“Experience is the name so many people give to their mistakes.”

Long ago, there was something in me, but now that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone, that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.

At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.

That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.

Actually that’s my secret — I can’t even talk about you to anybody because I don’t want any more people to know how wonderful you are.

For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

The reason one writes isn’t the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say.

The world, as a rule, does not live on beaches and in country clubs.

You really ought to read more books – you know, those things that look like blocks but come apart on one side.

Celibacy goes deeper than the flesh.

I suppose books mean more than people to me anyway

You see I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad things that happened to me.

It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.

Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a special heart that listens.

You remind me of a smoked cigarette.

There’s no substitute for will. Sometimes you have to fake will when you don’t feel it at all.

Everything is falling together perfectly, even though it looks as if some things are falling apart. Trust in the process you are now experiencing.

Change the focus of the eye. When you have done that, then the end of the world as you formerly knew it will have occurred, and you will experience the radiance of the divine presence everywhere, here and now.

If we perceived life with reverence, we would stand in awe at the experience of physical life and walk the earth in a very deep sense of gratitude.

When you are grounded in the present – feeling your feelings, listening to your body, tasting your food, and expressing your ideas – you do not build up toxicity. You digest your experience as you go.

Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. What you believe about Life will be your experience of Life.

Heaven is the experience of being completely present to all that is, all that you are, and all that you have to give. Are you choosing to live in heaven or suffer in hell?

Trust nothing but your own experience.

To experience emotional freedom, we must accept, surrender, and let go of our wounds. We must be willing to take responsibility for what we’re holding on to, which is usually a hurt or pain from the past that leaves us feeling victimized.