One must be pitiless about this matter of “mood.” In a sense, the writing willcreate the mood. If art is, as I believe it to be, a genuinely transcendental function—a means by which we rise out of limited, parochial states of mind—then it should not matter very much what states of mind or emotion we are […]
Ram Dass on Self-Compassion and Being Love Now
Imagine feeling more love from someone than you have ever known. You’re being loved even more than your mother loved you when you were an infant, more than you were ever loved by your father, your child, or your most intimate lover—anyone. This lover doesn’t need anything from you, isn’t looking for personal gratification, and […]
Natalie Goldberg on How a Writer Must Say Yes to Life
Thich Nhat Hanh on Clouds, Paper and Poets
Henry Miller on Perspective, Acceptance, and the Beauty of Making Art
“When you put your mind to such a simple, innocent thing, for example, as making a watercolour, you lose some of the anguish which derives from being a member of a world gone mad. Whether you paint flowers, stars, horses or angels you acquire respect and admiration for all the elements which go to make […]
Poetry | Advice to Writers ~ Billy Collins
Pema Chodron on Change and Opening Yourself to the Dynamic Nature of Your Being
“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you […]
Anaïs Nin on How We Write to Heighten Our Own Awareness of Life
“We write to heighten our own awareness of life. We write to lure and enchant and console others. We write to serenade our lovers. We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection. We write, like Proust, to render all of it eternal, and to persuade ourselves that it is eternal. We write […]
Inspire | Alice in Waterland by Elena Kalis
These images are part of a stunningly beautiful photoshoot by Russian-born artist, Elena Kalis, who specializes in underwater photography. What if Alice, after falling and falling inside the Rabbit hole, ended straight to the ocean? And what if the ocean surrounded a small island in the Bahamas? Although it may seem confusing, Elena Kalis imagined an […]
Annie Dillard on How Reading Can Inspire Us with Wisdom, Courage, and the Possibility of Meaningfulness
“Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so we may feel again their majesty and power? What do we ever know that is […]