“One of the criticisms I've faced over the years is that I'm not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because I'm empathetic, it means I'm weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.”
“However, maitri is not just being kind and nice. It is the understanding that one has to become one with the situation. That does not particularly mean that one becomes entirely without personality and has to accept whatever the other person suggests. Rather, you have to overcome the barrier that you have formed between yourself and others. If you remove this barrier and open yourself, then automatically real understanding and clarity will develop in your mind.”
Source: Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery
“Let yourself be a gift of love and presence. The greatest gift you can offer the world is the gift of your presence as an unconditional observer and lover of the world.”
Source: The Flower of Heaven: Opening the Divine Heart Through Conscious Friendship & Love Activism
“Life is short. Don’t ignore a relative or friend because of the cost of a phone call. You’ll only live to regret it.”
“Men, despite all their ethics, would never be anything more than monsters if nature had not given them pity to bolster their reason.”
Source: Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
“Truth without compassion is brutality.”
“Given the amount of suffering around the world, opening to unconditional, loving friendship is an action we can choose for improving the physical and mental well-being of ourselves and others.”
Source: The Flower of Heaven: Opening the Divine Heart Through Conscious Friendship & Love Activism
“The blessing of extending unconditional friendship to another or cultivating meaningful, loving relationships with your friends is that as you nourish another in friendship, you also are nourished.”
Source: The Flower of Heaven: Opening the Divine Heart Through Conscious Friendship & Love Activism
“A conscious friend is unconditionally loving, patient, present, gentle, clear, honest, and kind. It is with conscious friendship that we invite and nourish peace within our hearts and connect with others unconditionally.”
Source: The Flower of Heaven: Opening the Divine Heart Through Conscious Friendship & Love Activism
“Free your friends to make mistakes, to be vulnerable, to have differing points of view, to trigger you and to be loved anyway. Always hold the vision for peace, joy, healing, growth and unconditional love in your relationships.”
Source: The Flower of Heaven: Opening the Divine Heart Through Conscious Friendship & Love Activism