Week 2023-23: Mind is...

"Mind is the limit and measure of all things [...]" (Nicolas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente" ["The Layman: About Mind"], 1450)

"You know how the divine Simplicity enfolds all things. Mind is the image of this enfolding Simplicity." (Nicolas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"Man's mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth." (Desiderius Erasmus, "Praise of Folly", 1509)

"The mind is so constituted that it does not willingly rest in facts and immediate causes, but seeks always after a knowledge of the remoter links in the chain of causation." (Thomas H Huxley, "Discourses Biological and Geological", 1894)

"A truthful mind is necessary for the discovery of truth in Nature." (Sir Richard A Gregory, "Discovery; or, The Spirit and Service of Science", 1916)

"Mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience; all else is remote inference." (Arthur Eddington, "Science and the Unseen World", 1929)

The truly scientific mind is altogether unafraid of the new [...]" (Wilfred Trotter, "Observation and Experiment and Their Use in the Medical Sciences", British Medical Journal Vol. 2, 1930)

"Most mistakes in philosophy and logic occur because the human mind is apt to take the symbol for the reality." (Albert Einstein, "Cosmic Religion: With Other Opinions and Aphorisms", 1931)

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." (Robertson Davies, "Tempest-Tost", 1951)

"We are part of nature, and our mind is the only instrument we have, or can conceive of, for learning about nature or about ourselves." (Conrad H Waddington, "The Nature of Life", 1960)

"The mind is defined as the sum total of all the programs and the metaprograms of a given human computer, whether or not they are immediately elicitable, detectable, and visibly operational to the self or to others." (John C Lilly "Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer" 2nd Ed., 1972)

"The human mind is constantly drawn to anything that embodies some aspect of symmetry." (Marcus du Sautoy, "Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature", 2008)

"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe." (Albert Einstein)

Week 2023-22: Nicolas of Cusa - Collected Quotes

"All we know of the truth is that the absolute truth, such as it is, is beyond our reach." 

(Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Docta Ignorantia" ["On Learned Ignorance"], 1440)

"Wisdom is not to be found in the art of oratory, or in great books, but in a withdrawal from these sensible things and in a turning to the most simple and infinite forms. You will learn how to receive it into a temple purged from all vice, and by fervent love to cling to it until you may taste it and see how sweet That is which is all sweetness. Once this has been tasted, all things which you now consider as important will appear as vile, and you will be so humbled that no arrogance or other vice will remain in you. Once having tasted this wisdom, you will inseparably adhere to it with a chaste and pure heart. You will choose rather to forsake this world and all else that is not of this wisdom, and living with unspeakable happiness you will die." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Docta Ignorantia" ["On Learned Ignorance"], 1440)

"Now discourse is necessarily limited by its point of departure and its point of arrival, and since these are in mutual opposition we speak of contradiction. For the discursive reason these terms are opposed and distinct. In the realm of the reason, therefore, there is a necessary disjunction between extremes, as, for example, in the rational definition of the circle where the lines from the center to the circumference are equal and where the center cannot coincide with the circumference." (Nicholas of Cusa, "Apologia Doctae ignorantiae" ["The Defense of Learned Ignorance"], 1449)

"Mind is the limit and measure of all things [...]" (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"You know how the divine Simplicity enfolds all things. Mind is the image of this enfolding Simplicity. If, then, you called this divine Simplicity infinite Mind, it will be the exemplar of our mind. If you called the divine mind the totality of the truth of things, you will call our mind the totality of the assimilation of things, so that it may be a totality of ideas. In the divine Mind conception is the production of things; in our mind conception is the knowledge of things. If the divine Mind is absolute Being, then its conception is the creation of beings; and conception in the human mind is the assimilation of beings." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"[…] a great multitude cannot exist without much diversity […]" (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"All men strive and hope for nothing other than eternal life in their human nature. For this they instituted purgations of souls and sacred rites, in order to be better adapted in their nature to that eternal life." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"There can only be one wisdom. For if it were possible that there be several wisdoms, then these would have to be from one. Namely, unity is prior to all plurality." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"Within itself the soul sees all things more truly than as they exist in different things outside itself. And the more it goes out unto other things in order to know them, the more it enters into itself in order to know itself." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "On Equality", 1459)

"If full knowledge about the very base of our existence could be described as a circle, the best we can do is to arrive at a polygon." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus])

"The universe has no circumference, for if it had a center and a circumference there would be some and some thing beyond the world, suppositions which are wholly lacking in truth. Since, therefore, it is impossible that the universe should be enclosed within a corporeal center and corporeal boundary, it is not within our power to understand the universe, whose center and circumference are God. And though the universe." (Nicholas of Cusa[Nicolaus Cusanus])

"Time is to eternity as an image is to its exemplar, and those things which are temporal bear a resemblance to those things which are eternal." (Nicholas of Cusa[Nicolaus Cusanus])

Week 2023-21: On Knowledge

"In all disciplines in which there is systematic knowledge of things with principles, causes, or elements, it arises from a grasp of those: we think we have knowledge of a thing when we have found its primary causes and principles, and followed it back to its elements." (Aristotle, "Physics", cca. 350 BC)

"There are two modes of acquiring knowledge, namely, by reasoning and experience. Reasoning draws a conclusion and makes us grant the conclusion, but does not make the conclusion certain, nor does it remove doubt so that the mind may rest on the intuition of truth unless the mind discovers it by the path of experience." (Roger Bacon, "Opus Majus", 1267)

"Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth, error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgment, giving assent to that which is not true." (John Locke, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", 1689)

"He that would make a real progress in knowledge must dedicate his age as well as first fruits - the latter growth as well as the first-fruits - at the altar of truth." (Bishop George Berkeley, "Siris", 1744)

"Cultivate that kind of knowledge which enables us to discover for ourselves in case of need that which others have to read or be told of." (Georg C Lichtenberg, Notebook D, 1773-1775)

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." (Samuel Johnson, 1775)

"It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. When I have clarified and exhausted a subject, then I turn away from it, in order to go into darkness again; the never satisfied man is so strange if he has completed a structure, then it is not in order to dwell in it peacefully, but in order to begin another. I imagine the world conqueror must feel thus, who, after one kingdom is scarcely conquered, stretched out his arms for others." (Carl F Gauss, [Letter to Farkas Bolyai] 1808)

"The highest knowledge can be nothing more than the shortest and clearest road to truth; all the rest is pretension, not performance, mere verbiage and grandiloquence, from which we can learn nothing." (Charles C Colton, "Lacon", 1820)

"Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. Hence the step is always long from cognition to volition, from knowledge to ability. The most powerful springs of action in men lie in his emotions." (Carl von Clausewitz, "On War", 1832)

"In every branch of knowledge the progress is proportional to the amount of facts on which to build, and therefore to the facility of obtaining data." (James C Maxwell, [Letter to Lewis Campbell] 1851)

"The true aim of the teacher must be to impart an appreciation of method and not a knowledge of facts." (Karl Pearson, "The Grammar of Science", 1892)

"Man's determination not to be deceived is precisely the origin of the problem of knowledge. The question is always and only this: to learn to know and to grasp reality in the midst of a thousand causes of error which tend to vitiate our observation." (Federigo Enriques, "Problems of Science", 1906)

"If the fresh facts which come to our knowledge all fit themselves into the scheme, then our hypothesis may gradually become a solution." (Arthur C Doyle, "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge", 1908)

"Knowledge is the distilled essence of our intuitions, corroborated by experience." (Elbert Hubbard, "A Thousand & One Epigrams, 1911)

"It is experience which has given us our first real knowledge of Nature and her laws. It is experience, in the shape of observation and experiment, which has given us the raw material out of which hypothesis and inference have slowly elaborated that richer conception of the material world which constitutes perhaps the chief, and certainly the most characteristic, glory of the modern mind." (Arthur J Balfour, "The Foundations of Belief", 1912)

"The urge to knowledge is so deeply rooted in man that it can scarcely be omitted from a list of life's important needs." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)

"We have discovered that it is actually an aid in the search for knowledge to understand the nature of the knowledge we seek." (Arthur S Eddington, "The Philosophy of Physical Science", 1938)

"When a science approaches the frontiers of its knowledge, it seeks refuge in allegory or in analogy." (Erwin Chargaff, "Essays on Nucleic Acids", 1963)

"We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance." (John A Wheeler, Scientific American Vol. 267, 1992)

Week 2023-20: Lao Tzu - Collected Quotes

Disclaimer: some of the quotes might be incorrectly attributed. 

"A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; 
a sudden rain does not last for the whole day." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing." (Lao Tzu)

"Act without expectation." (Lao Tzu)

"All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power." (Lao-Tzu)

"An over sharpened sword cannot last long." (Lao Tzu)

"As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it." (Lao Tzu)

"As the soft yield of water cleaves obstinate stone,
So to yield with life solves the insolvable:
To yield, I have learned, is to come back again." (Lao-tzu)

"As to the roaming of sages,
They move in utter emptiness,
Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;
They run beyond convention
And go through where there is no gateway.
They listen to the soundless
And look at the formless,
They are not constrained by society
And not bound to its customs." (Lao Tzu)

"Be bent, and you will remain straight.
Be vacant, and you will remain full.
Be worn, and you will remain new." (Lao Tzu)

"Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you." (Lao Tzu)

"Be still; Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity." (Lao Tzu)

"Because one believes in oneself,
one doesn't try to convince others.
Because one is content with oneself,
one doesn't need others' approval.
Because one accepts oneself,
the whole world accepts him or her." (Lao Tzu)

"Become totally empty,
Quiet the restlessness of the mind,
Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness" (Lao Tzu)

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." (Lao Tzu)

"Boasting of wealth and virtue brings your demise." (Lao Tzu)

"But when the universe becomes your self,
when you love the world as yourself,
all reality becomes your haven,
reinventing you as your own heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"By letting go it all gets done." (Lao Tzu)

"By standing alone and unchanging, you will find that everything comes to you and the energy of the cosmos will never be exhausted." (Lao Tsu)

"Can your learned head take leaven from the wisdom of your heart?" (Lao Tzu)

"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner." (Lao Tzu)

"Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream,
couting prayer beads no more scared than simply breathing,
religious robed no more spiritual than work clothes." (Lao Tzu)

"Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Clay is molded to make a vessel,
but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing.
Thus, taking advantage of what is,
we recognize the utility of what is not." (Lao Tzu)

"Composure is the ruler of instability." (Lao Tzu)

"Conquering others requires force.

Conquering oneself requires strength." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Countless words count less 

than the silent balance between yin and yang" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Do not conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance.
Thorns spring up when an army passes.
Years of misery follow a great victory.
Do only what needs to be done without using violence." (Lao Tzu)

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." (Lao Tzu)

"Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles

and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the

right action arises by itself?" (Lao Tzu)

"Do you imagine the universe is agitated? 

Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. 

This practice should answer the question." (Lao Tzu)

"Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation... . 

The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world." (Lao Tzu)

"Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity." (Lao Tzu)

"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing." (Lao Tzu)

"Easy gives rise to difficult ... resonance

harmonizes sound, after follows before." (Lao Tzu)

"Every step is on the path." (Lao Tzu)

"Everything flows." (Lao Tzu)

"Existence is beyond the power of words

To define:

Terms may be used

But are none of them absolute.

In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,

Words came out of the womb of matter;

And whether a man dispassionately

Sees to the core of life

Or passionately

Sees the surface,

The core and the surface

Are essentially the same,

Words making them seem different

Only to express appearance.

If name be needed, wonder names them both:

From wonder into wonder

Existence opens." (Lao Tzu)

"Failure is an opportunity.

If you blame someone else,

there is no end to the blame.

Therefore the Master

fulfills her own obligations

and corrects her own mistakes.

She does what she needs to do

and demands nothing of others." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved." (Lao-tzu)

"Figure out the rhythm of life and live in harmony with it." (Lao Tzu)

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Free from desire, you realize the mystery

caught in the desire, you see only the manifestations." (Lao Tzu)

"Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Give up virtue, renounce wisdom;

people will benefit a thousand times.

Give up kindness, renounce morality,

people will embrace love and filial piety.

Give up cleverness, renounce greed,

bandits and thieves will vanish." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love them." (Lao Tzu)

"Great acts are made up of small deeds." (Lao Tzu)

"He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip." (Lao Tzu)

"He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty." (Lao Tzu)

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." (Lao Tzu)

"He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love." (Lao Tzu)

"He who knows much about others may be learned,

but he who understands himself is more intelligent.

He who controls others may be powerful,

but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." (Lao Tsu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"He who knows other men is discerning;

he who knows himself is intelligent.

He who overcomes others is strong;

he who overcomes himself is mighty.

