The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosopher’s or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself, and that is why you must know yourself – Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.

Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing.

Man is, properly speaking, based upon hope, he has no other possession but hope; this world of his is emphatically the place of hope.

To this day, some of my closest friends say, ‚Gaga, you know, everything’s great. You’re a singer; your dreams have come true.‘ But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you’re growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they’re true.

The just is close to the people’s heart, but the merciful is close to the heart of God.

When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.

I sometimes have a tendency to walk on the dark side.

Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves.

Even with all the advantages of retrospect, and a lot of witnesses dead and gone, you can’t make your life look as if you intended it or you were consistent. All you can show is how you dealt with various hands.

Follow your honest convictions and be strong.

My fear was not of death itself, but a death without meaning.

Allah’s the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.

It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.

I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment. I’m here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I’m at, then I go forward to the next place.

I want to be just a pure spiritual leader.

I always keep my guard up with guys and I guess that can get in the way sometimes. I can make them go through hell.

The best author will be the one who is ashamed to become a writer.

Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness.

Not what I have, but what I do is my kingdom.

Nothing can be beautiful which is not true.

It’s the philosophies of being an athlete that carry me today.

There is in general good reason to suppose that in several respects the gods could all benefit from instruction by us human beings. We humans are – more humane.

Either you think, or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.

The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.

All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.

I used to have insecurity about my finances, then I announced that I had debt, and now I don’t have any insecurities.

We all have a tendency to avoid our weaknesses. When we do that, we never progress or get any better.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

The problem with me, as far as getting married and having a family, is that my comedy is so important to me. So I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good a dad as my dad.

Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

Only God who made us can touch us and change us and save us from ourselves.

That government is best which governs least.

It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.

You are doomed to make choices. This is life’s greatest paradox.

In a way, the whole tangible universe itself is a vast residue, a skeleton of countless lives that have germinated in it and have left it, leaving behind them only a trifling, infinitesimal part of their riches.

Transforming yourself into a deep listener will not only prove more amusing as you open your mind to their mind, but you will gain the most invaluable lessons about human psychology.

I put Catholic guilt to work pretty good for a rich rock star.

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.

Not everyone loves me, but I have to be okay no matter what they think about me.

Your emotions are very unstable and should never be the foundation for direction in your life.

My weaknesses have always been food and men – in that order.

What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning.

Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.

No matter what your mission is, have some notion in your head. Forget the model, whether it’s government or nonprofit or profit. Ask yourself the more important question: Is my mission improving the world? Are you sure about it? Seek to disconfirm that all the time. And if you can, change your mission.

I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.

Nature has planted in our minds an insatiable longing to see the truth.

It is not living that matters, but living rightly.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

If we live a self-directed, self-motivated, self-centered life, always needing to get our own way, then we’re going to be miserable. In fact, many times we believe it’s our problems that are making us unhappy when, in reality, it’s because we’re focused on ourselves!

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.

Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it is impossible to be warned.

My father wasn’t perfect. He had a temper. I took some of that. He would snap, but the older he got, he started calming down. He learned about life, but the thing that he taught my whole family was that family was the most important thing and, no matter what, if a family member needs you, you go and help them out; you get there.

It is perfectly possible to live a very moral life without a belief in God, and I think it’s perfectly possible to live a life peppered with ill-doing and believe in God.

If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.

Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits of our abilities do not exist.

A part of me has become immortal, out of my control.