121 Quotes by Stephen Levine

Letting ourselves be forgiven is one of the most difficult healings we will undertake. And one of the most fruitful. (79)

Simply touching a difficult memory with some slight willingness to heal begins to soften the holding and tension around it. (74)

If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay. (48)

That which is impermanent attracts compassion. That which is not provides wisdom. (116)

There is nothing noble about suffering except the love and forgiveness with which we meet it. Many believe that if they are suffering they are closer to God, but I have met very few who could keep their heart open to their suffering enough for that to be true. (124)

Until we find out who was born this time around, it seems irrelevant to seek earlier identities. I have heard many people speak of who they believe they were in previous incarnations, but they seem to have very little idea of who they are in this one. . . . Let’s take one life at a time. Perhaps the best way to do that is to live as though there were no afterlife or reincarnation. To live as though this moment was all that was allotted. (132)

[D]etachment means letting go and nonattachment means simply letting be. (95)

[D]on’t cling to your self-righteous suffering, let it go. . . . Nothing is too good to be true, let yourself be forgiven. To the degree you insist that you must suffer, you insist on the suffering of others as well. (90)

The basis of the practice is to directly participate in each moment as it occurs with as much awareness and understanding as possible.