Spiritual Art Blog - *Ed P

Steps of Experience

This picture Steps of Experience is going in the right direction. There a still a number of steps before it get completed but we’re getting there.

Happy Thoughts

Thought for the week

Happy thoughts can be a source of comfort, inspiration, love and happiness. They can lift our mood and transport us from a sad and dark place into somewhere happier and brighter. They can help us escape from a monotonous situation into a lighter and brighter world. 

By thinking happy thoughts we are moving our attention from where we are at this moment to somewhere else in our imagination. Our focus has moved from this physical world to our inner spiritual world. We are now beginning to control our thoughts instead of us being controlled by the outer situations around us. We can decide how we will react to things in our lives. If we look at a situation in a negative way, we will only see negative results. However if we look for the positive side of situations we will begin to discover positive outcomes.

Things we Love
Thinking of people, animals or things we love will warm our hearts. As we think of them our imagination moves us closer to them. We are now with them in our imagination. Our focus has moved from the physical world to the ones we love. We spend time thinking about them, reviewing conversations, events and good times we’ve had together. We can even move into another sphere where we have fun together in our imaginative world. We can fly through the clouds, get really close to them, enjoy their presence and love them. As our love flows to them we cannot but be infected with that love and happiness.

Places of Interest
Thinking of places which have been of interest to us or which make us happy or give us inspiration can also be counted as happy thoughts. In our travels through life, we have occasionally come to a place which struck our imagination and excited us. Now we can remember those visits and relive the event. At this point in our life we may have new information which we can apply to the place. We can look at it with new eyes, with a better understanding of the place and what it means to us.

The ‘as if’ Technique
We can move our thoughts into the future to a point where we can see ourselves in a better position than where we may be at the moment. This can help to motivate us and inspire us to move on. The ‘as if’ technique can work well with this line of thinking. If we think ‘as if’ we have reached or achieved our future goal, we will begin to gravitate towards it. We will begin to put in place the steps to get to our goal.

Thank You Thoughts
Being grateful and thinking ‘Thank You Thoughts’ can also be classed as happy thoughts. By being grateful we are generating some happiness or love for the object of our gratitude. It brings us to a happier place. Our gratitude warms us with the gentle love it generates.

Something Funny
Thinking of something funny is a sure way bringing some happiness into our lives. A joke, a comedy piece we've seen recently, a funny incident or an event with friends. There are lots of funny websites. If we do as search for “funny jokes” or “funny videos”, we’ll find a selection of humour to make us smile.

Avoiding Negative Thoughts
Avoiding negative thoughts is an obvious way of staying happy. When we notice ourselves drifting towards thoughts of anger, complaining, being a victim, jealousy and any other upsetting notions, we should move our focus to any of the methods mentioned above. We can also sing a happy song to ourselves. One that is funny or brings a smile to our face. We can also sing the HU Song which connects us to our true happy self, Soul.

In the video below is some wisdom from the characters on Sesame Street. Enjoy.

*Ed Parkinson

Looking for more happy thoughts? Click here to go to the Spiritual Writings page and scroll down to the Happiness section for more interesting thoughts.

Happy Quotes

“Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.”
Anon

“if you fill your consciousness with the positive aspects of Divine Spirit there is no vacuum where the negative can come in.”
Harold Klemp

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
Benjamin Franklin

"What's the use of worrying?
It never was worth while,
So pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile.”
George Asaf

"The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it."
Richard Bach.

"Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response."
Mildred Barthel.

“If you want to be happy, be.”
Leo Tolstoy

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”
Mark Twain

“Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.”
Cynthia Nelms

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness." 

Carl Jung

“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.”
Albert Einstein

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking”
Marcus Aurelius

“If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are.”
Charles de Montesquieu

“The happiest people in this world are those who have the most interesting thoughts”
William Lyon Phelps

“Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.”
Helen Keller

“Theere are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.”
Anon

"Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination."
Voltare

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
Henry David Thoreau

If these happy quotes brought a smile to your face, click here to go to the Spiritual Inspirations page where you’ll find more quotes to make you happy.

