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Lawrence Kushner Books

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“That's what Hanukkah is about: trying to survive the darkness on the far-fetched hope there's still some life and light left in the universe. It's more than just a religious story. The days have been growing shorter, imperceptibly but inescapably darker.... Heading into the night of the winter solstice, every spiritual tradition has some kind of festival of light. We're all just whistling in the dark, hoping against hope that someone up there will see these little Hanukkah candles and get the hint.”

TryingKindLittlesHas BeensStillsStoriesLightSpiritualNightUniverseLeftReligiousDarkDarknessGrowingTraditionWinterCandleFestivalsHintsHeadingsWhistlingHanukkahSolsticeWinter Solstice
Book:I'm God, You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego
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“...the goal of all spiritual life is to get your ego out of the way - outwit the sucker; dissolve it; shoot it; kill it. Silence the incessant planning, organizing, running, manipulating, possessing, and processing"... "because these activities preclude awareness of the Divine.”

WayLifeGodRunningSpiritualLife IsGoalSilenceAwarenessEmotionalDivineActivityEgoKillingPlanningShootingManipulationSpiritual LifeOrganizeJudaismPossessingHebrewSuckerProcessingIncessantDissolvingEmotional BaggageOutwitting
Author:Lawrence Kushner
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“A mystic is anyone who has the gnawing suspicion that the apparent discord, brokenness, contradictions and discontinuities that assault us every day might conceal a hidden unity.”

MightHarmonyUnityContradictionSuspicionAssaultMysticOccultBrokennessDiscordRabbiConcealingDiscontinuity
Book:I'm God, You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego
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“God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any easier on account of this, indeed it may be harder, even more urgent, but now you are centered, focused, clear. So this is where I am supposed to be. I always thought I was supposed to be somewhere else, doing something else, being someone else. But I realize now that I was mistaken. This does not mean that I can't or will not be doing something else. Just right now, I am where God wants me.”

WantNeedsMayMeanDoeI CanJobsRealizingClearEasierRight NowAccountsHarderFocusedSupposed To BeWhere You AreWant MeMistakenUrgentSomewhere ElseNeed You
Author:Lawrence Kushner
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“The "burning bush" was not a miracle. It was a test. God wanted to find out whether or not Moses could pay attention to something for more than a few minutes. When Moses did, God spoke. The trick is to pay attention to what is going on around you long enough to behold the miracle without falling asleep. There is another world, right here within this one, whenever we pay attention.”

WorldLongEnoughWantedFallPayAttentionMinutesAwarenessTestsMiracleTricksBurningPay AttentionSpokesMosesAnother WorldFalling AsleepBurning Bush
Book:God Was in This Place & I, i Did Not Know, 25th Anniversary Edition: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning
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