“It is remarkable that in such countries people do not feel very free. The second kind of freedom, freedom from desires, is celebrated only in some religious communities. It celebrates contentment, peace that is free from desires.”

Fear is finding fault with the future.

How many times have you tried to solve “the problem”? you’ll be trying to solve it not just until you die but for many more lifetimes. .

Love is not liking somebody. Anyone can do that. Love is loving things that sometimes you don’t like.

When life is good do not take it for granted as it will pass.

Why seek revenge? Karma is going to get the bastards anyway

Everyone makes mistakes. The wise are not people who never make mistakes, but those who forgive themselves and learn from their mistakes.

One can say that the underlying creed of most Western democracies is to protect their people’s freedom to realise their desires, as far as this is possible.

Our modern Western culture only recognises the first of these, freedom of desires.

Life is what’s happening while you’re worrying.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity in thinking.

Understand the place of love in a spiritual life. A powerful and blissful type of love has no conditions, no ownership and no people involved. Be free from fear. Be who you are. That is love.

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

My first meditation teacher told me that there is no such thing as a bad meditation. He was right. During the difficult meditations you build up your strength, which creates meditation for peace.

Be mindful, be compassionate and nurture the circumstances that find you in this good time so it will last longer.

Love, oneness, is no separation between you and life. It is a progressive letting go, a progressive not fault finding.

The secret of life is… everything is out of control.

The essence of songs is neither vocal nor cerebral but organic.

I hate birthdays, .. It’s more like a new starting point in New York. For me, it’s an evolution. I don’t celebrate the past. I like the present and tomorrow.

Just celebrate the life you had, not the life you could’ve had.

I believe every human life is a gift from God and we should cherish and protect and celebrate them.

I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance.

Life is too short not to celebrate nice moments!

When everything goes well, people celebrate you, when you make mistakes people criticize you.

People may need something to celebrate. They need a context in which to celebrate things. They need something that fills the void that’s left by the bankruptcy of religion and so forth.