About Us

Luminary Quotes: Our Purpose

Our purpose

Our purpose at the Luminary Quotes Project is to give subscribers access to an anthology of uplifting quotes from the World’s great scripture, wisdom traditions, spiritual teachings, and arts—as well as emergent scientific understandings—from a constellation of Luminaries past and present. 

Daily Luminary Quotes Service

The Daily Quotes Service delivers a vibrant Luminary quote each morning that brightens our day, stimulates our imagination, and enlivens our hearts. 

Luminary Quotes

Each Luminary quote has a support packet providing: Context—including attribution and citation; Commentary—from contemporary luminaries; Links—to Luminary Network Resources and Related Quotes.

Luminary Network

Through our Luminary Network service, we are interlinking a growing constellation of luminaries across conventional boundaries. We are continually expanding the scope of our interdisciplinary network, interconnecting across a spectrum of society’s leading luminaries and institutional contributors. Like bees, we draw nectar and gather pollen—pollinating and cross-pollinating for the good of the entire Luminary garden.

Luminary Mentors

When scientists Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman were conducting their three-year study of humanity’s sacred texts and wisdom teachings, prior to writing Character Strengths and Virtues, the foundational text for Positive Psychology, “they were ‘searching for universals—strengths [and virtues] endorsed by every religion, politics, and culture.’ It turned out that there was a lot of agreement across the length of history and the breadth of culture and the height of religions and spirituality.” 

“Although the specific content of spiritual belief varies, all cultures have a concept of an ultimate, transcendent, sacred, and divine force.” 

—Peterson and Seligman, Character Strengths and Virtues [2004].

Huston Smith—in his book The World’s Religions, wrote metaphorically about 

“passing a strainer through the world’s religions and wisdom traditions to lift out their conclusions about reality and how life should be lived… those conclusions begin to look like the winnowed wisdom of the human race.” 

—Huston Smith, The World’s Religions [1991 (1958)].

Contemporary social scientist and author Brené Brown wrote, “As I was defining the main concern related to belonging, I went back to The Gifts of Imperfection to look up the definition of spirituality that had emerged from my 2010 data.”

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.”

—Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone [2017] p. 34.

Founder’s Story

The beginnings of Luminary Quotes

I’ve found it uplifting to start each day by reading and meditating on quotes from sacred texts and wisdom teachings. This daily practice reaffirms my sense of well-being despite life’s many challenges. Parents want to share the best with their children. Beginning in 2016, I developed the habit of texting daily inspirational quotes to my wife Christine and our two sons. Their response was positive and encouraging. Our eldest son Christopher mentioned that both he and his wife enjoyed readings from the World Scripture anthologies, a two-volume series edited by Dr. Andrew Wilson. We agreed that I should get the Luminary Quotes project rooted in world scripture, grow it in the wisdom traditions, and then start branching out to contemporary luminaries.

Ninian Smart, author of many books including World Philosophies (1999), and professor of comparative religions wrote in his introduction to World Scripture (1991),

“The World Scripture [comparative anthology]… provides us with a collection that is illuminating… It is compiled in the spirit of reverence for all spiritual paths. Such a spirit is needed if we are to live at peace with one another.”

—Ninian Smart, author of World Philosophies (1999), and professor of comparative religions, in his introduction to World Scripture (1991).

A few words of acknowledgment

Arthur Dodge, founder and chief curator of LuminaryQuotes.com, was impressed by how Dr. Wilson’s organizing system gathered passages from the major religions and a wide range of wisdom teachings around topics. This comparative system allows the reader to experience the commonalities in values of the different religions and wisdom traditions—without discrimination—while maintaining respect for the unique genius and integrity of each path. I realized that this topical organizing system could be a strong basis for a website that could literally provide “fingertip access” to this vital content.

Arthur Dodge: “I am grateful to Dr. Andrew Wilson for his graciousness, wise counsel, and goodwill toward the Luminary Quotes project. My friend Jeff Scharfen has served as a sounding board since the project’s founding. My wife Christine and sons Christopher and Kenneth have provided ongoing love, inspiration, and support. Jonathan Denni was the initial developer for LuminaryQuotes.app. Karla Liebowitz, Bill Dailey and their colleagues at HyperArts have helped prepare LuminaryQuotes.com for this new stage of growth.”

LuminaryQuotes.com Website

We are developing the Luminary Quotes website platform—https://luminaryquotes.com/—so that our readership can subscribe to the Daily Quotes service and refer it to their families, friends, and communities of practice. As we learn more about what our members want, we are adding capabilities. Some recently added functions are: 

• Search: find what you’re looking for.

• Favorites: as a subscribed member you can save your favorite Luminary Quotes.

• Subscribe: click this link to subscribe to our Daily Quotes service. 

• Share: click the Share link at the top of this page to share luminaryquotes.

• Contact: you are welcome to contact us and share your thoughts and favorite quotes that you’d like us to verify and publish. Use this email to contact us: Arthur Dodge: akd@luminaryquotes.com.

A definition of Luminary

luminary (n.), luminaries (pl.): 1. a person who enlightens or influences others; 2. a well-known or celebrated person; 3. literary, a shining object, such as a celestial body, that gives off light, such as the sun, moon, or a star, 4. luminary (adj.): of, involving, or characterized by light or enlightenment. [Word origin of ‘luminary’—via Old French luminarie, from Classical Latin lūmināre lamp, from lūmen light, from Ecclesiastical Late Latin luminarium.]