Steps of Experience

The concept behind this picture is that with each experience we have in life we are making a step in our path to better understand ourselves. Each experience also helps us build a path to becoming more aware of life. With each step and experience we are getting closer to our goal of being happy.

Spiritual Laws of Life

There are a number of spiritual laws of life which we need to be aware of if we want an easier journey through life. They are like the law of gravity, they work whether we are aware of them or not. It doesn't matter if we are a "good" or a "bad" person. If we walk off a high ledge we will fall down to the ground. The laws operate regardless of how intelligent or ignorant we feel we are in our understanding of life. By knowing these laws we can make our journey through life a little less painful and more rewarding and fruitful.

Law of Happiness
The law of happiness requires us to always seek to be happy. Whatever we achieve in life is of little concern to this urge within us. When we achieve a goal which we believed would bring us happiness, within a short time we get bored with it or we realise that it hasn’t delivered the supposed level of happiness we were seeking. For example, if we had a goal to accumulate 1,000, or 10,000 or 100,000 or 1,000,000 of our favourite currency in the belief that it would bring happiness and we reach that goal, we may find a few unexpected results such as:
We now realise that we have to work hard to keep this money at our goal level. Hardly a happy position.
We may find our ‘friends’ and family fighting over the money causing unhappiness all around..
We may discover our first goal isn’t enough and we struggle to double it in the hopes that double the money will make us somewhat happy.

At the core of this desire is our true self, Soul’s, urge to return to Its true home in heaven with the Higher Power. The goals we set for material achievements are disguises for our urge to go back to Soul’s home. With each goal reached we get a little wiser and a little closer to achieving our true prize.

Law of Attention / Law of Attraction
We are where we put our attention. If we can become aware of this law we will begin to achieve what we set our mind to or where we put our attention. For example if we focus on the troubles, the problems, the challenges we see in life around us, then we will have a life filled with troubles, problems and challenges. On the other hand if our attention is on the good things in life, the beauty, the kindness, the positive side of things, our lives will be good, beautiful and positive.

Some people refer to this law as the Law of Attraction. It has to do with where we focus our attention. The things we focus on will be attracted to us. It is one of the spiritual laws of life.

Law of Balance
We all know about the law of balance. There are times when we are on top of the world and other times when we are down in the dumps. The law of balance tells us that everything will balance in the end. So when we are down or high we should remember that things will change. We won’t stay in either situation without balancing our time in the other. It is good to be aware of this while we are going through the peak of either of these positions. We won’t be here for long and we should keep ourselves emotionally balanced so that when we go in the other direction we are similarly aware and balanced about our position. This law of balance is tied in with the law of Karma.

Law of Karma
One of the basic spiritual laws which we seem to forget about is the law of Karma. This is the law that balances all the good and bad things we do to ensure we learn the results of our actions. For example if I hit someone, they may hit me back both to defend themselves but also to balance the karma. If I steal something, I may never get caught by the victim or the authorities but it still goes on my list of karma. A while later I may have something of similar value stolen from me.

One of the problems with the Law of Karma is that it can often take a long time for the karma to return to us. Sometimes it may not return in the same lifetime. This delayed operation of the law helps explain why we have some of the challenges and problems in our lives. It can also explain why other challenges seem to pop up out of nowhere. We have earned this karma by the deeds we have done in previous lives and now we have the opportunity to sort it out and learn from it.

Law of Love
The law of Love is the one that overrides all the other spiritual laws of life. If we are doing something for Love, that is true, unconditional Love, without any hopes or wishes attached to it, this act of Love will benefit all concerned.

God is love and unless we are love we cannot approach God. This is why love is the key law of life. With love we can be free of our bondage to the physical lessons. Love brings us closer to heaven, closer to our true home. In heaven the basic law is Love and becoming aware of this law and using it correctly allows us entry into heaven.

