“The contents of our mind are a product of our genes, our environment, and our personal choice. Our genes nudge us in certain directions—sometimes this nudge might more aptly be described as a shove—but we make the decisions that determine the trajectory of our lives.”
Source: The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From, and What Makes Us Happy
“Unlike the West, the “true self” is not created over time but discovered7, which is why Daoist and Zen writings may refer to it as “original nature.” Our original nature is a primordial melody, and to hear it, one must silence all the extraneous noise.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“53. The 9-mile-long river called Rio Celeste (“Celestial River”) in Costa Rica is a perfect metaphor for the harmonious interaction between the original self and the narrative self. While the original self carries the potential (aluminosilicate), it is in interaction with the narrative self that allows it to be realized.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“A clear mirror reflects all things in the world, whether they are judged as “unpleasant,” or “beautiful.” “Unpleasant” things do not damage mirrors. A mirror does not cling to the images it reflects, once something is out of view, no trace is left behind.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“To be spontaneous does not mean to simply express any urge and indulge every desire. That would be impulsivity. Impulsivity neglects complexity and context, whereas spontaneity considers them.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“Rather than a linear evolutionary progression, the trajectory is like a spiral, the end eventually incorporates the beginning, though it also extends beyond it. One unlearns to learn, and by letting go we gain.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“From another perspective, death is necessary to sustain the living. In our everyday lives, cells die; indeed, their death is necessary for life. Apoptosis, or selective cell death, is a developmental process that occurs throughout our lives especially in the initial stages. One of the primary risk factors of developing autism is the failure of apoptosis. This is also reflected psychologically; as we get older there are behaviors that must “die” before new psychological structures and behaviors can emerge. Alternatively, too much life can bring death. In adulthood, cells continue to proliferate, and when there is not the added component of death or apoptosis, cancer emerges.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.”
Source: Critique of Practical Reason
“When the conceptual world of the intellect acts as a gravity well, it collapses the present moment into duality, which is not the actual nature of experience. We start to live farther away from the facts, resulting in a narrowing of vision, further concealing truths that may not benefit from being hidden.”
Source: 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return
“She was the most powerful woman in the world, and not by magic. She was a scientist.”
Source: Tanglewreck