“I lived, particularly in childhood but with lessening intensity right on to middle age, in a world that was peculiarly and intimately my own, scarcely to be shared with others or even made plausible to them. I habitually read special meanings into things, scenes and places qualities of wonder, beauty, promise, or horror for which there was no external evidence visible or plausible to others. My world was peopled with mysteries, seductive hints, vague menaces, "intimations of immortality.” WorldMadeAgeMy OwnQualityWonderMysteryChildhoodMiddleSpecialPromiseHorrorSceneEvidenceImmortalityVisibleIntensityVagueMiddle AgesHintsSeductiveMenacePlausible Book:MEMOIRS 1925-1950 Source: MEMOIRS 1925-1950
“A lot of people hate my skepticism, and I think I understand why. The psychics offer wonders and endless possibilities in a world that often seems difficult and mundane. They promise health, wealth, wisdom, eternal life. But if you examine the record, it's not the psychics but the hard-nosed scientists who have actually delivered the things that improve human life. And, to me, science describes a world far more interesting than any psychic fantasy. It's a good world -- not perfect -- but it's ours. So we'd better learn to live with it, the way it is.” PeopleIfsThinkingWorldWayHumansHardSeemsHateDifficultWealthPerfectInterestingWonderFantasyRecordsPossibilityPromiseOffersEternalScientistEndlessHuman LifeSkepticismPsychicsEternal LifeMundaneNot PerfectEndless PossibilitiesHealth Wealth Author:James Randi
“Wonder and despair are two sides of a spinning coin. When you open yourself to one, you open yourself to the other. You discover a capacity for joy that wasn't in you before. Wonder is the promise of restoration: as deeply as you dive, so may you rise.” MayTwoJoySidesWonderPromiseDespairCapacityCoinsSpinningRestorationTwo Sides Book:Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest Source: Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest
“The federal government has made explicit and implicit promises to millions of people, but has put no money aside in order to keep those promises. Some of you may wonder where Bernie Madoff got the idea for his Ponzi scheme. Clearly he was studying federal entitlement policy.” PeopleMayMadeIdeasGovernmentOrderWonderMillionsStudyPolicyPromiseSchemesFederal GovernmentEntitlementNo MoneyExplicitImplicitPonzi SchemeMadoff Author:John C. Goodman