Character Quotes

"Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." ~ Unknown

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; You are the only one who gets burned." ~ Unknown

"There is no amount of suffering you can wish upon another that will heal your own pain. Love, forgiveness and compassion are the only remedies for alleviating your own anguish." ~ Chris W Metz

"There was a startling recognition that the nature of the universe was not as I had been taught… I not only saw the connectedness, I felt it.… I was overwhelmed with the sensation of physically and mentally extending out into the cosmos. I realized that this was a biological response of my brain attempting to reorganize and give meaning to information about the wonderful and awesome processes that I was privileged to view." ~ Edgar Mitchell

"You see how diminutive your life and concerns are compared to other things in the universe… The result is that you enjoy the life that is before you… It allows you to have inner peace." ~ Edward Gibson

My mental boundaries expanded when I viewed the Earth against a black and uninviting vacuum, yet my country's rich traditions had conditioned me to look beyond man-made boundaries and prejudices. One does not have to undertake a space flight to come by this feeling. ~ Rakesh Sharma

"It was like drinking from a fire hose of information...I had heard of the Overview Effect but, having done many extreme things in my life...skydiving, mountain climbing, visiting the Titanic and Antarctica, I didn't think it would greatly affect me... That is until... I got into space! My life has changed because of my space experience." ~ Richard Garriott

A Chinese tale tells of some men sent to harm a young girl who, upon seeing her beauty, become her protectors rather than her violators. That's how I felt seeing the Earth for the first time. I could not help but love and cherish her. ~ Taylor Wang

“On my four space shuttle flights… I struggled constantly to make sense of an avalanche of new sensations and perceptions.” ~ Thomas Jones

“I saw for the first time the earth's shape. I could easily see the shores of continents, islands, great rivers, folds of the terrain, large bodies of water. The horizon is dark blue, smoothly turning to black... the feelings which filled me I can express with one word-joy.” ~ Yuri Gagarin

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

When we deprive ourselves of love, affection, self-respect, we over-compensate that loss with the ego. We scramble to be recognized, acknowledged, wanted, needed; and ultimately drain anything left of us that is authentic. ~ Amy Jalepeno

“Of course, being open and vulnerable will lead us to, sometimes, experience pain. But what is pain? It is simply a feeling. It is not forever. If you get pain from some person or thing too many times, you can always walk away. To risk a lifetime without pleasure simply to avoid pain is ludicrous.” ~ Vironika Tugaleva

"Vulnerability is the only door through which others are invited into our hearts. By being genuine we show others where that door is located. By being authentic we show others the untidy parts of our inner world. To let in is to simultaneously show them where the pain hides in us." ~ Chris W Metz

"We love seeing raw truth and openness in other people, but we’re afraid to let them see it in us. We're afraid that our truth isn't enough - that what we have to offer isn't enough without the bells and whistles, without the editing, and impressing." ~ Brene Brown

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” ~ Brene Brown

"When we are Authentic, Vulnerable and Grateful we give the best we have to offer others, in turn we will receive the best that others have to give." ~ Chris W Metz

"To authentically give of anything, one must first possess it within themselves." ~ Chris W Metz

"Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don't mask or deny your vulnerability; it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable; quake in your boots with it. The new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open." ~ Steven Russell

“Suppose you are drinking a cup of tea. When you hold the cup, you may like to breath in, to bring your mind back to your body, and you become fully present. You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea. Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup. Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy. If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea. You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone. Life is like that. If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone. You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life. It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished. Learn to let it go. The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it. Worrying is worthless. When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop
worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment. Then you will begin to enjoy the joy in life.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Why is [the now] the most precious thing? Firstly, because it is the only thing. It’s all there is. The eternal present is the space within which your whole life unfolds, the factor that remains constant. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be. Secondly, the Now is the only point that can take you beyond the limited confines of your mind. It is your only point of access to the timeless and formless realm of Being. ~ Eckhart Tolle

“Everything our life has been, or will ever be, is a result of how we consciously or unconsciously manage our present moments.”
~ Chris W Metz

"The average person looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness and talks without thinking." ~ Leonardo da Vinci

"When we are unaware of what we are looking for, we will never appreciate what we find." ~ Chris W Metz

