Millman Quotes & Sayings

Conscious evolution begins as we take responsibility for clearing our own obstructions. — Dan Millman

Energy follows thought; no matter how hard we work or how much we know, we tend to rise to our assumed limits, and no higher. — Dan Millman

Do you have the courage for it? Do you have the love? If you have enough of one, you will develop the other. — Dan Millman

I recommend the following course of action for those who are just beginning their careers or for those like me, who may be reconfiguring midway through: heed the words of Robert Frost. Start with a big, fat lump in your throat, start with a profound sense of wrong, a deep homesickness, or a crazy lovesickness, and run with it. — Debbie Millman

When a man has learned to live without money, he thought, a few rubles can go a long way. — Dan Millman

A Zen student asked his roshi the most important element of Zen.The roshi replied, "Attention." "Yes, thank you," the student replied. "But can you tell me the second most important element?"And the roshi replied, "Attention." — Dan Millman

Travel is the realm of the impossible adventures, the quick fix, the ship passing in the night. It entitles you to meet interesting people, whom you would never meet, even if you laid traps or advertised for them. Not only do you met them, but you also unmeet them, all in the space of, it often seems, a mere compacted evening. As there is so little time, bodies in motion drop their guard and immediately get on with their stories. Then the proverbial ships part, each to its destination, never again to brush each other's wake. — Lawrence Millman

A flash of enlightenment offers a preview of coming attractions, but when it fades, you will see more clearly what separates you from that state - your compulsive habits, outmoded beliefs, false associations, and other mental structures. Just when our lives are starting to get better, we may feel like things are getting worse - because for the first time we see clearly what needs to be done. — Dan Millman

Stress happens when the mind resists what is. Most of us tend to either push or resist the river of our lives, to fight circumstance rather than make use of things as they are. Resistance creates turbulence, which you feel as physical, mental, and emotional tension. Tension is a subtle pain, which - like any pain - signals that something is amiss. When we are out of natural balance, we create tension; by listening to our body, we can take responsibility for releasing it. — Dan Millman

There are no mistakes, only lessons.
If you don't learn the lesson the first time, they get harder. — Dan Millman

What is that yellow stuff in the bottle, Soc?" "Urine, with a few herbs." "Urine!" I said, pulling my leg away from him in disgust. "Don't be silly," he said, grabbing my leg and pulling it back. "Urine is a respected elixir in the ancient healing traditions. — Dan Millman

The peaceful warrior's greatest battles don't lie in the external world, but within us. These inner hurdles generate most of the obstacles and difficulties we encounter in daily life. They carry greater danger than outer problems, because they slip, unseen and unnoticed, into our every endeavor. — Dan Millman

Happiness is not just something you feel - it is who you are. — Dan Millman

Unless the desire to change remains strong, body and mind tend to return to old, familiar patterns. It takes time-from three to six months-for old habits to become obsolete. By the end of that time, you'll have adapted to a new pattern. In a sense, you'll have found a new way of life. — Dan Millman

Consciousness is not in the body; the body is in consciousness. And you are that consciousness. — Dan Millman

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters Chapter I: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. . . . I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Chapter II: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in this same place. But it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Chapter III: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in . . . it's a habit . . . but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. Chapter IV: I walk down the same street There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Chapter V: I walk down another street. — Dan Millman

Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear. — Dan Millman

We all have the archetype inside us of the enlightened being. — Dan Millman

It feels nice to be comfortable, but if we're comfortable all the time, we miss out on the chance to stretch and grow. — Dan Millman

Stable happiness doesn't come from getting everything we want, because we never will; true happiness comes from wanting whatever we get. — Dan Millman

Wake up! If you knew for certain you had a terminal illness
if you had little time left to live
you would waste precious little of it! Well, I'm telling you ... you do have a terminal illness: It's called birth. You don't have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason
or you will never be at all. — Dan Millman

Only then do I realize that the jewel had always been with in me, even then and that the light had always shinned, only my eyes were closed — Dan Millman

If you want a kinder world, then behave with kindness; if you want a peaceful world, make peace within. — Dan Millman

We discover our character through decisions under pressure. — Dan Millman

Faith is our direct link to universal wisdom, reminding us that we know more than we have heard or read or studied that we have only to look, listen, and trust the love and wisdom of the Universal Spirit working through us all. — Dan Millman

Money is neither my god nor my devil. It is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it's greedy or loving. — Dan Millman

Even a dark purpose can keep a man alive. — Dan Millman

Personal and collective awakening are one and the same - when a raindrop joins the sea, the sea also merges with the raindrop. — Dan Millman

Happy people create happiness; it's the most contagious energy on Earth. Fearful, sad, angry, or miserable people only tend to spread these same qualities, even if working in the name of social conscience. — Dan Millman

You don't just have a story - you're a story in the making, and you never know what the next chapter's going to be. That's what makes it exciting. — Dan Millman

Everything you need to know is within you. Listen. Feel. Trust the body's wisdom. — Dan Millman

