“Behavior shapes emotions.”

In trying to avoid one sin I’ve committed another.

The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. Honor him or her. Treat him or her like you would treat a friend or a loved one.

After a while, if you’re committed, you start to believe in the things in which you’re praying. It’s just cognitive dissonance. You can’t live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.

When I went to Israel, it was a little disorienting, because there are so many people who look crazy and were dressed like me. There, I was just one of the apocalyptic crowd.

When I was with the serpent-handlers in Tennessee, it was the most bizarre method of worship I could think of. Yet when you sit with these people, you can kind of see how it makes sense.

More people die on a per mile basis from drunk walking than from drunk driving.

I find placebos uplifting and exhilarating. It means that taking action–no matter what the action is–might help you feel better.

I thought religion would eventually wither away and we’d all be worshiping at the altar of science.

Its sort of my job to feel good.

I was very good at sitting. But I just read so much research about how horrible sitting is for you. It’s like, it’s really bad. It’s like Paula-Deen-glazed-bacon-doughnut bad. So I now move around as much as possible.

Probably 90 percent of our life decisions are powered by the twin engines of inertia and laziness.

Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one.

I’m addicted to self-improvement. The thing is, there’s so damn much about myself to improve.

I’m not a fan of ‘write what you know.’ If you don’t know, find out. I knew nothing about the Bible before I started writing ‘The Year of Living Biblically.’ That was kind of the point – to learn.

I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.

The best we can do, to paraphrase Pollan, is to eat whole foods, mostly plants, and not too much.

The behaviour of lovers is oscillating like the moon, and unpredictable as the weather.

We know of no behavior in ants or any other social insects that can be construed as play.

The sillier the market’s behavior, the greater the opportunity for the business like investor.

The more you understand how your salvation isn’t about your behavior, the more radically your behavior will change.

All I try to do is create an atmosphere that seems comfortable enough, that it removes tension and everyone feels free. If they feel free then behaviour happens, small moments happen and that’s what ultimately works the best for me.

Being judgmental about your own behavior is actually another cop-out because it makes you feel as though you’re doing something virtuous.

Human behavior is timeless.

How do you change your behavior? Change what you worship