Mr.

Harman’s List of
Quotes
For Daily Readings
 2

“Happiness”
 3
Trash your illusions and the world will beat a pathway to your door.
- The Fat Man, House of God by Samuel Shem

‘Ich bin nie anderen menschen zu messen genesen’ It has never been possible to measure me in terms of other
human beings. – Else Lasker-Shuler

“…Push away that pain! Fight that suffering as if it’ll destroy us, when the truth is, if we stay with it, it’ll heal
us.” – Malik, Mount Misery by Samuel Shem

“When a person feels seen, and you sense them feeling seen, and you feel seen by them. Right then, in that
moment, there’s a touch of the spirit. That’s it, that’s all. Spirit. Healing in psychotherapy is an act of spirit.” –
Malik, Mount Misery by Samuel Shem

Success rest with having the courage and endurance and above all the will to become the person, however
peculiar that may be, that you are . Then you will be able to say, “I have found my hero and he/she is me.” – Dr.
George Sheehan

Progress – to move ahead with confidence in to know that there is a higher power who goes before you as your
captain and your guide. To move ahead with freedom is to know that the same power is behind you as your rear
guard to keep you from being defeated by any failures of the past. – Roy Lessin

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. – Joseph
Campbell

Perseverance is not just forcing oneself though an experience, but understanding the value of what one is
undertaking, and therefore embracing it with a sense of joy. – Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

If your willing to examine failure, and to look not just at your outward performance, but your internal workings
too, losing can be valuable. How you behave in those moments can perhaps be more self-defining than winning
could ever be. Sometimes losing shows you for who you really are. – Lance Armstrong

Expectation plays such a great role in success. Expect defeat and that’s what you get; Expect success and that’s
what you get. – Dr. Upledger

To get to the end of any journey, you must take the first step – Chinese Proverb

It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

Nothing should be more highly prized than the value of each day. – Goethe

God is God and we are not. – James W. Sire

Knowledge proceeds faith. This is crucial in understanding your beliefs and relationship with a higher power. –
Mark Harman

Being genuine involves the willingness to be and to express in words and behavior, the various feelings and
attitudes which exist in me. It is only in this way that relationships can have the reality of me in them. – Carl
Rogers
 4
“It was always said that if you look hard enough, you can see, in anyone, a touch of the divinity.” – Samuel
Shem, Mount Misery

Understand, and you love; love and you understand. Love, understanding, and sorrow are different words for
the same thing. Healing is as little a matter of mind as is love. – Malik in Mount Misery by Samuel Shem

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-
seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always perseveres. Love never fails. – I Corinthians 13:4-8

“… The key to progress is not wanting something you don’t have. Instead, it is daring to see what is already
yours.” – Mark Anthony

One must be an active listener to hear an unspoken problem. – Bernard Lown, MD

Every affection of the mind that is attended with either pain or pleasure, hope or fear, is the cause of an
agitation whose influence extends to the heart.
– William Harvey

All the mistakes, sins that have been secreted

Pound themselves like epileptics
Saying: “That which is not expressed will be forgotten,
And what is forgotten will yet happen again.”
- Yevtushenko

The paradox is that if the brain were simple enough in its organization for us to understand it, we might be far
too simple to do so. – Bernard Lown, MD

Any problem can be presented as a soluble challenge or as a proverbial death sentence. – Norman Cousins

Schopenhauer’s three phases of truth: 1) it is ridiculed; 2) it is violently opposed; 3) it is accepted as being self-
evident.

I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. – Rabbi Hillel

The within is ceaselessly becoming the without. From the state of one’s heart proceeds the conditions of one’s
life; one’s thoughts blossom into deeds and deeds bear the fruitage of character and destiny. – James Allen

That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our
ability to do has increased. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Commandment number one of any truly civilized society is this: Let people be different. – David Grayson

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. – Henry David
Thoreau

Until we experience the freedom of solitude, we cannot connect authentically. We may be enmeshed, but we are
not encountered. – Julia Cameron
 5
Wisdom beings in wonder. – Socrates

It is amazing how I am my own greatest friend, harshest critic, and most challenging competition. – Mark
Harman

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscape but having new eyes. - Proust