"Being fully present as you make choices, will increase the choices you can make."
~ Chris W Metz

"The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments." ~ Thich-Nhat-Hanh

"There is a destiny that belief fulfills." ~ Chris W Metz

“Limiting beliefs may not at first appear consciously to you. You may find yourself in situations and wonder how and why the same types of things continue to happen to you, more than likely a limiting belief is at play.” ~ Chris W Metz

"Without beliefs we would not know what is true for ourselves, by formulating a belief we create the reality of what is true in our own world."
~ Chris W Metz

"The mind is infinite in its capacity to store information, with one exception, beliefs and ideas. The mind cannot hold opposing ideas or beliefs and therefore must evict some before others are allowed residence." ~ Chris W Metz

Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

During our reflection in the abyss, we become open to shedding our old beliefs. If we go through life clinging to old beliefs then we can never change our foundation of thought. Without a change in our thought processes, our lives will continue to be the same. Once we have discovered truth and experience nothing but joy, love, compassion and peace, further changes to our thought process becomes unnecessary. So we must acknowledge that holding onto antiquated beliefs will prevent us from achieving this state. If one embarks on a road to enlightenment they must be willing to examine their entire belief system and must also be prepared to alter those beliefs in order to change their experience of life. ~ Chris W Metz, The Road Out Of The Abyss

“Everyone develops a system of thought through life. It becomes so entrenched, we rarely if ever consider other ways of thinking. These repetitive thought processes are responsible for how we perceive the world and our response to given stimuli. This can be thought of with a tree analogy. All of the experiences and beliefs that we have established (i.e. roots,) produce what we see as growth above ground (our behaviours and thought processes.) It is very difficult to think differently when our roots (experience and beliefs) have already established their network in the ground. Only by uplifting or transplanting this metaphorical tree into a new ground environment are we able to change our system of thought. Here there are new things to uncover and new beliefs to establish. This makes it more likely we will make changes to our thought processes and beliefs. Only then can we experience a life that will change with a different system of thought. The fundamental basis of this change results from establishing new beliefs or truths for ourselves. This in turn establishes new ways of thinking thus changing our experience in life. The concept to understand is life is an idea. We live our life based on an idea we have formulated about it. All of the ensuing experiences we have are just reflections of our belief about life.” ~ Chris W Metz, The Road Out Of The Abyss

“Our beliefs and how we react to them are similar to how a blind person might navigate their world in the dark. We learn from repetition, what hurts, where to navigate, expecting what to feel after reaching so far. In many ways this is how we navigating through life with our beliefs. We learn the easiest paths, learn to steer clear of obstacles but admittedly will never know those things that lie in the darkness. We build a familiarity to our world and perceived reality by following the same paths and reacting in the same ways. holding onto the same beliefs we know without any doubt what to expect as we navigate our way. Those beliefs and patterns of behavior, whether they are good or bad, provide a safety net and structure for us. Beliefs allow us to interpret the world with certainty as to why things happen. We find comfort in the repetition of events and our belief in why they are occurring. Thinking in this way we react to life with programmed responses and this predictability brings us comfort.”
~ Chris W Metz, The Road Out Of The Abyss

"Every emotional response we have is based on our belief about something. Our feelings and emotions come about based upon our interactions with situations, places and things and the resulting belief we form about them." ~ Chris W Metz, The Road Out Of The Abyss

“The power of our beliefs can work in either direction to become life affirming or life denying.”
~ Gregg Braden

“Beliefs are the fields in which the seed of our ideas grow.” ~ Chris W Metz

“Beliefs are merely the first interpretations of experience we formulate with an undeveloped mind. Most likely we have forgotten what the experience was or why we interpreted it the way we did.” ~ Chris W Metz

“We will experience everything we think. Every thought we cast into existence, is a cause demanding an effect on some plane, in some manner, in some space of time. Whether those effects come to us immediately, in this life, or another life is inconsequential. Every thought is a cause producing an effect. For this reason i implore you to guard your thoughts carefully.” ~ Chris W Metz

“We can never know the long term effects of any single act. What may appear as immediate and visual, contains a tail that drags far beyond the body of occurrence. Whether the attributes of good or bad are contained within this tail depends largely on the spirit in which the act was carried out.” ~ Chris W Metz