"The mind attempts to assume spiritual authority over the heart. The leadership of the "I" makes a compelling case as it measures what it has, figures out what it needs, sets down an agenda, and progresses toward its goal. It knows exactly where it is going, what it still lacks, and how to achieve the desired result, all in quantifiable terms. But if the mind has never been where it is going, how could it possibly have any idea how to get there, or even what "getting there" looks like? The mind has a blueprint for its salvation but all its maps are in abstract form, and over time we give less and less credibility to anything but the wisdom derived from direct experience."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 168

"We" do not have a mind. The mind has created the sense of "you" and "me" from the way it perceives reality. "We" are a part of the mental processing of the mind. The thoughts of the mind and the sense-of-I are not two separate events. We exist only because the mind thinks us into creation.

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 166

"Stop trying to be mindful and relax into the awareness that existed before thought, and not the mindfulness that existed driven by thought."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 164

"The presence of the watcher indicates that awareness is now looking at the mind rather than through the mind.

The fact that awareness can be an objective observer of the mind means it is not a mental process and therefore does not originate from the mind."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 160

"Thought holds an alternative to what is. Thought says, "This doesn't have to be this way, other possibilities would improve this situation." Thinking forms a horizontal view that is constructed from the endless choices conceived by the mind, and we invest in the truth of those possibilities as a way out of Now. But reality does not hold a substitute for Now; there is only what is. In order to surrender, we have to see the choices offered by thought as pure fabrication. When we perceive the unreality of thought, the view and sense-of-self constructed from these thoughts end. Surrender is the collapsing of alternatives into reality."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 126

"The point is to abide with the reality of here and now without mental influences."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 116

"We are not going anywhere or becoming anyone."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 91

"The sense-of-self forms conclusions because it fears living within the ambiguity of a question.

As we journey along our spiritual path, we become more willing to move from mental certainty to the open amazement of not knowing."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 64

"All emotions are observed as experiences only, pointing nowhere, implicating no one, and signifying nothing.

Emotions need observation and allowance, not our analysis or fixation.

We allow the emotion to return to nothing by adding nothing to it all along the way."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 58, 60

"There is no single cause for any event. Events arise dependent upon many factors, with everything in the universe colluding to make a single incident occur."

Stepping out of self-deception - p. 55