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Our fear of being alone drives us to noise and crowds. We keep up a constant stream of words even if they are
inane. We buy radios that strap to our wrists or fit over our ears so that, if no one else is around, at least we are
not condemned to the silence of ourselves. – Richard J. Foster

As a culture, we have confused velocity with accomplishment. We ‘run’ ourselves ragged. Convinced that if we
do more and go faster we will succeed, we often lose the pulse of our own lives. We can find it again by
‘walking’. – Julia Cameron
God is like the sun. You can’t look at it, but without it you can’t look at anything else. – G.K. Chesterson

It is not our abilities that make us who we are, it is our choices. – Professor Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets

In dreams begins responsibility. – William Butler Yeats

What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing. – Aristotle

Genius in truth means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an un-habitual way. – Williams James

The most valuable traits of a winner are hope and optimism. – Mark Harman

Here’s what I like about God: Trees are crooked, mountains are lumpy, a lot of God’s creatures are funny-
looking, and God made and loved it all anyway.
– Julia Cameron

As the old saying goes, its far better to be lucky than good, but you know, the harder we work, the luckier we
seem to get. – Sean O’keefe, NASA Admin

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going
to take more than one night.’” – Charlie Brown

I should dispel the sufferings of others because it is suffering like my own suffering. I should help others too
because of their nature as beings, which is like my own. Being. – Santideva, Bodhicaryavatara 8:94

The wise person acts without action

And teaches without talking
All things flourish around them
And they do not refuse any one of them
The wise person gives but not to receive
They work but not for reward
They complete but not for results
They do nothing for themselves in this passing world
 6
So nothing they do ever passes.
- Tao Te Ching

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an
impression by remaining silent. – The Dali Lama

Every noble work is bound to face problems and obstacles. It is important to check your goal and motivation
thoroughly. One should be very truthful, honest, and reasonable. One’s actions should be good for others and
for oneself as well. Once a positive goal is chosen, you should decide to pursue it all the way to the end. Even if
it is not realized, at least there will be no regret. – Dali Lama

Heaven and Earth have no preference

A man may choose one over another
But to Heaven and Earth all are the same
The high, the low, the great, the small
All are given light
All get a place to rest
- Tao te Ching

The universe is like a bellows

It stays empty yet is never exhausted
It gives out yet always brings forth.
Man is not like this
When she blows out air like a bellows
She becomes exhausted
Man was not made to blow out air
She was made to sit quietly and find the truth within
- Tao Te Ching

The irony of commitment is that it is liberating – in work, in play, in love, in life. The act frees you from the
tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dream itself up and parade around as rational
hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life – Anne Morris

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an
impression by remaining silent. – The Dali Lama

Try to develop a deep conviction that the present human body has great potential and that you shall never waste
even a single minute of its use. Not taking any essence of this precious human existence, but just wasting it, is
almost like taking poison while being fully aware of the consequences of doing so. It is very wrong for people
to feel sad when they lose money, yet when they waste the precious moments of their lives they do not have the
slightest feeling of repentance or remorse. – The Dali Lama

The ignorance, arrogance, and obstinacy of certain individuals, whether their intentions were good or evil, have
been at the root of all the tragedies of history. The mere names of these ruthless tyrants inspire fear and
loathing. So the extent to which people will like us naturally depends on how much, or how little, we think of
others’ good. – The Dali Lama

As we lose our vagueness about ourselves, our values, our life. We become available to the moment. It is there,
in the particular, that we contact the self. – Julia Cameron
 7
The first requirement for realizing a desire is to recognize it, to enthrone it, to acknowledge that our desire is a
flame burning at the core of our soul that cannot be denied. This is devotion itself… - Roberta Weir

There was once a young Muscogee child sitting with his grandmother talking. The child could see his
grandmother was struggling and so he asked, “Grandma, what is it that pains you?” The grandmother told the
child, “It is as if I have a great battle between two wolves raging in my heart. One wolf is full of hate, malice,
revenge, and anger. The other is full of love, compassion, forgiveness, and kindness. The two wolves are
battling within my heart to see who will gain control of it.” In the wisdom of a child, he looks at his
grandmother and asks her, “Which wolf will when you heart, grandmother?” The grandmother replied, “The
one that I feed.” – Muscogeean tale

Everyone has a gift. Within that gift lies their destiny – Unknown

"Seven Blunders of the World"

