We have always been nurtured by the words of wisdom given by Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Taoist, Hindu, and aboriginal teachers, seers, mystics, and sages. With great sensitivity and energy, Peter Lorie and Manuela Dunn Mascetti have gathered a marvelous collection of more than 2,000 religious and spiritual quotations from more than 500 different authors. Here you will find material from gurus, poets, writers, and artists from every age.

The chief criteria is that the selections inspire us to deeper thought and practice. The collection is organized into 40 different themes ranging from Angels, Beauty, Ideals, and Oneness to Silence and Stillness, Truth, and World. Each section lists quotes by authors in chronological order by birth date or approximate first publication date. The vast majority of the selections refer to their source. Here is a sampler of material from the paperback:

Martha Graham (1894 - 1991)
"The body says what words cannot."
Interview, The New York Times, March 31, 1985

Desmond Tutu (Contemporary)
"A jealous person is doubly unhappy — over what he has, which is judged inferior, and over what he has not, which is judged superior. Such a person is doubly removed from knowing the true blessing of creation."
An African Prayer Book

Norman Cousins (1915 - 1990)
"If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality."
Quoted in The Soul: An Archeology by Claudia Setzer

Marina de Guevara (1510 - 1559)
"To bring the heart into tune with God is better than audible prayer."
Letters

John Cage (1912 - 1992)
"We are involved in a life that passes understanding and our highest business is our daily life."
Silence

Confucius (551 - 479 BCE)
"The superior man understands what is right: the inferior man understands what will sell."
The Aphorisms of Confucius, VII