“If there’s something you don’t like done to you, you should never do it to someone else, even if they did it first.”

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 59)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     “If someone treats you unkindly and you treat them the same, then you are no better than they.”

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 59)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

Question: Your writings seem very Stoic.  How familiar are you with Stoicism?  Could you explain Stoicism in a nutshell?

Answer: Sure.  As far as the Stoics go, I find them very practical.  They have a strong sense of right and wrong and living a life of virtue.  They stress living in accordance with nature or reality, realizing that some things are in our control and others are not (internal things = in our control, external things = mostly out of our control).  They practice mastery of the self, especially our attitudes and emotions and anything internal.  They concentrate on seeing the positive in every situation, and using anything negative as an opportunity for growth.  If you’re interested in learning more on Stoicism, check out these sources, just to name a few:

• The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness by Epictetus and Sharon Lebell

• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday (Also a website: https://dailystoic.com

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism

     “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

– Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives

     “It’s not enough to have a set of beliefs.  You must also act in accordance with those beliefs.”

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 58)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     “One does not need buildings, money, power or status to practice Aikido (The Art of Peace).  Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.”

– Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace

     “The battle is alone with yourself in a material world…”

— Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood

     An art writer was giving a lecture at the monastery.

     “Art is found in a museum,” he said, “but beauty is found everywhere, in the air, on the ground, all over the place, free for the taking―with no name attached to it.”

     “Exactly like spirituality,” said the Master the following day when he was alone with his disciples.  “Its symbols are found in the museum called a temple, but its substance is everywhere, free for the taking, unrecognized, with no name attached to it.”

– Anthony de Mello, One Minute Nonsense

Source: http://thelighthouseonline.com/misc/oneminute.html

     “If you let your mind dwell on ghosts, you’ll become a ghost yourself. If you fix your mind on God, your life will be filled with God. Now―which are you going to choose?”

– Sri Ramakrishna

Source: http://ihprocess.com/2017/11/11/november-11th-daily-meditation-moment-2/

     One of the evil effects of religion, according to the Master, is that it has split humanity into sects.

     He loved to tell of the little boy who asks his little girlfriend, “Are you a Presbyterian?”

     “No,” said the little one loftily, “we belong to another abomination!”

– Anthony de Mello, More One Minute Nonsense