TERMS STARTING WITH
The first thing is for the mind and also the higher vital to withdraw their consent altt^lher; if that is done, it becomes only a mechanical return from outside on the physical and final*
TERMS ANYWHERE
bingfu. (J. hinpotsu; K. pyongbul 秉拂). In Chinese, lit. "to take hold of the whisk"; dharma discourses delivered by a CHAN master from the high seat while holding the fly whisk or "chowrie" (see VALAVYAJANA; C. FUZI). The chowrie, a yak-tail fan that Buddhist monks used to keep flies and mosquitoes away, is presumed to have originally been used among followers of the JAINA tradition to shoo away flies without injuring them and came to be used widely throughout India. In the Chinese CHAN tradition, the fly whisk (which in East Asia is usually made from a horse tail) became a symbol of the office or privilege of a Chan master and the first thing the Chan master would do after ascending to his seat for his formal dharma discourse (see SHANGTANG) was to "take up the whisk"; by metonymy, the term came to be used to refer to a formal Chan sermon. The head monks in a Chan monastery who are privileged to "take hold of the whisk" in the Chan master's stead are called the "chief officers" (C. TOUSHOU): i.e., the chief seat (C. SHOUZUO), scribe (C. SHUJI), library prefect (C. ZANGZHU), guest prefect (C. ZHIKE), bath prefect (C. ZHIYU), and hall prefect (C. ZHIDIAN).
Consciousness — two elements ::: Consciousness is made up of two elements, awareness of self and things and forces and conscious-power. Awareness is the first thing necessary, you have to be aware of things in the right consciousness, in the right way, seeing them in their truth ; but awareness by itself is not enough.
GOVERNANCE BY THE DIVINE. ::: A constant aspiration for that is the first thing ; next a sort of stillness within and a draw- ing back from the outward action into the stillness and a sort of listening expectancy, not for a sound but for the spiritual feeling or direction of the consciousness that comes through the psychic.
mind, silent ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The first thing to do in the sadhana is to get a settled peace and silence in the mind. Otherwise you may have experiences, but nothing will be permanent. It is in the silent mind that the true consciousness can be built. ::: A quiet mind does not mean that there will be no thoughts or mental movements at all, but that these will be on the surface and you will feel your true being within separate from them, observing but not carried away, able to watch and judge them and reject all that has to be rejected and to accept and keep to all that is true consciousness and true experience.” *Letters on Yoga
so this is the first thing to learn to disregard.
The first thing is for the mind and also the higher vital to withdraw their consent altt^lher; if that is done, it becomes only a mechanical return from outside on the physical and final*
“The first thing to do in the sadhana is to get a settled peace and silence in the mind. Otherwise you may have experiences, but nothing will be permanent. It is in the silent mind that the true consciousness can be built.
Trapusa. (P. Tapussa/Tapussu; T. Ga gon; C. Tiwei; J. Daii; K. Chewi 提謂). Sanskrit proper name of one of the two merchants (together with his brother BHALLIKA) who became the first lay Buddhists (UPĀSAKA). Following his enlightenment under the BODHI TREE, the Buddha remained in the vicinity for seven weeks, each week spent at a different site (see BODHGAYĀ). At the end of the seventh week (or in some versions the sixth), he sat under a Rājāyatana tree, where he continued his meditation. Two merchants, Trapusa and his younger brother Bhallika, who were leading a large trading caravan with some five hundred carts, saw him there. Realizing that he had not eaten for weeks (as many as seven weeks), upon the encouragement of a deity, the brothers offered the Buddha sweet rice cakes with butter and honey. The Buddha, however, did not have a bowl in which to receive the food and said it was inappropriate for him to receive the food directly into his hands. The divine kings of the four directions (LOKAPĀLA) then offered him bowls. (According to one account, he received four bowls and collapsed them into one, which is the origin of the "four-bowl" meals served in some East Asian monastic refectories.) In response to their act of charity (DĀNA), the Buddha spoke with them informally and they took refuge (sARAnA) in the Buddha and the DHARMA (there being no third refuge, the SAMGHA, at this early point in the dispensation), thus making them the first lay Buddhists. The Buddha is said to have given the two brothers eight strands of hair from his head, which they took back to their homeland and interred for worship as relics (sARĪRA) in a STuPA. According to this account, it is interesting to note that the first thing the Buddha provided to another person after his enlightenment was not a teaching but a relic. In the account of the period of the Buddha's enlightenment in the NIDĀNAKATHĀ, this incident occurs immediately before the god BRAHMĀ descends from heaven and asks the Buddha to teach the dharma. According to Mon-Burmese legend, Trapusa and Bhallika were Mon natives, and their homeland of Ukkala was a place also called Dagon in the Mon homeland of RāmaNNa in lower Burma. The stupa they constructed at Ukkala/Dagon, which was the first shrine in the world to be erected over relics of the present Buddha, was to be enlarged and embellished over the centuries to become, eventually, the golden SHWEDAGON PAGODA of Rangoon. Because of the preeminence of this shrine, some Burmese chroniclers date the first introduction of Buddhism among the Mon in RāmaNNa to Tapussa and Bhallika. Trapusa achieved the stage of "stream-enterer" (SROTAĀPANNA); Bhallika eventually ordained and became an ARHAT. The merchants were also the subject of a prototypical Chinese apocryphal text, the TIWEI [BOLI] JING, written c. 460-464, which praises the value of the lay practices of giving (dāna) and keeping the five precepts (PANCAsĪLA).
You know you've been hacking too long when... ::: The set-up line for a genre of one-liners told by hackers about themselves. These include the following:* Not only do you check your e-mail more often than your paper mail, but you remember your network address faster than your postal one.* Your SO kisses you on the neck and the first thing you think is Uh, oh, priority interrupt.* You go to balance your chequebook and discover that you're doing it in octal.* Your computers have a higher street value than your car.* In your universe, round numbers are powers of 2, not 10.* You have woken up recalling a dream in some programming language.* You realise you have never seen half of your best friends.[An early version of this entry said All but one of these have been reliably reported as hacker traits (some of them quite often). Even hackers may have reports of its actually happening, most famously to Grace Hopper while she was working with BINAC in 1949. - ESR] (1995-04-07)
KEYS (10k)
6 The Mother
4 Sri Aurobindo
1 Paramahamsa Yogananda
1 Jordan Peterson
1 Gurdjieff
1 Edward Murphy
1 Chogyam Trungpa
1 Anthony Robbins
1 Saint Augustine of Hippo
1 Adyashanti
NEW FULL DB (2.4M)
14 Neil Gaiman
13 Rajneesh
11 Anonymous
10 Rush Limbaugh
8 Terry Pratchett
7 Osho
7 Chuck Palahniuk
7 Bren Brown
6 Ray Bradbury
6 Lisa Kleypas
6 Kurt Vonnegut
6 J K Rowling
6 Haruki Murakami
6 Douglas Adams
6 Donald Trump
5 William James
5 Tony Robbins
5 Maria Montessori
5 Jennifer L Armentrout
5 Frederick Lenz
1:The first thing you'll have to do, is the last thing you wished. ~ Edward Murphy, [T5], #KEYS
2:You are in prison. If you wish to get out of prison, the first thing you must do is realize that you are in prison. If you think you are free, you can't escape. ~ Gurdjieff, #KEYS
3:Should you ask me what is the first thing in religion, I should reply that the first, second, and third thing therein is humility. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
4:The greatest of all duties is to remember God. The first thing to do in the morning is to meditate on Him and think how you can give your life to His service, so that all day long you will be filled with His joy. ~ Paramahamsa Yogananda, #KEYS
5:Agni in the form of an aspiration full of concentrated calm and surrender is certainly the first thing to be lighted in the heart. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - III, Experiences Associated with the Psychic, #KEYS
6:When you begin to become conscious, more aware, when your eyes begin to open, the first thing you see is how deluded you are and how much you're holding onto that which makes you suffer. This is, in many ways, the most important step: Are you willing to be aware? ~ Adyashanti, #KEYS
7:As a student who has no idea of dharma and no mind training, you decide to commit to the path and to train yourself. As you train your mind, you begin to see all kinds of things. What you see is not so much the inspiration of a glimpse of enlightenment, or buddha nature. Instead, the first thing you see is what is wrong with samsara. ~ Chogyam Trungpa, #KEYS
8:As for cancer, the first thing is that you should drive off all fear. \* If you want to get cured there are two conditions. First you must be without fear, absolutely fearless, you understand, and secondly you must have a complete faith in the Divine protection. These two things are essential.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother III,#KEYS
9:
Sweet Mother, how can we find the Divine who is hidden in us?
... This we have explained many, many times. But the first thing is to want it, and know precisely that this comes first, before all other things, that this is the important thing. That is the first condition; all the rest may come later, this is the essential condition. You see, if once in a while, from time to time, when you have nothing to do and all goes well and you are unoccupied, suddenly you tell yourself, Ah, I would like so much to find the Divine! - well, this
- it may take a hundred thousand years, in this way. ~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1954, [T2],#KEYS
10:I am again feeling that depression, but I cannot find out its cause. I feel a burning pain inside me and then some part in me becomes very hostile. There is also some inertia in the nature.
These are the two difficulties, one of the vital dissatisfaction and restlessness, the other of the inertia of the physical consciousness which are the chief obstacles to the sadhana. The first thing to do is to keep detached from them, not to identify yourself mentally with these movements - even if you cannot reject them - next to call on the Mother's force quietly but steadily for it to descend and make the obstacles disappear. 31 January 1934 ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother,#KEYS
11:Raise Your Standards
Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming.
Think of the far-reaching consequences set in motion by men and women who raised their standards and acted in accordance with them, deciding they would tolerate no less. History chronicles the inspiring examples of people like Leonardo da Vinci, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Albeit Einstein, Cesar Chavez, Soichiro Honda, and many others who took the magnificently powerful step of raising their standards. The same power that was available to them is available to you, if you have the courage to claim it. Changing an organization, acompany, a country-or a world-begins with the simple step of changing yourself.
STEP TWO
Change Your Limiting Beliefs ~ Anthony Robbins, How to take Immediate Control of Your Mental Emotional Physical and Financial Destiny,#KEYS
12:How can faith be increased?
Through aspiration, I suppose. Some have it spontaneously... You see, it is difficult to pray if one doesn't have faith, but if one can make prayer a means of increasing one's faith, or aspiring, having an aspiration, having an aspiration to have faith... Most of these qualities require an effort. If one does not have a thing and wants to have it, well, it needs great, great, great sustained efforts, a constant aspiration, an unflagging will, a sincerity at each moment; then one is sure, it will come one day - it can come in a second. There are people who have it, and then they have contrary movements which come and attack. These people, if their will is sincere, can shield their faith, repel the attacks. There are others who cultivate doubt because it is a kind of dilettantism - that, there's nothing more dangerous than that. It is as though one were letting the worm into the fruit: it eventually eats it up completely. This means that when a movement of this sort comes - it usually comes first into the mind - the first thing to do is to be very determined and refuse it. Surely one must not enjoy looking on just to see what is going to happen; that kind of curiosity is terribly dangerous.
It is perhaps more difficult for intellectuals to have faith than for those who are simple, sincere, who are straightforward, without intellectual complications. But I think that if an intellectual person has faith, then that becomes very powerful, a very powerful thing which can truly work miracles. ~ The Mother, Question and Answers, Volume-6, page no.121),#KEYS
13:Instruction about Sadhana to a disciple:
Disciple: What is the nature of realisation in this yoga?
Sri Aurobindo: In this yoga we want to bring down the Truth-consciousness into the whole being - no part being left out. This can be done by the Higher Power itself. What you have to do is to open yourself to it.
Disciple: As the Higher Power is there why does it not work in all men - consciously?
Sri Aurobindo: Because man, at present, is shut up in his mental being, his vital nature and physical consciousness and their limitations. You have to open yourself. By an opening I mean an aspiration in the heart for the coming down of the Power that is above, and a will in the Mind, or above the Mind, open to it.
The first thing this working of the Higher Power does is to establish Shanti - peace - in all the parts of the being and an opening above. This peace is not mere mental Shanti, it is full of power and, whatever action takes place in it, Samata, equality, is its basis and the Shanti and Samata are never disturbed. What comes from Above is peace, power and joy. It also brings about changes in various parts of our nature so that they can bear the pressure of the Higher Power.
Knowledge also progressively develops showing all in our being that is to be thrown out and what is to be retained. In fact, knowledge and guidance both come and you have constantly to consent to the guidance. The progress may be more in one direction than in another. But it is the Higher Power that works. The rest is a matter of experience and the movement of the Shakti. ~ Sri Aurobindo, EVENING TALKS WITH SRI AUROBINDO, RECORDED BY A B PURANI (28-09-1923),#KEYS
14:
When one is bored, Mother, does that mean one does not progress?
