
“You are an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience.”
The World of Religions ( Page 20 )
“You are an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience.”
Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 264
This is attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in The Joy of Kindness (1993), by Robert J. Furey, p. 138; but it is attributed to G. I. Gurdjieff in Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide To The Coming Changes (1993) by Moira Timms, p. 62; neither cite a source. It was widely popularized by Wayne Dyer, who often quotes it in his presentations, crediting it to Chardin, as does Stephen Covey in Living the 7 Habits : Stories of Courage and Inspiration (2000), p. 47. Such statements could be considered paraphrases of Hegel's dictum that matter is spirit fallen into a state of self-otherness. Or any number of thousands of similarly vague quotes by hundreds of predecessors.
Disputed
Variant: We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
Variant: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
“Spiritual Intelligence represents our drive for meaning and connection with the infinite.”
Source: The 8th Habit : From Effectiveness to Greatness (2004), p. 53
Source: Simone Weil : An Anthology (1986), The Great Beast (1947), p. 123
The Divine Commodity: Discovering A Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity (2009, Zondervan)