Israel > Israel 's Quotes

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
― William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

“Extremes to the right and to the left of any political dispute are always wrong.”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were deluded.”
― Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End

“Again, it is self-evident that truth exists. For truth exists if anything at all is true, and if anyone denies that truth exists, he concedes that it is true that it does not exist, since if truth does not exist it is then true that it does not exist.”
― Thomas Aquinas, Nature and Grace

“but he did not change his purpose, nor did the universe invite him to change. It accepted the choice; no more preventing him than it prevents a child playing with fire or a fool destroying his love. It has not our kindness or our decency; if it is good, its goodness is of another kind than ours.”
― Charles Williams, Descent into Hell

“There are six billion egos living on this planet. Can you not see why the world is in such a sorry state? Can you not see why we are destroying Heaven on Earth for our own short-term gain? Can you not see why the tiger and the gorilla are facing extinction, along with countless other species? Can you not see why there is so much injustice, abuse, greed, cruelty, and inequality upon this planet? We get along with those who share the same set of illusions. It is called collusion. They are our friends. We declare war on those who dare to believe in another set of illusions. They are our enemies. Religion, and particularly religious fundamentalism, is the most obvious and dangerous example. Nationalism is another. “Me! Me! Me!” “Mine! Mine! Mine!” “I’m right. I’m right. I’m right.” “How can I use this or make use of this?” “What’s in it for me?” You”
― Mary Bruggeman, Journey into Now: Clear Guidance on the Path of Spiritual Awakening

“The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”
― Richard V. Reeves, All Minus One: John Stuart Mill's Ideas on Free Speech Illustrated

“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind...”
― Richard V. Reeves, All Minus One: John Stuart Mill's Ideas on Free Speech Illustrated

“The philosopher Richard Paul has described three kinds of people: vulgar believers, who use slogans and platitudes to bully those holding different points of view into agreeing with them; sophisticated believers, who are skilled at using intellectual arguments, but only to defend what they already believe; and critical believers, who reason their way to conclusions and are ready to listen to others.”
― Albert Rutherford, Elements of Critical Thinking: A Fundamental Guide to Effective Decision Making, Deep Analysis, Intelligent Reasoning, and Independent Thinking

“This quest is common to many people who have such experiences; something is awakened, a distant memory of their true nature. It kick-starts an enquiry into the nature of their identity by raising the questions: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Am I just the product of the family and society I was born into and their beliefs systems, or am I something more, something which existed before all of that was downloaded into me?’ When this quest is activated, rather than being pushed down into the subconscious, the experience of an Opening is actively held onto as a beacon to shine light on the way back to who we really are. That’s”
― Jez Alborough, The Story of 'You'

“When some people come across a new idea that challenges their worldview they retreat into a tight, rigid scepticism.”
― Jez Alborough, The Story of 'You'

“There are two different types of people in the world: Those who want to know, and those who want to believe.”
― Jez Alborough, The Story of 'You'

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
― Jez Alborough, The Story of 'You'

“I am he As you are he As you are me And we are all together.”
― Jez Alborough, The Story of 'You'

“Anyone who thinks that the Communist regimes of Central Europe are exclusively the work of criminals is overlooking a basic truth: The criminal regimes were made not by criminals but by enthusiasts convinced they had discovered the only road to paradise. They defended that road so valiantly that they were forced to execute many people. Later it became clear that there was no paradise, that the enthusiasts were therefore murderers.”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“Among many cases of this sort, I have been especially impressed with one that concerned a colleague of mine in Zürich. He was a man somewhat older than myself whom I saw from time to time, and who always teased me on these occasions about my interest in dream-interpretation. I met him one day in the street, and he called out to me: "How are things going? Are you still interpreting dreams? By the way, I've had another idiotic dream. Does it mean something too?" He had dreamed as follows: "I am climbing a high mountain over steep, snow covered slopes. I mount higher and higher—it is marvelous weather. The higher I climb, the better I feel. I think: 'If only I could go on climbing like this for ever!' When I reach the summit, my happiness and elation are so strong that I feel I could mount right up into space. And I discover that I actually can do this. I go on climbing on empty air. I awake in a real ecstasy." When he had told me his dream, I said: "My dear man, I know you can't give up mountaineering, but let me implore you not to go alone from now on. When you go, take two guides, and you must promise on your word of honour to follow their directions." "Incorrigible!" he replied laughing, and said goodbye. I never saw him again. Two months later came the first blow. When out alone, he was buried by an avalanche, but was dug out in the nick of time by a military patrol which happened to come along. Three months after this the end came. He went on a climb accompanied by a younger friend, but without guides. An alpinist standing below saw him literally step out into the air as he was letting himself down a rock wall. He fell on to the head of his friend, who was waiting beneath him, and both were dashed to pieces far below. That was ecstasis in the full meaning of the word.”
― C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul

“the hour calls for optimism; we’ll save pessimism for better times.”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“What we are confronting is not a series of problems to be solved, but an all-encompassing, unsolvable predicament to which we can only respond.”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“The grapes of my body can only become wine, After the winemaker tramples me. —Rumi”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“The first darkness we have to face is the story we’ve been telling ourselves about ourselves. We have become addicted to a story that now has the power to negate the entire world. —Betty Kovacs, Merchants of Light”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“it is crucial “to step out of the limited two-valued, binary logic—which sees things as either true or false—into the more expanded four-valued quantum dream logic, which is able to see things as both true and false at the same time.”10”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“An African proverb implies that if young people are not initiated, they will come back and burn down the village just to feel the heat.17”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“Our culture has polarized “in control” and “out of control” because we see “in control” as life and “out of control” as death.”
― Carolyn Baker, Radical Regeneration:: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction

“Animals have only ‘interested’ attitudes: in everything they are driven by their desires, needs and appetites, and treat objects and other animals as instruments to fulfil those things.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

“This is how Kant explains the moral motive. When I ask myself not what I want to do, but what I ought to do, then I stand back from myself, and put myself in the position of an impartial judge.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

“The moral motive comes from setting all my interests aside, and addressing the question before me by appealing to reason alone—and that means appealing to considerations that any rational being would be equally able to accept. From that posture of disinterested enquiry we are led inexorably, Kant thought, to the categorical imperative, which tells us to act only on that maxim which we can will as a law for all rational beings.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

“Like the pleasure of friendship, the pleasure in beauty is curious: it aims to understand its object, and to value what it finds.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty

“The question we now have to consider, is whether this state of mind has any rational ground, whether it tells us anything about the world in which we live, and whether its exercise is a part of human fulfilment. Such, at any rate, would be the philosophical approach to our topic.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

“But that is not the approach of the evolutionary psychologists, who argue that we can best understand our states of mind if we identify their evolutionary origins, and the contribution that they (or some earlier version of them) might have made to the reproductive strategies of our genes.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

“the mind, to borrow Hume’s metaphor, ‘spreads itself upon objects’.”
― Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction