The real reason women fall in love abroad is not that they are free of domestic inhibitions but that they translate their love of stone and place into love of flesh. ... Is this true?

To live exhilaratingly in and for the moment is deadly serious work, fun of the most exhausting sort

The past can be tamed and controlled.

I made the mistake of thinking that if you add up the past, you sum up the future; I forgot how frequently life astonishes us.

Persecution always acts as a jell for members of cults; it proves to them, in the absence of history, liturgy, tradition, and doctrine, that they are God's chosen.

it's perfectly possible to hate one's fat and to love one's body at the same time.

[On Werner Erhard, founder of est:] If I wanted a new belief system, I'd choose to believe in God - He's been in business longer than Werner, and He has better music.