Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A collection of inspirational quotes on soul and inner spirit to remind you of who you really are.

Inspirational Quotes On Soul And Inner Spirit

The word 'soul' usually has religious connotations and refers to the essence of a living being. In certain traditions, inanimate objects are also thought to have souls, while other traditions believe that human beings have immortal souls that continue to exist even after death. While there is reference to something like soul in almost all prominent religions to some extent, there is no scientific evidence of its existence. Yet, it is difficult for us human beings to accept that there is nothing after death, that we simply cease to exist, which might explain why so many people believe in the notion. However, in literature and popular culture, the word 'soul' is often used to mean something deeper than one's heart or mind without any spiritual connotation. Read through the below quotes by spiritual leaders, philosophers, writers and celebrities to see if they inspire some kind of soul-searching in you.
But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive.

But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive.

William Shakespeare
Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing.

Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing.

William Shakespeare
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, 
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

Pablo Neruda
Hope is the thing with feathers 
That perches in the soul 
And sings the tune without the words 
And never stops at all.

Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing 
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.

Rumi
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

Aristotle
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

Mahatma Gandhi
Books are the mirrors of the soul.

Books are the mirrors of the soul.

Virginia Woolf
What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.

What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.

Neil Gaiman
What Is Love? I have met in the streets a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, the water passed through his shoes and the stars through his soul

What Is Love? I have met in the streets a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, the water passed through his shoes and the stars through his soul

Victor Hugo
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.

Jane Austen
If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose

If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose

Charles Bukowski
Don't Gain The World & Lose Your Soul, Wisdom Is Better Than Silver Or Gold.

Don't Gain The World & Lose Your Soul, Wisdom Is Better Than Silver Or Gold.

Bob Marley
When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

Rumi
Some lose all mind and become soul,insane.
some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.
some lose both and become accepted

Some lose all mind and become soul,insane. some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual. some lose both and become accepted

Charles Bukowski
If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.

If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.

William Shakespeare
Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.

Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.

Joyce Carol Oates
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.

Rumi
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

Pablo Picasso
Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face. But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare.

Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face. But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare.

Guy de Maupassant
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

Franz Kafka
Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.

Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.

Nicholas Sparks
Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

Zora Neale Hurston
The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.

The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.

Charles Bukowski
The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.

Kate Chopin
You can't lie to your soul.

You can't lie to your soul.

Irvine Welsh
The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.

The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.

Daniel Defoe
Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?

Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?

John Keats
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.

Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.

Marilyn Monroe
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.

Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.

Alexander Pope
Every grain of experience is food for the greedy growing soul of the artist.

Every grain of experience is food for the greedy growing soul of the artist.

Anthony Burgess
Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.

Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.

Hermann Hesse
I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it.

I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it.

Sylvia Plath
There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you?

There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don't you?

Rumi
Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are.

Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are.

Lady Gaga
How we need another soul to cling to.

How we need another soul to cling to.

Sylvia Plath
Laughter is the language of the soul.

Laughter is the language of the soul.

Pablo Neruda
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.

Audrey Hepburn
Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.

Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.

Henry Van Dyke
The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.

The windows of my soul I throw Wide open to the sun.

John Greenleaf Whittier
Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

Paulo Coelho
Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.

Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.

Oscar Wilde
Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.

Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.

Walt Whitman
Don't you think it would be wonderful to get rid of everything and everybody and just go some place where you don't know a soul?

Don't you think it would be wonderful to get rid of everything and everybody and just go some place where you don't know a soul?

Haruki Murakami
My beerdrunk soul is sadder than all the dead christmas trees of the world.

My beerdrunk soul is sadder than all the dead christmas trees of the world.

Charles Bukowski
Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.

Rumi
For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Judy Garland
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Helen Keller
There is something about killing people at close range that is excruciating. It's bound to try a man's soul.

There is something about killing people at close range that is excruciating. It's bound to try a man's soul.

Steven Spielberg
You have been the last dream of my soul.

You have been the last dream of my soul.

Charles Dickens
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

John Muir
When the soul suffers too much, it develops a taste for misfortune.

When the soul suffers too much, it develops a taste for misfortune.

Albert Camus
Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.

Edgar Allan Poe
Dance is the hidden language of the soul

Dance is the hidden language of the soul

Martha Graham
I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.

I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.

Vincent van Gogh
People want you to be happy.
Don't keep serving them your pain!

If you could untie your wings
and free your soul of jealousy,

you and everyone around you
would fly up like doves.

