Fundamentalists from every religion have to be replaced, have to be disempowered.

I try not to recommend too many books, frankly, because I think there's a certain synchronicity that happens when people discover books.

I'm asked that a lot: 'James, is there really a continuing spiritual renaissance occurring on this planet? Look at all the conflict, look at the wars.' And I believe, yes, we're still moving toward a deeper spirituality. It's personal. It's grassroots. It's everybody trying to get their own connection made, and from there it grows out.

If you've ever walked a mile into a virgin forest - you know, like a deep forest where trees have been uncut - the energy is totally different from the shopping mall.

One of my teachers once said that the way you know you're on the right path is that it works. Now, that doesn't mean you don't run into blocks and brick walls, but it does mean that you can find a way around them or find a way to change yourself or your project in order to find the flow again and have it work.

There's a destiny for everybody. The world is set up - as foreign as that can be to some people who are very materialistic - but there is a force in this world, once we step into it, that opens doors for us, that gives us a sense of purpose and the greatest life there is, in my view.

When we cultivate mystical awareness or transcendent identity - which is a natural outgrowth of meditation and other practices - what happens is that we begin to take a witness position on our own lives, and that includes our minds.