The Power of the Green Leaf

Francis sighed. "Brother Leo," he said, "there was once an ascetic who died, mounted to heaven, and fell deep into God's embrace. He had found the perfect beatitude. One day, however, he leaned out so far that he could see the earth below him, and when he did this, he spied a green leaf. 'Lord,' he cried, 'Lord, let me leave, let me touch the green leaf once again!' Do you understand, Brother Leo?"

His words frightened me, and I did not answer. Alas! it was true: the power of the green leaf was as great as that!

--Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis

Heaven Is Fine...

"Forgive me, Lord: heaven is fine, as fine as one could wish, but oh, the scent of the almond tree in springtime!"

--Brother Leo in Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis

The Infinite "Mind"

My dear boy, we are all God's children, yea, even unto the beasts of the wild, the stones of the fields and the stars in the firmament. Who among us would constrain the mind of God?

--Jesse Yancy

Litany against Fear

Here is the "Litany against Fear" recited by the Bene Gesserit order in Frank Herbert's Dune books.

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.