At that time, yes, certainly without a doubt; not only does one not progress, but one misses an opportunity for progressing. There was a concurrence of circumstances which seemed to you dull, boring, stupid and you were in their midst; well, if you get bored, it means that you yourself are as boring as the circumstances! And that is a clear proof that you are simply not in a state of progress. There is nothing more contrary to the very reason of existence than this passing wave of boredom. If you make a little effort within yourself at that time, if you tell yourself: "Wait a bit, what is it that I should learn? What does all that bring to me so that I may learn something? What progress should I make in overcoming myself? What is the weakness that I must overcome? What is the inertia that I must conquer?" If you say that to yourself, you will see the next minute you are no longer bored. You will immediately get interested and you will make progress! This is a commonplace of consciousness.
And then, you know, most people when they get bored, instead of trying to rise a step higher, descend a step lower, they become still worse than what they were, and they do all the stupid things that others do, go in for all the vulgarities, all the meannesses, everything, in order to amuse themselves. They get intoxicated, take poison, ruin their health, ruin their brain, they utter crudities. They do all that because they are bored. Well, if instead of going down, one had risen up, one would have profited by the circumstances. Instead of profiting, one falls a little lower yet than where one was. When people get a big blow in their life, some misfortune (what men call "misfortune", there are people who do have misfortunes), the first thing they try to do is to forget it - as though one did not forget quickly enough! And to forget, they do anything whatsoever. When there is something painful, they want to distract themselves - what they call distraction, that is, doing stupid things, that is to say, going down in their consciousness, going down a little instead of rising up.... Has something extremely painful happened to you, something very grievous? Do not become stupefied, do not seek forgetfulness, do not go down into the inconscience; you must go to the end and find the light that is behind, the truth, the force and the joy; and for that you must be strong and refuse to slide down. But that we shall see a little later, my children, when you will be a little older. ~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1953, 50,#KEYS
15:If this is the truth of works, the first thing the sadhaka has to do is to recoil from the egoistic forms of activity and get rid of the sense of an "I" that acts. He has to see and feel that everything happens in him by the plastic conscious or subconscious or sometimes superconscious automatism of his mental and bodily instruments moved by the forces of spiritual, mental, vital and physical Nature. There is a personality on his surface that chooses and wills, submits and struggles, tries to make good in Nature or prevail over Nature, but this personality is itself a construction of Nature and so dominated, driven, determined by her that it cannot be free. It is a formation or expression of the Self in her, - it is a self of Nature rather than a self of Self, his natural and processive, not his spiritual and permanent being, a temporary constructed personality, not the true immortal Person. It is that Person that he must become. He must succeed in being inwardly quiescent, detach himself as the observer from the outer active personality and learn the play of the cosmic forces in him by standing back from all blinding absorption in its turns and movements. Thus calm, detached, a student of himself and a witness of his nature, he realises that he is the individual soul who observes the works of Nature, accepts tranquilly her results and sanctions or withholds his sanction from the impulse to her acts. At present this soul or Purusha is little more than an acquiescent spectator, influencing perhaps the action and development of the being by the pressure of its veiled consciousness, but for the most part delegating its powers or a fragment of them to the outer personality, - in fact to Nature, for this outer self is not lord but subject to her, anı̄sa; but, once unveiled, it can make its sanction or refusal effective, become the master of the action, dictate sovereignly a change of Nature. Even if for a long time, as the result of fixed association and past storage of energy, the habitual movement takes place independent of the Purusha's assent and even if the sanctioned movement is persistently refused by Nature for want of past habit, still he will discover that in the end his assent or refusal prevails, - slowly with much resistance or quickly with a rapid accommodation of her means and tendencies she modifies herself and her workings in the direction indicated by his inner sight or volition. Thus he learns in place of mental control or egoistic will an inner spiritual control which makes him master of the Nature-forces that work in him and not their unconscious instrument or mechanic slave. Above and around him is the Shakti, the universal Mother and from her he can get all his inmost soul needs and wills if only he has a true knowledge of her ways and a true surrender to the divine Will in her. Finally, he becomes aware of that highest dynamic Self within him and within Nature which is the source of all his seeing and knowing, the source of the sanction, the source of the acceptance, the source of the rejection. This is the Lord, the Supreme, the One-in-all, Ishwara-Shakti, of whom his soul is a portion, a being of that Being and a power of that Power. The rest of our progress depends on our knowledge of the ways in which the Lord of works manifests his Will in the world and in us and executes them through the transcendent and universal Shakti. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Supreme Will, 216, #KEYS
16:
What is the exact way of feeling that we belong to the Divine and that the Divine is acting in us?
You must not feel with your head (because you may think so, but that's something vague); you must feel with your sense-feeling. Naturally one begins by wanting it with the mind, because that is the first thing that understands. And then one has an aspiration here (pointing to the heart), with a flame which pushes you to realise it. But if you want it to be truly the thing, well, you must feel it.
You are doing something, suppose, for example, you are doing exercises, weight-lifting. Now suddenly without your knowing how it happened, suddenly you have the feeling that there is a force infinitely greater than you, greater, more powerful, a force that does the lifting for you. Your body becomes something almost non-existent and there is this Something that lifts. And then you will see; when that happens to you, you will no longer ask how it should be done, you will know. That does happen.
It depends upon people, depends upon what dominates in their being. Those who think have suddenly the feeling that it is no longer they who think, that there is something which knows much better, sees much more clearly, which is infinitely more luminous, more conscious in them, which organises the thoughts and words; and then they write. But if the experience is complete, it is even no longer they who write, it is that same Thing that takes hold of their hand and makes it write. Well, one knows at that moment that the little physical person is just a tiny insignificant tool trying to remain as quiet as possible in order not to disturb the experience.
Yes, at no cost must the experience be disturbed. If suddenly you say: "Oh, look, how strange it is!"...
How can we reach that state?
Aspire for it, want it. Try to be less and less selfish, but not in the sense of becoming nice to other people or forgetting yourself, not that: have less and less the feeling that you are a person, a separate entity, something existing in itself, isolated from the rest.
And then, above all, above all, it is that inner flame, that aspiration, that need for the light. It is a kind of - how to put it? - luminous enthusiasm that seizes you. It is an irresistible need to melt away, to give oneself, to exist only in the Divine.
At that moment you have the experience of your aspiration.
But that moment should be absolutely sincere and as integral as possible; and all this must occur not only in the head, not only here, but must take place everywhere, in all the cells of the body. The consciousness integrally must have this irresistible need.... The thing lasts for some time, then diminishes, gets extinguished. You cannot keep these things for very long. But then it so happens that a moment later or the next day or some time later, suddenly you have the opposite experience. Instead of feeling this ascent, and all that, this is no longer there and you have the feeling of the Descent, the Answer. And nothing but the Answer exists. Nothing but the divine thought, the divine will, the divine energy, the divine action exists any longer. And you too, you are no longer there.
That is to say, it is the answer to our aspiration. It may happen immediately afterwards - that is very rare but may happen. If you have both simultaneously, then the state is perfect; usually they alternate; they alternate more and more closely until the moment there is a total fusion. Then there is no more distinction. I heard a Sufi mystic, who was besides a great musician, an Indian, saying that for the Sufis there was a state higher than that of adoration and surrender to the Divine, than that of devotion, that this was not the last stage; the last stage of the progress is when there is no longer any distinction; you have no longer this kind of adoration or surrender or consecration; it is a very simple state in which one makes no distinction between the Divine and oneself. They know this. It is even written in their books. It is a commonly known condition in which everything becomes quite simple. There is no longer any difference. There is no longer that kind of ecstatic surrender to "Something" which is beyond you in every way, which you do not understand, which is merely the result of your aspiration, your devotion. There is no difference any longer. When the union is perfect, there is no longer any difference.
Is this the end of self-progress?
There is never any end to progress - never any end, you can never put a full stop there. ~ The Mother,#KEYS
17:The ancient Mesopotamians and the ancient Egyptians had some very interesting, dramatic ideas about that. For example-very briefly-there was a deity known as Marduk. Marduk was a Mesopotamian deity, and imagine this is sort of what happened. As an empire grew out of the post-ice age-15,000 years ago, 10,000 years ago-all these tribes came together. These tribes each had their own deity-their own image of the ideal. But then they started to occupy the same territory. One tribe had God A, and one tribe had God B, and one could wipe the other one out, and then it would just be God A, who wins. That's not so good, because maybe you want to trade with those people, or maybe you don't want to lose half your population in a war. So then you have to have an argument about whose God is going to take priority-which ideal is going to take priority.
What seems to happen is represented in mythology as a battle of the gods in celestial space. From a practical perspective, it's more like an ongoing dialog. You believe this; I believe this. You believe that; I believe this. How are we going to meld that together? You take God A, and you take God B, and maybe what you do is extract God C from them, and you say, 'God C now has the attributes of A and B.' And then some other tribes come in, and C takes them over, too. Take Marduk, for example. He has 50 different names, at least in part, of the subordinate gods-that represented the tribes that came together to make the civilization. That's part of the process by which that abstracted ideal is abstracted. You think, 'this is important, and it works, because your tribe is alive, and so we'll take the best of both, if we can manage it, and extract out something, that's even more abstract, that covers both of us.'
I'll give you a couple of Marduk's interesting features. He has eyes all the way around his head. He's elected by all the other gods to be king God. That's the first thing. That's quite cool. They elect him because they're facing a terrible threat-sort of like a flood and a monster combined. Marduk basically says that, if they elect him top God, he'll go out and stop the flood monster, and they won't all get wiped out. It's a serious threat. It's chaos itself making its comeback. All the gods agree, and Marduk is the new manifestation. He's got eyes all the way around his head, and he speaks magic words. When he fights, he fights this deity called Tiamat. We need to know that, because the word 'Tiamat' is associated with the word 'tehom.' Tehom is the chaos that God makes order out of at the beginning of time in Genesis, so it's linked very tightly to this story. Marduk, with his eyes and his capacity to speak magic words, goes out and confronts Tiamat, who's like this watery sea dragon. It's a classic Saint George story: go out and wreak havoc on the dragon. He cuts her into pieces, and he makes the world out of her pieces. That's the world that human beings live in.
The Mesopotamian emperor acted out Marduk. He was allowed to be emperor insofar as he was a good Marduk. That meant that he had eyes all the way around his head, and he could speak magic; he could speak properly. We are starting to understand, at that point, the essence of leadership. Because what's leadership? It's the capacity to see what the hell's in front of your face, and maybe in every direction, and maybe the capacity to use your language properly to transform chaos into order. God only knows how long it took the Mesopotamians to figure that out. The best they could do was dramatize it, but it's staggeringly brilliant. It's by no means obvious, and this chaos is a very strange thing. This is a chaos that God wrestled with at the beginning of time.
Chaos is half psychological and half real. There's no other way to really describe it. Chaos is what you encounter when you're blown into pieces and thrown into deep confusion-when your world falls apart, when your dreams die, when you're betrayed. It's the chaos that emerges, and the chaos is everything it wants, and it's too much for you. That's for sure. It pulls you down into the underworld, and that's where the dragons are. All you've got at that point is your capacity to bloody well keep your eyes open, and to speak as carefully and as clearly as you can. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get through it that way and come out the other side. It's taken people a very long time to figure that out, and it looks, to me, that the idea is erected on the platform of our ancient ancestors, maybe tens of millions of years ago, because we seem to represent that which disturbs us deeply using the same system that we used to represent serpentile, or other, carnivorous predators. ~ Jordan Peterson, Biblical Series, 1,#KEYS
18:Education
THE EDUCATION of a human being should begin at birth and continue throughout his life.
Indeed, if we want this education to have its maximum result, it should begin even before birth; in this case it is the mother herself who proceeds with this education by means of a twofold action: first, upon herself for her own improvement, and secondly, upon the child whom she is forming physically. For it is certain that the nature of the child to be born depends very much upon the mother who forms it, upon her aspiration and will as well as upon the material surroundings in which she lives. To see that her thoughts are always beautiful and pure, her feelings always noble and fine, her material surroundings as harmonious as possible and full of a great simplicity - this is the part of education which should apply to the mother herself. And if she has in addition a conscious and definite will to form the child according to the highest ideal she can conceive, then the very best conditions will be realised so that the child can come into the world with his utmost potentialities. How many difficult efforts and useless complications would be avoided in this way!
Education to be complete must have five principal aspects corresponding to the five principal activities of the human being: the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual. Usually, these phases of education follow chronologically the growth of the individual; this, however, does not mean that one of them should replace another, but that all must continue, completing one another until the end of his life.
