Not Understanding

It is difficult to get a man
to understand something
when his job depends
on not understanding it.

Upton Sinclair

The Dark, Deep Places

The dark, deep places
we often think are barren
and useless are actually
swarming with beauty and mystery,
thick with meaning
and the magnificent ability
to explode the boundaries of
what we once thought possible/impossible.

Mark Morford

What We Do Not Know

The greatest weakness
in contemporary thought
seems to me to reside
in the extravagant reverence
for what we know compared
with what we do not know.

Andre Breton

Not What I Meant

I know you believe you understand
what you think I said,
but I am not sure you realize
that what you heard is not what I meant.

Author Unknown

Slightly Underdone

If it walks like a duck
and quacks like a duck,
send it back.
It's slightly underdone.

Stephen Colbert

Had Enough

We don't know when we've had enough
until we've had too much.

Unknown

Can't Have Everything

You can't have everything.

Where would you put it?

Steven Wright

Power

Never underestimate the power
of underestimating your power.

Mark Morford

Objectivity

There is no such thing as objectivity.
I actually think it is pernicious as a goal.

Molly Ivins

Rediscovered

One needs only to watch
a healthy infant or small child,
forever testing and exploring
and enjoying this,
to know what I have
rediscovered in myself.

Barry Stevens

Get Me Out

No matter who got me
into what I got into,
I am the only person
who can get me out.

Barry Stevens

Balance

If we could learn how to
balance rest against effort,
calmness against strain,
quiet against turmoil,
we would assure ourselves
of joy in living and
psychological health for life.

Josephine Rathbone

Blaming Others

The only person who cannot be helped
is that person who blames others.

Carl Rogers

Helpful Relationship

The relationship which I have found helpful
is characterized by a sort of transparency on my part,
in which my real feelings are evident;
by an acceptance of this other person
as a separate person with value in his own right;
and by a deep empathic understanding which enables me
to see his private world through his eyes.

Carl Rogers

Understanding of Ourselves

Everything that irritates us about others

can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung

Something Wrong

If everyone starts agreeing with you,
you know you must be doing something wrong.

Robert Koster

Religion

Whatever your religion might be,
most of the world disagrees with you.

Mark Morford

Risks

And the day came when the risk
it took to remain tight inside the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

Another Groove

If you don't like what you're doing,
you can always pick up your needle
and move to another groove.

Timothy Leary

Operating a Soul

Learning how to operate a soul

figures to take time. 

Timothy Leary

Women

Women who seek
to be equal with men
lack ambition.

Timothy Leary

Think

Think for yourself
and question authority.

Timothy Leary

Universe

The universe is an intelligence test.

Timothy Leary

Youth

You're only as young
as the last time
you changed your mind.

Timothy Leary

Appalling

Woe to him who seeks to
please rather than appall.

Herman Melville

Trust in Human Nature

Trust in human nature is acceptance

of the good-and-bad of it, and

it is hard to trust those who do not admit

their own weaknesses.

Alan Watts