We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas . . . As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our being.
Thomas KeatingRead
To become who we are as creatures made in the image and likeness of God, we have to be nothing and everything at once, since this is what God is. ... If we accept who we are, we are manifesting God and radiating Christ. The latter unfolding of the divine life within us does not need to go anywhere _x000D_ or do anything special.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and understanding our divine nature.
In this quote, Thomas Keating conveys the complex idea that to truly embody our essence as beings created in the divine image, we must embrace both our complete potential and the humility of being nothing at all. It suggests that by fully accepting ourselves and our inherent nature, we can express the divine presence and love within us, which requires no external validation or extraordinary actions.
Themes
Self-AcceptanceDivine NatureGodIdentitySpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon discussing the nature of humanity and spirituality.
More from Thomas Keating
All quotes →The acceptance of all that God has given us and the willingness to let it go - to give it back to him at a moment's notice - that's true human freedom.
Thomas KeatingRead
We rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us.
Thomas KeatingRead
Only when we can accept God as he is can we give up the desire for spiritual experiences that we can feel.
Thomas KeatingRead
For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine.
Thomas KeatingRead
If you accept the belief that baptism incorporates us in the mystical body of Christ, into the divine DNA, then you might say that the Holy Spirit is present in each of us, and thus we have the capacity for the fullness of redemption, of transformation.
Thomas KeatingRead
Similar quotes
And sure enough, in seeking to become superhuman this foolhardy young man renders himself inhuman. The heart that he has locked away slowly shrivels and grows hair, symbolising his own descent to beasthood.
J. K. RowlingRead
The Sophists had this idea: Forget this idea of what's true or not—what you want to do is rhetoric; you want to be able to persuade the audience and have the audience think you're smart and cool. And Socrates and Plato, basically their whole idea is, "Bullshit. There is such a thing as truth, and it's not all just how to say what you say so that you get a good job or get laid, or whatever it is people think they want.
David Foster WallaceRead
The baby looks at things all day without winking; that is because his eyes are not focused on any particular object. He goes without knowing where he is going, and stops without knowing what he is doing. He merges himself within the surroundings and moves along with it. These are the principles of mental hygiene.
ZhuangziRead
Karma means your have to live with the consequences of the actions you have taken in the past. Whatever you put out is coming back.
Deepak ChopraRead
Hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littleness, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies.
Honore De BalzacRead
This thing called nationalism is a treasure that a country uses to try to develop and a nationality uses to try to survive. China has lost this treasure.
Sun Yat-SenRead