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Jean Houston

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Jean Houston, born on May 10, 1937, is an American author, psychologist, and researcher in human potential. Her work spans various fields including human potential, mythology, leadership, and personal growth. Houston is known for her in-depth research on human potential and her modern interpretations of traditional myths.

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Famous Jean Houston Quotes

“If you're looking ecologically, then we are in very big trouble, yes. But if you're talking about people sinking, I'm not so sure that's true. There are cycles of rise and fall, as there have been since time immemorial.”

People Ifs Has Beens Bigs Fall Talking Trouble Cycles Sinking Rise And Fall

Author:Jean Houston

“We have all been brought up with an ethical system of 2,000 years ago, an industrial-managerial system of 200-300 years ago, a statecraft system of 200 years ago, and so on. None of this is working very well for the requirements of a time as complex and variegated as our own. So we stand shuttering at the threshold, with no clear map.”

Years Wells Clear Years Ago Complexes Maps Ethical Requirements Threshold

Author:Jean Houston

“Journalists are among a select group, along with warriors and executioners who are authorized to do harm. As James Fallows says, a lot of journalists think that isn't so, and that everything will wash out ultimately. But I don't think they are aware of the long-term damage.”

Thinking Long Term Groups Harm Warrior Journalist Long Term Damage Select Executioners

Author:Jean Houston

“When a culture is not mythologically instructed, not instructed in story that gives us a call, then we start looking for quasi-stories, little toxic stories that keep our selves alerted and spared until we find another story.”

Giving Littles Self Stories Culture Toxic

Author:Jean Houston

“We all get betrayed or we all betray. Life is so complex that it's almost impossible to avoid that. Betrayal is also a critical theme in all the world's great stories. If Christ had not been betrayed, would you have had the resurrection?”

Ifs World Stories Life Is Christ Impossible Complexes Betrayal Critical Theme Betray Resurrection Betrayed

Author:Jean Houston

“Over-intellectualizing can justify practically anything. Reason has reasons that can create holocausts. In the 20th century, we have certainly seen how much killing and disaster has been championed with superb intellectual reasons.”

Has Beens Reason Century Intellectual Killing Disaster Justify Holocaust 20th Century Superb

Author:Jean Houston

“What happens is that you discover you're carrying so much weight that 90 percent of what you thought yesterday you are thinking about today and will think about again tomorrow. Your mind doesn't change because you are carrying too large a load. So the mind is caught. It's seized by its own structures. It can't consider different ways of thinking or doing or being or relating. It's all you can do with your psychic energy to keep pulling yourself along with this huge bag that you are dragging behind you.”

“If you are going to learn mathematics, you have to learn it not simply as an abstraction but as it is applied. I always say to teachers, for goodness sake, take the kids out first to look at the stars in order to understand infinity.”

Ifs Firsts Looks Kids Order Stars Teacher Goodness Mathematics Sake Infinity Abstraction

Author:Jean Houston

“We're in a decaying culture now. Naturally, the young people in the culture are going to feel themselves to be products of the decay.”

People Feels Young Culture Products Decay

Author:Jean Houston

“Time has driven out sex and money as the central issues. Now if it could only drive out the issue of power we would be somewhere!”

Ifs Would Be Sex Issues Driven

Author:Jean Houston

“Occasionally we will be overwhelmed, but mostly we will be enchanted.”

Overwhelmed Enchanted

Author:Jean Houston

“We are sitting on a cornucopia of knowing that we had no way to access as a democracy. We couldn't get the democratization of the human capacity before our time.”

Way Humans Knowing Democracy Sitting Capacity Intelligence Access Our Time Democratization Human Capacity

Author:Jean Houston

“Education and the process of educating is a total integral, contextual situation which includes students, teachers, parents, administration and environment.”

Process Parent Situation Environment Teacher Teaching Students Administration Torture Teacher Student

Author:Jean Houston

“Laughter is the loaded latency given us by nature as part of our native equipment to break up the stalemates of our lives and urge us on to deeper and more complex forms of knowing.”

Happiness Form Joy Given Break Knowing Our Lives Laughter Complexes Deeper Native Urges Equipment Loaded Stalemate

Author:Jean Houston

“The ecological crisis is doing what no other crisis in history has ever done - challenging us to a realization of a new humanity.”

Done Humanity Challenges History Environment Crisis Historical Environmental Realization Ecology Human History Ecological Sustainable Living Environmental Crisis New Environment Ecological Crisis

Book:Myth, Consciousness, and Psychic Research

Source: Myth, Consciousness, and Psychic Research

“As you allow the beloved to grow within you, you will discover a steadfastness to the spiritual journey.”

Spiritual Grows Journey Beloved Within You Spiritual Journey Steadfastness

Book:The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

Source: The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”

World Real Creativity Creative Seeing Doors This World Keys Window Senses Wellspring Unlocking

Author:Jean Houston

“Wth subtly developed body awareness, it is possible for the individual to become the conscious orchestrator of health.”