He who is satisfied with his lot is rich;

he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long;

he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity." (Lao Tzu)

"He who has no faith in others shall find no faith in them." (Lao Tzu)

"He who is contented is rich." (Lao Tzu)

"He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know." (Lao Tzu)

"He who stands on tiptoe 

doesn't stand firm.

He who rushes ahead 

doesn't go far.

He who tries to shine 

dims his own light.

He who defines himself

can't know who he really is.

He who has power over others 

can't empower himself.

He who clings to his work 

will create nothing that endures.

If you want to accord with the Tao,

just do your job, then let go." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"He who talks more is sooner exhausted." (Lao Tzu)

"Health is the greatest possession. 

Contentment is the greatest treasure. 

Confidence is the greatest friend." (Lao Tzu)

"Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine" (Lao Tzu)

"Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"How do coves and oceans become kings of the hundred rivers? 

Because they are good at keeping low - 

That is how they are kings of the hundred rivers. 

Nothing in the world is weaker than water, 

But it has no better in overcoming the hard." (Lao Tzu)

"I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men." (Lao Tzu)

"If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness." (Lao Tzu)

"If I had just a little bit of wisdom
I should walk the great path and fear only straying from it." (Lao Tzu)

"If the force of arms is considered the only means of authority, it is not an auspicious instrument." (Lao Tzu)

"If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. 

 If you are anxious you are living in the future. 

 If you are at peace you are living in the present." (Lao Tzu)

"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place." (Lao Tzu)

"Integral wisdom involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light." (Lao Tzu) 

"If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
Try to hold it, and you will lose it." (Lao Tzu)

"If you understand others you are smart.
If you understand yourself you are illuminated.
If you overcome others you are powerful.
If you overcome yourself you have strength.
If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.
If you can act with vigor, you have a will.
If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.
If you die without loss, you are eternal." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." (Lao Tzu)

"In order to contract a thing, one should surely expand it first.
In order to weaken, one will surely strengthen first.
In order to overthrow, one will surely exalt first.
‘In order to take, one will surely give first.’
This is called subtle wisdom.’" (Lao Tzu)

"In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on
and gained by those who let go." (Lao Tzu)

"Is it not through her selflessness that she is able to perfect herself?" (Lao Tzu)

"It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Just remain in the center; watching.
And then forget that you are there." (Lao Tzu)

"Kindness in words creates confidence,
kindness in thinking creates profoundness,
kindness in giving creates love." (Lao Tzu)

"Knowing how to yield is strength" (Lao Tzu)

"Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment;
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self needs strength." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." (Lao Tzu)

"Loss is not as bad as wanting more." (Lao Tzu)

"Love is of all the passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses." (Lao Tzu)

"Manage affairs before they are in a mess." (Lao Tzu)

"Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires." (Lao Tzu)

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." (Lao Tzu)

"Nature's way is simple and easy, but men prefer the intricated and artificial." (Lao Tzu)

"New beginnings are often described as painful endings." (Lao Tzu)

"Not knowing that one knows is best," (Lao Tzu)

"Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things." (Lao Tzu)

"Not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it." (Lao Tzu)

"Our enemies are not demons, but human beings like ourselves" (Lao Tzu)

"Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect." (Lao Tzu)

"Possessing rare treasures brings about harmful behavior." (Lao Tzu)

"Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Quietly go to work on your own self-awareness.
If you want to awaken all of humanity,
then awaken all of yourself.
If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,
then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.
Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation." (Lao Tzu)

"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment." (Lao Tzu)

"Rushing into action, you fail.
Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
Forcing a project to completion,
you ruin what was almost ripe.

"Therefore the Master takes action
by letting things take their course.
He remains as calm at the end 
as at the beginning.
He has nothing,
thus has nothing to lose.
What he desires is non-desire;
what he learns is to unlearn.
He simply reminds people
of who they have always been.
He cares about nothing but the Tao.
Thus he can care for all things." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Simplicity has no name is free of desires.
Being free of desires it is tranquil.
And the world will be at peace of it's own accord." (Lao Tzu)

"Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world." (Lao Tzu)

"So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other;" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants." (Lao Tzu)

"Softness triumphs over hardness, feebleness over strength. What is more malleable is always superior over that which is immoveable. This is the principle of controlling things by going along with them, of mastery through adaptation." (Lao-Tzu)

"Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself." (Lao Tzu)

"Stop leaving and you will arrive.
Stop searching and you will see.
Stop running away and you will be found." (Lao Tzu)

"Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Take care with the end as you do with the beginning." (Lao Tzu)

"The best fighter is never angry." (Lao Tzu)

"The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small." (Lao Tzu, cca 400 BC)

"The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others." (Lao Tzu)

"The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The flexible are preserved unbroken. The bent become straight. The empty are filled. The exhausted become renewed. The poor are enriched. The rich are confounded. Therefore the sage embraces the one. Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds. The old saying that the flexible are preserved unbroken is surely right! If you have truely attained wholeness, everything will flock to you." (Lao Tzu)

"The further one goes, the less one knows." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above." (Lao Tzu)

"The inner is foundation of the outer, the still is master of the restless
The Sage travels all day, yet never leaves his inner treasure" (Lao Tzu)

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." (Lao Tzu)

"The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things)."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The master dwells in the substantial and not in the superficial. Rests in the fruit and not in the flower." (Lao Tzu)

"The master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve." (Lao Tzu)

"The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
He prefers what is within to what is without." (Lao Tzu)

"The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms." (Lao Tzu)

"The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage avoids excess, extravagance and indulgence." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage carries on his business without action and gives his teachings without words." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The sage produces without possessing, acts without expectations, and accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments. It is precisely because she does not abide in them that they never leave her." (Lao Tzu)

"The Sage sees the world as an expansion of his own self
So what need has he to accumulate things?" (Lao Tzu)

"The scholar gains every day;
the man of Tao loses every day" (Lao Tzu)

"The skillful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps" (Lao Tzu)

"The slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow. A victory should be celebrated with the funeral rite." (Lao Tzu)

"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself." (Lao Tzu)

"The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action." (Lao Tzu)

"The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. 
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. 
The unnameahle is the eternally real. 
Naming is the origin of all particular things. 
Free from desire, you realize the mystery. 
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations." (Lao Tzu)

"The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth." (Lao Tzu)

"The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure.
The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete." (Lao Tzu)

"The way of heaven is to help and not harm." (Lao Tzu)

