Quotes About Insight

A man could be surrounded by poetry readings and not know it.

the worst errors in judgment often result from imagining we understand what has escaped us entirely.

someone with access to an inner source of spiritual insight does not need the church—or does not need it as ordinary people do. Furthermore, such a person often has an inner authority lacking in many leaders of established religions. This was precisely the response Jesus evoked when he began to preach: "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22).

This may sound somewhat obvious but, as the French philosopher Voltaire once famously pointed out, the main problem with common sense is that it is not so common.

At the age of twelve I had an attitude toward life that was to endure, that was to make me seek those areas of living that would keep it alive, that was to make me skeptical of everything while seeking everything, tolerant of all and yet critical. The spirit I had caught gave me insight into the suffering of others, made me gravitate toward those whose feelings were like my own, made me sit for hours while others told me of their lives, made me strangely tender and cruel, violent and peaceful.

And one morning while in the woods I stumbled suddenly upon the thing, Stumbled upon it in a grassy clearing guarded by scaly oaks and elms And the sooty details of the scene rose, thrusting themselves between the world and me....

he had lived within the narrow grooves of habit so long that he had learned to see in his dark world without the aid of eyes

The plots and stories in the novels did not interest me so much as the point of view revealed. I gave myself over to each novel without reserve, without trying to criticize it; it was enough for me to see and feel something different. And for me, everything was something different. Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days.

At the age of twelve I had an attitude toward life that was to endure, that was to make me seek those areas of living that would keep it alive, that was to make me skeptical of everything while seeking everything, tolerant of all and yet critical. The spirit I had caught gave me insight into the sufferings of others, made me gravitate toward those whose feelings were like my own, made me sit for hours while others told me of their lives, made me strangely tender and cruel, violent and peaceful.

Awareness is the first objective - not action and change.

The best performers know themselves better than the competition.

True worship is not trying to see The Lord, but it comes from seeing Him.

Insight is the understanding that comes from self-awareness.

it's hard to talk sensibly with giants - their massive heads tend to get lost in the clouds

Annabeth?" Percy said again. "You're planning something. You've got that I'm-planning-something look." "I don't have an I'm-planning-something look." "Yeah, you totally do. Your eyebrows knit together and your lips press together and—" "Do you have a pen?" she asked him.

Stop! Narcissus got to his feet. This is not right! This person is obviously not awesome, so he must be... He struggled for the right words. It had probably been a long time since he'd talked about anything other than himself. He must be tricking us. Apparently Narcissus wasn't completely stupid.

Sometimes wisdom came from strange places, even from giant teenaged goldfish.

Even strength has to bow down to wisdom sometimes.

Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena.

My mother says looking is the nature of wisdom.

I think the hardest thing we can ever do is see someone for who they really are. Our parents. Our friends. Ourselves.

How does Galdoila know about the reward? i asked. He reads the signs, Grover said. Duh. Of course, I said. Silly me.

You know, Magnus…sometimes it's best not to look as far as you're able to look, or to listen to everything you're able to hear.

Unbelievable, I murmured. After four thousand years, I am still discovering new things. Like how dumb you are, Meg volunteered. No. So you already knew that?