We propose to study these five aspects of education one by one and also their interrelationships. But before we enter into the details of the subject, I wish to make a recommendation to parents. Most parents, for various reasons, give very little thought to the true education which should be imparted to children. When they have brought a child into the world, provided him with food, satisfied his various material needs and looked after his health more or less carefully, they think they have fully discharged their duty. Later on, they will send him to school and hand over to the teachers the responsibility for his education.
There are other parents who know that their children must be educated and who try to do what they can. But very few, even among those who are most serious and sincere, know that the first thing to do, in order to be able to educate a child, is to educate oneself, to become conscious and master of oneself so that one never sets a bad example to one's child. For it is above all through example that education becomes effective. To speak good words and to give wise advice to a child has very little effect if one does not oneself give him an example of what one teaches. Sincerity, honesty, straightforwardness, courage, disinterestedness, unselfishness, patience, endurance, perseverance, peace, calm, self-control are all things that are taught infinitely better by example than by beautiful speeches. Parents, have a high ideal and always act in accordance with it and you will see that little by little your child will reflect this ideal in himself and spontaneously manifest the qualities you would like to see expressed in his nature. Quite naturally a child has respect and admiration for his parents; unless they are quite unworthy, they will always appear to their child as demigods whom he will try to imitate as best he can.
With very few exceptions, parents are not aware of the disastrous influence that their own defects, impulses, weaknesses and lack of self-control have on their children. If you wish to be respected by a child, have respect for yourself and be worthy of respect at every moment. Never be authoritarian, despotic, impatient or ill-tempered. When your child asks you a question, do not give him a stupid or silly answer under the pretext that he cannot understand you. You can always make yourself understood if you take enough trouble; and in spite of the popular saying that it is not always good to tell the truth, I affirm that it is always good to tell the truth, but that the art consists in telling it in such a way as to make it accessible to the mind of the hearer. In early life, until he is twelve or fourteen, the child's mind is hardly open to abstract notions and general ideas. And yet you can train it to understand these things by using concrete images, symbols or parables. Up to quite an advanced age and for some who mentally always remain children, a narrative, a story, a tale well told teach much more than any number of theoretical explanations.
Another pitfall to avoid: do not scold your child without good reason and only when it is quite indispensable. A child who is too often scolded gets hardened to rebuke and no longer attaches much importance to words or severity of tone. And above all, take good care never to scold him for a fault which you yourself commit. Children are very keen and clear-sighted observers; they soon find out your weaknesses and note them without pity.
When a child has done something wrong, see that he confesses it to you spontaneously and frankly; and when he has confessed, with kindness and affection make him understand what was wrong in his movement so that he will not repeat it, but never scold him; a fault confessed must always be forgiven. You should not allow any fear to come between you and your child; fear is a pernicious means of education: it invariably gives birth to deceit and lying. Only a discerning affection that is firm yet gentle and an adequate practical knowledge will create the bonds of trust that are indispensable for you to be able to educate your child effectively. And do not forget that you have to control yourself constantly in order to be equal to your task and truly fulfil the duty which you owe your child by the mere fact of having brought him into the world.
Bulletin, February 1951
~ The Mother, On Education,#KEYS
*** WISDOM TROVE ***
1:To win, the first thing you have to do is not lose. ~ warren-buffet, @wisdomtrove 2:The first thing that strikes a visitor to Paris is a taxi. ~ fred-allen, @wisdomtrove 3:The first thing I know, I'm in a card game. Then I'm in a crap game. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 4:His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears. ~ elizabeth-barrett-browning, @wisdomtrove 5:The first thing I do in any town I come to is ask if it has a bookstore. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 6:The thing that cannot be defined is the first thing; the primary fact. ~ g-k-chesterton, @wisdomtrove 7:Ceremonies are the first thing to be attended to in the practice of government. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 8:When other sects speak well of Zen, the first thing that they praise is its poverty. ~ dogen, @wisdomtrove 9:The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue. ~ dorothy-parker, @wisdomtrove 10:God is your very being. So the first thing is, don't think about enlightenment as a goal. ~ rajneesh, @wisdomtrove 11:Let him that is without stone among you cast the first thing he can lay his hands on. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 12:The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task. ~ maria-montessori, @wisdomtrove 13:And I said to myself that he was the first thing that I had ever missed in my life. ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 14:The first thing to remember is how to drop thoughts and become thoughtless — thoughtless but alert. ~ rajneesh, @wisdomtrove 15:When any calamity is suffered, the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 16:I walked in on my wife and the milkman, the first thing she says is "don't tell the butcher"! ~ rodney-dangerfield, @wisdomtrove 17:That is the first thing I know for sure: (1.) If the questions don't make sense, neither will the answers. ~ kurt-vonnegut, @wisdomtrove 18:Don't just grab at the first thing that comes along. Know when to refuse something that won't get you anywhere ~ will-rogers, @wisdomtrove 19:If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a nonworking cat. ~ douglas-adams, @wisdomtrove 20:When we got married, the first thing my wife did was put everything under both names - hers and her mother's. ~ rodney-dangerfield, @wisdomtrove 21:People can live tremendously rich, blissful, ecstatic lives. But the first thing is, we have to accept our responsibility. ~ rajneesh, @wisdomtrove 22:The first thing I learned was that even if you have a lot of money and power and fame, you can still suffer very deeply. ~ thich-nhat-hanh, @wisdomtrove 23:The first thing I did when I sold my book was buy a new wedding ring for my wife and asked her to marry me all over again. ~ nicholas-sparks, @wisdomtrove 24:Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 25:The first thing I do in the morning is to make my bed and while I am making up my bed I am making up my mind as to what kind of a day I am going to have. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 26:I think the first thing to do is to be aware that you can choose what you're thinking about and that your life is going down the path that you're thinking. ~ joel-osteen, @wisdomtrove 27:Our sacred contract is not a literal document. That's the first thing to understand. We could think of our sacred contract as a spiritual document that our soul recognizes. ~ caroline-myss, @wisdomtrove 28:The difficult thing is that vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I'm willing to show you. In you, it's courage and daring. In me, it's weakness. ~ brene-brown, @wisdomtrove 29:Our sacred contract is not a literal document. That's the first thing to understand. We could think of our sacred contract as a spiritual document that our soul recognizes. ~ norman-vincent-peale, @wisdomtrove 30:The first thing I would do for anyone who's trying to lose body fat, for instance, would be to remove foods from the house that he or she would consume during lapses of self-control. ~ tim-ferris, @wisdomtrove 31:People love misery, they love to feel sorry for themselves, and they definitely don't want to be enlightened. That's the first thing they tell you at boot camp in the higher worlds. ~ frederick-lenz, @wisdomtrove 32:Unsuccessful people get up whenever they feel like it and the first thing they do is watch television, read the paper, or check email. The rest of the day is pretty much 50% below maximum performance. ~ brian-tracy, @wisdomtrove 33:It's a mystery. That's the first thing that interests me about the idea of God. If there is one, it's mysterious and powerful and awesome to even consider the concept, and you have to take it seriously. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 34:When the documentary of & 35:If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long! ~ brian-tracy, @wisdomtrove 36:The first thing to realize in meditation is that there is no authority, that the mind must be completely free to examine, to observe, to learn. And so there is no following, no accepting, no obedience. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove 37:A teacher, therefore, who would think that he could prepare himself for his mission through study alone would be mistaken. The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task. ~ maria-montessori, @wisdomtrove 38:You experience all of them, but you don’t control them, you don’t own them, and you are not them. People ask ‘Who am I?’ and expect to be told a story. The first thing you need to know about yourself, is that you are not a story. ~ yuval-noah-harari, @wisdomtrove 39:I got lost somehow, began staring up her legs. I was always a leg man. It was the first thing I saw when I was born. But then I was trying to get out. Ever since I have been working in the other direction and with pretty lousy luck. ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 40:The first thing in faith is knowledge. What we know we must also agree unto. What we agree unto we must rest upon alone for salvation. It will not save me to know that Christ is a Saviour; but it will save me to trust Him to be my Saviour. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 41:The first thing which I can record concerning myself is, that I was born. These are wonderful words. This life, to which neither time nor eternity can bring diminution - this everlasting living soul, began. My mind loses itself in these depths. ~ groucho-marx, @wisdomtrove 42:When you begin to become conscious, more aware, when your eyes begin to open, the first thing you see is how deluded you are and how much you're holding onto that which makes you suffer. This is, in many ways, the most important step: Are you willing to be aware? ~ adyashanti, @wisdomtrove 43:If he be really and seriously seeking to live a good life, the first thing from which he will abstain will always be the use of animal food, because ... its use is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to the moral feeling - killing. ~ leo-tolstoy, @wisdomtrove 44:The first thing you do when you sit down at the computer: If you're an artist, a leader or someone seeking to make a difference, the first thing you do should be to lay tracks to accomplish your goals, not to hear how others have reacted/ responded/ insisted to what happened yesterday. ~ seth-godin, @wisdomtrove 45:He who experiments must, while doing so, divest himself of every preconception. It is clear then that if we wish to make use of a method of experimental psychology, the first thing necessary is to renounce all former creeds and to proceed by means of the method in the search for truth. ~ maria-montessori, @wisdomtrove 46:The first thing to get clear about Christian morality between man and man is that in this department Christ did not come to teach any brand new morality. The Golden Rule of the New Testament (Do as you would be done by) is a summing up of what everyone, at bottom, had always known to be right. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 47:The first thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is “good” or “bad.” It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing to know is that all conditions are temporary. Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you. ~ neale-donald-walsch, @wisdomtrove 48:When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. ~ a-a-milne, @wisdomtrove 49:Love is influenced by no consideration, recognizes no restraints of reason, and is of the same nature as death, that assails alike the lofty palaces of kings and the humble cabins of shepherds; and when it takes entire possession of a heart, the first thing it does is to banish fear and shame from it. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 50:I think that-that anyone, the painter, the musician, the writer works in a-a kind of an-an insane fury. He's demon-driven. He can get up feeling rotten, with a hangover, or with-with actual pain, and-and if he gets to work, the first thing he knows, he don't remember that pain, that hangover-he's too busy. ~ william-faulkner, @wisdomtrove 51:The custom of speaking to God Almighty as freely as with a slave - caring nothing whether the words are suitable or not, but simply saying the first thing that comes to mind from being learnt by rote by frequent repetition - cannot be called prayer: God grant that no Christian may address Him in this manner. ~ teresa-of-avila, @wisdomtrove 52:The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture. Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality. If you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner. ~ richard-branson, @wisdomtrove 53:The first thing I ask is that people should not make use of my name, and should not call themselves Lutherans but Christians. What is Luther? The teaching is not mine. Nor was I crucified for anyone... How did I, poor stinking bag of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the children of Christ by my evil name? ~ martin-luther, @wisdomtrove 54:It seems that it is impossible to live without discovering the purpose of your life. And the first thing which a person should do is to understand the meaning of life. But the majority of people who consider themselves to be educated are proud that they have reached such great height that they cease to care about the meaning of existence. ~ leo-tolstoy, @wisdomtrove 55:The first thing was to get down to Addie Richardson's henhouse, and that was a goodish way, four or five miles. She found herself wondering if the Lord was going to send her an eagle to fly her those four miles, or send Elijah in his fiery chariot to give her a lift. Blasphemy," she told herself complacently. "The Lord provides strength, not taxicabs. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 56:George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. & 57:I myself, as I'm writing, don't know who did it. The readers and I are on the same ground. When I start to write a story, I don't know the conclusion at all and I don't know what's going to happen next. If there is a murder case as the first thing, I don't know who the killer is. I write the book because I would like to find out. If I know who the killer is, there's no purpose to writing the story. ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 58:... the first thing his education demands is the provision of an environment in which he can develop the powers given him by nature. This does not mean just to amuse him and let him do what he likes. But it does mean that we have to adjust our minds to doing a work of collaboration with nature, to being obedient to one of her laws, the law which decrees that development comes from environmental experience. ~ maria-montessori, @wisdomtrove 59:Red RodsBefore elaborating any system of education, we must therefore create a favorable environment that will encourage the flowering of a child's natural gifts. All that is needed is to remove the obstacles. And this should be the basis of, and point of departure for, all future education. The first thing to be done, therefore, is to discover the true nature of a child and then assist him in his normal development. ~ maria-montessori, @wisdomtrove 60:The first thing to do about an obstacle is simply to stand up to it and not complain about it or whine under it but forthrightly attack it. Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have. Just stand up to it, that's all, and don't give way under it, and it will finally break. You will break it. Something has to break and it won't be you, it will be the obstacle. ~ andrew-carnegie, @wisdomtrove 61:That is the first thing to learn - not to seek. When you seek you are really only window-shopping. 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, philosophers 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. To understand yourself is the beginning of wisdom. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove 62:The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds - the cemeteries - and they're a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who've died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn't pass away so quickly here. You could be dead for a long time ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 63:You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity. You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they? When you are reconciled to the fact that each is for himself in the world you will ask less from your fellows. They will not disappoint you, and you will look upon them more charitably. Men seek but one thing in life - their pleasure. ~ william-somerset-maugham, @wisdomtrove *** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:No sir. The first thing is character. ~ J P Morgan, #NFDB
2:Peace is the first thing the angels sang. ~ John Keble, #NFDB
3:Sound is the first thing that we tune into. ~ Lee Konitz, #NFDB
4:The first thing he did was introduce ~ Sheelah Kolhatkar, #NFDB
5:before. The first thing that Sebastian did ~ Lisa Kleypas, #NFDB
6:This is the first thing I have understood: ~ Philip Larkin, #NFDB
7:Fear was the first thing on Earth to create gods. ~ Lucretius, #NFDB
8:The first thing the secretary types is the boss. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
9:The first thing you lose on a diet is brain mass. ~ Margaret Cho, #NFDB
10:The story is the first thing and the last thing. ~ Norman Rockwell, #NFDB
11:The first thing a principle does is kill somebody ~ Dorothy L Sayers, #NFDB
12:The first thing everyone notices is the dog. ~ Luis Carlos Montalv n, #NFDB
13:To win, the first thing you have to do is not lose. ~ Warren Buffett, #NFDB
14:The first thing I do when I get up, I have breakfast. ~ Karl Lagerfeld, #NFDB
15:The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn. ~ Pat Metheny, #NFDB
16:The gravity is the first thing which you don't think ~ Albert Einstein, #NFDB
17:The first thing that strikes a visitor to Paris is a taxi. ~ Fred Allen, #NFDB
18:The first thing I'll do if elected is demand a recount. ~ Kinky Friedman, #NFDB
19:The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
20:After I saw the first thing I ever did, I got a migraine. ~ Claire Forlani, #NFDB
21:The first thing a man will do for his ideals is lie. ~ Joseph A Schumpeter, #NFDB
22:The first thing I see is the obligation to serve peace. ~ Gustav Heinemann, #NFDB
23:Loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good. ~ John Milton, #NFDB
24:The first thing we know about any project is the deadline—at ~ Ron Jeffries, #NFDB
25:A bath tub, apparently, was the first thing I wanted to be. ~ David Duchovny, #NFDB
26:Every day, I wake up, and the first thing I think of is my kids. ~ Nikki Sixx, #NFDB
27:It is the first thing to go/
I've noticed,/
The voice. ~ Matthew Keefer,#NFDB
28:The first thing I do is change the palette. Earth tones, please. ~ Robin Sloan, #NFDB
29:The first thing that reading teaches us is how to be alone. ~ Jonathan Franzen, #NFDB
30:The first thing you see when you walk into a store is color. ~ Millard Drexler, #NFDB
31:Time was the first thing I noticed about the United States. ~ Alexandra Fuller, #NFDB
32:In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammed was 'Read. ~ Jeanette Winter, #NFDB
33:The first thing I know, I'm in a card game. Then I'm in a crap game. ~ Bob Dylan, #NFDB
34:The first thing in all progress is to leave something behind. ~ George MacDonald, #NFDB
35:Music was the first thing I did where I was naturally talented. ~ Miranda Lambert, #NFDB
36:Mothering you is the first thing of consequence I have ever done. ~ Kelly Corrigan, #NFDB
37:His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears. ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, #NFDB
38:If I ever become a thief, Nash will be the first thing I steal. ~ Michelle Leighton, #NFDB
39:I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out. ~ Sharron Angle, #NFDB
40:Apparently, the first thing a legend is made of is their big mouth. ~ Rick Gualtieri, #NFDB
41:But Basquiat is the first thing I've done that I'm really proud of. ~ Claire Forlani, #NFDB
42:The first thing is to have the will; the rest is technique. ~ Halld r Kiljan Laxness, #NFDB
43:If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. ~ Brenda Novak, #NFDB
44:In the quest for power, truth is always the first thing left behind. ~ Sonya Hartnett, #NFDB
45:I think the first thing I did was several scenes from Romeo and Juliet. ~ Sally Field, #NFDB
46:The first thing I can really tell you is I really love the work. ~ John Frankenheimer, #NFDB
47:The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. ~ Barack Obama, #NFDB
48:The first thing that put me on the map was my Sherlock Holmes novel. ~ Nicholas Meyer, #NFDB
49:The first thing you learn in boxing is that there are NO guarantees. ~ Tommy Morrison, #NFDB
50:Chase, the first thing you need to know is that you don't know anything. ~ M R Merrick, #NFDB
51:The first thing religion invented was a faith in the “Beyond”, the After Life … ~ Rius, #NFDB
52:When you’re sick and dying, the ego is and should be the first thing to go. ~ J R Rain, #NFDB
53:The first thing I do in any town I come to is ask if it has a bookstore. ~ Robert Frost, #NFDB
54:The first thing you'll have to do, is the last thing you wished. ~ Edward Murphy, [T5], #NFDB
55:Well, the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
56:When threatened, the first thing a democracy gives up is democracy. ~ Mignon McLaughlin, #NFDB
57:I’m here to discuss the first thing my baby ever stole from me. Jeremy. ~ Colleen Hoover, #NFDB
58:The first thing I ever bought for myself was a green Lacoste shirt. ~ Mary Louise Parker, #NFDB
59:The first thing necessary to win the heart of a woman is opportunity. ~ Honore de Balzac, #NFDB
60:When I started stand-up, the first thing I did was to take an improv class. ~ J B Smoove, #NFDB
61:As an actor, the first thing you learn in drama school is you never judge. ~ Jason Clarke, #NFDB
62:The first thing I did was a print ad for Century Plaza. I was five. ~ Mark Paul Gosselaar, #NFDB
63:When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. ~ Tammara Webber, #NFDB
64:The first thing to ask when writing a sentence is 'What am I trying to do?' ~ Stanley Fish, #NFDB
65:When you're a young comedian the first thing you want to do is get a laugh. ~ Baron Vaughn, #NFDB
66:Ceremonies are the first thing to be attended to in the practice of government. ~ Confucius, #NFDB
67:The first thing I ever wanted to be was a backup singer for Guns 'n' Roses. ~ Katie McGrath, #NFDB
68:The first thing to do in life is to do with purpose what one purposes to do. ~ Pablo Casals, #NFDB
69:The first thing we noticed was how flamboyant [Dalton] Trumbo was in real life. ~ Jay Roach, #NFDB
70:To plan a book — or an escape — the first thing to know is what to exclude. ~ Italo Calvino, #NFDB
71:When he hangs up with a grunt and looks at me, I say the first thing that pops ~ Mary Frame, #NFDB
72:Who can begin conventional amiability the first thing in the morning? ~ Elizabeth von Arnim, #NFDB
73:But I suppose the first thing I would do is move the headquarters to Dhaka. ~ Muhammad Yunus, #NFDB
74:So the first thing we're gonna do," I told him, "is push you off the roof. ~ James Patterson, #NFDB
75:the first thing for you to understand about yourself is that you don't know anything. ~ Osho, #NFDB
76:The first thing the world does to a genius is to make him lose all his youth. ~ Clarence Day, #NFDB
77:When other sects speak well of Zen, the first thing that they praise is its poverty. ~ Dogen, #NFDB
78:If I went to work in a factory the first thing I'd do is join a union. ~ Franklin D Roosevelt, #NFDB
79:The first thing a person says is often more honest than later explanations. ~ Charlotte Rogan, #NFDB
80:The first thing a principle does is to kill somebody.
--Gaudy Night ~ Dorothy L Sayers,#NFDB
81:The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue. ~ Dorothy Parker, #NFDB
82:The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the hippo squatting on my head. ~ Gemma Halliday, #NFDB
83:The first thing you do is don't let the jobs leave. The companies are leaving. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
84:The thing that cannot be defined is the first thing; the primary fact. ~ Gilbert K Chesterton, #NFDB
85:Well, the first thing is that I love monsters, I identify with monsters. ~ Guillermo del Toro, #NFDB
86:For those who govern, the first thing required is indifference to newspapers. ~ Adolphe Thiers, #NFDB
87:The first thing I notice about a man are his shoes. Then I look at his watch. ~ Frida Giannini, #NFDB
88:The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone. ~ Martin Amis, #NFDB
89:The first thing to recognize is that no startup has time to do optional things. ~ Ben Horowitz, #NFDB
90:It is the first thing I remember about him, and I can hear it still today. Later! ~ Andr Aciman, #NFDB
91:The first thing a kindness deserves is acceptance, the second, transmission. ~ George MacDonald, #NFDB
92:The first thing I ever heard about synthesizers, they were being used in rock. ~ Herbie Hancock, #NFDB
93:THE FIRST THING THE WORLD KNEW ABOUT CHRISTIANS was that they ate together. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
94:If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging!” —Will Rogers ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
95:The first thing to be remembered: the creation and the creator are not two, they are one. ~ Osho, #NFDB
96:He didn't know the first thing about greed. He thought it was all about money. ~ Morris Gleitzman, #NFDB
97:If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. —WILL ROGERS ~ David Allen, #NFDB
98:The first thing I did when they opened the chamber was puke on the guy’s shoes. ~ Victor Gischler, #NFDB
99:The first thing I remember my grandmother saying was, “I will bury all of you! ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
100:The first thing you want to do after being shot is make sure you are not shot again. ~ Ace Atkins, #NFDB
101:If I get out of this, the first thing I’m doing is enrolling in a Spanish class. ~ Holly S Roberts, #NFDB
102:If you want to scale-up, the first thing you have to do is to expand your own team. ~ Ruth Simmons, #NFDB
103:...she thought how funny that the first thing you didn't need was the words you said. ~ C E Morgan, #NFDB
104:The first thing I can remember clearly is writing the way into the secret room. ~ Ursula K Le Guin, #NFDB
105:The first thing that goes into shooting a scene is understanding whats on the page. ~ Debbie Allen, #NFDB
106:on there, our guys will find it. Fast. It’ll be the first thing they look for,” she ~ Kendra Elliot, #NFDB
107:The first thing was “I love you” because it’s a good thing to say if you can mean it. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
108:The first thing you're going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl? ~ Jeff Garvin, #NFDB
109:God is your very being. So the first thing is, don't think about enlightenment as a goal. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
110:Let him that is without stone among you cast the first thing he can lay his hands on. ~ Robert Frost, #NFDB
111:Soloing was pretty easy for me because it was probably the first thing I've ever done. ~ Angus Young, #NFDB
112:The first thing to know about playing baseball in Michigan is, Michigan's really cold. ~ Derek Jeter, #NFDB
113:If I could save time in a bottle The first thing that I'd like to do Is to save every day ~ Jim Croce, #NFDB
114:If you want to become humble, the first thing you have to admit is that you are proud. ~ Michael Catt, #NFDB
115:The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task. ~ Maria Montessori, #NFDB
116:When I get up, the first thing I do is open up Gmail and check my personal email. ~ James G Stavridis, #NFDB