"The Way to do is to be." (Lao Tzu)

"The wise man acts without expectation of reward and completes his task without claiming merit." (Lao Tzu)

"The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign, straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling." (Lao Tzu)

"There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There are ways, but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words:
Nameless indeed is the source of creation.
But things have a mother and she has a name." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There is a time to live and a time to die, but never to reject the moment." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There is no disaster greater than not being content; There is no misfortune greater than being covetous." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no illusion greater than fear." (Lao Tzu)

"There is nothing better than to know that you don’t know.
Not knowing, yet thinking your know -
This is sickness.
Only when you are sick of being sick
Can you be cured." (Lao Tsu)

"There was something formless and perfect 
before the universe was born. 
It is serene. Empty. 
Solitary. Unchanging. 
Infinite. Eternally present. 
It is the mother of the universe. 
For lack of a better name, 
I call it the Tao." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"Those who have tempered themselves are not afraid of encountering tigers." (Lao Tsu)

"Those who justify themselves do not convince." (Lao Tzu)

"These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao, trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her fingertips." (Lao Tzu)

"To a mind that is still the whole universe surrenders." (Lao Tzu)

"To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day." (Lao Tzu)

"To be worn out is to be renewed." (Lao Tzu)

"To bear and not to own;
to act and not lay claim;
to do the work and let it go:
for just letting it go is what makes it stay." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go" (Lao Tzu)

"True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.

True straightness seems crooked.
True wisdom seems foolish.
True art seems artless." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"Wasting energy to obtain rare objects only impedes one's growth." (Lao Tzu)

"Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness." (Lao Tzu)

"What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"What is is the was of what shall be." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly." (Lao Tzu)

"When all in the world understand beauty to be beautiful, then ugliness exists; when all understand goodness to be good, then evil exists." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"When all in the world understand beauty to be beautiful, then ugliness exists; when all understand goodness to be good, then evil exists." (Lao Tzu)

"When goodness is lost there is morality." (Lao Tzu)

"When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it." (Lao Tzu)

"When nothing is done, nothing is left undone." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When people act overly nice, I always wonder about their motives." (Lao Tze)

"When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good, other things become bad." (Lao Tzu)

"When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people's hearts." (Lao Tzu)

"When the great Too is forgotten,
virtue and morality arise.
When knowledge and intelligence are born,
the great pretense begins.
When there is no harmony within the family,
filial piety and devotion arise.
When the country is confused and in chaos,
loyal officials appear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When things flourish they decline." (Lao Tzu)

Week 2023-19: Confucius - Collected Quotes

Disclaimer: some of the quotes might be incorrectly attributed. 

"A common man marvels at uncommon things; a wise man marvels at the commonplace." (Confucius)

"A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake." (Confucius)

"A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." (Confucius)

"Ability will never catch up with the demand for it." (Confucius)

"An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger." (Confucius)

"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are." (Confucius)

"At first, my method with others was to listen to what they said, and expect them to act accordingly. Now, my method is to listen to what they say, and then observe what they do." (Confucius)

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes." (Confucius)

"Committing oneself to unsuitable teachings [/ methods] is no good." (Confucius)

"Consider people based on the way they come to you, not what they will do when they leave [based on their past experiences]… If someone purifies his mind to approach me, I accept his [current] pureness, without becoming a sponsor of his past." (Confucius)

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." (Confucius)

"Don’t be concerned that you have no position; be concerned how you may fit yourself to occupy one. Don’t be concerned with being unknown; be concerned with being worthy of being known." (Confucius)

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." (Confucius)

"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage." (Confucius)

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." (Confucius)

"Good people strengthen themselves ceaselessly." (Confucius)

"Have no friends not equal to yourself." (Confucius)

"He does something [that he would talk about] first, and then speaks according to his actions." (Confucius)

"He who governs by way of virtue [/ excellence] can be compared to the [North] Pole Star, which keeps its place while all the other stars position themselves around it." (Confucius)

"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger." (Confucius)

"He who reviews old knowledge and continues to learn new knowledge is fit to teach others." (Confucius)

"He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good." (Confucius)

"I am not someone born with wisdom - but I love teachings, and have diligently sought them." (Confucius)

"I don’t teach the student who isn’t eager to learn, nor do I help anyone who isn’t eager to express himself. If I present one corner of a subject and the student cannot use it to learn the other three, I won’t repeat my lesson." (Confucius)

"I have yet to find a person who loves virtue as much as sex." (Confucius)

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Confucius)

"I know that birds can fly, fish can swim, and animals run. For those that run a net may be set, for those that swim a line cast, and for those that fly an arrow set free. But a dragon's ascent to heaven walks the wind and swims through clouds, and I know of no way to trap him. Today I have met Lao Tzu, who is both man and dragon."" (Confucius) 

"I will not fret over being unknown to others; I will fret that I do not know them." (Confucius)

"If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world." (Confucius)

"If we don't know life, how can we know death?" (Confucius)

"If you govern people with laws and control them by punishment, they will seek to avoid punishment, but have no sense of Confucianism shame. If you govern them by virtue and control them with properness, they will have their own sense of shame, and guide themselves into doing good." (Confucius)

"If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?" (Confucius)

"Isn’t it a pleasure to consistently study, and apply what you have learned?" (Confucius)

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." (Confucius)

"Knowing the truth is not as good as loving it; loving it is not as good as delighting in it." (Confucius)

"Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous," (Confucius)

"Man can make System great; it isn’t System which makes man great." (Confucius)

"My students, do you think I conceal things from you? I don’t conceal anything from you - there is nothing that I do that is not made known to you. This is the real me." (Confucius)

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Confucius)

"See a person’s actions. Observe his motives. Examine in what things he rests. How can a person conceal his character?" (Confucius)

"Study the past if you would divine the future." (Confucius)

"Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous." (Confucius)

"The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance." (Confucius)

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." (Confucius)

"The grass must bend when the wind blows across it." (Confucius)

"The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.” (Confucius)

"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large." (Confucius)

"The object of the superior man is truth." (Confucius)

"The real fault is to have faults and not try to mend them." (Confucius)

"The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar." (Confucius)

"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." (Confucius)

"The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action." (Confucius)

"The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions." (Confucius)

"The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success comes only later." (Confucius)

"The superior person does not try to stuff himself when he eats… [and] is diligent in his work and careful in speech… Such a person is someone who can definitely be considered to love learning." (Confucius)

