Self Quotes by Thomas Merton

To worship our false selves is to worship nothing. And the worship of nothing is hell.

— Thomas Merton

Self-conquest is really self-surrender. Yet before we can surrender ourselves we must become ourselves. For no one can give up what he…

— Thomas Merton

In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important, you…

— Thomas Merton

God Himself begins to live in me not only as my Creator but as my other and true self.

— Thomas Merton

There is a subtle but inescapable connection between the "sacred" attitude and the acceptance of one's in most self.

— Thomas Merton

For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem…

— Thomas Merton

Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false Self. We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least…

— Thomas Merton

The world is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own…

— Thomas Merton

There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If…

— Thomas Merton

For pride, which is the inordinate attribution of goods and values and glories to one's own contingent self, cannot exist where there…

— Thomas Merton

“He who is controlled by objects Loses possession of his inner self: If he no longer values himself, How can he value…

— Thomas Merton

Contemplation is not and cannot be a function of this external self. There is an irreducible opposition between the deep transcendent self…

— Thomas Merton

The things we really need come to us only as gifts, and in order to receive them as gifts we have to…

— Thomas Merton

This is the greatest stumbling block in our spiritual discipline, which, in actuality, consists not in getting rid of the self but…

— Thomas Merton

“If we enter into ourselves, find our true self, and then pass beyond the inner "I", we sail forth into the immense…

— Thomas Merton

We cannot find Him unless we know we need Him. We forget this need when we take a self-sufficient pleasure in our…

— Thomas Merton

Our Christian destiny is, in fact, a great one: but we cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great.…

— Thomas Merton

After all, what is your personal identity? It is what you really are, your real self. None of us is what he…

— Thomas Merton

Silence has many dimensions. It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness,…

— Thomas Merton

Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already…

— Thomas Merton

Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin…

— Thomas Merton

It is true to say that for me sanctity consists in being myself and for you sanctity consists of being yourself and…

— Thomas Merton

What does it mean to know and experience my own “nothingness?” It is not enough to turn away in disgust from my…

— Thomas Merton

In general, it can be said that no contemplative life is possible without ascetic self-discipline. One must learn to survive without the…

— Thomas Merton

“When the light of God's truth begins to find its way through the mists of illusion and self-deception with which we have…

— Thomas Merton

For the sinful self is not my real self, it is not the self YOU have wanted for me, only the self…

— Thomas Merton

In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important, you…

— Thomas Merton

Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love. It is reached when a person deliberately turns his back on all help from anyone…

— Thomas Merton

Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to…

— Thomas Merton

“I seek to speak to you, in some way, as your own self. Who can tell what this may mean? I myself…

— Thomas Merton

The true inner self must be drawn up like a jewel from the bottom of the sea, rescued from confusion, from indistinction,…

— Thomas Merton

The world as pure object is something that is not there. It is not a reality outside us for which we exist…It…

— Thomas Merton

God must be allowed the right to speak unpredictably… We must find him in our enemy, or we may lose him even…

— Thomas Merton

To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence,…

— Thomas Merton

In meditative prayer, one thinks and speaks not only with the mind and lips, but in a certain sense with one's whole…

— Thomas Merton

As long as I continue to take myself seriously, how can I consider myself a saint? How can I consider myself a…

— Thomas Merton

Place no hope in the feeling of assurance, in spiritual comfort. You may well have to get along without this. Place no…

— Thomas Merton