BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, May 23rd, 2025 by M. Scott Peck in THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED AND BEYOND

“Humankind does not have the power to make the sun rise or set. We can predict and respond to the weather, but we do not determine what it will be day to day. I do not know how to create an iris or a rose; I can only steward one. So it is with myself. Presumably even more complicated than a flower, I could not possibly have imagined myself into existence. But to a considerable extent I can choose to decently nurture or not nurture myself. In other words, while I cannot be my own creator, I can play a role as co-creator.

The concept of “co-creatorship” and the responsibility it entails have become quite popular in theology in recent years. But I have not read of this responsibility being extended to its ultimate. The fact is that we humans are free to choose our own vision of God, and no choice we make can be as potent in our personal lives or our role as agents of society. So we come to a crescendo of paradox. On the one hand, God is unquestionably our creator. On the other, in choosing the kind of God we believe in, we are, in a sense, creating God, not only for ourselves but also for others who will see God reflected in our beliefs, our actions, and in our very spirit.”

M. Scott Peck, M.D., in “The Road Less Traveled and Beyond”

For more information regarding this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 by Deepak Chopra in THE WAY OF THE WIZARD

“Countless people are devastated when they lose their jobs, when their children grow up and leave home, when a beloved spouse dies. Their sense of “I” is so bound up in names, labels and roles that they haven’t made time to find out who they really are.

Being fully human makes us real. Reality can’t be defined, it can only be experienced. Be alert to those brief moments during the day when you experience your fundamental self behind a breath, a feeling, a sensation. Before you jump out of bed tomorrow, see if you can catch the fleeting hint of being, pure and simple, before the mind starts chattering. This still, silent, nameless state is very satisfying. It cannot be touched by thinking, talking, or doing. It’s the castle whose walls no army will ever scale, guarding the treasure house where the real riches of life are stored.”

Deepak Chopra, in “The Way of the Wizard”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 by John St. Augustine in LIVING AN UNCOMMON LIFE

“Author Terry Real once said, “We always marry our unfinished business,” and the same holds true for other partnerships. Just as partners can bring tremendous talent, connections, and value to the dance, they also bring along their baggage, like it or not. No partnership exists that does not have its struggles. It really has little to do with the job or project, but rather because the weaknesses of each partner are revealed (just as their strengths are) during the process of partnership. Partnership is about learning lessons. We are paired up by the architect of the universe with those who can teach the most in ways that may seem difficult on the surface, but absolutely perfect in the big scheme of things.

So many people have the opportunity to learn about themselves by being in partnerships, but they throw it away because the lessons are too hard. Take a deep look at the many partners in your life. Those people are there for a reason, some for a season, and often both. You don’t have to know why. It will be shown to you when the time is right – and you are ready.”

John St. Augustine, in “Living an Uncommon Life”

For more information regarding this book, visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 by John Randolph Price in LIVING A LIFE OF JOY

“Many of us may equate humility with weakness, whereas just the opposite is true. Just look at the antonyms of humility: pride, arrogance, rudeness, vanity, pretentiousness, pomposity, and boastfulness. A person known for these characteristics is indeed weak. True humility means being open and receptive to new ideas. It is being unpretentious. It is the consciousness of consent, a willingness to be shown the higher path through a surrender of the lower personality. With humility our true worthiness begins to shine as the noonday sun. Without it a form of rigidity may set in, which becomes another experience to work through.”

John Randolph Price, in “Living a Life of Joy”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, May 19th, 2025 by Colleen Humphries in DELIBERATE CREATION FROM A-Z – LIVING YOUR LIFE BY DESIGN

“So, how do you start to think abundantly when there are so many money issues out there; with so many people talking about how bad the economy is; with so many people still out of work and more people losing their jobs? Just how do you think abundantly? I want you to know that the Universe is ever abundant at all times. There is no big pie for all of us to just get our fair share and no more, or if we take a bigger piece, then someone else goes without. Instead, it’s like the Denny’s commercial with the “never-ending” pancakes. A man is eating a stack of pancakes and they magically fill back in where he has eaten them. It is an endless supply. That is how the Universe is with everything, a never-ending supply of whatever it is that we want. You just have to learn how to tap into it and receive it. It is there for the asking, the taking, and the receiving.

To bring more abundance into your life, start to notice abundance all around you. There is an abundant amount of stars in the sky; an abundant amount of grains of sand on the beach; an abundant amount of waves in the ocean; an abundant amount of blades of grass in lawns; an abundant amount of rain drops in a storm; an abundant amount of leaves on trees, and so on. There is always abundance in Mother Nature and everywhere else.”

