Quotes

A human being experiences his thoughts as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion.Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it as the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind. – Albert Einstein

A human being is part of the whole world, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited by time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind. – Albert Einstein in a  letter to a distraught father who had lost his young son and had asked Einstein for some comforting words, February 12, 1950.

A logical picture of facts is a thought. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances. – Napoleon Hill

All intelligent thoughts have already been thought. What is necessary is only to try to think them again. – Johann Wolfgang Goethe

All of my misfortunes come from having thought too well of my fellows. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

All that we are is a result of what we have thought. – Buddha

All thought is energy. All things are in motion. All time is now. – Neale Donald Walsch

All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking. – Friedrich Nietzsche

A man is what he thinks about all day long. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

And those who are seen dancing are thought to be insane by those who cannot hear the music. – Friedrich Nietzsche

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. ­- Margaret Mead

An expert is a man who has stopped thinking because he knows. – Frank Lloyd Wright

As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it. – Lao Tzu

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind… To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. – Henry David Thoreau

Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness. – Alejandra Jodorowski

By thought the thing you want is brought to you. By action, you receive it. – Wallace D. Wattles

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner. – Loa Tzu

Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale

Courage and audacity can turn into a force for good, and more than that, can galvanize others to achieve more than they thought they ever could. – Seth Godin

Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order. – Samuel Beckett

Die in your thoughts every morning and you will no longer fear death. – Hagakure

Don’t think. Look. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think. – Albert Einstein

Everybody thinks of changing the world, but no-one thinks of changing themselves. – Leo Tolstoy

Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. – Proverb

Great men are they who see that spiritual thought is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Half the time you think you’re thinking you’re actually listening. – Terence McKenna

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. – Mahatma Gandhi

Human thought is dependable and natural law is universal. – Albert Einstein

I am a firm believer in negative thinking when used correctly. We need to be AWARE of negatives so that we can steer clear of them. A golfer needs to know where the bunkers and sand traps are, but he doesn’t think continuously about the bunker, where he doesn’t want to go. His mind glances at the bunker, but he dwells upon the green. – Maxwell Maltz

I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt and see peace instead. – Hugh Prather

I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. – Byron Katie

I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves. – Louise Hay

I don’t know what I think until I write it down. – Joan Didion

I give no sources because it is indifferent to me whether what I have thought has already been thought before me by another. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

I have always thought that Darwin was wrong: his theory doesn’t account for all this variety of species. It hasn’t the necessary multiplicity. Nowadays some people are fond of saying that at last evolution has produced a species that is able to understand the whole process which gave it birth. Now that you can’t say. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me. – Albert Einstein

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. – George S. Patton

If I had my life over again I should form the habit of nightly composing myself to thoughts of death. I would practice, as it were, the remembrance of death. There is no other practice which so intensifies life. Without an ever-present sense of death life is insipid. You might as well live on the whites of eggs. – Muriel Spark

If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford

If you wait until circumstances justify your thinking pleasant thoughts, you are likely to wait forever. – Maxwell Maltz

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. – Andrew Carnegie

If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking. – Buckminster Fuller

If you think you’re free, there’s no escape possible. – Baba Ram Dass

In the middle of a conversation, someone says to me out of the blue I wish you luck and I am astonished. But later I realize that these words connect up with his thoughts about me. And now they do not strike me as meaningless anymore. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is a dogma of the Roman Church that the existence of God can be proved by natural reason. Now this dogma would make it impossible for me to be a Roman Catholic. If I thought of God as another being like myself, outside myself, only infinitely more powerful, then I would regard it as my duty to defy him. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is characteristic of the military mentality that nonhuman factors – strategic bases, weapons, raw materials – are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts – in short, the psychological factors – are considered unimportant and secondary. The individual is degraded  to human material. – Albert Einstein

It is difficult to describe paths of thought where there are already many paths laid down, and not fall into one of the grooves. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is not humanly possible to gather immediately from it what the logic of language is. Language disguises thought. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is the mark of an educated man to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. – Aristotle

It’s like all those really good thoughts of yours that have never become things, are simply gathering, mingling, and growing like compound interest, until there are just enough to burst into your life, pennies-from-heaven destiny of a committed writers and flowers and ponies flying in every direction, hushing naysayers and finally convincing you of how much you’re loved. – Mike Dooley