People want you to be happy. Don't keep serving them your pain! If you could untie your wings and free your soul of jealousy, you and everyone around you would fly up like doves.

Rumi
Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.

Victor Hugo
Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it

Gautama Buddha
I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.

I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.

Jim Morrison
How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this, I need someone to pour myself into.

How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this, I need someone to pour myself into.

Sylvia Plath
People say that eyes are windows to the soul.

People say that eyes are windows to the soul.

Khaled Hosseini
If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul.

If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul.

Drew Barrymore
Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.

Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.

Anne Sexton
I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul.

I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul.

Charles Dickens
A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it

A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it

Roald Dahl

The most common error made in matters of appearance is the belief that one should disdain the superficial and let the true beauty of one's soul shine through. If there are places on your body where this is a possibility, you are not attractive - you are leaking.

Charles Lamb
And yet women-good women--frightened me because they eventually wanted your soul, and what was left of mine, I wanted to keep.

And yet women-good women--frightened me because they eventually wanted your soul, and what was left of mine, I wanted to keep.

Charles Bukowski
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Anatole France
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.

The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.

Marcus Aurelius
A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.

A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.

John Steinbeck
Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.

Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.

Paulo Coelho
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.

If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.

James Herriot
You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.

George Bernard Shaw
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.

The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.

Emily Dickinson
Don't do anything by half. If you love someone, love them with all your soul. When you go to work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts.

Don't do anything by half. If you love someone, love them with all your soul. When you go to work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts.

Henry Rollins
To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul - would you understand why that's much harder?

To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul - would you understand why that's much harder?

Ayn Rand
Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation.

Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation.

Eric Hoffer
Your naked body should only belong to those who fall in love with your naked soul.

Your naked body should only belong to those who fall in love with your naked soul.

Charlie Chaplin
Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one

Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one

Stella Adler
My soul is full of longing
for the secret of the sea,
and the heart of the great ocean
sends a thrilling pulse through me.

My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The dancer's body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul.

The dancer's body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul.

Isadora Duncan
I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.

Jean Cocteau
So you have you price,

So you have you price," I said with a mouthful of crumbs. "Your soul for a cookie." Fang made sure Dr. Martinez wasn't looking and then shot me the bird.

James Patterson
Music is an outburst of the soul.

Music is an outburst of the soul.

Frederick Delius

The pupil dilates in darkness and in the end finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and in the end finds God.

The pupil dilates in darkness and in the end finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and in the end finds God.

Victor Hugo
The practice of art isn't to make a living. It's to make your soul grow.

The practice of art isn't to make a living. It's to make your soul grow.

Kurt Vonnegut
My soul is a hidden orchestra; I know not what instruments, what fiddlestrings and harps, drums and tamboura I sound and clash inside myself. All I hear is the symphony.

My soul is a hidden orchestra; I know not what instruments, what fiddlestrings and harps, drums and tamboura I sound and clash inside myself. All I hear is the symphony.

Fernando Pessoa
But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed - because 'Thou mayest.

But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed - because 'Thou mayest.

John Steinbeck
To die for lack of love is horrible. The asphyxia of the soul.

To die for lack of love is horrible. The asphyxia of the soul.

Victor Hugo
We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body.

We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body.

Paulo Coelho
My soul is in the sky.

My soul is in the sky.

William Shakespeare
To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.

To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.

Edgar Allan Poe
Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through.

Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through.

Germaine Greer
Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it.

Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it.

Nikki Sixx
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.

Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.

Marilyn Monroe
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, 
none can make you spiritual. 
There is no other teacher but your own soul.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

Swami Vivekananda
I am the captain of my soul.

I am the captain of my soul.

Nelson Mandela
The greatest mania of all is passion: and I am a natural slave to passion: the balance between my brain and my soul and my body is as wild and delicate as the skin of a Ming vase.

The greatest mania of all is passion: and I am a natural slave to passion: the balance between my brain and my soul and my body is as wild and delicate as the skin of a Ming vase.

Hunter S. Thompson
I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.

I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.

Booker T. Washington

Our voice resonates with life. Because this is so, it can touch the lives of others. The caring and compassion imbued in your voice finds passage to the listener's soul, striking his or her heart and causing it to sing out; the human voice summons something profound from deep within, and can even compel a person into action.

Daisaku Ikeda
She can't help it,' he said. 'She's got the soul of a poet and the emotional makeup of a junkyard dog.

She can't help it,' he said. 'She's got the soul of a poet and the emotional makeup of a junkyard dog.

Stephen King