Anjard, Ron

The summation of all things is not God; it is man's limited perception of God.

Bach, Richard

The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
- From Illusions

Blake, William

If the doors of perception were cleansed
Everything would appear as it is.
Infinite.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishads 4.4.18

He who knows God as the Life of life, the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind, he indeed comprehends fully the Cause of all causes.

Carlin, George

Just when I found out the meaning of life, they changed it.

Eckhart, Meister

When the soul wishes to experience something, she simply throws out an image, and enters into it.

Hifler, Joyce

We have often heard it said that God never closes one door unless he opens another. It is a great comfort to know we never really lose when we believe, for any defeat can be turned to good if we will absorb the lesson in it. And yet, how often we refuse to go through that door that has been opened for us. It is so much easier to stand back and wail about the closed one. There seems to be a certain amount of glorification in defeat. Sometimes a door will close for us because that particular one would have caused us more unhappiness, but it never closes for punishment. God is love-and love does not punish, nor does it have any power but to give what is right and good for us. With this knowledge we can walk with grace through those doors that open to us.

Katha Upanishad 2:3:8

As in a mirror, so (it is seen) in the soul, as in a dream, so in the world of the manes, as (an object) is seen in water, so in the world of the gandharvas; as shade and light in the world of Brahma.

Kena Upanishad

What intelligence utters the speech, as well as direct the ears and the eyes to hear or to see?

Maitreya Upanishads 3.2

Being overcome by the fruits of his action, he enters a good or an evil womb, so that his course is downward or upward, and he wanders around, overcome by the pairs of opposites.

Merton, Thomas

Soon after beginning contemplative prayer, the doors of your subconscious mind fall ajar and all sorts of curious figures begin to come waltzing onto the scene. If you are wise, you will not pay attention to these things. Remain in simple attention to God and keep your will peacefully directed to Him in simple desire, while the intermittent shadows of this annoying movie go about in the remote background. They will not hurt you - have no anxiety about these images. It is the divine work of God - do not meddle with His work during prayer.
-From New Seeds of Contemplation

Michelangelo

I saw the angel in the marble and I just chiseled 'til I set him free.

Ortega y Gasset, José

When shall we open our minds to the conviction that the ultimate reality of the world is neither matter nor spirit, is no definite thing, but a perspective? God is perspective and hierarchy; Satan's sin was an error of perspective. Now, a perspective is perfected by the multiplication of its viewpoints and the precision with which we react to each one of its planes. The intuition of higher values fertilizes our contact with the lesser ones, and love for what is near and small makes the sublime real and effective within our hearts.

Ramana, Maharshi Bhagavan

As an example of direct perception everyone will quote the simile of the nellikai (similar to a gooseberry) placed in the palm of the hand.  The Self is even more directly perceivable than the fruit on the palm.  To perceive the fruit there must be the fruit, the palm to place it on and the eyes to see it.  The mind should also be in the proper condition [to process the information].  Without any of these four things, even those with very little knowledge can say out of direct experience, "I am." Because the Self exists just as the feeling "I am," atma vidya is very easy indeed.  The easiest path is to see the one who is going to attain the atma (Self).”

Ramana, Maharshi Bhagavan

Questioner:  “Why cannot the Self be perceived directly?”

Bhagavan:  “Only the Self is said to be directly perceived [pratyaksha]. Nothing else is said to be pratyaksha.  Although we are having this pratyaksha, the thought "I am this body" is veiling it.  If we give up this thought, the Atma (Self), which is always within the direct experience of everyone, will shine forth.”
A verse in Kaivalya Navanitam explains the genesis of this thought.      "Because its nature is not determinable, maya is said to be inexpressible.  They are in its grip who think: 'This is mine ­ I am the body ­ the world is real.' O son, no one can ascertain how this mysterious  illusion came into being.  As to why it arose it is because of the person's lack of discerning inquiry."
If we see the Self, the objects which are seen will not appear as separate from us. Having seen all the letters on a paper, we fail to see that paper which is the base. Likewise, suffering only arises because we see what is superimposed on the base without seeing the base itself. What is superimposed should not be seen without also seeing the substratum.
How were we in sleep?  When we were asleep the various thoughts such as "this body," "this world" were not there.  It should be difficult to identify with these states [waking and dreaming] that appear and disappear, [but everyone does it].
Everyone has the experience, "I always am."  In order to say "I slept well," "I awoke," "I dreamt," "when unconscious I knew nothing," it is necessary that one exists, and knows that one exists, in all these three states.  If one seeks the Self, saying, "I don't see myself," where can one find it?  To know that everything we see is the Self, it is enough that the I-am-the-body thought ceases to exist.”

Rumi, Jalaluddin

The satiated man and the hungry one do not see the same thing when they look upon a loaf of bread.

Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4:10

One should know that nature is surely maya and the ruler of maya is the Great Lord. This whole world is pervaded by beings that are parts of Him.

Taittiriya Upanishad 2:6:1

The Supreme Soul desired ‘Let me become many, let me be born.’ He meditated and created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed he entered. Having entered it, he became (…) both the true and the untrue.

Talmud

We see the world, not the way it is, but the way we are.

Traditional

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

Valenti, Jack

I define perception as what people think is right and true, though it may be no such thing. But, perception has a ravenous power because springs from conviction. President Johnson had a respectful regard for the people's perception. He used to say, “If you are walking down the street and ten people come up to you separately and tell you that you're drunk, even though you haven't had a drink for 20 years, you better go home and lie down.”

-Jack Valenti, Motion Picture Association, to the Commonwealth Club.

Watts, Alan

The power of memories and expectations is such that for most human beings the past and the future are not as real, but more real than the present.

Yaksha Prashna

What is amazing?
Every day creatures die and yet everyone thinks he lives for ever. What can be more amazing?

Yaksha Prashna

What is happening?
What is happening is TIME. "In this massively deluded cauldron of a world where the sun is fire and the days and nights fuel that fire and the months and seasons the ladle of the cauldron". Time cooks creatures. THAT's what's happening.