In terms of soul work, we dare not get rid of the pain before we have learned what it has to teach us.
Richard RohrFaith does not need to push the river because faith is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing. We are in it.
Richard RohrOur culture is almost entirely prepared to not just help you create your false self, but to get very identified with it and attached to it. So, without some form of God experience, which teaches you who you are apart from that - we would say in the religious world, who you are "in" God, in the mind and heart of God - there's almost no way to get out of it.
Richard RohrLife is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.
Richard RohrI think most human beings are dualistic thinkers. It gets them through the day. It gives them a sense of superiority and security - that's what the ego wants.
Richard RohrYour false self is always that which is passing away. Your true self doesn't go up or down, it's constant - it's a rock. Once you learn how to live there, what others say about you, your failures or successes - these don't send you on a roller coaster ride down or up. It's really the only way to peace. There's no other way to be peaceful except in the true self.
Richard Rohr