Quotes by John Bradshaw

“Children are curious and are risk takers. They have lots of courage. They venture out into a world that is immense and dangerous. A child initially trusts life and the processes of life.”

“Children are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment.”

“Its okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers - they help us to learn.”

“Its essential to tell the truth at all times. This will reduce lifes pain. Lying distorts reality. All forms of distorted thinking must be corrected.”

“It is a mark of soulfulness to be present in the here and now. When we are present, we are not fabricating inner movies. We are seeing what is before us.”

“Ego is to the true self what a flashlight is to a spotlight.”

“I think it was a very worthwhile meeting. I feel we learned a lot and I feel we had the opportunity to express our opinions.”

“You can find more traditional Shakespeare than we do. But what we want to bring to these works is energy, passion, freshness.”

“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”

“If you lie and then tell the truth, the truth will be considered a lie”

“With lies you may go ahead in the world - but you can never go back”

“When you rationalize, you do just that. You make rational lies.”

“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.”

“One may sometimes tell a lie, but the grimace that accompanies it tells the truth.”

“Pleasure is a sort of oblivion, a forgetfulness. Pain is remembrance, you cannot forget pain.”

“Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobodys looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when youre misunderstood.”

The feeling of righteousness is the core mood alteration among religious addicts. Religious addiction is a massive problem in our society. It may be the most pernicious of all addictions because it’s so hard for a person to break his delusion and denial. How can anything be wrong with loving God and giving your life for good works and service to mankind?

Shame is internalized when one is abandoned. Abandonment is the precise term to describe how one loses one’s authentic self and ceases to exist psychologically.

True love heals and affects spiritual growth. If we do not grow because of someone else’s love, it’s generally because it is a counterfeit form of love.

Hell, in my opinion, is never finding your true self and never living your own life or knowing who you are.