Soul

"The Theosophical Explanation. We endorse the theory that the soul leaves the body; but we are perhaps a little more definite in our explanation of what we mean by the soul than are many religious people. Our statement is not that man possesses a soul, but that man is a soul, and that the body is merely a vestment which he casts off when it is worn out... Man is a far more complex being than to physical sight he appears to be; and the only way in which we can thoroughly understand him is by raising our consciousness to altogether higher planes, where we can see much more...[than] one who has not previously studied the subject."

"I will suppose that all humankind have souls, a condition which, when sober, I do not hold."

"We're social animals, but we crave solitude to make our souls"

"I have a soul. I see patterns."

"The history of a man's soul, even the pettiest soul, is hardly less interesting and useful than the history of a whole people; especially when the former is the result of the observations of a mature mind upon itself, and has been written without any egotistical desire of arousing sympathy or astonishment."

"I said to Him, Lord, how does he who sees the vision see it, through the soul or through the spirit? The Savior answered and said, He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind that is between the two that is what sees the vision."

"Don't gain the world and lose your soul Wisdom is better than silver and gold."

"I held my breath, for to me there is nothing more awe-inspiring than when a man discovers to you the nakedness of his soul."

"Confession is good for the conscience, but it usually bypasses the soul."

"The soul may sleep and the body still be happy, but only in youth."

"To understand that we have souls, is to feel our separation from things visible, our independence of them, our distinct existence in ourselves, our individuality, our power of acting for ourselves this way or that way, our accountableness for what we do."

"A rich and powerful soul not only gets over painful and even terrible losses, deprivations, robberies, and insults: it actually leaves such dark infernos in possession of still greater plenitude and power; and, what is most important of all, in possession of an increased blissfulness in love. I believe that he who has divined something of the most fundamental conditions of love, will understand Dante for having written over the door of his Inferno: "I also am the creation of eternal love.""

"28. Through the sounding of the Word and through reflection upon its meaning, the Way is found."

"29. From this comes the realisation of the Self (the soul) and the removal of all obstacles."

"30. The obstacles to soul cognition are bodily disability, mental inertia, wrong questioning, carelessness, laziness, lack of dispassion, erroneous perception, inability to achieve concentration, failure to hold the meditative attitude when achieved."

"Was it worthwhile? Everything is worthwhile if the soul is not small."

"Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?"

"SOCRATES: The shoemaker, for example, uses a square tool, and a circular tool, and other tools for cutting?"

"Neither my deeds contain any essence nor, my gestures have sense of zeal, my days are creeping forth for nothingness; with this body deficient of heart and soul O' Glorious! O' Lord Almighty ! how can I come close to you?"

"Tonight, let us exchange every part of our bodies and every space of our souls to each other."

"I believe that the soul consists of its sufferings. For the soul that cures its own sufferings dies."

"Every Theosophical movement throughout the ages has been founded in order to bring back to man the realization of that which is essentially man's, to awaken in his heart his spiritual instincts, to light the divine fire anew in his soul, so that, inflamed with its glory, he may press onwards, find this pathway, and in following it to its end -which is indeed no end, for it is endless - may reach the realization by individual experience of his complete oneness with the Universe of which he is a child. That Universe is you. Every part of it is yours. It is your eternal Home and your everlasting Dwelling-place. There you are native; and not only are you, each one of you, the heart of the Universe, but that Universe itself verily is you yourself in your inmost. p. 48"

"Now there are two ways for a man to achieve his destiny, two ways for a human soul to reach its own inner powers, the full expansion of its own god-like genius. The first is that followed by the majority, drifting along like flotsam on the ceaselessly moving ebb and flow of the Ocean of Time; and this is the path of natural evolution, of natural growth. But oh! how slow, how slow, how slow it is! Ages will pass before the expansion of inner faculties and powers reaches even a modicum of a larger greatness. The other pathway is Initiation. This means a quicker growth, a more rapid evolution, a more speedy emergence from the chrysalis of humanhood into possessing the wings of the spirit - into becoming the bird of eternity, to change the metaphor somewhat. p. 70"