"The superior person is calm and composed; the lesser person is continuously worried and distressed." (Confucius)

"The superior person is concerned with his character; 
the lesser person cares only about his wealth." (Confucius)

"The superior person is perceptive and not biased. The lesser person is biased and not perceptive." (Confucius)

"The way of a superior man is threefold: Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear." (Confucius)

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom." (Confucius)

"To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it." (Confucius)

"To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." (Confucius)

"To know that one knows what one knows, and to know that one doesn't know what one doesn't know, there lies true wisdom." (Confucius)

"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice." (Confucius)

"To lead an untrained people to war is to throw them away." (Confucius)

"To learn without thinking, one will be lost in his learning. To think without learning, one will be imperiled." (Confucius)

"To merely know is nothing compared to being interested to know, being interested to know is nothing compared to deriving joy from learning it." (Confucius)

"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness." (Confucius)

"To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage." (Confucius)

"Unify your attention.  Do not listen with your ears, but with your mind. Do not listen with your mind but with your essence." (Confucius)

"We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression." (Confucius)

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." (Confucius)

"What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others." (Confucius)

"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." (Confucius)

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." (Confucius)

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." (Confucius)

"When I am with others, they are my teachers. I can select their good points and follow them, and select their bad points and avoid them." (Confucius)

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." (Confucius)

"When raw nature dominates training, you will be rustic. When training dominates raw nature, you will be clerical. When raw nature and training are combined well, you will be a superior person." (Confucius)

"When the mind is not present, we look and do not see; we hear and do not understand; we eat and do not know the taste of what we eat." (Confucius)

"When the superior person deals with the world, he does not prejudice his mind for or against anything - he just follows what is right." (Confucius)

"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves." (Confucius)

"When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves." (Confucius)

"When you have faults, do not stop yourself from abandoning them." (Confucius)

"When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge."  (Confucius)

"When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self." (Confucius)

"When you see good [qualities] in a person, think of how to rise to that level. When you see bad [qualities] in a person, reflect inwards and examine your weak points." (Confucius)

"Whenever I walk among two other people, it does not matter their social status and accomplishments; at least one of them will be able to teach me the knowledge that I do not possess." (Confucius)

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." (Confucius)

"Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?" (Confucius)

"Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men." (Confucius)

"You can successfully force people to follow a certain course, but you cannot force them to understand it." (Confucius)

"You cannot open a book without learning something." (Confucius)

Week 2023-18: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Collected Quotes

"In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away [...]" (Antoine de Saint Exupéry, "Wind, Sand and Stars", 1939)

"The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wind, Sand, and Stars", 1939)

"Life always bursts the boundaries of formulas." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"The field of consciousness is tiny. It accepts only one problem at a time. Get into a fist fight, put your mind on the strategy of the fight, and you will not feel the other fellow's punches." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince", 1943)

"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince", 1943)

"The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves but in our attitude toward them." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wisdom of the Sands", 1948)

"Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wisdom of the Sands", 1948)

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral."

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Freedom and constraint are two aspects of the same necessity, the necessity of being the man you are, and not another. You are free to be that man, but not free to be another."(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"If you want to build a boat, do not instruct the men to saw wood, stitch the sails, prepare the tools and organize the work, but make them long for setting sail and travel to distant lands."(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Life has a meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"There is no hope or joy except in human relations." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"You give birth to that on which you fix your mind." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Week 2023-17: Carl G Jung - Collected Quotes

"Intuition does not denote something contrary to reason, but something outside of the province of reason." (Carl G Jung, "Psychological types: or, The psychology of individuation", 1926)

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. " (Carl G Jung, "Psychological types: or, The psychology of individuation", 1926)

"The meaning and design of a problem seem not to lie in its solution, but in our working at it incessantly." (Carl G Jung, "Modern Man in Search of a Soul", 1933)

"By a symbol I do not mean an allegory or a sign, but an image that describes in the best possible way the dimly discerned nature of the spirit. A symbol does not define or explain; it points beyond itself to a meaning that is darkly divined yet still beyond our grasp, and cannot be adequately expressed in the familiar words of our language." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Language, in its origin and essence, is simply a system of signs or symbols that denote real occurrences or their echo in the human soul." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Once we give serious consideration to the hypothesis of the unconscious, it follows that our view of the world can be but a provisional one; for if we effect so radical an alteration in the subject of perception and cognition as this dual focus implies, the result must be a world view very different from any known before." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"We want to have certainties and no doubts - results and no experiments - without even seeing that certainties can arise only through doubt and results only thorough experiment." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely than does science. Science works with concepts of averages which are far too general to do justice to the subjective variety of an individual life." (Carl G Jung, "Memories, Dreams, Reflections", 1963)

"A dream that is not understood remains a mere occurrence; understood it becomes a living experience." (Carl G Jung, "The Practice of Psychotherapy", 1966)

"Madness is a special form of the spirit and clings to all teachings and philosophies, but even more to daily life, since life itself is full of craziness and at bottom utterly illogical. Man strives toward reason only so that he can make rules for himself. Life itself has no rules. That is its mystery and its unknown law. What you call knowledge is an attempt to impose something comprehensible on life." (Carl G Jung, "Liber Novus", 2009)

"Continuous creation is to be thought of not only as a series of successive acts of creation, but also as the eternal presence of the one creative act." (Carl G Jung)

"Error is just as important a condition of life as truth." (Carl G Jung)

"Intuition is perception via the unconscious that brings forth ideas, images, new possibilities and ways out of blocked situations." (Carl G Jung)

"It would be simple enough, if only simplicity were not the most difficult of all things." (Carl G Jung)

"The squaring of the circle is a stage on the way to the unconscious, a point of transition leading to a goal lying as yet unformulated beyond it. It is one of those paths to the centre." (Carl G Jung)

"Ultimate truth, if there be such a thing, demands the concert of many voices." (Carl G Jung)

Week 2023-16: Albert Einstein - Collected Quotes

"Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing." (Albert Einstein, 1920)

"Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting point and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up." (Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld, "The Evolution of Physics", 1938)

"The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science." (Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld, "The Evolution of Physics", 1938)

