Almaas Quotes & Sayings

Your career, interests and relationships are important, but they are only important insofar as they lead you toward a deeper understanding of yourself. Otherwise, they are irrelevant. — A.H. Almaas

True states of realization occur when you throw away all the teachings. All of the teachings, absolutely. Everything. Then you are investigation itself finding out what you are. — A.H. Almaas

In very clear and available language, this book details how to recognize the inner critic and how to deal effectively with it. Byron Brown's presentation is useful for any individual who wishes to be free from the inner suffering and coercion of this ancient foe of our humanity, but it is specifically directed to those interested and engaged in the inner journey toward realization and enlightenment. — A.H. Almaas

You are not the feelings or the thoughts or the contents of your awareness. None of these are who you are. You are the fullness of your Being, the substance of your presence. — A.H. Almaas

To contact the deeper truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves. — A.H. Almaas

Are you really angry, or simply aware of anger in the body and mind? Don't speculate, simply look at what is there. — A.H. Almaas

Directing the process by the mind can only lead to difficulty, for the mind does not know. Commitment to the Truth is sufficient for the process to unfold. — A.H. Almaas

To truly find God, truth needs to be found independently from the opinions of others. The truth has to be found in our hearts. — A.H. Almaas

Sometimes being real means allowing pain or accepting a painful truth. Yet something in us aligns with an inner ground of authenticity when we are real. We love it because of its inherent rightness in our soul, the sense of "Aha, here I am and there is nothing to do but be. — A.H. Almaas

Hatred wants to annihilate, but it annihilates by destroying, by making our awareness dull, by suppressing, by dividing. True Nature does not really annihilate, because something is not wiping out something else--there is no duality. The kind of annihilation that True Nature makes possible is more of a recognition, a precise understanding that Being reveals in us. We have no inner agitation in our attitude; we see and understand whatever impediment is arising, but we do not give it energy in the form of reaction, and thus it becomes still on its own and does not appear. We experience this as a dissolving or a melting, but what is actually happening is that the energy fueling the obstacle disappears, the obstacle loses its dynamism, and it simply stops arising. — A.H. Almaas

We are not separate. Our sense of separateness is superficial and exist only in the physical dimension. In our human element, we are not separate; we're very much connected. Every other human being is just as precious as we are, and worthy of as much respect and love and consideration. This understanding needs to manifest in our conduct in each moment. This is the part of the Work that will transform you. — A.H. Almaas

When we blend courage and compassion, assertiveness and gentleness, our essential strength and kindness support us in being where we are. — A.H. Almaas

One cannot seek happiness, for it is the result of realizing the Truth. The personality, which has security and pleasure as its aims, cannot be happy. Pursuing pleasure or safety will entail covering up any unpleasant or frightening truths. This automatically closes Joy. For Joy is the radiance of the heart when Truth is appreciated. — A.H. Almaas

If we are to reach certainty and true autonomy of realization, we need to be willing to be heretics. What's more, we need to become universal heretics, not believing anything that we do not know from direct experience, beyond stories, beyond hearsay, and even beyond the mind. — A.H. Almaas

The (narcissitic) rage may turn into, or be accompanied by, a cold hatred that gives her qualities of power, invincibility, and calculation. This hatred underlies the desire for vengeance, for wanting to inflict pain and suffering, and for actually enjoying getting back at the person who failed her. — A.H. Almaas

When we look at a child, we see that sense of fullness, of intrinsic aliveness, of joy in being, is not the result of something else. There is value in just being oneself, it is not because of something one does or doesn't do. It is there in the beginning, when we are children, but slowly it gets lost. — A.H. Almaas

As long as you hold onto wanting something from the outside, you will be dissatisfied because there is a part of you that you are till not totally owning...How can you be a complete and fulfilled if you believe that you cannot own this part [of yourself] until somebody else does something?...If it is conditional, it is not totally yours. — A.H. Almaas