It’s simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it. – Sam Levenson

It goes without saying that as soon as one cherishes the thought of winning the contest or displaying one’s skill in technique, swordsmanship is doomed. – Takano Shigiyoshi

James Dickey had always been interested in the creative possibilities of the lie. He believes that the poet is not trying to tell the truth, but to make it. The truth, he thought, has never been of any real value to any human being. It is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers to pursue. In human relations kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths. – Graham Greene

Language disguises the thought, so that from the external form of the clothes one cannot infer the form of the thought they clothe, because the external form of the clothes is constructed with quite another object than to let the form of the body be recognized. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky, and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling? – Scott Adams

Learning without thinking is labor lost. Thinking without learning is perilous. – Confucius

Make the effort to think, then live your thoughts. – André Comte-Sponville

Mirrors would do well to think before they cast their reflections back at us. – Jean Cocteau

No matter how enmeshed a commander becomes in the elaboration of his own thoughts, it is sometimes necessary to take the enemy into account. – Winston Churchill

None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else. – Anthony Hopkins

No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. – Henry David Thoreau

Not so much to see what no-one has seen yet, but to think what nobody has thought yet, about that which everybody sees. – Arthur Schopenhauer

Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think. – Benjamin Disraeli

Once you decide that mediocrity is unthinkable, your only choices are excellence and quitting. – Nick Murray

One of the unique things about the human brain is that it can do only what it thinks it can do. – Deepak Chopra

Only shallow people think marketing is unimportant. – Oscar Wilde

Our actions should be based on the ever-present awareness that human beings in their thinking… are not free but are just as casually bound as the stars in their motion. – Albert Einstein

Our heads are round so that our thoughts can fly in any direction. – Francis Picabia

Paul and I, we never thought that we would make much money out of the thing. We just loved writing software. – Bill Gates

Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be. – Wayne Dyer

People with humility don’t think less of themselves. They just think of themselves less. – Ken Blanchard

Philosophy must set limits to what can be thought and, in doing so, to what cannot be thought. It must set limits to what cannot be thought by working outwards through what can be thought. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Philosophy should make clear and delimit sharply the thoughts which otherwise are, as it were, opaque and blurred. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Positive thinking is the key to success in business, education, pro football, anything that you can mention. I go out there thinking that I’m going to complete every pass. – Ron Jaworski

Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking. – Rumi

Religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by a kind of religious feeling which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man’s image … The individual feels the vanity of human desires and aims, and the nobility and marvelous order which are revealed in nature and in the world of thought … It is the most important function of art and science to awaken this feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it. – Albert Einstein

Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. – Steve Jobs

Seagulls follow the trawler because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. – Eric Cantona

Simply by changing your habitual vocabulary, you can instantaneously change how you think, how you feel, and how you live. – Tony Robbins

Since social relationships are always ambiguous, since my thought is only a unit, since my thoughts create rifts as much as they unite, since my words establish contacts by being spoken and create isolation by remaining unspoken, since an immense moat separates the subjective certitude that I have for myself from the objective reality that I represent to others, since I never stop finding myself guilty even though I feel I am innocent. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sincere thinking and plain speaking will get any message across to the people. – Claude Bristol

Sooner or later everyone will invent a story that they think is their life. – Max Frisch

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. – Steve Jobs

The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts. – John Locke

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude, to be kind, but not weak, to be bold, but not bully, to be thoughtful, but not lazy, to be humble, but not timid, to be proud, but not arrogant, to have humor, but without folly. – Jim Rohn

The essence of spirit, he thought to himself, was to choose the thing which did not better one’s position, but made it more perilous. That was why the world he knew was poor, for it insisted morality and caution were identical. – D.H. Lawrence

The future has several names. For the weak, it is impossible. For the fainthearted, it is unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is ideal. – Victor Hugo

The gramophone record, the musical thought, the score, the waves of sound, all stand to one another in that pictorial internal relation, which holds between language and the world. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius

The material things are the most important since we thought about them the most. – Mike Dooley