"The words of the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in any mechanism of thought. The physical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be 'voluntarily' reproduced or combined. […]  But taken from a psychological viewpoint, this combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought - before there is any connection with logical construction in words or other kinds of signs which can be communicated to others. The above-mentioned elements are, in my case, of visual and some of muscular type. Conventional words or other signs have to be sought for laboriously only in a secondary stage, when the mentioned associative play is sufficiently established and can be reproduced at will. " (Albert Einstein, [letter to Hadamard, in (Jacques Hadamard, "The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field,1945)])

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. " (Albert Einstein)

"It is an outcome of faith that nature - as she is perceptible to our five senses - takes the character of such a well formulated puzzle. " (Albert Einstein)

"That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. " (Albert Einstein)

"The aim [of education] must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, see in the service to the community their highest life achievement." (Albert Einstein)

"The truth of a theory is in your mind, not in your eyes." (Albert Einstein)

"Truth is what stands the test of experience. " (Albert Einstein)

"We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." (Albert Einstein)

"What I’m really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way; that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all. " (Albert Einstein)

Week 2023-15: Anthony Robbins - Collected Quotes

"How do I define a hero? A hero is a person who courageously contributes under even the most trying circumstances; a hero is an individual who acts unselfishly and who demands more from himself or herself than others would expect; a hero is a man or woman who defies adversity by doing what he or she believes is right in spite of fear." (Anthony Robbins, "Awaken the Giant Within", 1991)

"If you don’t set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in your life, you’ll find it’s easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that’s far below what you deserve. You need to set and live by these standards no matter what happens in your life." (Anthony Robbins, "Awaken the Giant Within", 1991)

"One of the most important decisions you can make to ensure your long-term happiness is to decide to use whatever life gives you in the moment." (Anthony Robbins, "Awaken the Giant Within", 1991)

"Strive for balance rather than perfection. Most people live in a black-and-white world where they think that they’re either a volunteer with no life of their own, or just a materialistic, achievement-oriented person who doesn’t care to make a difference. Don’t fall into this trap. Life is a balance between giving and receiving, between taking care of yourself and taking care of others." (Anthony Robbins, "Awaken the Giant Within", 1991)

"Each of us is endowed with innate resources that enable us to achieve all we’ve ever dreamed of—and more. The floodgates can be opened by one decision, bringing us joy or sorrow, prosperity or poverty, companionship or solitude, long life or early death. What decisions have you made or failed to make int he past that powerfully influence your life today?" (Anthony Robbins)

"In order to succeed at anything and not be stressed, you have to be able to take a whole variety of action items and group them smartly so that they help you accomplish a common outcome. If you take a project and try to do the whole thing at once, you'll be overwhelmed; if you break something into too many small steps, it'll be equally daunting and frustrating." (Anthony Robbins)

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. Choose well." (Anthony Robbins)

"It's not what we do once in a while that counts, but our consistent actions. And what is the father of all action? What ultimately determines who we become and where we go in life? The answer is our decisions. It's in these moments that our destiny is shaped. More than anything else, I believe our decisions - not the conditions of our lives - determine our destiny." (Anthony Robbins)

"Make a decision today that can immediately change or improve the quality of your life. Do something you’ve been putting off, master a new set of skills, treat people with newfound respect and compassion, call someone you haven’t spoken to in years. Just know that all decisions have consequences. Even making no decision at all is a decision in its own way." (Anthony Robbins)

"Most people fail in life because they major in minor things." (Anthony Robbins)

"Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!" (Anthony Robbins)

"Rewards are disproportionate when you reach an outstanding level of achievement - and outstanding is just one small notch above excellent." (Anthony Robbins)

"Small visions have no power to move us. For most people, their challenge is not that they are not motivated or that they don’t have the intelligence to figure out how to get what they want. Most people simply don’t have a large and compelling enough vision." (Anthony Robbins)

"The only impossible journey is the one you never begin." (Anthony Robbins)

"The quality of your growth is a direct reflection of how much discomfort you can comfortably live with" (Anthony Robbins)

"The way to get good at making decisions is to make more of them. Then if you make the wrong ones, you'll learn more quickly and you can use what you've learned to make better decisions in the future." (Anthony Robbins)

"There are no failures in life, only results." (Anthony Robbins)

"There is always room in your life for thinking bigger, pushing limits, imagining the unimaginable." (Anthony Robbins)

"We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance." (Anthony Robbins)

"What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability." (Anthony Robbins)

Week 2023-14: Bhagavad Gita - Collected Quotes

"A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return." (Bhagavad Gita)

"All this visible universe comes from my invisible being. All beings have their rest in me, but I have not my rest in them." (Bhagavad Gita)

"Anyone who is steady in his determination for the advanced stage of spiritual realization and can equally tolerate the onslaughts of distress and happiness is certainly a person eligible for liberation." (Bhagavad Gita)

"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, so the mind dwelling on even one of the senses carries away the intelligence." (Bhagavad Gita)

"But they that spread a feast all for themselves eat sin and drink of sin." (Bhagavad Gita)

"Curving back within myself I create again and again." (Bhagavad Gita)

"For him who has no concentration, there is no tranquility." (Bhagavad Gita)

"For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom, nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration; and for him without concentration there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness?" (Bhagavad Gita)

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." (Bhagavad Gita)

"Looking to thine own duty thou shouldst not tremble; for there is nothing more welcome to a Kshattriya (Warrior) than righteous war offered unsought as an open door to heaven." (Bhagavad Gita)

"The happiness which comes from long practice, which leads to the end of suffering, which at first is like poison, but at last like nectar - this kind of happiness arises from the serenity of one's own mind." (Bhagavad Gita)

"The peace of God is with them whose mind and soul are in harmony, who are free from desire and wrath, who know their own soul." (Bhagavad Gita)

"The self is the friend of a man who masters himself through the self, but for a man without self-mastery, the self is like an enemy at war." (Bhagavad Gita)

"The soul that moves in the world of senses and yet keeps the senses in harmony ... finds rest in quietness." (Bhagavad Gita)

"There's no wisdom from a man without harmony, and without harmony there is no contemplation. Without contemplation there cannot be peace, and without peace there can be no joy..." (Bhagavad Gita)

"Without self-mastery he has no understanding of inner power; without inner power, he has no peace; and without peace, where is joy?" (Bhagavad Gita)

Week 2023-13: Pema Chödrön - Collected Quotes

"By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength." (Pema Chödrön)

"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity." (Pema Chödrön)

"If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent." (Pema Chödrön)

"In Buddhism, we call the notion of a fixed identity 'ego clinging'. It's how we try to put solid ground under our feet in an ever shifting world. Meditation practice starts to erode that fixed identity." Pema Chödrön

"It's helpful to remind yourself that meditation is about opening and relaxing with whatever arises, without picking and choosing." (Pema Chödrön)

"Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together." (Pema Chödrön)

"Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes." (Pema Chödrön & Chogyam Trungpa)

"Meditation takes us just as we are, with our confusion and our sanity. This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is a simple, direct relationship with our being. We call this maitri, loving-kindness toward ourselves and others." (Pema Chödrön)

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." (Pema Chödrön)

"The root of compassion is compassion for oneself." (Pema Chödrön)

"The teacher serves as a mirror but also encourages your ability to trust in yourself. You begin to trust in your basic goodness instead of identifying with your neurosis. There’s a shift of allegiance. Then the obstacles begin to seem temporary, and what’s permanent is the wisdom. To the degree that you become intimate with your neurosis - not acting-out and not repressing - to that degree you discover your wisdom." (Pema Chödron)

"There is nobody on the planet, neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, who doesn’t have what it takes to wake up. We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. If you find yourself becoming aggressive about your opinions, notice that. If you find yourself being nonaggressive, notice that. Cultivating a mind that does not grasp at right and wrong, you will find a fresh state of being. The ultimate cessation of suffering comes from that. Finally, never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others. Wholeheartedly do what it takes to awaken your clear-seeing intelligence, but one day at a time, one moment at a time. If we live that way, we will benefit this earth." (Pema Chödrön)

"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being. [...] You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. [...] you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently." (Pema Chödrön)

"While we are sitting in meditation, we are simply exploring humanity and all of creation in the form of ourselves. We can become the world’s greatest experts on anger, jealousy, and self-deprecation, as well as on joyfulness, clarity, and insight. Everything that human beings feel, we feel. We can become extremely wise and sensitive to all of humanity and the whole universe simply by knowing ourselves, just as we are." (Pema Chödrön)

"Without anger there is no enemy… When hatred consumes us we perceive enemies everywhere." (Pema Chödrön)

Week 2023-12: Baltasar Gracian - Collected Quotes

 "A prudent man will think more important what fate has conceded to him, than what it has denied." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Do not be held a cheat, even though it is impossible to live today without being one. Let your greatest cunning lie in covering up what looks like cunning." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Friends are a second existence." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil. 'Tis the sole remedy against misfortune, the very ventilation of the soul." (Baltasar Gracian)

"He who finds Fortune on his side should go briskly ahead, for she is wont to favor the bold." (Baltasar Gracian)

"If you are wise, live as you can; if you cannot, live as you would." (Baltasar Gracian)

"It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck, even while waiting for it." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Knowledge without courage is sterile." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Nothing arouses ambition so much as the trumpet clang of another's fame." (Baltasar Gracian)

"One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity."(Baltasar Gracian)

"One who was adored by all in prosperity is abhorred by all in adversity." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Some are satisfied to stand politely before the portals of Fortune and to await her bidding; better those who push forward, who employ their enterprise, who on the wings of their worth and valor seek to embrace luck, and to effectively gain her favor." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Sometimes it proves the highest understanding not to understand." (Baltasar Gracian)

"Surfeits of happiness are fatal." (Baltasar Gracian)

"The greatest wisdom often consists in ignorance." (Baltasar Gracian)

"The heaven of the envied is hell for the envious." (Baltasar Gracian)

"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally." (Baltasar Gracian)

"There is no wilderness like a life without friends; friendship multiplies blessings and minimizes misfortunes; it is a unique remedy against adversity, and it soothes the soul." (Baltasar Gracian)

Week 2023-11: Francóis de La Róchefoucald - Collected Quotes

"A man who finds no satisfaction in himself, seeks for it in vain elsewhere." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"A man's happiness or unhappiness depends as much on his temperament as on his destiny." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are who already possess it." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Boredom ... causes us to neglect more duties than does interest." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Great men’s success should always be measured against the means they used to reach it." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things themselves; we are happy from possessing what we like, not from possessing what others like." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Hope is the last thing that dies in man." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"I always say to myself, what is the most important thing we can think about at this extraordinary moment." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"If we resist our passions, it is more from their weakness than from our strength." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"In great affairs we ought to apply ourselves less to creating chances than to profiting from those that are offered." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"In jealousy there is more of self-love than love." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Interest speaks all sorts of tongues, and plays all sorts of parts, even that of disinterestedness." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"It is as proper to have pride in oneself as it is ridiculous to show it to others." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Love’s greatest miracle is the curing of coquetry." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Nothing is so infectious as example." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"One forgives to the degree that one loves." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Perfect courage means doing unwitnessed what we would be capable of with the world looking on." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much of that which we have in others." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"The intellect is always fooled by the heart." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"The passions are the only orators which always persuade." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"The prospect of being pleased tomorrow will never console me for the boredom of today." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"The virtues and the vices are all put in motion by interest."  (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"There are more defects in temperament than in the mind." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"There are no accidents so unlucky from which clever people are not able to reap some advantage, and none so lucky that the foolish are not able to turn them to their own disadvantage." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Though men pride themselves on their great actions, often they are not the result of any great design, but of chance." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"To establish oneself in the world, one has to do all one can to appear established." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"True eloquence consists of saying all that should be said, and that only." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We are never so happy or so unhappy as we think." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We often forgive those who bore us, but can't forgive those whom we bore." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We should not judge a man’s merits by his qualities, but by the use he makes of them."  (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"We should scarcely desire things ardently if we were perfectly acquainted with what we desire." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended." Francóis de La Róchefoucald

"What causes us to like new acquaintances is not so much weariness of our old ones, or the pleasure of change, as disgust at not being sufficiently admired by those who know us too well, and the hope of being admired more by those who do not know so much about us." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere." (Francóis de La Róchefoucald)

Week 2023-10: Upanishads

"Equipped with qualities, a doer of works and creator of their consequences, he reaps the result of his actions; he is the ruler of the life and he moves in his journey according to his own acts: he has idea and ego and is to be known by the qualities of his intelligence and his quality of self. Smaller than the hundredth part of the tip of a hair, the soul of the living being is capable of infinity. Male is he not nor female nor neuter, but is joined to whatever body he takes as his own." (Swetaswatara Upanishad)

"From the non-being to true being, from the darkness to the Light, from death to Immortality." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"He becomes the Eternal and departs into the Eternal." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"He fashions one form of things in many ways." (Katha Upanishad)

"He passes in his departure from this world to the physical Self; he passes to the Self of life; he passes to the Self of mind; he passes to the Self of knowledge; he passes to the Self of bliss; he moves through these worlds at will." (Taittiriya Upanishad)

"He strives by these means and has the knowledge: in him this spirit enters into its supreme status. Satisfied in knowledge, having built up their spiritual being, the Wise, in union with the spiritual self, reach the Omnipresent everywhere and enter into the All." (Mundaka Upanishad)

"It is not large, and not minute; not short, not long; without blood, without fat; without shadow, without darkness; without wind, without ether; not adhesive, not tangible; without smell, without taste; without eyes, ears, voice, or mind; without heat, breath, or mouth; without personal or family name; unaging, undying, without fear, immortal, dustless, not un¬ covered or covered; with nothing before, nothing behind, nothing within. It consumes no one, and is consumed by no one. It is the imseen seer, the un¬ heard hearer, the unthought thinker, the unknown knower." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"Long and narrow is the ancient Path, - I have touched it, I have found it, the Path by which the wise, blowers of the Eternal, attaining to salvation, depart hence to the high world of Paradise." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"Made certain of the meaning of the highest spiritual knowledge, purified in their being." (Mundrake Upanishad)

"Seven are these worlds in which move the life-forces that are hidden within the secret heart as their dwelling-place seven by seven." (Mundaka Upanishad)

"The Infinite indeed is below, above, behind, before, right and left—it is indeed all this. Now follows the explanation of the Infinite as the I; I am below, I am above, I am behind, before, right and left - I am all this. Next follows the explanation of the Infinite as the Self: Self is below, above, behind, before, right and left - Self is all this. He who sees, perceives, and understands this, loves the Self, delights in the Self, revels in the Self, rejoices in the Self -  he becomes a Svaraj, [an autocrat or self-ruler]; he is lord and master in all the worlds." (Upanishads)

"The one Godhead secret in all beings, all-pervading, the inner Self of all, presiding over all action, witness, conscious knower and absolute... the One in control over the many who are passive to Nature, fashions one seed in many ways." (Svetosvatara Upanishad)

"The Swan that settles in the purity... born of the Truth, - itself the Truth, the Vast." (Katha Upanishad)

"The transmigration of life takes place in one’s mind. Let one therefore keep the mind pure, for what a man thinks, so he becomes." (Upanishads)

"There is a birth and growth of the self. According to his action', the embodied being assumes forms successively in many places; many forms gross and subtle he assumes by force of his own qualities of nature..." (Swetaswatara Upanishad)

"There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in your heart." (Chandogya Upanishad)

"They say indeed that the conscious being is made of desire. But of whatsoever desire he comes to be, he comes to be of that will, and of whatever will he comes to be, he does that action, and whatever his action, to (the result of) that he reaches... Adhered to by his Karma he goes in his subtle body to wherever his mind cleaves, then, coming to the end of his Kama, even of whatsoever action he does here, he returns from that world to this world for Karma." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"This bodiless and immortal Life and Light is the Brahman." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

"This is the eternal Tree with its root above and its branches downward; this is Brahman, the is the Immortal; in it are lodged all the worlds and none goes beyond it. This and That are one." (Katha Upanishad)

"This Self is to be won by the Truth and by an integral knowledge." (Mundaka Upanishad)

"This whole world is filled with beings who are His members." (Swetaswatara Upanishad)

"Thou art man and woman, boy and girl; old and worn thou walkest bent over a staff; thou art the blue bird and the green and the scarleteyed..." (Swetaswatara Upanishad)

"When a blade of grass is cut, the whole universe quivers." (Upanishads)

"When all the desires that cling to the heart Me loosed away from it, then the mortal becomes immortal, even here he possesses the Eternal." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

Week 2023-09: Euripides - Collected Quotes

"A bad beginning makes a bad ending." (Euripides)

"A coward turns away, but a brave man's choice is danger." (Euripides)

"All is change; all yields its place and goes." (Euripides)

"Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom." (Euripides)

"Among mortals second thoughts are wisest." (Euripides)

"Enjoy yourself, drink, call the life you live today your own - but only that; the rest belongs to chance." (Euripides)

"Every man is like the company he is wont to keep." (Euripides)

"Fortune always will confer an aura
Of worth, unworthily; and in this world
The lucky person passes for a genius."" Euripedes

"Happiness, greatness, pride - nothing is secure, nothing keeps." (Euripides)

"How base a thing it is when a man will struggle with necessity! We have to die." (Euripides)

"Human misery must somewhere have a stop; there is no wind that always blows a storm." (Euripides)

"I loathe a friend ... who takes his friend's prosperity but will not voyage with him in his grief." (Euripides)

"I would prefer as a friend a good man who is ignorant than one more clever who is evil, too." (Euripides)

"It is a good thing to be rich, it is a good thing to be strong, but it is a better thing to be beloved of many friends." (Euripides)

"It was my tongue that swore; my heart is unsworn." (Euripides)

"Let a man accept his destiny. No pity and no tears." (Euripides)

"Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other." (Euripides)

"No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow." (Euripides)

"No one is happy all his life long." (Euripides)

"One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives." (Euripides)

"One man; two loves. No good ever comes of that." (Euripides)

"Pray the gods do not envy your happiness!" (Euripides)

"Real friendship is shown in times of trouble; prosperity is full of friends." (Euripides)

"Since luck's a nine days' wonder, wait their end." (Euripides)

"Slight not what is near though aiming at what is far." (Euripides)

"Sufficiency's enough for men of sense." (Euripides)

"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish." (Euripides)

"Ten thousand men possess ten thousand hopes." (Euripides)

"That man is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of a life." (Euripides)

"The good and the wise lead quiet lives." (Euripides)

"The man who glories in his luck may be overthrown by destiny." (Euripides)

"The same man cannot be skilled in everything; each has his special excellence." (Euripides)

"There is as much confusion in the world of the gods as in ours." (Euripides)

"There is in the worst of fortune the best of chances for a happy change." (Euripides)

"There is just one life for each of us: our own." (Euripides)

"This is courage in a man: to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends." (Euripides)

"To persevere, trusting in what hopes he has, is courage in a man. The coward despairs." (Euripides)

"Try first thyself, and after call in God,/ For to the worker God himself lends aid." (Euripides)

"We pay a high price for being intelligent. Wisdom hurts." (Euripides)