You don't have to control your thoughts; you just have to stop letting them control you. — Dan Millman

Our practices - our most spiritual practices - are hanging laundry on the line, raising children, building strong relationships, practicing kindness as much as we can, striving for excellence in the workplace, and developing deeper self-knowledge. I wrote The Four Purposes of Life to assist in these endeavors. — Dan Millman

Action is stronger than subjectivity. No matter what you feel or think, you can still act. — Dan Millman

My parents were only one part of my lineage. I also met a number of mentors, one of whom I nicknamed "Socrates" after the ancient Greek, and wrote about in my first book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. That book emerged in 1980, as a result of travels around the world and decades of preparation, eventually leading to 15 other books written over the years, culminating in my newest offering, The Four Purposes of Life. — Dan Millman

The hours of your life are the most valuable currency you will ever have. How will you spend them? — Dan Millman

We want our children to become who they are- and a developed person is, above all, free. But freedom as we define it doesn't mean doing what you want. Freedom means the ability to make choices that are good for you. It is the power to choose to become what you are capable of becoming, to develop your unique potential by making choices that turn possibility into reality. It is the ability to make choices that actualize you. As often as not, maybe more often than not, this kind of freedom means doing what you do not want, doing what is uncomfortable or tiring or boring or annoying — Gregory Millman

Action always happens in the present, because it is an expression of the body, which can only exist in the here and now. But the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future. It's only power over you is to draw your attention our of the present. — Dan Millman

While some of us act without thinking, too many of us think without acting. — Dan Millman

Sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy. But beneath it all remember the innate perfection of your life unfolding. That is the secret of unreasonable happiness. — Dan Millman

To be authentic literally means to be your own author. — Dan Millman

I have an almost religious zeal ... not for technology per se, but for the Internet which is for me, the nervous system of mother Earth, which I see as a living creature, linking up. — Dan Millman

A warrior doesn't seek pain, but if pain comes, he uses it. — Dan Millman

It doesn't matter what you do, only how well you do it. — Dan Millman

A man's character reveals itself most clearly when he makes a choice under pressure. — Dan Millman

When you begin your transcendental training, focusing your best efforts, without attachment to outcomes, you will understand the peaceful warrior's way. — Dan Millman

Better never begin; once begun, better finish. — Dan Millman

I invite you to drink in the divine nectar of aromatic love and let it penetrate you in the deepest, most
profound ways. Trust that the oils are working side-by-side to heal, regenerate, and teach you. The more
you use them, the more they'll reveal their secrets to you — Elana Millman

Everyone everywhere live[s] a confused, bitter search. Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner - a corner they never turned. And the source of it all [is] the human mind. — Dan Millman

You don't need to control emotion," he said. "Emotions are natural, like passing weather. Sometimes it's fear, sometimes sorrow or anger. Emotions are not the problem. The key is to transform the energy of emotion into constructive action. — Dan Millman

Peaceful warriors have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water clears. They remain unmoving until the right time, so the right action arises by itself. They do not seek fulfillment, but wait with open arms to welcome all things. — Dan Millman

Your body is malleable; you can sculpt it over time with daily habits of diet and exercise. The law of accommodation reminds us that the body may change slowly, but it will change. — Dan Millman

You have to lose your mind in order to regain your senses. — Dan Millman

No matter what we feel or know, no matter what our potential gifts or talents, only action brings them to life. Those of us who only think we understand concepts such as commitment, courage, and love, one day discover that we only know when we act; doing becomes understanding. — Dan Millman

We're all fools together," he replied. "It's just that a few people know it; others don't. You seem to be one of the latter types. Hand me that small wrench, will you? — Dan Millman

Process transforms any journey into a series of small steps, taken one by one, to reach any goal. Process transcends time, teaches patience, rests on a solid foundation of careful preparation, and embodies trust in our unfolding potential. — Dan Millman

If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. — Dan Millman

The movements of the highest warriors are relaxed and expansive because they fight for a cause larger than themselves. Only by surrendering to God's will does one find victory in battle and serenity in life. Serafim started pacing again, as he did — Dan Millman

But as we mature and begin to grasp that we are often the cause of our own difficulties, we begin a process of compassionate self-observation leading to deeper self-knowledge - denial gives way to authenticity as the light of awareness penetrates our shadow. We come to accept ourselves (and others) as we are rather than as we might want ourselves (or them) to be. And as we embrace the full scope of our humanity, we open the way to genuine growth and transformation. — Dan Millman

Carry your groceries, garden, and do other activities that keep you moving. You will add more years to your life and more life to your years. — Dan Millman

Nature's way is simple and easy, but men prefer what is intricate and artificial. - Lao Tzu — Dan Millman

People love miracle stories and dramatic moments of transcendence or transformation, and may then pursue their own dramatic "awakenings." — Dan Millman

When the mind is creating troubles, it's time to come back to the body and the serenity of the present moment. — Dan Millman

Old urges continue to arise, but urges do not matter; only actions do. A warrior is as a warrior does. — Dan Millman

