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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Friendship

"On this side, when I met my beloved ... I became herself - she was (so to speak) transformed into me. All that she knew and felt became the content of my consciousness. All that I had attempted and achieved, all that I had failed to accomplish, yet battled and struggled to complete, was known to her as no words, no thoughts even, as earth uses the terms, could have conveyed. We were one, yet individually our own very separate selves, knowing as we were known, to the full extent of each other's capacity. Capacity is the only limitation in the spiritual realms." Archdeacon Wilberforce, Letters from the Other Side

Compare to the following, from Excursions to the Spirit World by Frederick C. Sculthorp: “So I concentrated my thoughts on her and simply said: ‘Come!’ After a short pause my wife suddenly appeared in the lane walking towards me. I felt very happy at the success of my telepathic call… as she came closer, I noticed that her features were exactly as they had been on earth. Then, as our auras met, there was a transformation. [Her features] were perfection. She was my same companion, but different; yet I knew her better than I had ever done before. I would have recognized her unfailingly, even with my eyes closed, because her whole life and personality were contained within her aura and I could sense the years of her companionship with me. I was also aware that she knew me better than she ever did before. There seemed to be a wonderful harmony between us, for we both uttered the same words of greeting and blessing at the same instant. After that we did not trouble to speak with our lips -- speech was too slow… we were able to exchange thoughts with unbelievable rapidity.”

Editor's 1-Minute Essay: Friendship

Seneca: “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

Frank Crane: “What is a friend? I will tell you… it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.”

Friedrich Nietzsche: “Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.”

Vincent van Gogh: “Close friends are truly life’s treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone.”

Dalai Lama: “We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”

John Quincy Adams: “The influence of each human being on others in this life is a kind of immortality.”

Thomas Fuller: “If you have one true friend, you have more than your share.”

Ludwig van Beethoven: “Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours.”

George Washington: “Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”

Arnold H. Glasow: “A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.”

Plutarch: “I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.”

Oscar Wilde: “A true friend stabs you in the front.”

Benjamin Disraeli: “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.”

Where is the voice to answer mine back?