Leonard Jacobson Quotes

We are on a journey of becoming that which we already are. That is the impossible paradox of our lives.

You get lost because you think there is somewhere to go. If you give up believing in a goal or a destination, then you cannot get lost. In the present moment, there is no destination.

There is nothing wrong with anger. Anger is a beautiful emotion, as valid and rich as joy or laughter. But you have been taught to repress your anger. Your anger has been condemned. If anger is unexpressed, it will slowly poison you. The key is to know how to express your anger. Do not throw it out onto any one. No one is responsible for your anger. Simply express your anger. Beat up a cushion. Go for a run. Express your anger to a tree. Dance your anger. Enjoy it.

Everything that happens is designed to awaken us. Everything.

The past is gone. The future never arrives. In truth, there is no life outside of this moment!

As each one of us awakens, it is like a light going on, followed by another light, another light, and another light. The darkness of human unconsciousness is slowly, gradually and gently lit, until there comes a day when there is more light than dark, more consciousness than unconsciousness , more joy than pain, ...more truth than illusion. That would indeed be a day for celebration.

It is a mistake to imagine that you can awaken in any kind of permanent way. There is only NOW and so you can only be awake now. Even the idea of permanence is an illusion. The question to ask is 'Am I awake and fully present NOW?' That question arises and is answered in perfect silence.

It is not until you awaken and become fully present that you will realize that you have not been present. It is not until you awaken that you will realize you have been asleep, dreaming that you are awake.

It disguises it’s thoughts as your thoughts, it’s feelings with your feelings, you think it’s you.

One of the great dangers on the spiritual path is that the ego becomes spiritualized. The ego loves to think of itself as spiritually evolved. It is just another way that it manages to feel important and in control. It is very difficult to free yourself from an enlightened ego.

If you really want to help, then help others to be more present. Help others to free themselves from the past. Help others to take responsibility for themselves. Help them to see how they are creating their own suffering. Every now and then, you will encounter innocent ones who are suffering through no fault of their own, particularly animals and children. Do not hesitate! Help them.

There is no greater power than the power of love, which arises from Presence. It overcomes all resistance.

When you are present, you are transcendent of the mind and ego and so you can witness your mind and ego. You can be conscious of your thoughts without being lost in them when they arise.

The underlying motivation that drives all addiction is our insistence on avoiding pain. However, the pain you are avoiding is based in the past, and has nothing to do with the present moment.

As you awaken, the present moment becomes your home. You still play in the world of time, but you're not identified with the story unfolding there.

If your commitment is to being present, then there will come a time when being present becomes your natural state. The present moment becomes your home. You will have short excursions into the world of the mind, but you never go so far into the mind that you get lost there.

Everything that occurs in your life is part of God's plan to wake you up.

To live a present and awakened life, simply be responsive to the moment. It is very simple. If you are hungry, eat. If you are thirsty, drink. If you are lonely, call a friend for tea. If you are overwhelmed with too much company, then get away by yourself.

You don't realize that if you stop looking backwards craving the love and acceptance which you didn't receive from your parents, then you might open your eyes to what is available for you now. But you won't let go. If only you could see that looking back into an incomplete and imperfect past, with regret, blame, guilt or resentment is keeping you from the treasures that await you here now. The past has gone. You cannot rectify something that is no longer with you.

When you are truly present, you illuminate everything around you.

You can live in a house, but your real home is inside you.

In the awakened state of Presence, aloneness becomes all-oneness.

Me, me, me! Mine, mine, mine! I'm right, I'm right, I'm right. What's in it for me? How do I use this? How do I take advantage of it? This is the way of the ego. Own this within yourself and you will begin to release yourself from it.

Only when you can accept that you are alone, will you discover that you are not alone.

The only moment ever available to you is the present moment. Everything else is memory or imagination.

When you awaken, you know that everything that occurs at the level of mind is illusory in nature and so you no longer believe in it as the truth of life. It is sometimes happy and sometimes sad, because it is a world of duality. You relax and accept the dual nature of the world of the mind and the world of experience within time. This will create balance within duality which will open the doorway to Oneness.

