Many Ways of Knowing
“Those who understand only what can be explained understand very little.”
–Marie, Baronin von Ebner-Eschenbach (a.k.a. Baroness Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian Writer, 1830-1916)
Thoughts About the Brain
“Basically there are two types of animals: animals, and animals that have no brains; they are called plants. They don’t need a nervous system because they don’t move actively, they don’t pull up their roots and run in a forest fire! Anything that moves actively requires a nervous system; otherwise it would come to a quick death.”
–Rodolfo Llinas (Colombian-born Neuroscientist and Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the department of Physiology & Neuroscience at the New York University, 1934-)
Something Beyond the Borderline
“That there is something beyond the borderline, beyond the frontiers of knowledge, is shown by the archetypes and most clearly of all, by numbers, which this side of the border are quantities but on the other side are autonomous psychic entities, capable of making qualitative statements which manifest themselves in a priori patterns of order.”
–Carl G. Jung (Swiss Psychologist and Psychiatrist, 1875-1961)
“Flying Saucers : A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies” (C. G. Jung)
The Mind of a Perfect Person
“The mind of a perfect man is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects nothing. It reflects but does not hold. Therefore the Perfect Man can act without effort.”
–Chuang Tzu (Chinese Philosopher, c.369-286 B.C.)
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Insight
“The geometry of the archetypes and the Universal Mind are evident in the principles of symmetry which pervade nature and art. Symmetry shows us a glimpse of the ideal beauty which is reflected in nature, infusing it with order. Symmetry is universal; it can be found everywhere as the broad principle of balance and harmony.”
–Shirley J. Nicholson (American Teacher, Theosophist, Author, Former Chief Editor of Quest Books and Resident Head of the Krotona Community)
“Ancient Wisdom – Modern Insight (Quest Books)” (Shirley J. Nicholson)
Learning the Truth
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you and when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that all living beings are but a part of Me – and that they are in Me, and are Mine.”
–Bhagavad Gita (Ancient and Sacred Sanskrit Poem Incorporated into the Mahabharata; Ch. 4: 34-35)
Seeing the Miraculous in the Common
“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet and Essayist, 1803-1882)
Questions and Answers
“He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.”
–Voltaire (a.k.a. François-Marie Arouet, French Writer and Philosopher, 1694-1778)
Rejecting New Ideas: Just Because They Are New!
When I was an up-and-coming young clinician-scientist Sir Peter Medawar was very kind to me, despite the fact that he had already had a whole series of strokes that had left him in a wheelchair. He left an indelible mark on my thinking, and here is just one of his quotable quotes:
“The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.”
–Sir Peter Medawar (Brazilian-born English Immunologist and, in 1960, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1915-1987)
A Sign of Intelligence
“The sign of an intelligent people is their ability to control emotions by the application of reason.”
–Marya Mannes (American Writer and Critic, 1904-1990)