117:When there is a crisis, the first thing that gets damaged and gets harmed is democracy. ~ Akbar Ganji, #NFDB
118:And I said to myself that he was the first thing that I had ever missed in my life. ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
119:If you want to seed a place with activity, the first thing to do is to put out food. ~ William H Whyte, #NFDB
120:Picking an assistant coach, the first thing I was interested in was the man's character. ~ Woody Hayes, #NFDB
121:The first thing that intellect does with an object is to class it with something else. ~ William James, #NFDB
122:The first thing we need to do to make America stronger is to strengthen our military. ~ Chris Christie, #NFDB
123:When a man is asked to make a speech, the first thing he has to decide is what to say. ~ Gerald R Ford, #NFDB
124:Funny how the last thing we want the world to see is almost the first thing to show. ~ Courtney Summers, #NFDB
125:I bet Thunderstar’s always climbing trees. It’s probably the first thing he’ll teach you. ~ Erin Hunter, #NFDB
126:Maybe when we die, the first thing we'll say is 'I know this feeling. I was here before'. ~ Don DeLillo, #NFDB
127:Maybe when we die, the first thing we’ll say is, 'I know this feeling. I was here before. ~ Don DeLillo, #NFDB
128:That's odd,' said Henry. 'The first thing I thought of when I tasted that coffee was you. ~ Donna Tartt, #NFDB
129:The first thing that has to happen is the protection of voting rights and registration. ~ Jesse Jackson, #NFDB
130:If she lived here, the first thing she'd do is get out her paint brush and color the world. ~ Dale Mayer, #NFDB
131:The dwellers in Paradise know that the first thing they must give up is their heart. ~ Attar of Nishapur, #NFDB
132:The first thing I have at heart is American liberty; the second thing is American union. ~ Patrick Henry, #NFDB
133:The sea was the first thing he had found that was large enough to absorb his sorrow. After ~ Nina George, #NFDB
134:When you die, the first thing you lose is your life. The next thing is your illusions. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
135:When I wake up and the first thing I see is his face, I know it's going to be a great day. ~ Aimee Carter, #NFDB
136:If one day I have to leave Barcelona, probably the first thing I will look into is Arsenal ~ Cesc Fabregas, #NFDB
137:If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don't know the first thing about it. ~ Niels Bohr, #NFDB
138:In Finland, getting a university degree is the first thing that you expect your kids to do. ~ Renny Harlin, #NFDB
139:The first thing he thinks of is weaponry, killing his fellow humans. The second thing is power. ~ Ben Bova, #NFDB
140:I'll walk up to a woman, I'll say the first thing that comes to mind: 'Hey, you hungry?' ~ Gabriel Iglesias, #NFDB
141:The first thing I'll do if I want to look really crappy is, I don't wear any makeup at all. ~ Michael Caine, #NFDB
142:The first thing, the main thing, about how I work is I need to understand the character. ~ Marion Cotillard, #NFDB
143:When you have a problem, the first thing to do in addressing it is to honestly identify it. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
144:You learn a lot when you're barefoot. The first thing is every step you take is different. ~ Michael Franti, #NFDB
145:I've taught, and the first thing I did when I taught art, was not to teach art. ~ Louise Berliawsky Nevelson, #NFDB
146:The first thing to say about Finnegans Wake is that it is, in an important sense, unreadable. ~ Seamus Deane, #NFDB
147:Vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see in me, but the first thing I look for in you. ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
148:When I slid into comedy, naturally the first thing I said was, "hello, I am a washed up rapper." ~ Doc Brown, #NFDB
149:If you're going to be a thief, the first thing you need to know is that you don't exist. ~ Natalie C Anderson, #NFDB
150:I think, for East and West, the first thing we need is a good grounding in basic Buddhadharma. ~ Tenzin Palmo, #NFDB
151:The first thing you have to learn is how to conduct dialogue and how to make it productive. ~ Bashar al Assad, #NFDB
152:Isn't Googling someone the first thing everyone does?! They meet someone new and Google them! ~ Hilarie Burton, #NFDB
153:The first thing any comedian does on getting an unscheduled laugh is to verify the state of his . ~ W C Fields, #NFDB
154:The first thing is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be yours. ~ Peggy Fleming, #NFDB
155:The first thing that happens at the end of the world is that we don’t know what is happening. ~ Louise Erdrich, #NFDB
156:The first thing we pulled out was a lump of white gunk. “Wax,” Carter pronounced. “Fascinating. ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
157:When a problem seems urgent the first thing to do is not to cry wolf, but to organize the data. ~ Hans Rosling, #NFDB
158:When God intends great mercy for his people, the first thing he doth is to set them a praying. ~ Matthew Henry, #NFDB
159:When any calamity is suffered, the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped. ~ Samuel Johnson, #NFDB
160:If you Google the word "fluffy," I'm the first thing that pops up. It's me, dogs and rabbits. ~ Gabriel Iglesias, #NFDB
161:The first thing a great person does is make us realize the insignificance of circumstance. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
162:The first thing you must do is forget that I'm Black. Second, you must never forget that I'm Black. ~ Pat Parker, #NFDB
163:The first thing you need to run for President is a budget of around $20 million dollars a day. ~ S Robson Walton, #NFDB
164:Truth is the first thing to be sought for, and Beauty and Goodness will then be added unto you. ~ Mahatma Gandhi, #NFDB
165:Twitter's a lot of work! That's the first thing I would say. There's so much pressure to be funny. ~ Ari Graynor, #NFDB
166:When you want to learn about something, what is the first thing you do... you go to the internet. ~ Stephen Lang, #NFDB
167:Find one lousy body in your aunt’s fireplace and the first thing you know everyone is talking. ~ Jayne Ann Krentz, #NFDB
168:The first thing you should know about people is that you don’t know the first thing about them. ~ Charles Cumming, #NFDB
169:When everything gets messy and brutal and complicated, the truth is the first thing to go, isn't it? ~ Laura Dave, #NFDB
170:And it's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
171:Ice-T is so old that the first thing he bought with the money from his album sales was his freedom. ~ Greg Giraldo, #NFDB
172:I walked in on my wife and the milkman, the first thing she says is "don't tell the butcher"! ~ Rodney Dangerfield, #NFDB
173:Oh, well. Just twist the first thing you can grab, as the High Priest said to the vestal virgin. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
174:The first thing to understand about working with children's dreams is that adults need to listen up. ~ Robert Moss, #NFDB
175:Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
176:If you'd like to be good at something, the first thing to out the window is the notion of perfection. ~ Scott Berkun, #NFDB
177:The first thing was “I love you,” because it’s a good thing to say if you can mean it, and Shadow did. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
178:The first thing we pulled out was a lump of white gunk.
“Wax,” Carter pronounced.
“Fascinating. ~ Rick Riordan,#NFDB
179:When I was at my worst, the first thing I had to do was convince myself that I could succeed again. ~ James Altucher, #NFDB
180:The first thing I look for in a woman is warmth-femininity. It's got nothing to do with a pretty face. ~ Kirk Douglas, #NFDB
181:the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man. ~ Donald S Whitney, #NFDB
182:You’re the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I fall asleep. ~ Melissa Foster, #NFDB
183:If I were a lame only just for a week. I'd look at myself in the mirror and shoot the first thing I see. ~ Wiz Khalifa, #NFDB
184:If you give a hacker a new toy, the first thing he'll do is take it apart to figure out how it works. ~ Jamie Zawinski, #NFDB
185:Schools, the first thing they cut is music programs. They don't realize how important music is to kids. ~ Steven Tyler, #NFDB
186:The first thing I learned is when times are tough, you need to hedge your bets - you need to diversify. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
187:The first thing you have to do is accept that decay sets in and there's nothing you can do about it. ~ Francesca Annis, #NFDB
188:When you're being stalked by an angry mob with raspberries, the first thing to do is to release a tiger. ~ John Cleese, #NFDB
189:Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. ~ Anthony Robbins, #NFDB
190:Having a manicure pulls a look together. Hands are the first thing people see after your face. ~ Julia Restoin Roitfeld, #NFDB
191:If you’d like to be good at something, the first thing to go out the window is the notion of perfection. ~ Scott Berkun, #NFDB
192:That is the first thing to learn – not to seek. When you seek you are really only window-shopping. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti, #NFDB
193:The first thing that's important is to really have people believe in you. If you have that, you can do anything. ~ Wale, #NFDB
194:when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
195:Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he's got it all. ~ James Brown, #NFDB
196:I don't remember learning to read, but the first thing I remember reading is a science fiction novel. ~ Vonda N McIntyre, #NFDB
197:Sit a man on his ass with nothing to do but eat and the first thing that goes is his mind. It never fails. ~ Joanna Russ, #NFDB
198:The first thing about the angels that we ought to imitate, is their consciousness of the Presence of God. ~ John Vianney, #NFDB
199:The first thing a proprietor learns, and painfully at that, is: Trust is fine, but control is better. ~ Elfriede Jelinek, #NFDB
200:The first thing Jesus tells the church of Ephesus that He loves about them is they have sound doctrine. ~ Matthew Carter, #NFDB
201:When I came into the WWF, the first thing I really didn't want to have was being Bret Hart's little brother. ~ Owen Hart, #NFDB
202:Your computer needn't be the first thing your see in the morning and the last thing you see at night. ~ Simon Mainwaring, #NFDB
203:The first thing to do is to arrange to be born in Paris. After that, everything follows quite naturally. ~ Diana Vreeland, #NFDB
204:If a man is genuinely superior to his fellows the first thing that he believes in is the equality of man. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
205:I started out as a very traditional actor. The first thing I ever did in terms of performance was singing. ~ Billy Eichner, #NFDB
206:state’s position on the map is the first thing that defines it, more than its governing philosophy even. ~ Robert D Kaplan, #NFDB
207:That is the first thing I know for sure: (1.) If the questions don't make sense, neither will the answers. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
208:The first thing you have to do is make sure you're still wanted back. I never take that for granted any more. ~ Tony Dungy, #NFDB
209:Finally you get to the age when a book’s power to make you think becomes the first thing you notice about it. ~ Clive James, #NFDB
210:Human beings didn’t evolve brains in order to lie around on lakes. Killing’s the first thing we learned. ~ Orson Scott Card, #NFDB
211:the first thing I did when I made the decision to kill myself was to stop dieting. Let them dig a wider hole. ~ Gail Parent, #NFDB
212:The first thing I started collecting was stamps. Until I started discovering girls. That was the end of stamps. ~ Eli Broad, #NFDB
213:I left halfway through my third year to start Lipstick On Your Collar, which was the first thing I ever did. ~ Ewan McGregor, #NFDB
214:The first thing we see as we travel round the world is our own filth, thrown into the face of mankind. ~ Claude L vi Strauss, #NFDB
215:The first thing you learn in life is you're a fool. The last thing you learn in life is you're the same fool. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
216:The first thing you learn in life is you’re a fool. The last thing you learn in life is you’re the same fool. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
217:The thing itself, the first thing, will never do us alone, we must be elaborating, improving, poeticising. ~ Sebastian Barry, #NFDB
218:When a man can't explain a woman's actions, the first thing he thinks of is the condition of her uterus. ~ Clare Boothe Luce, #NFDB
219:"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" ~ Benjamin Hoff, #NFDB
220:The first thing I think of when I wake up is how close I am to death. But then it gets better during the day. ~ Doug Stanhope, #NFDB
221:The first thing, the first element of a story that people hear, they believe it. Whether it's right or wrong. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
222:A philosopher being asked what was the first thing necessary to win the love of a woman, answered, Opportunity! ~ Thomas Moore, #NFDB
223:I watch ESPN all day. If you come into my trailer, ESPN is on. That's the first thing I do when I leave the set. ~ Regina King, #NFDB
224:The first thing to go was friendship…Suddenly, everyone was too busy, they had to go out and make money. ~ Svetlana Alexievich, #NFDB
225:You came to Dublin, avenging angel, and what’s the first thing you did? Fucked the devil. Oops, shit, eh? ~ Karen Marie Moning, #NFDB
226:The first thing [Donald Trump] is going to do is roll back the fiat executive orders that were unconstitutional. ~ Mary Matalin, #NFDB
227:The first thing I do is take Polaroids of the sitter - 10 or 12 color Polaroids and eight or 10 black-and whites. ~ Chuck Close, #NFDB
228:If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a nonworking cat. ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
229:I sit up straight and do the first thing a person is supposed to do in an emergency, which is send a text message. ~ Robin Sloan, #NFDB
230:Music is the first thing I ever cared greatly about. I've been singing and writing songs since I was six or seven. ~ Angel Olsen, #NFDB
231:The first thing I am going to tell my successor is, don't trust the military men – even on military matters." JFK ~ David Talbot, #NFDB
232:If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a non-working cat. ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
233:The first thing Rick noticed was the lack of noise.
No birds sang in the trees. No squirrels ran across the yard. ~ Ron Ripley,#NFDB
234:The first thing I wanted to do, as a boy, was to be a skier, because I had seen film footage of somebody skiing. ~ Kenneth Cranham, #NFDB
235:The first thing men notice about a woman is her eyes. Then, when her eyes aren't looking, they notice her breasts. ~ Conan O Brien, #NFDB
236:We all deal with issues of time. The first thing you do in the morning is look at the clock to see what time it is. ~ Jeremy Piven, #NFDB
237:When we got married, the first thing my wife did was put everything under both names - hers and her mother's. ~ Rodney Dangerfield, #NFDB
238:Like all independent movies, the first thing you're looking for is a name actor who will justify your financing. ~ Steven Shainberg, #NFDB
239:Sometimes you had to keep things from people just so they wouldn’t do the first thing that came into their heads. ~ Jeff VanderMeer, #NFDB
240:When you first open Niall [Horan]'s wallet, the first thing you see is a picture of Justin Bieber and a picture of us. ~ Liam Payne, #NFDB
241:Comics are stories; they're like novels or anything else. So the first thing you have to do is become a good storyteller. ~ Stan Lee, #NFDB
242:Sir, if someone took a Buddhist holy book and flushed it down my toilet, the first thing I would do is call a plumber! ~ Ajahn Brahm, #NFDB
243:The first thing I learned that day was this: what you think you know about a person is only a fraction of the story. ~ Gavin Extence, #NFDB
244:The first thing I learned was that even if you have a lot of money and power and fame, you can still suffer very deeply. ~ Nhat Hanh, #NFDB
245:The first thing that I do when I come out every night is to look at the faces in front of me, very individually. ~ Bruce Springsteen, #NFDB
246:To break the silence the old man said the first thing that came to his mind: "Loneliness is a type of violence. ~ Jonathan Messinger, #NFDB
247:To endure is the first thing that a child ought to learn, and that which he will have the most need to know. ~ Jean Jacques Rousseau, #NFDB
248:For me, you say the words 'concept record,' and the first thing I think of is theater or the opera or something. ~ Chester Bennington, #NFDB
249:People can live tremendously rich, blissful, ecstatic lives. But the first thing is, we have to accept our responsibility. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
250:Stories are magic, and that is why the first thing any dictator does is to ban the stories that do not agree with him. ~ James Renner, #NFDB
251:The authenticity paradox: vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see in me and the first thing I look for in you. ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
252:The first thing I tell people is, I’m just an ordinary woman. I’m just like you, I say, I can see they don't believe me. ~ Anne Tyler, #NFDB
253:The first thing to remember: There's no substitute for cold steel. They do not like it up 'em, they DON'T LIKE IT UP 'EM ~ Jack Jones, #NFDB
254:The first thing you have to consider when writing a novel is your story, and then your story - and then your story! ~ Ford Madox Ford, #NFDB
255:A lot of parents ask me how to get kids to eat more vegetables. The first thing I say is that it starts from the top. ~ Emeril Lagasse, #NFDB
256:Because," said Thor, "When something goes wrong, the first thing I think is, it is Loki's fault. It saves a lot of time. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
257:I like when people wear a WWJD bracelet, because it's like an example of the first thing Jesus wouldn't do, probably. ~ Demetri Martin, #NFDB
258:My extravagance is my garden - it's the first thing I look at every morning when I wake up. It gives me so much pleasure. ~ Ina Garten, #NFDB
259:The first thing which philosophy undertakes to give is fellow-feeling with all men; in other words, sympathy and sociability. ~ Seneca, #NFDB
260:Vulnerability paradox: Vulnerability is the the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I want you to see in me. ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
261:As you start your journey, the first thing you should do is throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own. ~ Michael Dell, #NFDB
262:At any point in time, the first thing to consider is, what could you possibly do, where you are, with the tools you have? ~ David Allen, #NFDB
263:I am pretty unextraordinary.” “I reject that out of hand. Think of something you like. The first thing that comes to mind. ~ John Green, #NFDB
264:Someday your prince will come," I assure him. "And the first thing I'm going to say to him is, 'What took you so long? ~ David Levithan, #NFDB
265:The first thing that struck me about contemporary music in general had been thatthere was not much interest in rhythm. ~ Elliott Carter, #NFDB
266:When you go to take someone's picture, the first thing they say is, what you want me to do? Everyone is very awkward. ~ Annie Leibovitz, #NFDB
267:Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either. ~ Marshall McLuhan, #NFDB
268:When I sit down to make a sketch from nature, the first thing I try to do is to forget that I have ever seen a picture. ~ John Constable, #NFDB
269:When times are tough, vision is the first casualty. Before conditions can improve, it is the first thing we must recover. ~ Michael Hyatt, #NFDB
270:Write. Finish things. Get them published. Write something else while you're waiting for someone to publish the first thing. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
271:You'll stay here with me?" "Yeah" "If I fall asleep like this ... the first thing i'll see when I wake up ... will be you. ~ CLAMP, #NFDB
272:a conqueror, I say, can change the course of everything, and muffled tyranny is the first thing which is liable to violence. ~ Montesquieu, #NFDB
273:In order to be able to accomplish anything new, the first thing we need to do is to teach ourselves... not to be so afraid. ~ Jos N Harris, #NFDB
274:I think the first thing that I saw on IMAX was 'The Avengers.' The scope and the size of it are pretty neat, I will say that. ~ Chris Pine, #NFDB
275:I've always been skeptical of those television healers who are bald. If I had that gift, that'd be the first thing I'd fix. ~ Tony Campolo, #NFDB
276:Silence is the first thing within the power of the enslaved to shatter. From that shattering, everything else spills forth. ~ Robin Morgan, #NFDB
277:Someday your prince will come," I assure him.
"And the first thing I'm going to say to him is, 'What took you so long? ~ David Levithan,#NFDB
278:The first thing I notice about a girl, is her hands. I like girls with nice hands. ... And she must be spontaneous as well. ~ Bill Kaulitz, #NFDB
279:The first thing I thought when I saw her was “Oh, fuck.” Forgive me, Lord, for I wanted to jump that girl’s bones immediately. ~ Seth King, #NFDB
280:You got to be brave and have courage, believe in yourself, because that is the first thing to success is believe in yourself. ~ Louis Riel, #NFDB
281:And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it. ~ Niels Bohr, #NFDB
282:I come from the south, so you're useless and you're a bit pathetic. That's the first thing that the northerners think of you. ~ Ruth Wilson, #NFDB
283:It's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. All other people. Everybody. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
284:I wish, when I was first born, the first thing I said was "Quote" so the last thing I said before I died would be "Unquote. ~ Steven Wright, #NFDB
285:Salah is the first thing we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment, and yet it is the last thing that is on our mind. ~ Yasmin Mogahed, #NFDB
286:The first thing I learned at school was that some people are idiots; the second thing I learned was that some are even worse. ~ Orhan Pamuk, #NFDB
287:The first thing I learned from Judy Blume was that God is the wrong one to ask for bigger breasts. (Stephanie Lessing) ~ Jennifer O Connell, #NFDB
288:The first thing out of Fidel Castro's mouth to me, he looked me right in the eye and said, 'You're a man of great courage.' ~ Jesse Ventura, #NFDB
289:The first thing to do about a problem is to recognize it; the second thing is to state it; the third thing is to solve it. ~ Mark Van Doren, #NFDB
290:Besides the drugs and counterculture, I started talking about myself, which is the first thing you do when you are a writer. ~ George Carlin, #NFDB
291:I know from personal experience, if a chef yelled at me in a kitchen, the first thing I'd want to do is hit them with a pot. ~ Tom Colicchio, #NFDB
292:The first thing Eddy Treemont said to me on Saturday afternoon was also the last thing he said to me the day he died. “Whataya ~ Edward Lorn, #NFDB
293:The first thing I ask when Im offered a part is, Whos the director? which is something they never understand in Los Angeles. ~ Swoosie Kurtz, #NFDB
294:The first thing I did when I sold my book was buy a new wedding ring for my wife and asked her to marry me all over again. ~ Nicholas Sparks, #NFDB
295:The first thing that I really understood politically and was old enough to get was the failed assassination attempt on Reagan. ~ Ben Affleck, #NFDB
296:Whoever came up first with that saying a picture is worth a thousand words didn't understand the first thing about either one. ~ Wim Wenders, #NFDB
297:Because,' said Thor, 'when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
298:Because,” said Thor, “when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
299:I read somewhere that the first thing you learn when traveling is that you don't exist--I didn't want to stop not existing. ~ Catherine Lacey, #NFDB
300:When you bow down your head to pray
Let the first thing that you say
Be a lowly word and meek:
"I admit that I am weak. ~ John Piper,#NFDB
301:Breakfast is everything. The beginning, the first thing. It is the mouthful that is the commitment to a new day, a continuing life. ~ A A Gill, #NFDB
302:For those wondering how to deal with anxiety and depression, the first thing to consider is what you're putting into your mouth. ~ John Cleese, #NFDB
303:Like a blinking cursor on an empty page, it was just the first thing. The beginning of the beginning. But at least it was done. ~ Sarah Dessen, #NFDB
304:The first thing I look for is the humor, because you can tell what the character's fears and insecurities are through the humor. ~ Lusia Strus, #NFDB
305:The first thing that inspires any song is a chord progression. When I have one I really like, I get into the lyrics even more. ~ Black Francis, #NFDB
306:And it's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. All other people. Everybody. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
307:And, it's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. All other people. Everyone. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
308:The first thing [Donald Trump] does on January 20th is take an oath to defend and adhere to the Constitution of the United States. ~ Chuck Todd, #NFDB
309:We approach markets backwards. The first thing we ask is not what can we make, but how much can we lose. We play a defensive game. ~ Larry Hite, #NFDB
310:I started in movies in Mexico and started doing telenovelas in Mexico. American Family was the first thing I did in English. ~ Kate del Castillo, #NFDB
311:[Sadly] the first thing we tell our young converts, the babes in Christ, is, 'Here is a handful of tracts- now get out and get busy! ~ A W Tozer, #NFDB
312:The first thing is we got to make sure we try to keep guns out of the wrong hands. And I want comprehensive background checks. ~ Hillary Clinton, #NFDB
313:The first thing my family did when we moved was join the local church. The second was to go to the library and get library cards. ~ John Grisham, #NFDB
314:The first thing you ever said to me was "What's your name?" I remember thinking that your voice had been made for bedtime radio. ~ Claire Fuller, #NFDB
315:This is not going to be easy. I'm good at being bad, but I'm bad at being good. I don't know the first thing about good deeds. ~ Neal Shusterman, #NFDB
316:Whenever I meet a pretty girl, the first thing I look for is intelligence; because if she doesn't have that, then she’s mine. ~ Anthony Jeselnik, #NFDB
317:...how ugly adults could be, how weak. So used to getting what they wanted that they didn't know the first thing about being brave. ~ Kate Morton, #NFDB
318:The first thing I had to start with was, you know, we don't have a war. We don't have a depression, we don't have a Cold War. ~ William J Clinton, #NFDB
319:The first thing you should do with an actor is not sign a contract with him. Take him to dinner. And take him for a walk afterwards. ~ Elia Kazan, #NFDB
320:There were things Thor did when something went wrong. The first thing he did was ask himself if what had happened was Loki’s fault. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
321:We must let our identity, not our insecurity, be the first thing that walks into every situation we face—every decision we make. ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
322:Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I knew there was milk and toast and honey and a bowl of oranges, too. ~ Joni Mitchell, #NFDB
323:As a healer, the first thing to tell every patient is to breathe deeply. Shallow breathing means no endurance, no patience. ~ Harbhajan Singh Yogi, #NFDB
324:Betrayal. That’s the first thing I feel, which is ludicrous. For there to be betrayal, there would have had to been trust first. ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
325:[Donald] Trump, whether he designed it or not, happens to be the first thing in the news on UK soil the day after the Brexit vote. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
326:I know I've lost my mind. But I'm not concerned, because it's the first thing I've lost in a long time that actually feels good. ~ Jonathan Evison, #NFDB
327:the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. Stick it somewhere and let it tantrum until it wears itself out. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
328:For, what is the purpose of true love, other than to rescue another from one's self? Why is that not the first thing we look for? ~ Shannon L Alder, #NFDB
329:Some authors regard morality in the same light as we regard modern architecture. Convenience is the first thing to be looked for. ~ Luc de Clapiers, #NFDB
