Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition Quotes

“We need to refresh ourselves at this deep level every day. Just as we need exercise, food, rest, and sleep, so also we need moments of interior silence because they bring the deepest kind of refreshment.”
― Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition

“The chief thing that separates us from God is the thought that we are separated from Him. If we get rid of that thought, our troubles will be greatly reduced. We fail to believe that we are always with God and that He is part of every reality.”
― Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition

“your heart, but to your spirit, to your inmost being. There is no human apparatus to understand that language or to hear it. A kind of anointing takes place. The fruits of that anointing will appear later in ways that are indirect: in your gentleness, peace, and willingness to surrender to God in everything that happens. That is why interior silence is greater than any insight. It also saves you a lot of trouble. Pure faith is the surest and”
― Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition

“We enjoy deep calm even though we are dimly aware of the ordinary flow of unwanted thoughts. They are especially distressing at such a time because we know if we get hooked on one of them, we are going to be drawn out of that peace. We don’t even want to return to the sacred word. We don’t want to do anything except allow ourselves to be bathed in the light and love that seem to be tenderly anointing our in-most being. It is as if God planted a great big kiss in the middle of our spirit and all the wounds, doubts, and guilt-feelings of a lifetime were all healed at the same moment. The experience of being loved by the Ultimate Mystery banishes every fear. It convinces us that all the mistakes we have made and all the sins we have committed are completely forgiven and forgotten.”
― Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition