“Fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when we read nonfiction, we read with our shields up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard. We are moved emotionally, and this seems to make us rubbery and easy to shape.” StoriesShowsSeemsBeliefEasyFictionStudyShapesIntellectualEvidenceArgumentMovedCriticalNonfictionSkepticalShields Author:Jonathan Gottschall
“A poet's soul must contain the perfect shape of all things good, wise and just. His body must be spotless and without blemish, his life pure, his thoughts high, his studies intense.” SoulBodyPerfectStudyWisePoetPureShapesAll ThingsIntenseGood Wise Book:Collected essays Source: Collected essays
“It used to be said, not so long ago, that every suicide gave Satan special pleasure. I don't think that's true-unless it isn't true either that the Devil is a gentleman. If the Devil has no class at all, then okay, I agree: He gets a bang out of suicide. Because suicide is a mess. As a subject for study, suicide is perhaps uniquely incoherent. And the act itself is without shape and without form. The human project implodes, contorts inward-shameful, infantile, writhing, gesturing. It's a mess in there.” IfsThinkingHumansLongSaidFormUsedPleasureClassStudySpecialSubjectsShapesProjectsDevilOkayAgreeSuicideUsed To BeMessGentlemanSatanLong AgoInwardBangsShamefulInfantile Author:Martin Amis
“Ancient worship . . . does truth. All one has to do is to study the ancient liturgies to see that liturgies clearly do truth by their order and in their substance. This is why so many young people today are now adding ancient elements to their worship. . . . This recovery of ancient practices is not the mere restoration of ritual but a deep, profound, and passionate engagement with truth—truth that forms and shapes the spiritual life into a Christlikeness that issues forth in the call to a godly and holy life and into a deep commitment to justice and to the needs of the poor.” PeopleNeedsDoeTodaySpiritualFormYoungOrderJusticePoorPracticeStudyIssuesHolyShapesElementsWorshipCommitmentMereProfoundAncientPassionateRecoverySubstanceRitualEngagementSpiritual LifeGodlyRestorationLiturgyHoly LifeChristlikeness Author:Robert E. Webber
“Modern brain-scan technology has revealed that each person shapes a completely unique brain. Other studies have documented the amazing regenerative ability of the brain, which can be reshaped by the power of your mind to bring you the world you desire. Knowing that, the obvious question arose: Why not use your mind to create the brain you want, using conscious choice?” WorldWantMindPersonsUseDesireChoicesAbilityBrainTechnologyKnowingStudyModernShapesUniqueConsciousObviousWhy NotWant U Author:Deepak Chopra
“To recover a spiritual tradition in which creation, and the study of creation, matters would be to inaugurate new possibilities between spirituality and science that would shape the paradigms for culture, its institution, and its people.” PeopleMatterWould BeSpiritualCultureSpiritualityStudyCreationPossibilityShapesTraditionInstitutionsParadigmNew Possibilities Author:Matthew Fox
“Friends, suffering, marriage, environment, study and recreation are influence which shape character. The strongest influence, if you are generous enough to yield to it, is the grace of God.” IfsEnoughCharacterSufferingStudyEnvironmentGraceInfluenceShapesGenerousYieldStrongestGrace Of GodRecreation Book:Considerations Source: Considerations
“You run your plays, you know your plays, you study your plays, you study the other team, you do as much as you can, you go to practice, you get in shape, you do what you need to do, and then by the time you get to the game, you know your plays, but they have to feel like they're in your bones. That has to be an unconscious thing, it cannot be conscious. That is everything to me.” KnowsNeedsFeelsPlayRunningGamesPracticeStudyTeamShapesConsciousBonesUnconsciousGetting In Shape Author:Jake Gyllenhaal