Colleen Humphries, in “Deliberate Creation from A-Z – Living Your Life by Design”

For more information regarding this eBook, visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, May 16th, 2025 by Alan Cohen in THE DRAGON DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

“If you now have negative circumstances in your life, cease to dwell on them mentally, and they will leave you. The best way to get rid of an unwelcome guest who lingers at your home is to empty the refrigerator. He’ll be forced to seek refuge elsewhere. When we stop feeding our bad habits and conditions with thought and feeling energy, they will drop off like an old scab. If we pull out the plug from an electromagnet, all of the scraps of junk metal that cling to it fall off instantly. Refuse to water a weed, and die it must. Negative circumstances cannot survive when we refuse to sustain them with emotional energy.”

Alan Cohen, in “The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS Thursday, May 15th, 2025 by Dan Millman in EVERYDAY ENLIGHTENMENT

“The moment we recognize the degree to which our difficulties are SELF-IMPOSED, we begin to heal them. We end self-sabotage only by taking responsibility for the choices and actions that created it. Only when we stop blaming our boss or government or parents or spouse or partner or children or circumstances or fate or God can we change our lives and say with conviction, “I chose where I am now, and I can choose something better.”

Whether or not adversity is a self-sabotage or a spiritual lesson, when a misfortune does occur, something rather surprising can happen. Many survivors of serious maladies – with all the pain and suffering – report experiencing a kind of inner peace they had not felt before. Pain has a way of clearing the subconscious scorecard, as if the adversity and suffering pays off sins real or imagined. It’s as if you finally get punished for all those things you said or didn’t say, did or didn’t do, and the scales are finally balanced. The psyche finds ingenious, sometimes tragic ways to find peace.”

Dan Millman, in “Everyday Enlightenment”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 by Gary Spinell in BEYOND INTENT

“Giving is the perfect way to enhance our self-worth. We can give in any way possible. We can give our time, our energy, our knowledge, and if possible our money. When we give to others we more readily see our value to the world. We use our special talents to help others, and in doing so recognize our own unique value to the world.

Appreciate what you have and be thankful. Focus on what you have and not what you lack. Focusing on our lack is a form of negative prosperity. Your focus on what you lack reinforces the Universe to continue with your lacking further abundance. Therefore, first recognize that you have something. At the end of each day make a list, even if there are only a couple of experiences that day for which to be thankful. Start by acknowledging that these two people or events brought you joy or abundance in some form. Follow this pattern every day, and eventually there will be three, four, five, or more items for which to be thankful. Or there will be one occurrence for which there is greater abundance and significance in your life. The key is to start with small steps.”

Gary Spinell, in “Beyond Intent”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 by Eckhart Tolle in THE POWER OF NOW

“When there is no way out, there is still always a way THROUGH. So don’t turn away from the pain. Face it. Feel it fully. FEEL it – don’t THINK about it! Express it if necessary, but don’t create a script in your mind around it. Give all your attention to the feeling, not to the person, event, or situation that seems to have caused it. Don’t let the mind use the pain to create a victim identity for yourself out of it. Feeling sorry for yourself and telling others your story will keep you stuck in suffering.”

Eckhart Tolle, in “The Power of Now”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

BONUS “BEST of” PONDER on THIS

“There’s a light in the depths
of your darkness.
There’s a calm at the eye
of every storm.
There’s a light in the depths
of your darkness.
Let it shine
Oh, let it shine.”

Dan Fobelberg, in “There’s A Place in the World for a Gambler”

For more information visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, May 12th, 2025 by Danielle Rama Hoffman in THE COUNCIL OF LIGHT

“It is up to you to have fun, to find the fun in it, to find the joy in it, and if you have the curiosity to look for what is fun you will find it. If you are looking for the stress or feeling of being overwhelmed in the situation then you will find that as well. It is all about what you are looking for in each moment. It is for the fun of it these days that you are working; it is for the fun of it these days that you are in relationship; it is for the fun of it that you spend time with your friends and your family; it is for the fun of it that you travel; it is for the fun of it that you have kittens, or plants; it is for the fun of it that you take a shower; it is for the fun of it that you eat; it is for the fun of it that you exercise; it is for the fun of it that you drive; it is for the fun of it that you do or don’t do anything.

Saying that you are doing something for the fun of it carries an entirely different energy that if you say it is for work, for finances, or for the saving of the planet. Those all have a different frequency of tonality than simply saying that it is for the fun of it. When you say it is simply for the fun of it – and that it is so much fun – then you’re able to allow things to be what they are.”

