Remarkable Quotes

Stuart Wilde

“Our world is built on consumption. It’s the raison d’etre of our economic system. A small amount of consumption is needed for survival and a pleasant life, but much of what we consume is only a part of the chase for the particle* state. Look at all the stuff you have bought over the years but never used. It only gave you fleeting pleasure for the brief moment it fed the illusion. Once it stopped doing that, you moved your horizon beyond whatever it was that you purchased, looking for the next boost. If the need for all that stuff suddenly wasn’t there, would it be a real trauma—or would it be an excuse for a wonderful garage sale where you get to meet your neighbors?”

* By “particle” state, Wilde is referring to the human desire to appear separate and better than others; to be an independent particle instead of simply being a part of the overall “wave” of human consciousness.

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“It’s important to grasp, early on, that spiritual growth is not necessarily convenient or comfortable. This is not only because you have to discard an awful lot of your beliefs and definitions—things you hold most sacrosanct—but also because you can’t get to the Infinite Self without traveling back through the psychological and metaphysical reality of who you are, and the memories of what you have done in this lifetime.

Looking at yourself can be uncomfortable. It’s difficult to learn to control the ego and discipline the mind without it reacting. However, it’s a vital part of the journey, and you have to raise your energy gradually, over a period of time. I don’t buy the idea that something or someone is going to descend upon you one day and raise you up—a great guru, Jesus, or some angelic being—that they are going to touch you on the forehead, and suddenly you’ll be elevated to a higher plane. I’m sorry if that contradicts your beliefs, but energy seeks its own level. Even though something or someone can inspire or teach you, in the end the only way you will sustain a higher energy is to create it for yourself.”

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“Sometimes being very intellectual is a huge spiritual disadvantage. If you are very clever, you tend to dwell in the mind. It’s reasonable and pleasing to do so. It’s the same as if you’re very good at running—you may find yourself six hours a day on the track enjoying your abilities.

If you’re an intellectual person, your mental discipline is to ask yourself six times a day, ‘How does it feel?’ ‘How does this taxi feel?’ ‘How does this office feel?’ ‘How does this cinema feel?’ Look for the feeling. Bit by bit you can wrestle your subtle feelings into supporting you with their knowledge and ability so that your intellect is not dominating your life.

The intellect will suck to you ugly energy, personal criticism, and judgment; it will make you dissatisfied. You will have a triumph, and five minutes later the intellect will trash that triumph into nothing. It will show you all the things you missed out on. You made $20,000, but you could have made $24,000. The intellect likes to bitch and feel sorry for itself. If you don’t control it, it will drive you nuts.”

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“If you’re going through an emotional time, ask yourself, ‘What is my opinion here?’ You might say, ‘I’m insecure, because I think I might be losing my job.’ Okay, stop and pull back. What can you do about it? THE WAY IT IS, IS THE WAY IT IS. You perceive that things aren’t going well at work, so what’s the next step? Action. Rather than running away because of emotion, like a little child who gets scared and flees, when you’re faced with adversity, step forward in your feelings, not back. Write it down and put it on your refrigerator: ‘In challenging circumstances, I will step forward, not back.’ Review the situation and take action.

When there’s trouble at work, what can you do to fix it? Who can you talk to, to square things away? The factory may be laying off people, but they probably won’t lay off everyone, so what can you do to improve your performance? What can you do to fix the trouble? Well, first you can create more energy. But if that doesn’t work, what’s the worst that can happen? You’re going to get chucked out of the job, and you’ll find something else to do. So maybe the universe is helping to release you form one dumb job, opening doors for you to find something more creative and more profitable to do.”

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“If you want to flow down the eternal river of perception toward your Infinite Self, you’ve got to let go of the branch you’re hanging on to and let the river take you. That means facing your insecurities and fears and really looking at yourself. Sometimes that can be a bit painful because what you see is piles and piles of caca—loads of it.

And you say to yourself, ‘My God, I’m grim. I’m totally assoholic. I need to join Assoholics Anonymous. I am so assoholic it’s painful.’ Then, once you can observe how assoholic you are, love yourself. Look in the mirror and say, ‘Man, this is one of the world’s greatest idiots, but I love him, I love her, and I’m going to change them’.”

"You need to make a commitment, and once you make it, then life will give you some answers. Les Brown said that, and he was right. And making a commitment means more than saying "I'll try." It means saying "I'm all in. I'm totally committed here. Even if the going gets rough. In fact, especially then." Someone once said, aging puts wrinkles on the body. Quitting puts wrinkles on the soul."

Neale Donald Walsch