We are enslaved by anything we do not consciously see. We are freed by conscious perception.

Cruelty practiced as a matter of social principle or public policy, and presented to the community as a means to a higher goal is the most obscene and decadent phenomenon of any civilization.

Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense.

The world consists of imaginary people, claiming imaginary virtues and suffering from imaginary happiness.

Many of us knock on the door but remain outside, because knocking and entering are entirely different actions. Knocking is necessary, consisting of reading books, attending meetings, asking questions. But entrance requires much bolder action. It requires one to enter into himself, to uncover hidden motives, to see contradictions, and to realize his actual power for self-change.

We are slaves to whatever we don't understand.

An obvious fact about negative feelings is often overlooked. They are caused by us, not by exterior happenings. An outside event presents the challenge, but we react to it. So we must attend to the way we take things, not to the things themselves.