I have this beautiful pink (p)leather bound journal that I write in when I see something that gives me soul-tinglies: that feeling of gentle soul shaking that lets me know I need to stop and take note. I’ve written about the Four Agreements, about Bhakti Yoga philosophies, wisdom from my favorite people, excerpts from my favorite books and songs and quotes that resonate with me.

It’s perfect for when I’m feeling spiritually exhausted.

It helps point me back in the right direction and remind me that there are good feelings out there, there is wisdom out there, and if I invite those things into my life it can change me. It can change my day and make my life better. It’s like a soothing balm for my soul.

I was reading through my book yesterday and I realized that I have a whole section devoted to Ram Dass. Ram Dass is an amazing writer, speaker, and spiritual teacher. He is truly a beautiful soul and I invite you to research him and read about him. “From a Hindu perspective, you are born as what you need to deal with, and if you just try and push it away, whatever it is, it’s got you.” 

Dude is freaking wise. Check out his website and his youtube channel.

Here are 10 of my most favorite quotes.

“The question we need to ask ourselves is whether there is any place we can stand in ourselves where we can look at all that’s happening around us without freaking out, where we can be quiet enough to hear our predicament, and where we can begin to find ways of acting that are at least not contributing to further destabilization.”

“I would say that the thrust of my life has been initially about getting free, and then realizing that my freedom is not independent of everybody else. Then I am arriving at that circle where one works on oneself as a gift to other people so that one doesn’t create more suffering. I help people as a work on myself and I work on myself to help people.”

“Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not ‘I love you’ for this or that reason, not ‘I love you if you love me.’ It’s love for no reason, love without an object.”

“Early in the journey you wonder how long the journey will take and whether you will make it in this lifetime. Later you will see that where you are going is HERE and you will arrive NOW…so you stop asking.”

“When somebody provokes your anger, the only reason you get angry is because you’re holding on to how you think something is supposed to be. You’re denying how it is. Then you see it’s the expectations of your own mind that are creating your own hell. When you get frustrated because something isn’t the way you thought it would be, examine the way you thought, not just the thing that frustrates you. You’ll see that a lot of your emotional suffering is created by your models of how you think the universe should be and your inability to allow it to be as it is.”

“We come into relationships often very much identified with our needs. I need this, I need security, I need refuge, I need friendship. And all of relationships are symbiotic in that sense. We come together because we fulfill each others’ needs at some level or other.”

“Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness.”

“It’s only when caterpillarness is done that one becomes a butterfly. That again is part of this paradox. You cannot rip away caterpillarness. The whole trip occurs in an unfolding process of which we have no control.”

“In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight.”

“You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don’t have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success – none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here.”

Which one is your favorite?