quotes by Elizabeth Lesser

"Adversity is a natural part of being human. It is the height of arrogance to prescribe a moral code or health regime or spiritual practice as an amulet to keep things from falling apart. Things do fall apart. It is in their nature to do so. When we try to protect ourselves from the inevitability of change, we are not listening to the soul. We are listening to our fear of life and death, our lack of faith, our smaller ego's will to prevail. To listen to your soul is to stop fighting with life--to stop fighting when things fall apart; when they don't go our away, when we get sick, when we are betrayed or mistreated or misunderstood. To listen to the soul is to slow down, to feel deeply, to see ourselves clearly, to surrender to discomfort and uncertainty and to wait."
— Elizabeth Lesser

"I recently heard a great writer say that an essential element in the life of a writer is to have been an outsider in childhood, to have been given the "gift" of not belonging. "
— Elizabeth Lesser (The Seeker's Guide)

"And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.-Anais Nin"
— Elizabeth Lesser (Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow)

"What will matter is the good we did, not the good we expected others to do."
— Elizabeth Lesser (Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow)

"How quickly I judge, and therefore diminish their humanity."
— Elizabeth Lesser (Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow)

"Meditation practice is like piano scales, basketball drills, ballroom dance class. Practice requires discipline; it can be tedious; it is necessary. After you have practiced enough, you become more skilled at the art form itself. You do not practice to become a great scale player or drill champion. You practice to become a musician or athlete. Likewise, one does not practice meditation to become a great meditator. We meditate to wake up and live, to become skilled at the art of living."
— Elizabeth Lesser (The Seeker's Guide)