330:The first thing we see about a short story is its mystery. And in the best short stories, we return at the last to see mystery again ~ Eudora Welty, #NFDB
331:Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing. ~ Charles Spurgeon, #NFDB
332:My manners have always been the first thing to go when I get upset, and some people say that they stopped coming back a long time ago. ~ Mira Grant, #NFDB
333:Should you ask me what is the first thing in religion, I should reply that the first, second, and third thing therein is humility. ~ Saint Augustine, #NFDB
334:Singing is good for the soul. It's the first thing I do every morning, after my blessings and my grace. I put music on and I sing. ~ Richard Simmons, #NFDB
335:The first thing a man must do if he desires to be used in the Lord's work, is to make an unconditional surrender of himself to God. ~ Dwight L Moody, #NFDB
336:The first thing that has to be recognized is that one cannot train someone to be passionate--it's either in their DNA or it's not. ~ Richard Branson, #NFDB
337:Breath is perhaps the first thing we have in life. It's how we measure the starting of life and it's how we measure the ending of life. ~ Paul Harvey, #NFDB
338:He had the blue kite in his hands; that was the first thing I saw. And I can't lie now and say my eyes didn't scan it for any rips. ~ Khaled Hosseini, #NFDB
339:He stopped hooking up with other people once he realized the first thing he did was calculate whether or not he could outrun them. ~ Colson Whitehead, #NFDB
340:Should you ask me what is the first thing in religion, I should reply that the first, second, and third thing therein is humility. ~ Saint Augustine, #NFDB
341:The first thing I do every morning is go online to check the surf. If the waves are good, I'll go surf. The beach is 10 minutes away. ~ Marisa Miller, #NFDB
342:I’d heard or read somewhere that the ability to feel pain is the first thing to go. That’s not true. The ability to care goes first. ~ Vikki Wakefield, #NFDB
343:The first thing I think of when I think about coming to Las Vegas and playing is always Elvis; its always the first thing on my mind. ~ Brandi Carlile, #NFDB
344:There were things Thor did when something went wrong. The first thing he did was ask himself if what had happened was Loki’s fault. Thor ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
345:At the airport if you refuse to be patted down, they arrest you. And what's the first thing they do when they arrest you? They pat you down. ~ Jay Leno, #NFDB
346:Because I will always remember that when I told her I needed help burying a body, the first thing she said was, "Let me go get my shovel. ~ Karen White, #NFDB
347:Honor is the inner garment of the Soul; the first thing put on by it with the flesh, and the last it layeth down at its separation from it. ~ Akhenaton, #NFDB
348:I got the first thing I auditioned for - a guest role on two episodes on 'All Saints,' and I don't think I had ever been that excited. ~ Mia Wasikowska, #NFDB
349:They say the first thing to go when you're old is your legs or your eyesight. It isn't true. The first thing to go is parallel parking. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
350:They say the first thing to go when you’re old is your legs or your eyesight. It isn’t true. The first thing to go is parallel parking. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
351:When he hangs up with a grunt and looks at me, I say the first thing that pops into my mind. “My girlfriend is going to kick your ass.” In ~ Mary Frame, #NFDB
352:When you have two alternatives, the first thing you have to do is to look for the third that you didn't think about, that doesn't exist. ~ Shimon Peres, #NFDB
353:If anybody says he can think about quantum physics without getting giddy, that only shows he has not understood the first thing about them. ~ Niels Bohr, #NFDB
354:I said the first thing that came into my head unfortunately. "Save the drama for your mama " I told her just like an eleven-year-old. ~ Charlaine Harris, #NFDB
355:Maybe life can be measured by the first thing that takes your breath away, and by the last time you remember what that feeling was like. ~ Chris Dietzel, #NFDB
356:My manners have always been the first thing to go when I get upset, and some people say that they stopped coming back a long time ago. ~ Seanan McGuire, #NFDB
357:If you want to do this - either write for TV, or write books - the first thing you have to do is write a lot. And I mean a ridiculous amount. ~ Josh Lieb, #NFDB
358:I got into Kiss before I got into anybody. The first thing I heard was Detroit Rock City. I heard it in the school library, where I lived. ~ Brian Posehn, #NFDB
359:I had so much fear of blood, and the first thing I did was to cut myself to see what happens. That's the only way to rebuild yourself. ~ Marina Abramovic, #NFDB
360:It's very important to me to find ways to relate the audience to the characters. This is the first thing to go in most mainstream horror films. ~ Ti West, #NFDB
361:The first thing you have to know is yourself. A man who knows himself can step outside himself and watch his own reactions like an observer. ~ Adam Smith, #NFDB
362:The first thing you ought to do when you find yourself in a hole is quit digging. . . . Instead they are looking for a bigger shovel. ~ William J Clinton, #NFDB
363:You’re paid a lot and you’re not happy, so the first thing you do is buy stuff that you don’t want or need—for which you need more money. ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
364:I guess my life has been a series of flukes in the record business. The first thing I ever did, was the biggest record that I'll ever have. ~ Alex Chilton, #NFDB
365:No one told me about boys. I had to figure it out myself. The first thing I learned was that sometimes they grow slower than women mentally. ~ Elena Anaya, #NFDB
366:I tell them that in Finland the first thing men coming back from the front wanted was sex; only after that did they take their skis off. ~ Johanna Sinisalo, #NFDB
367:Women have got to stop being polite. If I ever had children, which I don't, the first thing I'd teach a girl of mine is the words 'f - off.' ~ Helen Mirren, #NFDB
368:Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness and your black presence. ~ Toyin Odutola, #NFDB
369:My mom would take me to restaurants, and the first thing I'd ask for would be a pen and a napkin, and I'd sketch shoes and shoes and shoes. ~ Alexander Wang, #NFDB
370:But the first thing that we have to do is to say, “I walk towards the tunnel, and I’m on my own, and I’m not afraid. And I have no regrets. ~ Jonathan Bowden, #NFDB
371:Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they grab is an iron hook. ~ Bill Cosby, #NFDB
372:That's the first thing they teach you in bowling, by the way. Don't press the ball against your nose. The other one is don't lick the pins. ~ David Letterman, #NFDB
373:The first thing I did [in Michigan] was join a picket line of a pizzeria in Ann Harbor in 1963 that didn't allow African Americans to eat there. ~ Bill Ayers, #NFDB
374:Vivien thought how ugly adults could be, how weak. So used to getting what they wanted that they didn't know the first thing about being brave. ~ Kate Morton, #NFDB
375:When you believe in what you’re doing, that’s the first thing. And you have to be resilient, because people are going to try to knock you down. ~ Dov Charney, #NFDB
376:You better not have touched the last piece of pumpkin pie,” she warned. He had to laugh at that. “It was the first thing to go, ~ R L Mathewson, #NFDB
377:One of the things we have learned in the first year is that if you want to scale-up, the first thing you have to do is to expand your own team. ~ Ruth Simmons, #NFDB
378:The first thing a fascist regime does is burn books. To not have them around would mean to make sure they're not written in the first place. ~ Kimberly Peirce, #NFDB
379:The first thing you have to understand is that I was not desperate to be a writer. I was never a closet writer filing away notes in a cupboard. ~ Vikas Swarup, #NFDB
380:Campbell [Scott] also directed me in a film with Hope Davis called Final. That was the first thing we did together, but I've known him for years. ~ Denis Leary, #NFDB
381:In general, costumes are the first thing in life that let other people know who we are. They indicate who the person is without saying anything. ~ Molly Parker, #NFDB
382:it occurred to me with a certain uncomfortable forcefulness that I didn’t know the first thing about the only planet I was ever going to live on. ~ Bill Bryson, #NFDB
383:Religion is the first thing and the last thing, and until a man has found God and been found by God, he begins at no beginning, he works to no end. ~ H G Wells, #NFDB
384:Sometimes you had to be who you were and endure what happened to you, and to you alone, before you could understand the first thing about it. ~ Kathleen Winter, #NFDB
385:That's the first thing you said to me. I was just wondering why you're here. My seven words, I've been wondering the same thing for so long. ~ Patrick Rothfuss, #NFDB
386:The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had. ~ P W Singer, #NFDB
387:You can be healed of depression if every day you begin the first thing in the morning to consider how you will bring a real joy to someone else. ~ Alfred Adler, #NFDB
388:The first thing you do is teach the person to feel that the vision is very important and nearly impossible. That draws out the drive in the winner. ~ Edwin Land, #NFDB
389:Before a shoot, I'll watch what I eat. During the shoot, I watch what I eat. Afterwards, the first thing I do is go have a steak and French fries. ~ Camila Alves, #NFDB
390:Clinton's attempt to socialize healthcare was the second most disgusting thing he did in the oval office. I can't remember was the first thing was. ~ Ann Coulter, #NFDB
391:I don't know what any of my tunes are about, they're just out there. I'm not good with words. I just say the first thing that comes into my head ~ Liam Gallagher, #NFDB
392:In America, the first thing we have to get rid of is entitlements for the wealthy, and at the same time, open up the economy to the disadvantaged. ~ Charles Koch, #NFDB
393:The first thing these people have who succeed, who are fulfilled, is that they’ve decided what the purpose of the game is, at least for right now. ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
394:The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had. ~ Eric Schmidt, #NFDB
395:The people are fed up with corruption and embezzlement. They object to censorship. The first thing that the people of Iran want is free elections. ~ Shirin Ebadi, #NFDB
396:What was the first thing a man must do before he can be a man? He must be born. He must leave the womb; and once left, it could not be re-entered. ~ Isaac Asimov, #NFDB
397:But the first thing a present-day visitor notices is that it's exceedingly gay. A life-size, fully dressed Garfield stands on top of a giant shaft. ~ Sarah Vowell, #NFDB
398:if anybody says he can think about quantum problems without getting giddy, that only shows that he has not understood the first thing about them. ~ Richard Rhodes, #NFDB
399:I met PJ Harvey when I was in England, and the first thing I want to do when I meet a songwriter I admire is to ask them how do they receive songs. ~ Valerie June, #NFDB
400:I would not describe myself as a left-wing filmmaker. I don't think this is the first thing that would pop into my mind when talking about my work. ~ Miguel Gomes, #NFDB
401:On the spiritual path, the first thing is to experientially ascertain where your are right now. You can only start the journey from where you are. ~ Jaggi Vasudev, #NFDB
402:The first thing dictators do is finish free press, to establish censorship. There is no doubt that a free press is the first enemy of dictatorship. ~ Fidel Castro, #NFDB
403:The strongest factor in conditioning is sex, in the sense that the first thing that a person is really taught is whether they are male or female. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
404:I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to run around screwing the first thing that winks my way. I’m trying to be more selective than a hamster in heat. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
405:The first thing I remember is Alexander Calder - our school took us on a field trip to go see the Calder mobiles, and that always stuck in my memory. ~ Owen Wilson, #NFDB
406:The first thing that confronts us in studying verbal structures is that they are arranged sequentially, and have to be read or listened to in time. ~ Northrop Frye, #NFDB
407:He could not make conversations with strangers, and yet conversations with strangers were perhaps the first thing required of him in his new life. ~ Alice McDermott, #NFDB
408:Ironically, the first thing that appealed to me about Islam was its pluralism. The fact that the Koran praises all the great prophets of the past. ~ Karen Armstrong, #NFDB
409:I told my nephew that if he wanted to get on in motor racing, the first thing he should do was master English. Thank goodness he now speaks it. ~ Juan Manuel Fangio, #NFDB
410:My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked. ~ Elizabeth Taylor, #NFDB
411:I couldn't help but notice no one was grabbing toilet paper. That would be the first thing I grabbed if I thought it was the end of the world ~ Jennifer L Armentrout, #NFDB
412:I think my general disposition on life is finding what's funny about it. When something happens, the first thing in my mind is, "What's funny about it?" ~ Will Smith, #NFDB
413:I think one of the things which always is forgotten in music class, is the first thing you have to do as a musician is you have to learn how to listen. ~ Hans Zimmer, #NFDB
414:Directors are our teachers, and I'm always craving to work with a great director. They're pretty much the first thing that interests me about a project. ~ Naomi Watts, #NFDB
415:He had written my mother once that he wanted her to be the first thing he saw every morning and the last thing he ever saw. And that's how it turned out. ~ Ron Reagan, #NFDB
416:I come out of the bathroom and the first thing I see is Ed. Okay, it was a long shot, but I was half hoping he would cease to exist while we were gone. ~ Cath Crowley, #NFDB
417:I go to bed, lie there and think of you. Wake up, you’re the first thing on my mind.”
Oh God.
I liked that.
Oh God.
