You have to find some way to not become a cynical or negative person, a person who keeps walking around and opening your eyes in the outside world but inside you close down, a person who stops expecting tomorrow to be better than today. Richard Rohr More Quotes by Richard Rohr More Quotes From Richard Rohr The path of descent is the path of transformation. Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines. Richard Rohr darkness teacher ideas God is always bigger than the boxes we build for God, so we should not waste too much time protecting the boxes. Richard Rohr waste too-much religion The people who know God well—mystics, hermits, prayerful people, those who risk everything to find God—always meet a lover, not a dictator. Richard Rohr risk lovers people Everything has to be understood in opposition to something else. For some dang reason, the ego prefers to make one side better than the other, so we choose. And we decide males are better than females, America is better than Canada, Democrats are better than Republicans. And for most people, once this decision is made, it is amazing the amount of blindness they become capable of. They really don't see what's right in front of them. Once you see this, it's an amazing breakthrough, and that is the starting place for moving away from dualistic thinking. Richard Rohr america moving thinking Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity; Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God Richard Rohr humanity mind jesus You come to God not by being strong, but by being weak; not by being right, but through your mistakes. Richard Rohr strong weak mistake Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had. Richard Rohr creating special names Notice that whenever we suffer pain, the mind is always quick to identify with the negative aspects of things and replay them over and over again, wounding us deeply. Almost all humans have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) of the mind, which is why so many people become fearful, hate-filled, and wrapped around their negative commentaries. This pattern must be recognized early and definitively. Peace of mind is actually an oxymoron. When you're in your mind, you're hardly ever at peace, and when you're at peace, you're never only in your mind. Richard Rohr pain hate people Faith is not for overcoming obstacles; it is for experiencing them—all the way through! Richard Rohr obstacles overcoming way People who’ve had any genuine spiritual experience always know that they don’t know. They are utterly humbled before mystery. They are in awe before the abyss of it all, in wonder at eternity and depth, and a Love, which is incomprehensible to the mind. Richard Rohr spiritual mind people The recurring theme of all religions is a sympathy, empathy, connection, capacity between the human and the divine - that we were made for union with one another. They might express this through different rituals, doctrines, dogmas, or beliefs, but at the higher levels they're talking about the same goal. And the goal is always union with the divine. Richard Rohr empathy goal talking The most courageous thing we will ever do is to bear humbly the mystery of our own reality. Richard Rohr courageous bears reality Faith is so rare-and religion so common-because no one wants to live between first base and second base. Faith is the in-between space where you're not sure you'll make it to second base. You've let go of one thing and haven't yet latched into another. Most of us choose the security of first base. Richard Rohr space faith letting-go The people who know God well - the mystics, the hermits, those who risk everything to find God - always meet a lover, not a dictator. God is never found to be an abusive father or a tyrannical mother, but always a lover who is more than we dared hope for. How different than the "account manager" that most people seem to worship. God is a lover who receives and forgives everything. Richard Rohr mother father people I have committed myself to joy. I have come to realize that those who make space for joy, those who prefer nothing to joy, those who desire the utter reality, will most assuredly have it. We must not be afraid to announce it to refugees, slum dwellers, saddened prisoners, angry prophets. Now and then we must even announce it to ourselves. In this prison of now, in this cynical and sophisticated age, someone must believe in joy. Richard Rohr space believe reality Spirituality is about being ready. All the spiritual disciplines of your life - prayer, study, meditation or ritual, religious vows - are there so you can break through to the eternal. Spirituality is about awakening the eyes, the ears, the heart so you can see what's always happening right in front of you. Richard Rohr religious prayer spiritual We cannot avoid the globalization of knowledge and information. When I was a boy growing up in Kansas, I could never think about a Buddhist, or a Hindu, or Muslim, or even a Protestant - I grew up in such a Catholic ghetto. That's not possible anymore, unless you live in a cave or something. So either we have knowledge of what the other religions and other denominations are saying, and how they tie into the common thread, or we end up just being dangerously ignorant of other people and therefore prejudiced. Richard Rohr buddhist ghetto growing-up Most Christian 'believers' tend to echo the cultural prejudices and worldviews of the dominant group in their country, with only a minority revealing any real transformation of attitudes or consciousness. It has been true of slavery and racism, classism and consumerism and issues of immigration and health care for the poor. Richard Rohr christian attitude country Much of the Christian religion has largely become “holding on” instead of letting go. But God, it seems to me, does the holding on (to us!), and we must learn the letting go (of everything else). Richard Rohr christian doe letting-go every time God forgives us, God is saying that God's own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us. Richard Rohr forgiveness god relationship
