Most of us assume that human beings have free will. However, . . . [we] are very much conditioned by our species, culture, family, and by the past in general. . . . It is rare for a human being to have free will. . . . (140)

Patanjali says that we can meditate on anything that our heart desires. The important thing is not what we meditate on, but more that we meditate. And then gradually to meditate more and more on what corresponds to the innermost longing of our heart. The practice of meditation . . . gradually works its magic in stilling the mind. (42)

Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind.

Each place is the right place--the place where I now am can be a sacred space. (3)

Spiritual progress is when on becomes free not only of the knowledge which is inevitably from the past, but also from the need to know... and a desire to predict and control.

Whoever is full of wisdom is naturally compassionate in fact we recognize that someone has gained spiritual wisdom by seeing their compassionate behavior. . . . Individuals and countries with power need to develop wisdom and compassion, for without these attributes, there is a danger that the power will be used to oppress and exploit others. (31)

It is important not to abandon the practice of yoga because we believe it is driven by the wrong motivation. The practice of yoga itself transforms. Yoga has a magical quality.

Each one of us needs to discover the proper balance between the masculine and feminine energies, between the active and the receptive. (104)

If We Sit With An Increasing Stillness Of The BodyThe Mind Gradually Stills And The Heart Is Filled With Quiet Joy

The Self says ‘I AM’–as in the very grand sayings of Christ, especially in the Gospel of John, in which he says in the state of onenenss with Yahweh (which in Hebrew means ‘I AM’), I AM is the way and the truth and the life–but the ego says ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that,’ thus attaching itself only to a small portion of the Vastness. (62)