Thought Provoking Quotations Small Group Menu
Thoughtful quotations to foster small group discussions or personal reflection.
Wendell Berry Poem - Manifesto: The Mad Farmers Liberation Front
For Storytelling
“ Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know..."
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Where I'm From Poem by George Ella Lyon
For Storytelling
“I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush, the Dutch elm whose long gone limbs I remember as if they were my own.
I am from fudge and eyeglasses, from Imogene and Alafair. I'm from the know-it-alls and the pass-it-ons,
from perk up and pipe down..." by George Ella Lyon
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In Order to be Born, You Needed:
For Storytelling
“In order to be born, you needed:
• 2 parents
• 4 grandparents
• 8 great-grandparents
• 16 second great-grandparents
• 32 third great-grandparents
• 64 fourth great-grandparents
• 128 fifth great-grandparents...
For you to be born today from 12 previous generations, you needed a total sum of 4,094 ancestors over the last 400 years..."
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C.H.E.E.R. Us On by Dr. Michael Obsatz
For Storytelling
“We are here to CHEER each other on. We provide listening, support, suggestions, encouragement, and a safe space for others. In my life, many people have served as "cheerleaders" for me. They have reminded me of my gifts, encouraged me when difficult obstacles seem to block me..."
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The Hero's Journey by Richard Rohr
For Storytelling
“Richard Rohr uses the framework of the “hero’s journey” to describe the path of spiritual transformation. He points to The Odyssey as a powerful metaphor:
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The Four Life-Affirming Declarations of Interdependence by Dr. Michael Obsatz
For Storytelling
“The world can seem like a scary and hostile place sometimes. Life has many ups and downs, gains, and losses. We are inundated by messages of who we are supposed to be, and what we are supposed to do..."
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The Five Things We Cannot Change by David Richo
For Storytelling
“The Five Things We Cannot Change
1. Everything Changes and Ends, 2. Things Do Not Always Go According to Plan,
3. Life is Not Always Fair, 4. Pain is Part of Life, 5. People Are Not Loving and Loyal All the Time, by David Richo
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The Stream - A Sufi Story
For Storytelling
“A stream, from its course in the far-off mountains, passing through every kind and description of countryside, at last reached the sands of the desert. Just as it had crossed every other barrier, the stream tried to cross this one, but found that as fast as it ran into the sand, its waters disappeared..." A Sufi Story
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The journey toward joy - by Warren Wolfe
For Storytelling
“There is no magic solution to moving to an outlook of happiness and contentment. And even if you are feeling OK but not joyful, there are steps you can take today to enhance your life…"
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None of Us Can Control the Future
For Storytelling
“None of us can control the future, and trying to do so only creates distress. If we cannot enjoy life now, how do we imagine we would enjoy ourselves even if should attain our goals? When self-avoidance becomes habitual, we delude ourselves into thinking that this will cease in some make-believe future.” by Richard Moss MD
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The Four Stages of Emotional Assimilation - from "Wild Mind" by Bill Plotkin
For Storytelling
“1. Experience the emotion as it is expressed through your body. 2. Ask yourself what this emotion is suggesting about yourself? 3. Share you emotion to others using nonviolent and compassionate communication?,
4. Reflect on how an emotional experience fits in with your bigger life story?" from
Wild Mind by Bill Poltkin
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The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
For Storytelling
“It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing..."
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Oneness Consciousness and Empire Consciousness Connection
For Storytelling
"Empire Consciousness is created from fear...
Growing awareness of one's Oneness Consciousness is the re-connecting with the genuine power of love, equality and compassion." Dr. Michael Obsatz
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This Listening Exercise Could Change Your Life
For Storytelling
“After sixty years I learned how to listen, and it has changed my life.
I realized during a listening exercise, as a listener I was often thinking about how I was going to help “fix” the situation about which they were talking..." by David Tillman
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What Is that Little Voice in Your Soul Calling You to Do and Be?
For Storytelling
“Many of us…come to the same sober realization, that life does not seem to be giving us what we want." Where are you on your journey to hear what your soul is calling you to do and be? by H.R. Moody & D. Carroll
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Where Does My Mind Go When I Am Not "Present in the Moment"
For Storytelling
“Ask yourself, ‘When I am not right here, right now in the simple fullness and presence of my being, where have I gone?..." by Richard Moss MD
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