No need to feel brave or confident; just behave that way. — Dan Millman

Surrender means accepting this moment, this body, and this life with open arms. Surrender involves getting out of your own way and living in accord with a higher will, expressed as the wisdom of the heart. Far more than passive acceptance, surrender uses every challenge as a means of spiritual growth and expanded awareness. — Dan Millman

Although motivation comes and goes, you can always rely on your will. — Dan Millman

I kind of got more interested in writing after I turned in my last college essay and nobody was going to tell me what kind of academic papers to write anymore. I could write whatever I wanted, and I realized that I actually liked it when I could choose what I would write. — Dan Millman

Real education is a radical process. It thumps you on the head until everything you know makes no sense anymore. Then you run around picking up the pieces of your head and picking them back together. The pieces never go back together in the same way. — Debbie Millman

Live in the Moment", "Empty Your Mind of the Trash" Wisdom is the Use of Knowledge — Dan Millman

Reason has survival value, but when overused at the expense of our intuition, feeling, and spirit, reason cuts us off from discovering our full potential. — Dan Millman

Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner - a corner they never turned. And the source of it all was the human mind. — Dan Millman

You can live a whole life time never being awake. — Dan Millman

Fear and sorrow inhibit action; anger generates it. When you learn to make proper use of your anger, you can change fear and sorrow to anger, then turn anger to action. That's the body's secret of internal alchemy. — Dan Millman

A little bit of something beats a lot of nothing. Break the largest of difficult tasks into the smallest of steps and it can be done. — Dan Millman

If we agree on everything, only one of us is necessary. — Dan Millman

The world's a puzzle; no need to make sense out of it. - Socrates — Dan Millman

Life is the only real teacher. It offers many experiences ... But the lessons of experience are hidden. — Dan Millman

As we die from one life into the next ... we may also die and be reborn in a single lifetime ... and the story, the journey, goes on and on ... — Dan Millman

Here and now ... breathe and relax ... in battle and in life — Dan Millman

I had lost my mind and fallen into my heart. — Dan Millman

There are times, you know, it's said in the Spiritual Tradition, just a glimpse at an enlightened personage can convey immense information at the sub-conscious level that sprouts later, that we don't even know. — Dan Millman

I was a world champion on the trampoline at an international level, and gymnastics competitor. — Dan Millman

Our greatest battles lie deep within our own psyches as we face fear, insecurity, and self-doubt. These internal adversaries pose a far greater threat to our lives and our well-being than the external difficulties of daily life. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Plato — Dan Millman

Peace comes not from the absence of conflict, but from the ability to cope with it. Anonymous — Dan Millman

Your greatest fear is death and your deepest craving is survival. You want Forever, you desire Eternity. In your deluded belief that you are this 'mind' or 'spirit' or 'soul', you find the escape clause in your contract with mortality. Perhaps as 'mind' you can wing free of the body when it dies, hmm? — Dan Millman

There are no ordinary moments. — Dan Millman

Managing your money does not depend upon becoming wealthy or declaring vows of poverty. Rather, it is about creating stability and sufficiency - a balanced flow of monetary energy through your life. — Dan Millman

Someday, in the moment of death, your whole life will pass before you. In a few fractions of a second-because time no longer applies-you will see many incidents from your life in order to learn. You will review your life with two questions in your consciousness: Could I have shown a little more courage in these moments? Could I have shown a little more love? You will see where you let fear stop you from expressing who you are, how you feel, or what you need. You will see whether you were able to expand into these moments, just a little, to show love, or whether you contracted. — Dan Millman

Looking back we see with great clarity, and what once appeared as difficulties now reveal themselves as blessings. — Dan Millman

Choice means saying no to one thing so you can say yes to another. — Dan Millman

Wisdom is the use of knowledge — Dan Millman

Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take. And as you begin to treat yourself with more respect, other people begin to do the same, since we subconsciously "train" others how to treat us through messages we send through body language, tone of voice, and other subtle cues and behaviors. Discovering your innate worth and living from that place allows you to make more constructive choices-to choose the higher roads of life — Dan Millman

you have to 'lose your mind' before you can come to your senses. — Dan Millman

The seed of God is in us: Pear seeds grow into pear trees; Hazel seeds into hazel trees; And God seeds into God. - Meister Eckehart — Dan Millman

Try not to compromise. So many people don't do what they really want in their hearts because they feel like they're not good enough, or they're not smart enough, or they're not talented enough ... anything. And that doesn't matter. In order for you to live a remarkable life - in order for you to live a life that is fulfilling - you need to be able to go after what you want. And if you don't, you're not going to achieve it - ever. — Debbie Millman

Every choice eventually leads to wisdom. — Dan Millman

Wake up! Wake up! Soon the person you believe you are will die - so now, wake up and be content with this knowledge: There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor, and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It's all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don't worry, you are already free!" I — Dan Millman

Choice means giving up something you want for something else you want more. — Dan Millman

The Way creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. — Dan Millman