Apply the law of Love
How do we apply the law of Love n our lives? If we can love what we do, love the people around us, love our work, love our family, love our community, love our world, we will be bringing a little piece of heaven into this world. We will benefit and so will the people who come in contact with us. This world is a school yard where we play and learn. It seems we learn best when things are tough. If we can see the love in these tough lessons we will be a happier Soul and we will be making our way towards our ultimate goal of going back to heaven to be closer to the Higher Power.

Wishing you Love in your journey as you work with the spiritual laws of life.

*Ed Parkinson

If you would like more insights into the spiritual laws of life, click here to go to the Spiritual Writings page where you’ll find more interesting articles.

 

If you have a particular interest in the Law of Attraction, click this link to go to The Law of Attraction Guide.

 

Laws of Life Quotes

“The law of love will bring to you the necessary materials for your spiritual growth and maturity.”
Harold Klemp

“Man perfected by society is the best of all animals; he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice.”
Aristotle

“Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.”
D.H. Lawrence

“For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.”
Milan Kundera

“Monotony is the law of nature. Look at the monotonous manner in which the sun rises. The monotony of necessary occupation is exhilarating and life giving.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“It is a law of life that problems arise when conditions are there for their solution.”
Walter Sisulu

“Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life.”
Aristophanes

“To be entirely free, and at the same time, entirely dominated by law, is the eternal paradox of human life that we realise at every moment.”
Oscar Wilde

“Progress is The law of life, man is not man as yet”
Robert Browning

“There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.”
Norman Mailer

“Non-violence is the supreme law of life.”
Indian Proverb

“Perfect law can never achieve perfection; the reason behind this is: we are imperfect creatures. … And morality can never be equated to an equation, just as the soul can't be reduced to genetics.”
Anthony Souls

Murphy’s Law:
“If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Below are some variations on Murphy’s First Law:

“Of the things that can’t go wrong some will.”

“If everything seems to be going well, you’ve obviously overlooked something.”

“If two or more things can go wrong, the one that will go wrong first is the one that will cause the most damage.”

“It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.”

“No matter what goes wrong, there’s always someone who will say he knew it would. Of the things that can’t go wrong some will.”

“If everything seems to be going well, you’ve obviously overlooked something. See also Kerr’s Law.”

“If two or more things can go wrong, the one that will go wrong first is the one that will cause the most damage.”

“It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.”

“No matter what goes wrong, there’s always someone who will say he knew it would.”

Edward A. Murphy


If you enjoyed these Laws of Life quotes you’ll find more quotes on the Inspirations page by clicking here.

Steps of Experience

Since I finished the picture Reaching for the Light, I’ve just been messing around with a variety of steps with no particular concept in mind. However during the week a new idea for a picture came to mind and the work on the steps will be useful. This is a render from the 3D program I use of some of the steps I created. I’ll tell you more next week when I see how it develops.

Developing our spiritual arts

Thought for the Week

If we can develop our spiritual arts we can develop our happiness. We all strive to be happy and a way of increasing our happiness is to work on the art of being more graceful, giving respect and a few other spiritual skills.

Grace
Being graceful means giving other people the space to live their lives their way. It may not be a way we agree with but we have the grace to allow them the freedom to live as they wish provided they do not encroach on us.
One definition of grace is “A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.”

Respect
We must first respect ourselves if we are to be able to respect others. Here are some dictionary definitions
“An attitude of deference, admiration, or esteem; regard.”
“An act of giving particular attention.”
“To show consideration for; avoid intruding upon or interfering with.”