Body Individual Healing Awareness Conscious Body Awareness

Author:Jean Houston

“Stories are living and dynamic. Stories exist to be exchanged. They are the currency of Human Growth.”

Writing Humans Stories Growth Currency

Book:The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

Source: The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

“Development involves giving up a smaller story in order to wake up to a larger story.”

Inspirational Giving Stories Order Development Giving Up Wake Up

Author:Jean Houston

“If you keep telling the same sad small story. You will keep living the same sad small life.”

Ifs Life Stories Stay Positive Small Life

Author:Jean Houston

“The tendrils of a new, deeper form of spirituality are growing. It's the greening under the surface crust of consciousness and social paradigm.”

Form Spirituality Social Consciousness Growing Deeper Surface Paradigm Greening

Author:Jean Houston

“Try to spend a few moments each day holding a picture of your body and your mind in a state of splendid health.”

Trying Mind States Moments Body Your Body Each Day Splendid

Author:Jean Houston

“You are not a passive observer in the cosmos. The entire universe is expressing itself through you at this very moment.”

Moments Universe Cosmos Passive Observers

Author:Jean Houston

“There is something else that is trying to come through - that lure of becoming - and it does come from the realm of spirit, it does come from the quantum universe, it does come from the great spark that is the threshold of time and history trying to emerge and electrify us.”

Trying Doe Spirit Universe Becoming Realms Sparks Quantum Threshold Lure

Author:Jean Houston

“Engaging it produces an intense force, which in turn produces a mutation in consciousness. You become who you really are.”

Turns Force Consciousness Produce Intense Engaging Mutation

Book:The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

Source: The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

“Critical to any practice of sacred psychology is training in multiple imageries to facilitate the inner realism of journeys of the soul.”

Soul Practice Psychology Journey Training Sacred Critical Realism Multiple Imagery Facilitate

Book:The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

Source: The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology

“I often wonder if you wrote your memoir today, if your life story would be lived on the edge of possibility, if you held wonder in one hand and courage in the other and truly believed that anything was possible.”

Ifs Stories Hands Would Be Today Wonder Possibility Edges Memoir Life Story

Author:Jean Houston

“In our time we have come to the stage where the real work of humanity begins. It is the time where we partner Creation in the creation of ourselves, in the restoration of the biosphere, the regenesis of society and in the assuming of a new type of culture; the culture of Kindness. Herein, we live daily life reconnected and recharged by the Source, so as to become liberated and engaged in the world and in our tasks.”

World Real Humanity Culture Kindness Stage Creation Source Type Tasks Assuming Partners Engaged Our Time Daily Life Restoration Liberated Real Work Biosphere

Author:Jean Houston

“Just as you would not neglect seeds that you planted with hope that they will bear vegetables and fruits and flowers, so must you attend to nourish the garden of your becoming.”

Flower Bears Becoming Garden Fruit Seeds Neglect Vegetables

Author:Jean Houston

“The illuminated ones can take any form -- a man, a woman, a child, an elder, or even a dog. It is not inconsequential that the English language allows for the dyslexia of the spelling of the word dog: God spelled backward.”

Men Children Form Language Dog Elders English Language Spelling Inconsequential Dyslexia

Author:Jean Houston

“Change the story and you change perception; change perception and you change the world.”

World Stories Growth Perception Aspiration Changing The World

Author:Jean Houston

“When we are calling forth the depth and genius of the other, then we grow.”

Grows Genius Calling Depth

Author:Jean Houston

“I am ready for the rest of my life to rise.”

Author:Jean Houston

“The world needs the sense that we are all in it together.”

World Needs Together

Author:Jean Houston

“Now is the time when we must renew ourselves and live as if we and all of life is sacred, and as if everything we do makes a difference.”

Ifs Life Is Differences Sacred Making A Difference

Author:Jean Houston

“A normal person is someone that you don't know very well.”

Knows Wells Persons Normal

Author:Jean Houston

“The soul is the lure of our becoming.”

Soul Becoming Lure

Author:Jean Houston

“No matter the situation, never let your emotions overpower your intelligence.”

Matter Emotion Situation

Author:Jean Houston

“Pathos activates the eyes and ears to see and hear. At times of pathos, illness opens doors to a reality which is closed to a healthy point of view.”

Reality Eye Views Doors Health Healthy Ears Illness Point Of View Pathos Activate

Author:Jean Houston

About the Author

Born: May 10, 1937
Known for: Author
Quotes: 90

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World Ifs Humans People Stories Thinking Mind Way Culture Humanity

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred PsychologyRelated source material

A Mythic Life: Learning to Live Our Greater StoryRelated source material

Myth, Consciousness, and Psychic ResearchRelated source material

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