The mental is muscular that gives you a certain stride as you walk along the dismal landscape of your thoughts. You have a certain kind of tone to your activity. But most of the time it doesn’t help. It’s just hard work. – Leonard Cohen

The mind is everything. What you think you become. – Socrates

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. – Coco Chanel

The object of philosophy is the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a theory but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of elucidations. The result of philosophy is not a number of philosophical propositions, but to make propositions clear. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought. –  James Allen

The primary cause for unhappiness is never the situation, but thoughts about it. Beware of the thoughts you’re thinking. – Eckhart Tolle

The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. – Albert Einstein

The soul never thinks without a picture – Aristotle

The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say, or think, or do. Only what you do. –  Marcus Aurelius

The trouble is, you think you have time. – Buddha

There are only 3 things that can make your dreams come true: your thoughts, your words, and your actions. – Mike Dooley

There’s two kinds of thoughts in your mind. There’s good thoughts and evil thoughts. Both come through your mind. Some people are more loaded down with one than another. Nevertheless, they come through. And you have to be able to sort them out if you want to be a songwriter. – Leonard Cohen

There’s no one to beat you, no one to defeat you, except the thoughts of yourself feeling bad. – Bob Dylan

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. – Shakespeare

This book will perhaps only be understood by those who have themselves already thought the thoughts which are expressed in it-or similar thoughts. It is therefore not a text-book. Its object would be attained if it afforded pleasure to one who read it with understanding. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

This is how it always is when I finish a poem. A great silence overcomes me and I wonder why I ever thought to use language. – Rumi

Those who were seen dancing were thought to be crazy by those who could not hear the music. – Nietzsche

Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight. – Albert Schweitzer

Think of the words as science, not as art. – Leonard Cohen

Thinking is difficult. That’s why most people judge. – Carl Jung

Thought creates after its own kind.There is genuine magic in believing. – Claude Bristol

To compose, all you need do is remember a tune that no one else has thought of. – Robert Schumann

To find yourself, think for yourself. – Socrates

Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. – Lao Tzu

We are not alone in our loneliness. Others have been here and known griefs we thought our special own. – Patrick Kavanagh

We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. – Buddha

We become what we think about all day long. The question is, what do you think about? – Wayne Dyer

We think too much and feel too little. – Charlie Chaplin

What do you think would happen to you if you systematically copied the body language of a schizophrenic? – Morris Berman

“What is this?” the Unicorn asked.
“This is a child!” Haigha replied eagerly, coming in front of Alice to introduce her.
“I always thought they were fabulous monsters! Is it alive?” said the Unicorn.
“It can talk”, said Haigha solemnly.
The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice, and said:
“Talk, child”.
“Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters too. I never saw one alive before” said Alice.
“Well, now that we have seen each other, if you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?” said the Unicorn.
– Lewis Carroll

What makes us human, I think, is… our sophisticated spoken language. – Jane Goodall

What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you. ­ – Seneca

When everyone thinks the same, little is thought. – Polo Hofer

When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all. – Paul Simon

When I was in India I met and conversed briefly with Shri Atmananda Guru of Trivandrum: and the question he gave me to consider was this: Where are you between two thoughts? – Joseph Campbell

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. – Patanjali

Where thinking ends, faith begins, but where you have faith, I still think. – Ludwig Robert

While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die. – Leonardo Da Vinci

With your thoughts you fashion your environment. Your beliefs, ideals and philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in. – Steven Covey

Writing is refined thinking. – Stephen King

Yes, I’ve made a great deal of dough from my fiction, but I never set a single word down on paper with the thought of being paid for it.  I have written because it fulfilled me. Maybe it paid off the mortgage on the house and got the kids through college, but those things were on the side. I did it for the buzz. I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever. – Stephen King

You are not what you think. What you think, you are. – Brian Tracy

You become what you think about most of the time. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You know how when you visualize something every day, to such a degree that you can literately taste its reality? And you believe in the likelihood of its manifestation with all your heart and soul? And as often as you think of it, in at least some small way, you prepare for its arrival? Yet still absolutely nothing happens? Right! That’s impossible. – Mike Dooley

You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think. – Marianne Williamson

You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be. – Marianne Williamson