Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Long ago the word alone was treated as two words, all one. To be all one meant to be wholly one, to…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Like all other lonely or hungry things, ego loves the light. It sees light, and the possibility of being close to the…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The craft of questions, the craft of stories, the craft of the hands - all these are the making of something, and…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

A woman who is starved for her real soul-life may look 'cleaned up and combed' on the outside, but on the inside…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“All these stories present the knife of insight, the flame of the passionate life, the breath to speak what one knows, the…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you,and that you will work with these stories…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

we all begin the process before we are ready, before we are strong enough, before we know enough; we begin a dialogue…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“For instance, I see in the talented women in my practice that soulskin theft can come through relationships that are not in…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

“The wild nature has a vast integrity to it. It means to establish one's territory, to find one's pack, to be in…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

In this tradition a story is 'holy,' and it is used as medicine," she told Radiance magazine. "The story is not told…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

All the "not readies," all the "I need time," are understandable, but only for a short while. The truth is that there…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“This explosive psychological 'sneaking' occurs when a woman suppresses large parts of self into the shadows of the psyche. In the view…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

A Prayer Refuse to fall down If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down. If you cannot refuse to…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“Each woman has potential access to Rio Abajo Rio, this river beneath the river. She arrives there through deep meditation, dance, writing,…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

When a women speaks her truth, fires up her intention and feeling, stays tight with the instinctive nature, she is singing, she…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

To be poor and be without trees, is to be the most starved human being in the world. To be poor and…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The body is a multilingual being. It speaks through its color and its temperature, the flush of recognition, the glow of love,…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

No Latina woman would be called 'Ms.' - that's an invention of middle-class Anglo women. Latina women are proud to be called…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Suppose... the body is a God in its own right, a teacher, a mentor, a certified guide? Then what? … Are we…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too, have felt despair many times in my life, but I do…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Some say that sudden knowledge of mystical matters is accomplished only in complete quietude, or that Creator, in one of God's many…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

How does one know if she has forgiven? You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, you tend to…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Modern storytellers are the descendants of an immense and ancient community of holy people, troubadours, bards, griots, cantadoras, cantors, traveling poets, bums,…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Mindful choosing of friends and lovers, not to mention teachers, is critical to remaining conscious, remaining intuitive, remaining in charge of the…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“If a woman holds on to this gift of being old while she is young and young while she is old, she…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

“Being real doesn't mean being reckless, it means allowing La Voz Mitologica, The Mythological Voice, to speak. One does that by shutting…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

“While I do not in any way mean to say that a woman should throw herself into a torturous or abusive situation,…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Three things differentiate living from the soul verses living from the ego only: the ability to sense and learn new ways, the…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

When a creature is exposed to violence, it will tend to adapt to that disturbance, so that when the violence ceases or…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten the burdens of the world. Anything. You have no idea what the…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

If you've lost focus, just sit down and be still. Take the idea and rock it to and fro. Keep some of…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The quintessential feminine Self stands at the center of the psyche and it is wild, meaning natural and free, and utterly wise.…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I learned about the sacred art of self decoration with the monarch butterflies perched atop my head, lightning bugs as my night…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estés

To be strong does not mean to sprout muscles and flex. It means meeting one's own numinosity without fleeing, actively living with…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Ritual is one of the ways in which humans put their lives in perspective, whether it be Purim, Advent, or drawing down…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes

To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill…

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes