---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a great master once observed: \"There…"
description: "\"As a great master once observed: \"There are two methods of becoming god, the upright or the averse.\" Let the mind become as a flame or a pool of still ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg"
---

#  As a great master once observed: "There are two methods of…

![“As a great master once observed: &quot;There are two methods of becoming god, the upright or the averse.&quot; Let the mind become as a flame or a pool of still water.” quote by Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg)

> “As a great master once observed: "There are two methods of becoming god, the upright or the averse." Let the mind become as a flame or a pool of still water.”

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Two paths to divinity: one upright, one averse; the mind can be a focused flame or calm water.

**In simple terms:** Divine paths are upright or averse, mind like flame or still water.

Key Takeaway

Choose the path that aligns with your true nature.

Themes

spirituality self‑mastery dualism

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

philosophical spiritual

When to use this quote

- meditation
- creative work
- decision making
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

divinity mind‑state balance

Questions to Reflect On

- Which path feels more authentic to you?
- How can you balance flame intensity with pool calm?

A Different Perspective

The upright path may demand strict discipline, which can be restrictive.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Still waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still-waters/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [“Ignorance is a wind that blows out the mind's flame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/ignorance-is-a-wind-that-blows-out-the-mind-s-flame/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [We are constantly straining to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/we-are-constantly-straining-to-devise-new-methods-new-plans-new/)

[Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/)

> [God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God's method. The Church is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-plan-is-to-make-much-of-the-man-far-more-of-him-than-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [He took our flesh and our flesh became God, since it is united with God and forms a single entity with him. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-of-nazianzus/he-took-our-flesh-and-our-flesh-became-god-since-it-is-united-with/)

[Gregory of Nazianzus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-of-nazianzus/)

> [Philosopher is becoming God in the process called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/philosopher-is-becoming-god-in-the-process-called-life/)

[Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/)

> [The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-lord-created-you-and-me-for-the-purpose-of-becoming-gods-like-2/)

[Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/)

> [When a sunbeam falls on a transparent substance, the substance itself becomes brilliant, and radiates light from itself. So too Spirit bearing souls, illumined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/when-a-sunbeam-falls-on-a-transparent-substance-the-substance-itself/)

[Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/)

> [“We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-mark-fox/we-are-constantly-on-a-stretch-if-not-on-a-strain-to-devise-new/)

J. Mark Fox

> [We can accept God becoming Man to save Man, but not Man becoming God to save himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/we-can-accept-god-becoming-man-to-save-man-but-not-man-becoming-god/)

[Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/)

> [The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-lord-created-you-and-me-for-the-purpose-of-becoming-gods-like/)

[Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/)

> [“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. What the church needs today is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-taber/men-are-god-s-method-the-church-is-looking-for-better-methods-god-is/)

[Duke Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-taber/)

> [Men look for better methods, but God looks for better men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/men-look-for-better-methods-but-god-looks-for-better-men/)

[Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/)

> [The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-church-is-looking-for-better-methods-god-is-looking-for-better-men/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [George Moore unexpectedly pinched my behind. I felt rather honored that my behind should have drawn the attention of the great master of English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/george-moore-unexpectedly-pinched-my-behind-i-felt-rather-honored/)

[Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/)

> [“God is the Great Master.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-is-the-great-master/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

## More by Peter J. Carroll

> [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [ “\[A\] competent magician should have the ability to stand still at a bus stop with closed eyes and have the entire universe disappear apart… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/a-competent-magician-should-have-the-ability-to-stand-still-at-a-bus/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [“Conspiracy theory, like causality, works fantastically well as an explanatory model but only if you use it backwards. The fact that we cannot predict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/conspiracy-theory-like-causality-works-fantastically-well-as-an/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [Indeed, linear extrapolations make no large-scale sense in a universe that has spatial and temporal curvature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/indeed-linear-extrapolations-make-no-large-scale-sense-in-a-universe/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [In a stagnant environment the body-mind creates its own adversity – disease and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/in-a-stagnant-environment-the-body-mind-creates-its-own-adversity/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [That which is denied gains power, and seeks strange and unexpected forms of manifestation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/that-which-is-denied-gains-power-and-seeks-strange-and-unexpected/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [The only clear view is from atop the mountain of your dead selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/the-only-clear-view-is-from-atop-the-mountain-of-your-dead-selves/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [The conscious mind is a maelstrom of fleeting thoughts, images, sensations, feelings, conflicting desires, and doubts; barely able to confine its attention to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/the-conscious-mind-is-a-maelstrom-of-fleeting-thoughts-images/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [Only through absolute loyalty to each other can the few control the many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/only-through-absolute-loyalty-to-each-other-can-the-few-control-the/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [Science has brought us power and ideas but not the wisdom or responsibility to handle them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/science-has-brought-us-power-and-ideas-but-not-the-wisdom-or/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [Careful observation will confirm that virtually all spontaneous parapsychological events occur through some form of sleight of mind. It is invariably something hovering just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/careful-observation-will-confirm-that-virtually-all-spontaneous/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [So many people seem to spend their lives trying to appear normal, predictable and consistent to themselves and those that surround them. They just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/so-many-people-seem-to-spend-their-lives-trying-to-appear-normal/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [“Drugs have a long history of use in magic in various cultures, and usually in the context of either ecstatic communal rituals or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/drugs-have-a-long-history-of-use-in-magic-in-various-cultures-and/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [No left wing parties have any respect for liberal economic values; and most centre and right wing parties merely promote a paternalistic stateism. Does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/no-left-wing-parties-have-any-respect-for-liberal-economic-values-and/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

> [It has taken us two million years to elevate politics from the level of a monkey squabble, to a level comprehensible to a six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/it-has-taken-us-two-million-years-to-elevate-politics-from-the-level/)

[Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

[Explore all 48 Peter J. Carroll quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/)

## More Becoming quotes

> [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/)

[Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

Jennifer Siebel Newsom

> [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/)

[M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/)

[Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/)

> [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/)

[Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/)

> [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/)

[Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/)

> [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/)

[Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/)

> [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/)

[John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/)

> [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/)

Christopher Wood

> [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/)

[Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "As a great master once observed: \"There are two methods of becoming god, the upright or the averse.\" Let the mind become as a flame or a pool of still water.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter J. Carroll"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-are-two-methods-of-becoming-god/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Becoming"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-are-two-methods-of-becoming-god/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/peter-j-carroll-13919_becoming_as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-ar_2009138.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As a great master once observed: \"There are two methods of becoming god, the upright or the averse.\" Let the…” — Peter J. Carroll",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Peter J. Carroll",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "As a great master once observed:...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-are-two-methods-of-becoming-god/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/as-a-great-master-once-observed-there-are-two-methods-of-becoming-god/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