Danielle Rama Hoffman, in “The Council of Light”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, May 9th, 2025 by Sanaya Roman in LIVING WITH JOY

“If you want the people around you to experience your power and recognize who you are, listen to them with your heart and do not worry about the impression you are making on them. Care about them, and attend to them. Pay attention with your heart, and focus on how you may raise their consciousness and energy.

True power can be seen in the eyes. There is such love in the eyes of those who are truly powerful, and they look at you directly. They do not avoid your eyes, but look straight into them. You feel they really care about you. They pay attention to what you are saying. Do you give that kind of alert awareness to people? Do you pay attention? Do you look in their eyes when you speak?”

Sanaya Roman, in “Living with Joy”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

BONUS “BEST of” PONDER on THIS by Tama Kieves in A YEAR WITHOUT FEAR

“Crave answers? I’ve seen people slap and patch together decisions just so they could leave the wilderness of not knowing. Hungry for certainty, they sign up for programs, go back to school, take the job that’s offered, rather than stay honest with themselves. These forced answers will come apart with the first strong wind. Id’ suggest letting go of the need to figure out what you will do with the rest of your life. What do you know just for this instant? Each moment is a bread crumb that will lead you to the gingerbread house.”

Tama Kieves, in “A Year Without Fear”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Thursday, May 8th, 2025 by Fr. Anthony DeMello in AWARENESS

“What kind of feeling comes upon you when you’re in touch with nature, or when you’re absorbed in work that you love? Or when you’re really conversing with someone whose company you enjoy in openness and intimacy without clinging? What kind of feelings do you have? Compare those feelings with the feelings you have when you win an argument, or when you win a race, or when you become popular, or when everybody’s applauding you. The latter feelings I call worldly feelings; the former feelings I call “soul” feelings.

Lots of people gain the world and lose their soul. Lots of people live empty, soulless lives because they’re feeding themselves on popularity, appreciation, and praise, on “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.,” look at me, attend to me, support me, value me, on being the boss, on having power, on winning the race. Do you feed yourself on that? If you do, you’re DEAD. You’ve lost your soul. Feed yourself on other more nourishing material. Then you’ll see the transformation.”

Fr. Anthony DeMello, S.J., in “Awareness”

For more information regarding this book, visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 by Mark Nepo in THE BOOK OF AWAKENING

“We are at best filled with the divine, but we have only two hands and one heart. In a deep and subtle way, the want to do it all is a want to be it all, and though it comes from a desire to do good, it often becomes frenzied because our egos seize our goodness as a way to be revered…Helen Luke speaks to this when she talks of the trap of good works. She refers to “those who take refuge from themselves in an unreflective pursuit of good, pouring all their energy into the redemption of society and other people, while blind to their own personal darkness.”

It seems the old adage is a place to start: Do one thing and do it well. Though I would offer it as: Do one thing at a time and do it entirely, and it will lead you to the next moment of love.”

Mark Nepo, in “The Book of Awakening”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, May 6th, 2025 by Dan Millman in EVERYDAY ENLIGHTENMENT

“Banish the illusion that certain professions are inherently better than others. A job or profession is only better or worse for YOU, depending upon your tastes and values. There are people in every field who are happy with their work and others who are unhappy with it. The key is finding work that matches your values and challenges your capacities. Finding the inherent meaning in any work is one of life’s great blessings. More accurately, you don’t FIND meaning in work; you BESTOW meaning upon your work.”

Dan Millman, in “Everyday Enlightenment”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, May 5th, 2025 by Tama Kieves in A YEAR WITHOUT FEAR

“For most of us, moving beyond fear is not an overnight shift. It’s not a pill. It’s a practice. It’s a pilgrimage. It’s a commitment to fill our minds with the new conditioning, new perspectives – basically, the ideals that set us free.

By the way, fear, as I’m talking about it, isn’t just terror. It’s insecurity. Shame. Anger. Bitterness. Guilt. Frustration. Anything that blocks your peace of mind or joy. Or holds you back from what you desire. People ask me, “You mean I shouldn’t ever have fear. What about normal fear like when I see a tiger?”

I’m all for your natural and brilliant instincts. I bless the fight-or-flight response that saves your life. I do not bless the kind of fear that destroys or drains your life. There is a difference. Likewise, I bless the healing face of grief or the kind of anger that moves you toward actions or awareness that serve your wholeness. I do not bless emotional states that keep you stuck.”

Tama Kieves, in “A Year Without Fear”

For more information about this book visit Amazon

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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