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Book
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Awareness by Anthony de Mello(1990) |
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This book is about waking up. As de Mello observes it, everybody walks around with his or her eyes shut – fast asleep. By guiding us on how we might wake up, de Mello reveals how liberating life can be when we are aware. He informs us of the ‘Four Steps to wisdom’. One being that negative feelings are in you, not in reality and that everything we do is in our self-interest. With various insights such as this, the book can only be described as an 'eye-opener’, thus successfully fulfilling its title.
de Mello uses humour, anecdotes and stories to clearly convey his message of wisdom and the informal way in which he writes makes this a very enjoyable and leisurely book from which much can be learnt.
Article  Learning to Listen and to Tell the Truth by David GurteenA short article on conversation Book  Awareness (1990  ) by Anthony de Mello The Way to Love by Anthony de MelloThe Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello Knowledge-Letter Gurteen Knowledge-Letter: Issue 22 - 2nd April 2002Person  Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit PriestQuotation  All is well by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On awareness and control by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On being an eagle by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On being crazy by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On change and understanding by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On experiences by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On fear and love by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On getting out of kindergarden by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On how we see things by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On living aware lives by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On loneliness by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On love and dependency by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On problems by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On spirituality by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On spirituality and waking up by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest On waking up by Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) Jesuit PriestQuotations from Awareness:  You know, all mystics - Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion - are unanimous on one thing: that all is well, all is well. Though everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, to be sure. But, tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep. They are having a nightmare.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest What you are aware of you are in control of; what you are not aware of is in control of you.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat on his strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbour. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was. Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest We're crazy, We're living on crazy ideas about love, about relationships, about happiness, about joy, about everything.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest The only way to change is by changing your understanding.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Pleasant experiences make life delightful. Painful experiences lead to growth.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest What is love?" "The total absence of fear," said the Master. "What is it we fear?" "Love," said the Master. Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don't believe them. Don't believe them! All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys. "Give me back my wife. Give me back my job. Give me back my money. Give me back my reputation, my success." This is what they want; they want their toys replaced. That's all. Even the best psychologist will tell you that, that people don't really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is painful.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest We see people and things not as they are, but as we are.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Most people don't live aware lives. They live mechanical lives, mechanical thoughts -- generally somebody else's -- mechanical emotions, mechanical actions, mechanical reactions.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Loneliness is not cured by human company. Loneliness is cured by contact with reality.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, But I do not cling.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Problems only exist in the human mind.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don't know it, are asleep. They're born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know ~ all mystics ~ Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion ~ are unanimous on one thing: that all is well, all is well. Thought everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, to be sure. But, tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep. They are having a nightmare. Last year on Spanish television I heard a story about this gentleman who knocks on his son’s door. "Jaime," he says, "wake up!" Jaime answers, "I don’t want to get up, Papa." The father shouts, "Get up, you have to go to school." Jaime says, "I don’t want to go to school." "Why not?" asks the father. "Three reasons," says Jaime. First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school. And the father says, "Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster." Wake up! Wake up! You’ve grown up. You’re too big to be asleep. Wake up! Stop playing with your toys. Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don’t believe them. Don’t believe them! All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys. "Give me back my wife. Give me back my job. Give me back my money. Give me back my reputation, my success." This is what they want; they want their toys replaced. That’s all. Even the best psychologist will tell you that, that people don’t really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is painful. Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It is irritating to be woken up. That’s the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I’m going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!" My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. If you profit from it fine; if you don’t, too bad! As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens. Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It's irritating to be woken up. That's the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I'm going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!" My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. If you profit from it, fine; if you don't, too bad! As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.Anthony de Mello, (1931 - 1987) Jesuit Priest
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