Top 15 Angeles Arrien Quotes

When we experience confusion, we should wait rather than act. If circumstances make it impossible not to act, we should seek pockets of clarity and act only in those areas. (p121)

The principle Teacher of detachment in Nature is often Grandmother Ocean, who is the primary nature example of flexibility and resilience. (p119)

Our reactions to the new experiences we meet daily may well be a preparation for how we will handle or approach our death. Do we approach new experiences with curiosity, wonder, or excitement? Or do we handle the unexpected and unfamiliar by becoming controlling and fearful? (p115)

It is important to consider in what ways we can bring forward the "good, true, and beautiful" that is carried in our heritage; and to know that the quality of our life contributes to the opportunities and challenges for future generations to come. (p115)

In the West we know almost too well the importance of activity and movement; we also need to understand that silence and periods of solitude are essential ways to open to inner guidance and to replenish our soul. (p117)

If we observe what causes us to lose our sense of humor, we can identify our point of attachment. Where we maintain our sense of humor is where we are detached and can remain flexible. (p111)

The way of the Teacher is a practice in trust. Trust is the container out of which the qualities of wisdom grow: clarity, objectivity, discernment, and detachment. Wisdom is at work when we are open to all options. (p109)

The way of the Teacher accesses the human resource of wisdom, and every culture has traditional and nontraditional means of education. Whether it is an established school system or an apprenticeship, the process of learning and teaching is universal.
The principle that guides the Teacher is to be open to outcome, not attached to outcome. The Teacher has wisdom, teaches trust, and understands the need for detachment. (p109)

Creative individuals are open to multiple ways of looking; and they are very facile in letting go and moving toward options or perspectives they had not considered. (p99)

Where we lose our capacity to play or to maintain our sense of humor, we find ourselves either seeing only that which is not working, or becoming attached to our own perception as the only viewpoint to have. In either case, whether it's our blind spots or fixed perspectives, we lack spontaneity and become over-identified with our own ways of looking at things. (p99)

Those shadow parts of us will dominate or persist until they are integrated. (p96)

When we can answer "yes" to the question, "Is my self-worth as strong as my self-critic?" then we are ready to engage our creative expression beyond patterns of denial or indulgence. (p82)

People who make scenes, throw tantrums, or blow things out of proportion actually have a strong need for acceptance. Because they are terrified of their own feelings of insecurity or vulnerability, they use exaggeration as a way to hide those feelings. (p81)

We express denial in our lives when we avoid certain people or issues and when we see things only as we want them to be rather than to accept them as they are. Underneath every denial pattern is the underlying fear that we will not be able to handle conflict and a deep human need to maintain peace, balance, and harmony at all costs. In deep denial we will abandon ourselves to keep the peace rather than communicate our feelings directly. (p81)

Many times, we are forced at an early age to hide our true selves in order to survive. At some point this hiding becomes unnecessary, yet we find it hard to break the habit. Every day we choose anew whether we will support the authentic self or the false self. (p80)