After a while, if you're committed, you start to believe in the things in which you're praying. It's just cognitive dissonance. You can't live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.

One of the interesting things to me is that God grows throughout the Old Testament. He evolves, sort of matures, and becomes kinder.

I was what they call 'skinny fat' - a body that resembled a python after swallowing a goat.

The best we can do, to paraphrase Pollan, is to eat whole foods, mostly plants, and not too much.

I've started to look at life differently. When you're thanking God for every little you - every meal, every time you wake up, every time you take a sip of water - you can't help but be more thankful for life itself, for the unlikely and miraculous fact that you exist at all.

A loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going. This, over the years, can cause real cardiovascular damage.

It's a different way of looking at the world. Your life isn't about rights. It's about responsibilities."--Mr Bill Berkowitz