Go with the flow
Learning to go with the flow of life is indeed one of the spiritual arts. It is easier said than done. When we are in traffic trying to get somewhere in a hurry, it can be difficult to accept the situation as it is. There is a saying among the spiritually wise that everything is exactly where it should be. This even applies to us sitting frustrated in a traffic jam. What can help us, is to consider that if we are exactly where we should be, then the other people we are rushing to meet are also in the perfect place for them. When we get to the appointment we may find we have arrived at just the right time. If we miss an opportunity because of the traffic jam, then it may have been a lesson we needed to learn about allowing more time to get to the meeting.

With this understanding we can more easily flow with life and the events and challenges it presents to us. If we see each challenge as an opportunity to learn something and grow with the experience, we then begin to develop the spiritual art of going with the flow of life.

Maybury’s Two Laws
Richard J. Maybury is a writer and economist who in the course of his research discovered two laws which all religions and spiritual paths agree on. The two laws are:
Do all you have agreed to do.
Do not encroach on other persons or their property.

Do what you say
The first of Maybury’s Laws is “Do all you have agreed to do.” It is a simple expectation between people. If we say we will do something, the other person will expect us to keep our word and do it. If we don’t do as we say we develop a reputation of not being reliable and untrustworthy. 

It can be difficult at first to do this but once we get into the habit of it, it feels like the right thing to do. We may have to develop the courage to say No to things we can’t do rather than trying to please people by saying Yes to everything. We need to be aware of our abilities and not overestimate what we can do.

Do not encroach
The second of Maybury’s Laws is “Do not encroach on other persons or their property.” It seems quite basic but something we need to be aware of. There are obvious areas like taking things that are not ours or ‘borrowing’ things without permission. There are also more subtle areas where we can push our will or desires on others who have different views. Forcing people to do our wishes is an encroachment on their space.

Leave it better
Another way of developing our spiritual arts is to leave a place better than we found it. This is not something we should advertise, it’s something we should just do. For example, as we go through a shop and see an item has fallen from its shelf, we can replace it as we pass by. If we are in a toilet with paper thrown around or the soap area is messy, we can dispose of the paper or as we wash our hands wipe the messy soap away. By leaving a place better than we found it we are improving it for the next person who comes along. It is a random act of kindness.

Develop Love
Love is the highest of the spiritual arts. This is not the romantic love or the loving of someone because they do us a favour. This is the unconditional love where we do something to benefit others just because it is a nice thing to do for them. We don’t get anything back from the Soul we have done the deed for but we allow Love flow through us and let it add some sparkle to our lives.

Unconditional love is one of the secrets to happiness. We are brightening the world with our loving deed and we are bringing more love into our lives.

Love ourselves
A key element to building up our spiritual arts is loving ourselves. We need to love, respect and appreciate ourselves if we are going to love, respect and appreciate others. We need to appreciate that we have had challenges in our lives, like every other Soul, but we have learned from them. The challenges we have faced have helped develop our character to where we are now. We may not be perfect but we are a work in progress, we are constantly learning. We are becoming better with every mistake we make. 

We learn something from all the things we do in life. With all our faults, challenges, difficulties, gifts, talents, and skills, we are a loveable Soul. From the viewpoint of Soul, we are perfect. We are in the perfect place to learn what we need to learn. We are perfectly situated to be helped by and to help other Souls.

As we love ourselves our love grows, we connect with our loving selves, Soul and love flows into our worlds and the worlds of those we love.

Wishing you love and happiness as your spiritual arts evolve and grow.

*Ed Parkinson

If you would like to round off your insights in the spiritual arts, click here to visit the Spiritual Art gallery where you’ll find lots of Spiritual Art.

