"All births mean separation from the All, the confinement within limitation, the separation from God, the pangs of being born ever anew. The return into the All, the dissolution of painful individuation, the reunion with God means the expansion of the soul until it is able once more the embrace the All."- Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf
Hermann Hesse is a favorite author and Steppenwolf a favorite book. Towards the end of the book, the main character enters into “The Magic Theater,” and in each room metaphorically explores the dark recesses of his psyche. It is captivating.
In Jewish tradition, there is a broad range of beliefs about the nature of the afterlife. Everything from survival through one’s good works and good name to a future physical resurrection. I have always been attracted to the notion of reincarnation, in Hebrew gilgul nefashot, and this quote, to me, reflects that belief.
Each person is created in the image of God, and contains a spark of the divine. As Hesse describes it, the individual soul is an extension of an all-encompassing God. At birth, we are separated from that connection, experience all the challenges of living in this world, ultimately to be restored to that oneness with God.
I still love the way Hesse describes this cycle.
About this series-
I love words. I love when a word exactly captures the moment, the feeling. How it precisely describes something that you experienced but didn’t know exactly how to express. It’s like a warm bath or a deeply satisfying meal.
And beyond that- a collection of words. A deeply insightful phrase, thought-provoking and uplifting. A quote to remember.
I started collecting quotes when I was 16 years old. (1972) I’m 68 now, as I write these words, (2024), and there are 472 quotes in my collection. At this precise moment.
That’s not really that many over the course of 52 years. I guess I am fairly discriminating. Sometimes years can go by and the collection lays dormant. In other years there is a great harvest of quotes.
These are not necessarily famous quotes, things you’ll often hear referenced. For the most part, they simply represent words that I read that made me stop for a moment to meditate and bask in their impact. And quotes I enjoy reading and re-reading and quoting myself!
These quotes represent the evolution of my thinking over the course of 52 years. I look forward to pondering what it is that made me find each one meaningful enough to save.
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