the world.
Time has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Fate has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Nature has nowhere to hide in the world.
Reality has nowhere to hide in the stars.
God has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Land has nowhere to hide in the world.
Light has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Love has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Imagination has nowhere to hide in the world.
Science has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Spirituality has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Intelligence has nowhere to hide in the world.
Creation has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Life has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Silence has nowhere to hide in the world.
Sound has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Awareness has nowhere to hide in the universe.

The past has nowhere to hide in the world.
The present has nowhere to hide in the stars.
The future has nowhere to hide in the universe.

Chance has nowhere to hide in the world.
Destiny has nowhere to hide in the stars.
Eternity has nowhere to hide in the universe. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

To prevent humiliating collisions with the universe, I suggest we all adopt an attitude of being open to learning in every moment of our relationships. Every interaction contains within it the possibility of deep connection with our beloved, with ourselves, and with the cosmos. Relationship is the ultimate spiritual path, because it constantly presents us with the challenge to love and embrace in the very situations in which we're most prone to shun and reject. For that reason above all, relationship is the place where our spirituality most visibly comes to light. You can tell more about a person's true spirituality from the way he or she treats his or her partner than you ever could from tallying that person's church attendance. ~ Gay Hendricks

There are secularised cultures, but at the core of all of them, the spirit of Tradition remains, religious or otherwise. By defending the multiplicity, plurality and polycentrism of cultures, we are making an appeal to the principles of their essences, which we can only find in the spiritual traditions. But we try to link this attitude to the necessity for social justice and the freedom of differing societies in the hope for better political regimes. The idea is to join the spirit of Tradition with the desire for social justice. And we don't want to oppose them, because that is the main strategy of hegemonic power: to divide Left and Right, to divide cultures, to divide ethnic groups, East and West, Muslims and Christians. We invite Right and Left to unite, and not to oppose traditionalism and spirituality, social justice and social dynamism. So we are not on the Right or on the Left. We are against liberal postmodernity. Our idea is to join all the fronts and not let them divide us. When we stay divided, they can rule us safely. If we are united, their rule will immediately end. That is our global strategy. And when we try to join the spiritual tradition with social justice, there is an immediate panic among liberals. They fear this very much. ~ Alexander Dugin

When you have light in your mind, you shine.
When you have light in your heart, you glow.
When you have light in your soul, you rise. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The Universe is continuously emerging as a fresh creation at every moment. All point to this same, extraordinary insight. The Universe is not static, nor is its continuation assured. Instead, the Universe is like a cosmic hologram that is being continuously upheld and renewed at every instant.14 A universal encouragement found across the world's wisdom traditions is to live in the 'NOW.' This core insight has a clear basis in physics: The present moment is the place of direct connection with the entire Universe as it arises continuously. Each moment is a fresh formation of the Universe, emerging seamlessly and flawlessly. ~ Alexis Karpouzos

As the beautiful does not exist for the artist and poet alone - though these can find in it more poignant depths of meaning than other men - so the world of Reality exists for all; and all may participate in it, unite with it, according to their measure and to the strength and purity of their desire. ~ Evelyn Underhill

I want a God that makes me twirl.' I jumped off the couch. I untucked and unbuttoned my shirt so it would flow like a robe. 'Like this. I can do this for God.' I held my hands out. I twirled and twirled and twirled. 'Look,' I said. 'Look. ~ Rabih Alameddine

The passionate heart touches the sky. The meditative mind enters it. ~ Yasmine Sherif (The Case For Humanity: An Extraordinary Session)

Humanism: an exaltation of freedom, but one limited by our need to exercise it as an integral part of nature and society. ~ John Ralston Saul

Creativity is an integral part of our personality. ~ Jerzy Vetulani

Your thoughts are like the seeds you plant in your garden. Your beliefs are like the soil in which you plant these seeds. ~ Louise Hay

Messy spirituality is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by a Jesus who will love us right into his arms. ~ Michael Yaconelli