1. Wealth without work

2. Pleasure without conscience

3. Knowledge without character

4. Commerce without morality

5. Science without humanity

6. Worship without sacrifice

7. Politics without principle

—Mahatma Gandhi

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by
scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
C.S. Lewis

Men occasionally stumble over the truth,

but most of them pick themselves up
and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill

I do not feel obliged to believe that same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect had intended
for us to forgo their use.
Galileo

The atheist can't find God for the same reason that a thief can't find a policeman.
Author Unknown
 8
Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of
eighteen and thirty-five. But watch out if you are in a lifeboat and there are others who are younger, bigger, or
smarter.
William Murray

The theory that thought is merely a movement in the brain is, in my opinion, nonsense; for if so, that theory
itself would be merely a movement, an event among atoms, which may have speed and direction but of which it
would be meaningless to use the words 'true' or 'false'.
C.S. Lewis

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just
and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing
this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak,
why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction against it?... Of
course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if i
did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying the world was
really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus, in the very act of trying to prove that
God did not exist - in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless - I found I was forced to assume that
one part of reality - namely my idea of justice - was full of sense. If the whole universe has no meaning, we
should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore
no creatures with eyes, we should never have known it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
C.S. Lewis

Science can tell us how to do many things, but it can not tell us what ought to be done.
Author Unknown

If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this
planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present
thoughts are mere accidents - the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the
thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else's. But if their thoughts - i.e., Materialism
and Astronomy - are mere accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for
believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. It's like
expecting the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milk-jug should give you a correct account
of how the jug was made and why it was upset.
C.S. Lewis

The greatest act of faith takes place when a man finally decides that he is not God. Johann
Wolfgang Goethe

There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.
G.K. Chesterton

Practicing psychiatry without faith in God is like meeting a hungry man and giving him a toothpick.
Author Unknown

We must live with people to know their problems and live with God to 'help' solve them.
Author Unknown

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C.S. Lewis
 9

For when we cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing, we worship anything.
G. K. Chesterton

How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to him because we have nowhere else to
go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.
George Macdonald

An utterly fascinating illustration of this duping of ourselves is the latest arts building opened at Ohio State
University, the Wexner Center for the Performing Arts, another one of our chimerical exploits in the name of
intellectual advance. Newsweek branded this building "America's first deconstructionist building." It's white
scaffolding, red brick turrets, and Colorado grass pods evoke a double take. But puzzlement only intensifies
when you enter the building, for inside you encounter stairways that go nowhere, pillars that hang from the
ceiling without purpose, and angled surfaces configured to create a sense of vertigo. The architect, we are duly
informed, designed this building to reflect life itself-senseless and incoherent-and the "capriciousness of the
rules that organize the built world." When the rationale was explained to me, I had just one question: Did he do
the same with the foundation?

The laughter in response to my question unmasked the double standard our deconstructionists espouse. And that
is precisely the double standard of atheism! It is possible to dress up and romanticize our bizarre experiments in
social restructuring while disavowing truth or absolutes. But one dares not play such deadly games with the
foundations of good thinking. - Ravi Zacharias

Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian. - D.L. Moody

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. -G.K.
Chesterton

What comes into our minds when we think about God, is the most important thing about us. - A.W. Tozer

The real test of character is whether you will do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.”
- Michael Josephson

There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: Those who are
afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” - Ray Goforth

Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- Thomas Edison

There is no failure. Only feedback.” – Unknown

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” - The
Dalai Lama

I am selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I am out of control and at times, hard to handle,
but if you can’t handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best! – Marilyn Monroe
 10
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human
feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing
plant and for the soul of the child.
~Carl Jung

The traditions of our people are handed down from father to son. The Chief is considered to be the most
learned, and the leader of the tribe. The Doctor, however, is thought to have more inspiration. He is supposed to
be in communion with spirits... He cures the sick by the laying of hands, and payers and incantations and
heavenly songs. He infuses new life into the patient, and performs most wonderful feats of skill in his
practice.... He clothes himself in the skins of young innocent animals, such as the fawn, and decorated himself
with the plumage of harmless birds, such as the dove and hummingbird ...
– Sarah Winnemucca Paiute

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds
with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who
can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and
face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.
– Henry Nouwen

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting
that a new world is born."
- Anais Nin