“I think my quarry is illusion. I war against magic. I believe that, though illusion often cheers and comforts, it ultimately and invariably weakens and constricts the spirit.”

The pain is there; when you close one door on it, it knocks to come in somewhere else.

Mature love is loving, not being loved.

He had learned long ago that, in general, the easier it was for anxious patients to reach him, the less likely they were to call. (107)

Does a being who requires meaning find meaning in a universe that has no meaning?

Reality always creeps in–the reality of our helplessness and our mortality; the reality that, despite our reach for the stars, a creaturely fate awaits us.

Heidegger makes the distinction between being absorbed in the way things are in the world and being aware that things are in the world.

Only the wounded healer can truly heal. (97)

A focus on this deep dissatisfaction is often the starting point in overcoming death anxiety.

Many people are in despair because their dreams didn’t come true, and they despair even more that they did not make them come true.

Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it’s like to be on the other side of the couch and see what they find helpful or not helpful. And if possible, get into therapy at different stages of their life with different kinds of therapists just to sample a bit.

A free man who lives among the ignorant strives as far as he can to avoid their favors. A free man acts honestly, not deceptively.

Death, however, does itch. It itches all the time. It is always with us, scratching at some inner door.

The more you fail to experience your life fully, the more you will fear death.

If I’m among men who don’t agree at all with my nature, I will hardly be able to accommodate myself to them without greatly changing myself.

You will search the world over and not find a nonsuperstitious community. As long as there is ignorance, there will be adherence to superstition. Dispelling ignorance is the only solution. That is why I teach.

A curious thought experiment. . . Nietzsche’s message to us was to live life in such a way that we would be willing to repeat the same life eternally

So many people and institutions are against homosexuals that, as a homosexual, you can’t waste your time by trying to convince them that you’re a good person.

You don’t have to love me. Just don’t leave me,” he said against my leg

If people don’t think the odds are against you, you’re doing it wrong.

If anti-gay stuff is always coming out of your mouth, something very gay is probably going in.

I am against marriage, and I don’t give a fig for society.

We are going as fast as we can as soon as we can. We’re in a race against time, until we run out of money.

When the world’s against me is when I really come alive.

Be good to others, that will protect you against evil.