Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep the truth and let God go.
Meister EckhartRead
Philosophers say the Soul is double-faced, her upper face gazes at God all the time and her lower face looks somewhat down, informing the senses; and the upper face, which is the summit of the soul, is in eternity and has nothing to do with time: it knows nothing of time or of body.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote describes the duality of the soul, emphasizing its spiritual connection to the eternal while being grounded in the physical world.
Meister Eckhart's quote portrays the concept of the soul as having two aspects: one that is constantly oriented towards the divine and eternal, and another that engages with the material world and sensory experiences. This duality illustrates the tension between spiritual enlightenment and earthly existence, suggesting that while the upper face of the soul seeks unity with God and transcends the limitations of time and the physical body, the lower face remains in touch with our sensory perceptions and the realities of life.
Themes
SoulSpiritualityDualityEternitySensesPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about spirituality and the nature of existence, this quote can illustrate the balance between the physical and the spiritual.
More from Meister Eckhart
All quotes →...Where and when God finds you ready, he must act and overflow into you, just as when the air is clear and pure, the sun must overflow into it and cannot refrain from doing that.
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What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to the son of God fourteen hundred years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born.
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In this breaking-through, I receive that God and I are one. Then I am what I was, and then I neither diminish nor increase, for I am then an immovable cause that moves all things.
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Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God.
Meister EckhartRead
If you love yourself, you love everybody else as you do yourself. As long as you love another person less than you love yourself, you will not really succeed in loving yourself but if you love all alike, including yourself, you will love them as one person and that person is both God and man.
Meister EckhartRead
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