"You can gain wonderfully just by cultivating a few simple rules of mental and practical conduct. Be kindly; refuse to hate. Learn to love; learn to forgive. Let your heart expand. Be yourself, and expand your sympathies; touch with the tendrils of your consciousness the hearts of other human beings. Oh! what a delight to feel, as it were, the inner spiritually electrical quiver that your own soul experiences when you have touched the heart of a fellow human being! Practising these rules of morals and of noble ethics, you begin a short cut to a comprehension of yourself, and ultimately you touch the mysteries of the Universe. p. 73"

"Your creation and your resurrection will not be but as that of a individual soul. Indeed, God is Hearing and Seeing."

"And (by) the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it (with discernment of) its wickedness and its righteousness, He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it (with corruption)."

"With his superior knowledge the entity must leave hands off. His, the entity’s, only hope is to allow the personality complete independence, for it is the personality who understands more clearly than he the conditions of the particular plane upon which he existence happens. There is here no puppet, and there is no hand that moves the strings. If there were you see, you would indeed have a much more perfect world, but you would not have that one built-in prerequisite: complete as possible existence within all facets, and manipulation within all facets, of a given plane."

"This private multidimensional self, or the soul, has... an eternal validity. It is upheld, supported, maintained by the energy, the inconceivable vitality, of All That Is."

"The soul is too great to know itself, yet each individual portion of the soul seeks this knowledge, and in the seeking creates new possibilities of development, new dimensions of actuality. The individual self at any given moment can connect with its soul."

"All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."

"Living is being born slowly. It would be a little too easy if we could borrow ready-made souls."

"Il n'est d'histoire que de l'âme, il n'est d'aisance que de l'âme."

"Galileo's head was on the block... The crime was looking up for truth... And then you had to bring up reincarnation... How long 'til my soul gets it right... Can any human being ever reach that kind of light... I call on the resting soul of Galileo... King of night vision, king of insight... I'm not making a joke, you know me...I take everything so seriously... If we wait for the time 'til all souls get it right... Then at least I know there'll be no nuclear annihilation... Can any human being ever reach the highest light... Except for Galileo — God rest his soul..."

"An event rather than an entity, the soul defines our deepest depths, oblivious of sensation, thought, and feeling—touching bottom in our simple existence."

"I want no more than to speak simply to be granted that grace. Because we've loaded our songs with so much music that they're slowly sinking and we've decorated our art so much that its features have been eaten away by gold and it's time to say our few words because tomorrow our soul sets sail. ...I think so much these days about the great river, that symbol which moves forward among herbs and greenery and beasts that graze and drink, and men who sow and harvest, great tombs even and small habitations of the dead. That current which goes its way and which is not so different from the blood of men..."

"Within this wall of flesh There is a soul counts thee her creditor."

"Thy soul's flight, If it find heaven, must find it out to-night."

"Think'st thou I'll endanger my soul gratis?"

"Art is the magic mirror you make to reflect your invisible dreams in visible pictures. You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul."

"A man can be compelled to do anything, but his soul cannot be forced."

"Whate'er of earth is form'd, to earth returns, * * * The soul Of man alone, that particle divine, Escapes the wreck of worlds, when all things fail."

"For of the soule the bodie forme doth take; For the soule is forme, and doth the bodie make."

"In Western thought, the body holds the soul; in Indian thought, the soul holds the body."

"Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul."

"We had to be able to animate them so that they felt like flesh and blood, but most importantly you had to believe that they had souls behind their eyes."

"Principio caelum ac terras camposque liquentis Lucentemque globum Lunae Titaniaque astra Spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus Mens agitat molem et magno se corpore miscet."

"The soul is the human being considered as having a value in itself."

"The windows of my soul I throw Wide open to the sun."

"Books are the mirrors of the soul."

"Today the journey is ended, I have worked out the mandates of fate; Naked, alone, undefended, I knock at the Uttermost Gate. Behind is life and its longing, Its trial, its trouble, its sorrow, Beyond is the Infinite Morning Of a day without a tomorrow."