If we get rid of all wishful thinking and dubious metaphysical speculations, we can hardly doubt that – at a time not too distant – each one of us will simply cease to be. It won't be like going into darkness forever, for there will be neither darkness, nor time, nor sense of futility, nor anyone to feel anything about it. Try as best you can to imagine this, and keep at it. The universe will, supposedly, be going on as usual, but for each individual it will be as if it had never happened at all; and even that is saying too much, because there won't be anyone for whom it never happened. Make this prospect as real as possible: the one total certainty. You will be as if you had never existed, which was, however, the way you were before you did exist – and not only you but everything else. Nevertheless, with such an improbable past, here we are. We begin from nothing and end in nothing. You can say that again. Think it over and over, trying to conceive the fact of coming to never having existed. After a while you will begin to feel rather weird, as if this very apparent something that you are is at the same time nothing at all. Indeed, you seem to be rather firmly and certainly grounded in nothingness, much as your sight seems to emerge from that total blankness behind your eyes. The weird feeling goes with the fact that you are being introduced to a new common sense, a new logic, in which you are beginning to realize the identity of ku and shiki, void and form. All of a sudden ~ Alan W. Watts

How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food and beer conglomerates. Who'd have ever guessed product consumption, popular entertainment and spirituality would mix so harmoniously. It's a beautiful world, all right. ~ Bill Watterson

Deep within ourselves, we find the inner being, the inner source of love, which is our true nature.
Love is the only reality, because only love works. ~ Swami Dhyan Giten

The sacred jar of oil shall never run out. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

Light helps even those who shun it; darkness harms even those who embrace it. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The truth you believe in and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new. ~ Pema Chodron

Every generation has been given the same blueprint to follow for the good of society. When that blueprint is disregarded by parents and those in leadership positions, the chain is broken and the human race suffers. ~ Ellen J. Barrier

True happiness cannot be found in things that change and pass away. Pleasure and pain alternate inexorably. Happiness comes from the Self and can be found in the Self only. Find your real Self and all else will come with it. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

At such times, the heart of man turns instictively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm. ~ Solomon Northup

Tarot helps us look within ourselves to understand our emotions, the reasoning behind our words and conduct, and the source of our conflicts. ~ Benebell Wen

What is religion? A cloud in the sky. I live in the sky, not in the clouds, which are so many words held together. Remove the verbiage and what remains? Truth remains. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

According to Jains the soul in pure form has infiniteness in terms of its knowledge and power. These faculties are obstructed for its exhibition due to Karmic bondage. As the soul progresses in its morality and spirituality it gets certain powers which may look miraculous. ~ Virchand Gandhi

Life never seems to prepare us sufficiently for epiphanies. ... they are not magical intrusions from another world, but reality, naked, and without shame. ~ Monks Of New Skete

Your greatest challenge is to not be distracted by that which happens in front of you, or is pulling on you or calling to you, but instead to find your center and magnetize to yourself all those things that are in alignment with your inner being ~ Sanaya Roman

I found myself thinking a lot about my own spirituality. What it means to be Jewish, what it means to forgive, what it means to sacrifice, but mostly what it means to be alive, how to be a better person, how not to make the mistakes my parents had made. I guess that's what one might typically call a midlife crisis. ~ Tod Goldberg

Each individual is born into life as a creation from the source, and as an inhabitant and visitor to this planet. ~ Bryant McGill

Love Beyond God

What if every time you woke
Your sigh was felt
By every being on Earth?

What if every time you spoke
Your words were heard
By every ear on Earth?

What if when you told a joke
You tickled the senses
Of every smile on Earth?

What if with each tender stroke
You shared your touch
With every hand on Earth?

What if when your heart broke
You tasted the tears
Running down every cheek on Earth?

No bond or brand or "guilted" yoke,
Surely this is love that reaches beyond,
That holds one to another
And every other to one.
No matter the color
Or where we're from.
This is now.
This is we.
This is Love.
This is God.
And this is love beyond God. ~ Adam Lawrence Dyer

Shaman is a spiritual shuttle between three realms of existence: Heaven, Mankind and Earth. He pierces through inter-dimensional veils in order to heal the parts and unite the whole. ~ Lada Ray

It occurred to me that we now as a culture, as a people have legitimately become the progeny of the Digital Age. Ostensibly, we subsist within a dehumanized frontier--a computational, compartmentalized, mathematized collectivist-grid. Metrics have prohibitively supplanted ethics. Alternately, the authentic aesthetic experience has been sacrificed and transposed by the new breed of evangelicals: the purveyors of the advertising industry. Thus the symbolic euphoria induced by the infomercial is celebrated as the new Delphic Oracle. Alas, we've transitioned from a carbon-based life form into an information-based, bio-mechanical, heuristically deprived and depleted entity best described as "a self-balancing 28-jointed adaptor-based biped, an electro-chemical reduction plant integral with segregated stowages of special energy extracts." Consequently, we exist under the tyranny of hyper-specialization, which dislodges and disposes our sense of logic, proportion and humanity from both our cognitive and synaptic ballet. ~ Albert Bifarelli