Edith Stein Quotes

The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.

The final goal of all human endeavor is the development of the human soul.

I was in my late thirties and decided my intention in life had nothing to do with the acquiring of material things, but rather it was now my intention to experience the evolution of my own soul and to grow spiritually. I wanted to come to know the highest truths of life and to express those truths in action, through myself. I wanted to become the grandest version of the greatest idea I ever held about who I am in regards to my relationship with God.

In the history of a soul’s evolution there is a critical point of the human incarnation that decides for us whether we stay there, go down or progress upwards. There is a knot of worldly desires impeding us; cut the knot by mastering desires and go forward. This done, progress is assured.

What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.

The sacred duty of being an individual is to gradually learn how to live so as to awaken the eternal within you.

I'm on a missionary journey to become the best version of myself.

Sometimes I attract roles that are necessary either for personal growth or enlightenment.

Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world.

Your soul's desires compel you to grow, evolve and move closer to your highest potential.

Science, which has transformed the material world, gives man the power of transforming himself.

Marrying Martin and the movement perfected my journey of discovery, soothed my yearning to pour out the values and vision within my soul.

We will not find the inner strength to evolve to a higher level if we do not inwardly develop this profound feeling that there is something higher than ourselves.

It's degrading or insulting to say somebody is a good person or has a soul. Each person has built this incredibly complex structure, and if you attribute it to a magical pearl in the middle of an oyster that makes you good, that's trivializing a person and keeps you from thinking of what's really happening.

Our souls must become expanded by the contemplation of Nature's grandeur, before we can fully comprehend the greatness of man.

In a sense, it's less about seeing how high up I can vault than about seeing how deeply I can explore my potential...Ambition for me is about the willingness to work, the ability to mine my own soul fearlessly.

Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality. One can judge objectively to what extent a person has succeeded in his task, to what degree he has realized his potentialities. If he has failed in his task, one can recognize this failure and judge it for what it is - a moral failure.

The very purpose of life is to reach the highest possible flowering.

Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become oak trees.

Arise, transcend Thyself, Thou art man and the whole nature of man Is to become more than himself.

Every individual has in himself perfection. It lies within the dark recesses of his physical being.

The authentic self is the best part of a human being. It's the part of you that already cares, that is already passionate about evolution. When your authentic self miraculously awakens and becomes stronger than your ego, then you will truly begin to make a difference in this world. You will literally enter into a partnership with the creative principle.

Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory or one of unthinkable horror.

As far as I'm concerned, the spiritual life is just like any other endeavor-you can succeed or fail. And when the goal is actual evolution beyond ego in an intersubjective context, success or failure is plain for all to see.