Spiritual Art Quotes

“Grace and respect are two signs of a mature spiritual individual, whatever his religion or belief."
Harold Klemp

“Yoga is really more than fitness. It's a tradition that's over 5,000 years old, and it's really a spiritual tradition. So it's really a wonderful blending of art and movement.”
Rachael Nickel

“Art is a spiritual, immaterial respite from the hardships of life.”
Fernando Botero

“I feel that the essence of spiritual practice is your attitude toward others. When you have a pure, sincere motivation, then you have right attitude toward others based on kindness, compassion, love and respect.”
Dalai Lama

“Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.”
Edvard Munch

“True art takes note not merely of form but also of what lies behind.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world.”
Mohammed

“Your life is the manifestation of your dream; it is an art. And you can change your life anytime if you aren't enjoying the dream. Dream masters create a masterpiece of life; they control the dream by making choices.”
Don Miguel Ruiz

“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.”
Eckhart Tolle

“The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.”
Deepak Chopra

“First, one seeks to become an artist by training the hand. Then one finds it is the eye that needs improving. Later one learns it is the mind that wants developing, only to find that the ultimate quest of the artist is in the spirit.”
Larry Brullo

“Spirituality is intensely personal; religion is institutional.”
Dean Hamer

“Practical tips and spiritual practice can seem to be on opposite sides, but I think one really needs both. Without the spiritual dimension what is the point?”
Margot Hattingh

“From the highest, or yogic, point of view, the Seer and Seen are one and the same being, existing as our pure awareness. If that is true, then nothing is hidden from us.”
Alar Jurma

“Every man who steeps himself in the spiritual possibilities of his heart is a valuable helper in the building of the spiritual pyramid which will someday reach to heaven.”
Wassily Kandinsky

“The measure of the artist is to have the eye to see the spirit underlying the particulars, and the skill to capture both in paint.”
Marney Ward

“You cannot, and will not, encounter a circumstance, or a single moment, that does not serve directly and immediately the need of your soul to heal.”
Gary Zukav


If you liked these Spiritual Art Quotes you may enjoy the other quotes on our Spiritual Inspirations page. Click here.

Reaching for the Light

This is the completed version of Reaching for the Light. The story below gives some insights into it.

Reaching for the Light

We spend our lives reaching for the light in any form that comes our way. Most of us are naturally attracted to the brighter things in life. If we want to reach for the light it involves some kind of struggle to move ourselves out of the darkness. We recognise that light brings us to a happier place.

However it is not as simple as just reaching for the light, there are some challenges we have to overcome. Our attachment to the gold and silver things in life, keep us chained up. We are held down to this physical life by all the things we think are important here. They distract us from the light. While we do need things like a house, some transport, food and things for our work, we shouldn’t become too attached to them. It is our attachment to things which chain us to this world.

Keep in mind two things. Firstly, most of us are unlikely to get beyond the age of 100. This is one of many lives we have had in this physical world and it will end at some point. Secondly, the world conspires to distract us from reaching for the light of the spiritual side of life. The physical world does all it can to convince us that there is no existence beyond this world.

Things are just temporary
When we die our attention moves to our inner spiritual world. We leave all our physical goods behind. They do not belong there. No matter how attached we are to them, they cannot come with us, so it makes sense not to get too attached to them. They are there to help us get experiences and gain some wisdom while we are here.

In recent times we have seen the value of our physical goods, be they houses, jobs, pensions, money, shares, etc. all fall in value. It is a good reminder that these things are just temporary. We only have them for a short time while we are alive here in the physical life. As soon as we die we leave them all behind. We are really just care takers of whatever we possess. We cannot take any of our physical possessions with us into the inner worlds when we die.

Love Continues
However we do hold on to our experiences, our learning, our wisdom, our relationships and our love for the Souls in our world. Many people have spoken of meeting their loved ones, who have died, in their dreams. Many who have had near death experiences have spoken of meeting relatives and friends at the time when they were out of their physical body. The love we have for other Souls continues in our inner life. Love is an inner feeling, a spiritual quality which brightens our worlds both here in the physical and in our inner spiritual worlds.

Attention on the Light
We can break free of the attachments that chain us. If we put our attention on the light, the goodness, the love in our lives, we begin to see what is of lasting importance. We must make the effort to find and reach for the light. Reading an article like this gives us some knowledge and insight into the idea of an inner light and our spiritual world but we must make an effort to move towards the light if we wish to progress to a happier place.

