All Quotes By Tag: Introspection

“The past and the present are after all so close, so almost one, as if time were an artificial teasing out of a material which longs to join, to interpenetrate, and to become heavy and very small like some of those heavenly bodies scientists tell us of.”

“There is a goodness in the world that got me through, that taught me it’s important to know who you are.”

“Across the centuries the moral systems from medival chivalry to Bruce Springsteen love anthems have worked the same basic way. They take immediate selfish interests and enmesh them within transcendent, spiritual meanings. Love becomes a holy cause, an act of self-sacrifice and selfless commitment.But texting and the utilitarian mind-set are naturally corrosive toward poetry and imagination. A coat of ironic detachment is required for anyone who hopes to withstand the brutal feedback of the marketplace. In today’s world, the choice of a Prius can be a more sanctified act than the choice of an erotic partner.This does not mean that young people today are worse or shallower than young people in the past. It does mean they get less help. People once lived within a pattern of being, which educated the emotions, guided the temporary toward the permanent and linked everyday urges to higher things. The accumulated wisdom of the community steered couples as they tried to earn each other’s commitment.Today there are fewer norms that guide that way. Today’s technology seems to threaten the sort of recurring and stable reciprocity that is the building block of trust.”

“Know thyself, presume not God to scan;The proper study of mankind is man.”

“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any predictive ability during your activities of that month nor did it impact your current knowledge of the world.”

“If the whole universe can be found in our own body and mind, this is where we need to make our inquires. We all have the answers within ourselves, we just have not got in touch with them yet. The potential of finding the truth within requires faith in ourselves.”

“I stand in the mist and cry, thinking of myself standing in the mist and crying, and wondering if I will ever be able to use this experience in a book.”

“Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.”

“What good is it to seek our happiness in the opinion of others if we cannot find it in ourselves?”

“that’s exactly the good thing about the Injun life–you don’t have to stop and think about whether or not you’re ‘happy’–which in my opinionis a highly overrated human condition invented by white folks”

“They were quiet for a while, eating, then Oromis asked, “Can you tell me, What is the most important mental tool a person can possess?”It was a serious question, and Eragon considered it for a reasonable span before he ventured to say, “Determination.”Oromis tore the loaf in half with his long white fingers. “I can understand why you arrived at that conclusion-determination has served you well in your adventures-but no. I meant the tool most necessary to choose the best course of action in any given situation. Determination is as common among men who are dull and foolish as it is among those who are brilliant intellects. So, no, determination cannot be what we’re looking for.”

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

“Don’t call anyone a devil, because within you, you can experience hell and the devil, and the devil is nothing, but you!”

“The act of going within, finding our truth, and then sharing it, it helps us far more than we know.”

“Nothing is more visible than things hidden; Nothing is more manifest than things minute; Therefore, the superior man should be aware of his aloneness”