Go to the truth beyond the mind. Love is the bridge.
Stephen LevineRead
Hell is not fire and brimstone, not a place where you are punished for lying or cheating or stealing. Hell is wanting to be something and somewhere different from where you are.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hell represents a state of discontent and longing for something different rather than a physical place of punishment.
In this quote, Stephen Levine suggests that true hell is not about the traditional images of fire and punishment, but rather the inner turmoil one experiences when desiring to be in a different situation or state of existence. It highlights the emotional and psychological suffering that arises from lack of acceptance and longing for change, implying that our own dissatisfaction can create a personal hell.
Themes
HellDiscontentLongingAcceptanceSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about embracing your current life situation.
More from Stephen Levine
All quotes →In Chinese, the word for heart and mind is the same -- Hsin. For when the heart is open and the mind is clear they are of one substance, of one essence.
Stephen LevineRead
I have seen many die, surrounded by loved ones, and their last words were ‘I love you.’ There were some who could no longer speak yet with their eyes and soft smile left behind that same healing message. I have been in rooms where those who were dying made it feel like sacred ground. (26)
Stephen LevineRead
Our suffering is caused by holding on to how things might have been, should have been, could have been.
Stephen LevineRead
If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay. (48)
Stephen LevineRead
I have seem even those who have long since abjured God die in grace. . . . Atheists don't use their drying to bargain for a better seat at the table; indeed they may not even believe supper is being served. They are not storing up 'merit.'; They just smile because their heart is ripe. They are kind for no particular reason; they just love.
Stephen LevineRead
Similar quotes
Philosophy, most broadly viewed, is the critical survey of existence from the standpoint of value.
Sidney HookRead
I think that a young state, like a young virgin, should modestly stay at home, and wait the application of suitors for an alliance with her; and not run about offering her amity to all the world; and hazarding their refusal. Our virgin is a jolly one; and tho at present not very rich, will in time be a great fortune, and where she has a favorable predisposition, it seems to me well worth cultivating.
Benjamin FranklinRead
At the end of the day, it's not about starting a game in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl, or getting to the Hall of Fame. It's about representing yourself in a way that represents your faith.
Kurt WarnerRead
Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.
Jonathan NolanRead
Our present will become the past of other men and women. We depend on them to remember it with the complexity with which it was suffered. As others, once, depended on us.
Eavan BolandRead
If people reach perfection they vanish, you know.
T. H. WhiteRead