This effort could take the form of turning up our awareness of the light in our lives. Watching for blessings during the day, indeed seeing everything, good and bad, as a blessing of some sort, will help us see the light. Taking time to appreciate our lives just by spending a little time thinking about what we appreciate about our lives. Letting our love flow to our friends and family. Doing things just for the love of it and the benefit of others. These and any other technique which brings a little love into our lives can help us reach the light.

This picture
I created this picture to show that we can break free of the cage of gold and silver we are in. While it is a struggle, it is possible. We can reach the light. For most of us it is an inner light. We see it in love, kindness, happiness, charity, beauty and generosity of spirit. The gold and silver of this world promise to solve our problems and challenges but when we get them we find that we still have our problems. If we become attached to them, they create a prison for us.

If we can reach for the light and bring some of it into our lives, we will find insights and happiness. While we will still have problems, we have a better understanding of them and can possibly see some benefits to them. Love is the key to unlocking the chains that bind us to the things in life. If we can give love, share our love and recognise the love in our lives, we will be released from the attachments that chain us and liberated into the light.

Wishing you love and happiness while you are reaching for the light.

*Ed Parkinson

If you’d like to reach for more of the light and wisdom from within, click here to go to the Spiritual Writings page.

Inspirational Light Quotes

“If you have a problem or desire a healing, try this exercise before falling asleep. Catch yourself at that point just before you fall asleep – between waking and sleep. Imagine bathing yourself with the healing orange light. You then can ask the Inner Master to help you regain spiritual balance by saying, “If it’s for the good of all concerned and doesn’t interfere with my spiritual growth, would you please heal me?” Then holding that thought, drift into sleep.”
Harold Klemp

“Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.”
Henry David Thoreau

“We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.”
Ben Sweetland

“Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.”
Michael Strassfeld

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
St. Francis of Assisi

“Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?”
Maurice Freehill

“There has never been a time on Earth like we see today. What we need are more ways to experience our interconnectedness - it is a precursor to deep love. So in this quickening light, with the dawn of each new day, let us look for love. Let us no longer struggle. Let us ever become who we most want to be. As we begin to be who we truly are, the world will be a better place.”
John Denver

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
Chinese Proverb

“To love beauty is to see light.”
Victor Hugo

“Wisdom and love have nothing to do with each other. Wisdom is staying alive, survival. You’re wise if you don’t stick your finger in the light plug. Love -- you’ll stick your finger in anything.”
Robert Altman

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single one
And it's life no less diminished
Life increases exponentially with love"
Arthur Tugman

“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.”
 Maori Proverb

“The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.”
Felix Adler

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
Anthony J. D'Angelo

“All things are perceived in the light of charity, and hence under the aspect of beauty; for beauty is simply reality seen with the eyes of love.”
Evelyn Underhill

“I have come to light the lamp of love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba

“A sensible man will remember that the eyes may be confused in two ways - by a change from light to darkness or from darkness to light; and he will recognize that the same thing happens to the soul.”
Plato

“When you possess light within, you see it externally.”
Anaïs Nin

“Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light.”
Norman B. Rice

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If one keeps loving faithfully what is really worth loving, and does not waste one's love on insignificant and unworthy and meaningless things, one will get more light by and by and grow stronger.”
Vincent van Gogh

“From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry, "More light." Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlelight. Neon, incandescent lights that banish the darkness from our caves to illuminate our roads, the insides of our refrigerators. Big floods for the night games at Soldier's Field. Little tiny flashlights for those books we read under the covers when we're supposed to be asleep. Light is more than watts and footcandles. Light is metaphor. Light is knowledge, light is life, light is light.”
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”
Aaron Rose

“A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home.”
 Anon

“His high endeavours are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright.”
William Wordsworth

You’ll find more light and enlightenment in other quotes on the Spiritual Inspirations page by clicking here.