Intuition is true intelligence. It has no need of research and calculations, it understands instantly. It penetrates everything with a single glance, and tells you what it has discovered. Intuition is both a feeling and an understanding. You feel things at the same time as you understand them. In this higher form of intelligence, the first indispensable element is life. And in situations where everyone else hesitates and doubts, those who possess this intelligence, and believe in it, understand immediately. Once you begin to discover the true nature of reality, with both its objective and subjective aspects, its outer and inner aspects, you will be amazed to discover how simple everything is. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

People believe that their opinions are objective, but the truth is that most of the time, these opinions stem from their needs, and often even their basest needs. Take political ideologies for example. To satisfy the people of Ancient Rome, they were promised bread and games. Still, today, in another form, the people must be promised bread and games. Take also the theories about sexuality. As most men and women are incapable of controlling themselves, specialists have presented theories that actually have no absolute value. These theories apply only to feeble and ignorant human beings who do not know – and do not want to know – that sexual energy could contribute to their spiritual fulfilment if it were mastered instead of being squandered in the pursuit of pleasure. And... 

Jesus said, ‘Unless you die you shall not live.’ This means that if we do not die to our lower, instinctual, animal life, we will never live the higher life, the life of God himself. We must surrender our place to the Lord so that He may come to reign within us and organize everything, for He alone is wise, powerful and all loving. Imagine you are melting into infinite space, into the universal Soul, and ask the Lord to come and dwell within you. Little by little, you will sense that it is He who is manifesting himself, speaking and working through you. You are you, and at the same time, you are not yourself. You wanted to disappear, and not only have you not disappeared, you have become more alive than ever. Everything becomes clearer, everything improves; true life begins to flow... 

Where music is concerned, it is not so much our intellectual understanding that matters, as the feelings aroused in us by the sounds, vibrations and harmonies. Do we understand the song of birds, of running water, or of the wind in the branches? No, but they captivate us and fill us with wonder. It is always better to sing songs in their original language: even if you do not understand them, there is a special relationship between the words and the music, and translation destroys this relationship. Music is not made to be understood, but to be felt. Even when it is accompanied by words, it is what we feel that is most important. Of course, it is even better if the two – understanding and feeling – go hand in hand, but it is our feeling that matters most. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

The true roots of matter are on high, close to God. They are the four holy living creatures, the Seraphim. This means that matter is of divine origin, but at this degree of purity and subtlety, it is unknowable and inconceivable, for it is one with the spirit. However, since discoveries in physics are revealing ever-subtler forms of matter, perhaps physicists will eventually develop instruments capable of observing the structure and movements of etheric matter. As for astral and mental matter, it is of course unthinkable; we can only work with them. In fact, we do work with them; you all work with them, but unconsciously. Your thoughts, feelings and states of consciousness are all material processes, but they are so subtle that their projections, the material movements they produce remain... 

Artists create works of art that are external to themselves using material that is external to themselves; and as it is on this outer material that they concentrate their efforts, even if they produce masterpieces, when we meet these artists, we find that they themselves are not so magnificent. Often, we are astounded – their behaviour and their attitude are completely devoid of all the beauty found in their creations. They express neither balance, nor harmony, nor poetry. Well, understand that for initiates, true artists are those who are able to use themselves as the material for their creations. All the methods of the spiritual life are there at our disposal to help and inspire us in this endeavour. Yes, it is first and foremost within ourselves that we must create music and poetry,... 

Observe yourself when you love someone: the mere presence of this feeling inside you makes you think and behave in a certain way, and not just towards the person you love. Because of this feeling, your relationships with everyone around you and even with nature are different. Love is a force that acts on you, on your mind, on your will and even on your body; it gives you immense possibilities. Love is like fuel: if there is fuel in your car, you can drive. But if you lack fuel, where can you go? Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

So many people endlessly complain that they lack this, that someone owes them that, that no one loves them or thinks of them, that others are ill intentioned and so on. But why don’t they realize that their egotism and unreasonable demands put off everyone around them? They need to be helped, supported, rescued, this is true, but they must realize that this very selfish pursuit of happiness will get them nowhere. Those who think only of getting more for themselves, who imagine the whole world should revolve around them, are setting themselves up for a life of disappointment and suffering. In order to be happy, you must become a servant. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

The ancients knew how to penetrate the secrets of nature. Stopping by a spring, for example, they would remain there a long while, watching it flow, so alive, limpid and fresh, and listening to it murmur. In doing so, they gradually made contact with the water’s soul, with the spring’s soul. And they did the same with fire, the sky, and trees – they listened, they contemplated. And you too must become attentive to the language of nature. Even if you feel that you understand nothing, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you open yourself up, for in this way you prepare the subtle centres that will one day bring you into contact with living nature. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Thought is made of an extremely subtle matter that has the ability to travel through space faster than the speed of light. This means we are able to use it to capture elements in the universe, to visit the sun, to connect with heavenly entities, to draw strength and light from them and to receive revelations. If you accustom your thought to do this work every day, you will feel that you are truly beginning to live the divine life. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

All plant life on earth, including the fruit and vegetables we eat, is impregnated with negative forces. The earth is one vast cemetery, watered by the blood of human beings and steeped in their crimes. And since those who cultivate the fields and gardens often work without love and in a state of inner rebellion, their thoughts and feelings penetrate the seeds they sow, which then poison the earth and its fruits. How beneficial it would now be to rediscover the art of cultivating the earth according to initiatic rules! These rules, which were known and respected in certain civilizations of the past, concern working with cosmic energies so that when scattered in the soil, seeds capture these energies and impart to the earth’s fruits the greatest possible nutritional and curative virtues. Omraam... 

Sensibility is a sign of evolution. The more a person’s sensibility increases, the more the life they receive becomes intense and abundant. When people’s sensibility diminishes, they regress toward the level of animals, plants and stones. You will say that the more sensitive you are, the more vulnerable you are to suffering. That is true, but even if it entails greater suffering, it is preferable to increase your sensibility, for in doing so you enhance the intensity of your life. As for those who possess this sensibility, they must be careful to practice moderation in order not to lose it, for excesses dull sensibility. If you read too much, for instance, your brain becomes saturated and you lose your taste for reflection. In order to understand what is most essential, you must not... 

The fewer desires you have, the happier you will be. Having the right information (truth) leads to contentment. Having the right understanding of the self, our purpose, our origins and our true relationships should free us from the cycles of boom and bust and lead society to that ultimate happiness.

Sorrow, unhappiness and discouragement are impurities you have allowed within you and which upset your psychic organism, just as poison and other toxic substances upset your physical organism. If you learn to use the powers of water, you can remedy these states. Look at water flow, listen to it – whether a spring, a stream or a waterfall, running water frees the solar plexus by carrying off the dark elements that disturbed it. For flowing water is an image of the perpetual renewal of life, and by watching it flow we are influenced by it. Of course, in the city, it is not always easy to come across springs or waterfalls in everyday life but you can always turn on a tap! It is less poetic but it can be just as effective. What matters is to concentrate on flowing water. Omraam Mikhaël... 

Simplicity is being comfortable with all the circumstances which shape our lives without worrying or making matters complicated. Simplicity gives birth to inspiration. It is the quality of the very young and of the aged. One who is simple lives from the heart.