Awakening is about liberating yourself from the prison that is the world of the mind and daring to be here as all that you are.

How does silence find its way out of that noisy, chattering mind? That endless maze of thought, concept, opinion, belief? How does perfect silence and pure consciousness find its way out of that maze? Very simply: Bring yourself present with something that's HERE, in the moment. Then you'll be HERE again.

In the awakened state, the mind is either perfectly silent or it is a perfectly clear instrument of expression.

In Presence, there is no outcome. It is our involvement in the outcome that keeps us imprisoned in an imagined future. In Presence, there is only now.

More than anything else, judgment will take you out of the present moment. It will take you out of Oneness into separation. Whenever judgment arises within you, just notice it. Acknowledge it. Confess it. It is just an energy arising within you. Do not judge it or try to get rid of it. Just bring it to consciousness with love, acceptance and compassion. In this way, judgment will be transformed into love.

In presence, there is no right or wrong, because there is no duality. There is no judgment.

Projecting into the future with hopes, dreams and desires can never fulfill you. Only the present moment can fulfill you.

If you’re truly present in this moment, then you are a Buddha. At least for this moment!

Surrender the dream and the truth will be revealed.

The ego is often deeply involved in the desire to help others. If you do not want your ego to be involved in this way, do not be available for others unless you really want to be available. Do not feel that you should be available. Don't sacrifice yourself in any way. Don't go against your true feelings. Don't carry the cross for anyone else. Make sure that there's no sense that helping others makes you a better person or that it will gain you easy access into Heaven. Don't be a martyr.

If you want to know who you are, look into the true mirror. The flower will reflect your beauty. The sky will reflect your vastness. The ocean will reflect your depth. The child will reflect your innocence. But if you look into the mirror that is unconscious humanity, you are looking into the wrong mirror. Your reflection will be distorted by their projections.

When you become present, your mind is silent. There is no agenda. You are not holding onto anything. You are not seeking anything. You are just here with what is, and it is enough.

As you transition from the past and future world of the mind to the awakened world of now, you will begin to experience yourself in an entirely new way. A way that is free of the pain and limitations of the past, and free of anxiety about the future. And you will begin to experience the abundance that is ever present in each moment.

Gratitude, generosity and humility are inherent characteristics of one who is present. When you awaken, you will realize that everyone and everything has the same right to be here as you do. This includes every human Being, every tree Being, every flower Being, and every other kind of Being.

Once you have found yourself and accepted your aloneness, then the greatest blessing is to share the love that arises within you. Each new moment presents the richest opportunity to be loving. And you can share love in the simplest of ways. Be soft and gentle. Be caring and kind. Be loving in an ordinary way, without any sense of wanting anything back, Life offers you the most precious gift. The gift of allowing you to be present and share love.

When you are fully present, you transcend duality and open into Oneness. In Presence, there is power without opposition. There is love without hate, acceptance without judgment and allowing without control.

I cannot tell you anything that you don't already know, but it is known in silence.

Waking up is not serious. It is a gentle remembering and an honoring of the present moment as the truth of life.

The fact that we are aware of ourselves is both our greatest curse and also our greatest blessing.

Your gift to God is honesty. God's gift to you is truth.

You cannot be present in an abstract way. Presence is not about disappearing into nothingness. You can only be present with something that is actually here.

If you can see it, hear it, feel it, taste it, touch it, or smell it, you can be present with it. It is of the present moment, and so it brings to you the opportunity to be present with it.

Each new moment presents an opportunity for conscious choice. We can choose to let go of the past. We can choose to be here now. We can choose to accept responsibility for ourselves. . . . We can choose to awaken. Or we can choose to remain asleep and unconscious.

What are you going to do? Are you going to keep looking backwards, full of anger, resentment and unfulfilled desire. Or are you going to be here now. Because everything is available for you in the here and now. Love, compassion, silence, bliss and Oneness.