I couldn’t like that. ~ Kristen Ashley,#NFDB
418:I had a great start in television; the first thing I did was an episode of Performance called The Entertainer with Michael Gambon playing Archie Rice. ~ Helen McCrory, #NFDB
419:It was such a paradox for me that the only thing I know how to do is act, but that the first thing I abandoned while writing were the characters ~ Bryce Dallas Howard, #NFDB
420:The first thing every mage should learn is that magic makes fools of us. Now you may call yourself a mage. You have learned the most important lesson. ~ Tamora Pierce, #NFDB
421:The first thing I'd say to women is put aside the guilt. I think we're all genetically programmed to feel guilty for not giving total effort at the job. ~ Indra Nooyi, #NFDB
422:After creating the heaven, the earth, the ocean, and the entire animal kingdom, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing He said to them was "Don't." ~ Bill Cosby, #NFDB
423:The first thing that stuck in the minds of the disciples was not the empty tomb, but rather the empty grave clothes - undisturbed in form and position. ~ Josh McDowell, #NFDB
424:The first thing we learn from studying our own circuitry is a simple lesson: most of what we do and think and feel is not under our conscious control. ~ David Eagleman, #NFDB
425:To be a sports person... There is a never say die attitude you have to have to succeed. The first thing I say is "die..." If you beat me, I just give up. ~ Robbie Rist, #NFDB
426:Drugs and alcohol were ruling my life. I made a lot of bad decisions while I was drinking alcohol. The first thing I stopped was cigarettes and tobacco. ~ Ozzy Osbourne, #NFDB
427:I picture my books as movies when I get stuck, and when I'm working on a new idea, the first thing I do is hit theaters to work out pacing and mood. ~ Maggie Stiefvater, #NFDB
428:The first thing baseball wants to do is make you a superstar and then say that you owe baseball something. I don't owe baseball anything. Baseball owes me. ~ Hank Aaron, #NFDB
429:The first thing I crave when I'm dieting is the worst thing for me. I have come to realize that the same is true when I set new relationship standards. ~ Steve Maraboli, #NFDB
430:The first thing I do in the morning is to make my bed and while I am making up my bed I am making up my mind as to what kind of a day I am going to have. ~ Robert Frost, #NFDB
431:The first thing I thought [when I read the script] was that Frasier was an intellectual at some points but also an Everyman - flawed and very insecure. ~ Kelsey Grammer, #NFDB
432:The first thing we do when we're born is we breathe in, and we cry. And the last thing we do when we die is we breathe out, and other people cry. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, #NFDB
433:Today, most models don't know the first thing about makeup. My mom taught me that makeup is supposed to enhance my natural beauty, not create a mask. ~ Christina Zilber, #NFDB
434:When I took the job as Estée Lauder's creative director, the first thing I did was go into the archives! I love taking our heritage and making it modern. ~ Aerin Lauder, #NFDB
435:Military action is never the first thing that you jump to. You always look at other possibilities, including economic sanctions, tightening the screws. ~ Benjamin Carson, #NFDB
436:to eat away that hope. “Belief,” Mama often said, “is the first thing to come, and the last thing to go.” “Belief,” Papa always countered, “is for children. ~ Jane Yolen, #NFDB
437:We tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty and send children to school and provide health. ~ Wangari Maathai, #NFDB
438:As president, the first thing I will do is secure the border. It will take money, manpower, and technology - but most of all, it will take political will. ~ Carly Fiorina, #NFDB
439:Every book I write, the first thing I have to do is get into the voice, and the voice varies from book to book - that's part of what's interesting to me. ~ China Mieville, #NFDB
440:If you tell yourself you don’t want to think a certain thought, that is precisely the first thing your mind will produce! That is the nature of the human mind. ~ Sadhguru, #NFDB
441:Search for inspiring quotes and put them on the walls of your bedroom. Read them before you go to bed and the first thing when you wake up in the morning. ~ Robert Cheeke, #NFDB
442:The first thing that attracts me to any script is the writing. If I find myself becoming lost in a good yarn, then I feel certain that others will, too. ~ Anne Marie Duff, #NFDB
443:What you want to do is, you want to get away from people being afraid to show their work, which is the first thing, because they don't want to be shot down. ~ Dennis Muren, #NFDB
444:Beth gave birth to a baby girl, so much so that the first thing I thought of was Nessie, and then I couldn’t stop cackling for like fifteen minutes. ~ Jennifer L Armentrout, #NFDB
445:Helen Mirren is someone that I have really admired ever since I saw her in Excalibur. That was the first thing I said to her. "I loved you as Morgan Le Fay." ~ Nicolas Cage, #NFDB
446:The first thing he does when he comes home from the study room in the synagogue, is pick up a book. He reads it and sighs quietly. That means he’s hungry. ~ Sholom Aleichem, #NFDB
447:The first thing that an architect must do is to sense that every building you build is a world of its own, and that this world of its own serves an institution. ~ Louis Kahn, #NFDB
448:If you give a cracker a new toy, the first thing he'll do is carve his initials in it. Fortunately, most crackers get over that once they're through puberty. ~ Jamie Zawinski, #NFDB
449:That's the first thing that strikes an American woman about Europe-that it's unsanitary. Impossible for them to conceive of a paradise without modern plumbing. ~ Henry Miller, #NFDB
450:The first thing I did was make a mistake. I thought I had understood capitalism, but what I had done was assume an attitude -melancholy sadness- toward it. ~ Donald Barthelme, #NFDB
451:This may sound weird, but the first thing I thought as I watched that ten-feet-tall bronze lady plummet toward my face was, "Well, at least it can't kill me. ~ Rachel Hawkins, #NFDB
452:Yeah, I had gay friends. The first thing I realized was that everybody's different, and it becomes obvious that all of the gay stereotypes are ridiculous. ~ Bruce Springsteen, #NFDB
453:I came from an environment where if you see a snake, you kill it. At General motors, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is to hire a consultant on snakes. ~ Ross Perot, #NFDB
454:Its just something Ive always done. In South Texas, the first guitar you get is a Mexican guitar. And the first one I got, the first thing I did was take it apart. ~ Guy Clark, #NFDB
455:Sometimes it's a good idea to think about what you want from a situation, and try to get it, rather than just blurt out the first thing that comes into your head. ~ E Lockhart, #NFDB
456:The first thing you have to do if you want to raise nice kids, is you have to talk to them like they are people instead of talking to them like they're property. ~ Frank Zappa, #NFDB
457:I started studying successful people a lot of successful people and the first thing they told me you first have to believe it in here before you see it out here. ~ John Assaraf, #NFDB
458:Once you become an immigrant, the first thing that is taken from you is the opportunity to talk about politics and to talk about yourself as a political being. ~ Tania Bruguera, #NFDB
459:The first thing I have to do to erase my French accent is think that it is actually possible, whereas for the moment, I think it's not. I have a lot of work. ~ Marion Cotillard, #NFDB
460:The first thing that makes you a tough fighter is in your head and in your heart, then your tools. It has nothing to do with someone teaching you how to be tough. ~ Tank Abbott, #NFDB
461:You are in prison. If you wish to get out of prison, the first thing you must do is realize that you are in prison. If you think you are free, you can't escape. ~ G I Gurdjieff, #NFDB
462:National security - the military is the first thing we should spend money on. You have to fully fund that first. And then you should be paying for everything else. ~ Marco Rubio, #NFDB
463:The first thing that I learned - and I understood it at a really young age - was that I could get a laugh. Really early. Because my mother and father are funny. ~ George Clooney, #NFDB
464:When I see a world that’s readymade and that rests on a whole bunch of assumptions, the first thing I want to do is ruin it. I want to pull it apart immediately. ~ Cat Sebastian, #NFDB
465:Because this is the first thing you have ever won and, like your first pair of boots, your first kiss and your first car, you’ll never forget the hours of this day. ~ David Peace, #NFDB
466:Jason, what’s the first thing French children are taught in school?” Scott asked. “I dunno.” “How to say ‘I surrender’ in various languages,” he said and grinned. ~ Mark A Cooper, #NFDB
467:You asked me how to get out of the finite dimensions when I feel like it. I certainly don't use logic when I do it. Logic's the first thing you have to get rid of. ~ J D Salinger, #NFDB
468:Fear has no place in my life, but you’re right, I’m nothing like my parents.” Emily clasped her hands on her lap. “Isn’t it sad that’s the first thing we agree on? ~ Ruth Cardello, #NFDB
469:If I get frustrated, the first thing I'll do is get up from the piano - completely mindlessly - and walk over to the cupboard and pull out something salty to eat. ~ Sara Bareilles, #NFDB
470:Soon the sun beams will smile through. Before you jump out of that bed, just know, the thought of you was the first thing that hit my head. Good morning my darling. ~ Judy Garland, #NFDB
471:The first thing that ye swear to is, That with your whole hearts ye agree and resolve, all the days of your life, constantly to adhere unto and defend the true religion. ~ Various, #NFDB
472:I did a commercial when I was, like, 5 or 6 years old for... what was it called?... Cabbage Patch Kids! That was the first thing I ever did. Little bit embarrassing. ~ Logan Lerman, #NFDB
473:If I were dead, the first thing you'd do, with the tears streaming down your face, would be to start modelling some damned mourning woman or some figure of grief. ~ Agatha Christie, #NFDB
474:The first thing you have to remember is that you can’t fight with a woman unless what you’re fighting about is worth it. You just can’t. You won’t win. Never. Ever. ~ Tammy Falkner, #NFDB
475:One teenage boy, Amcher, had been named for the first thing his parents saw upon reaching the hospital: the sign for Albany Medical Center Hospital Emergency Room. ~ Steven D Levitt, #NFDB
476:The first thing you must learn is to always treat a man and a woman with total respect and honor, 'cause if you do that, the legacy you will leave behind will be work. ~ Wyclef Jean, #NFDB
477:To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. ~ Andrew Murray, #NFDB
478:Sometimes it's a good idea to think about what you want from a situation, and try to get it, rather than just blurt out the first thing that comes into your head. ~ E Lockhart, #NFDB
479:The first thing I notice is the sky, so full of blue and the kind of brilliant white clouds that make you ecstatic to have eyes. Nothing can go wrong under this sky... ~ Jandy Nelson, #NFDB
480:The first thing that struck me on landing in America was that if the Americans are not the most well-dressed people in the world, they are the most comfortably dressed. ~ Oscar Wilde, #NFDB
481:Tribe cats are named after the first thing their mother sees, but I thing this would lead to a lot of kits being named 'wall of cave', 'side of cave' and 'floor of cave ~ Erin Hunter, #NFDB
482:I mean when you come into the set at 7:30 in the morning and you come out of make-up and the first thing you know, the ladies start coming into our dressing rooms at 7:45. ~ Burt Ward, #NFDB
483:That is the first thing anybody has said to me for seventeen years, three months and two days, five hours, nineteen minutes and twenty seconds. I’ve been counting.” He ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
484:...The lies we tell, and let ourselves believe, in the name of love.
The first thing you should know is that everyone lies. The second thing is that it matters. ~ Carla Buckley,#NFDB
485:According to a recent survey, men say the first thing they notice about women is their eyes. And women say the first thing they notice about men is they're a bunch of liars. ~ Jay Leno, #NFDB
486:Children must be rendered reasonable, but not reasoners. The first thing to teach them is that it is reasonable for them to obey, and unreasonable for them to dispute. ~ Joseph Joubert, #NFDB
487:He looked at Ghastly. "Thoughts?"
"I want to kill Sanguine," was the first thing Ghastly said. "And I want to do it slowly, in front of a lot of people. Using a hammer ~ Derek Landy,#NFDB
488:I have a big barn that I converted to my music studio, so I go there early in the morning and the first thing I do is rowing. And that's when I listen to a lot of music. ~ Tod Machover, #NFDB
489:The word genius was whispered into my ear, the first thing I ever heard, while I was still mewling in my crib. So it never occurred to me that I wasn't until middle age. ~ Orson Welles, #NFDB
490:This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
491:When you talk about God, the first thing that comes along is not love, it's fear. You have to fear, and be in awe. You have to be scared. Any religion, it's like first thing. ~ Ang Lee, #NFDB
492:I have turned my entire attention to Greek. The first thing I shall do, as soon as the money arrives, is to buy some Greek authors; after that, I shall buy clothes. ~ Desiderius Erasmus, #NFDB
493:The first thing Connor said when I saw him after he'd been at the outpost for a few months was, 'I see you got breasts, congratulations. I hope you know how to use them. ~ Andrea Cremer, #NFDB
494:Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
495:I pull my iPod out of my backpack and plug it in. It's the first thing I do every time I get in it, like a ritual. Music soothes the soul; at least it helps soothe mine. ~ Heather Gunter, #NFDB
496:Somebody scoffed, Oh, you'll never to that - At least no one ever has done it; But he took off his coat and he took off his hat, And the first thing we knew, he'd begun it. ~ Edgar Guest, #NFDB
497:All the way from the first thing that I can remember, like our Victrola - a wind-up record player - and my grandfather's crystal radio, and my father's shortwave radio. ~ Pauline Oliveros, #NFDB
498:I can't stand it. I can't stand someone being embarrassed. I don't know why. If someone slips over and the first thing they do is look around, I pretend I haven't seen it. ~ Ricky Gervais, #NFDB
499:I so desperately hate to end these movies that the first thing I do when I'm done is write another one. Then I don't feel sad about having to leave and everybody going away. ~ John Hughes, #NFDB
500:It was the first thing I noticed about him. He could admire a lady as though he were admiring a beautiful porcelain vase, without making her feel he was affixing a price tag. ~ Kate Quinn, #NFDB
501:The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there. ~ Robert D Kaplan, #NFDB
502:What’s the first thing a kid says when he learns how to talk? ‘Tell me a story.’ That’s how we understand who we are, where we come from. Stories are everything. [179] ~ Jeffrey Eugenides, #NFDB
503:It is said that Indians were sometimes named for the first thing they saw when they were born. Makes you wonder why there aren't more Indians named Hairy Pussy, doesn't it? ~ George Carlin, #NFDB
504:Nic [Cage] is more than just a fantastic actor. He will get your movie made. The first thing that we did is that we went to producers and there were a lot of great producers. ~ Todd Farmer, #NFDB
505:Our sacred contract is not a literal document. That's the first thing to understand. We could think of our sacred contract as a spiritual document that our soul recognizes. ~ Caroline Myss, #NFDB
506:[Salvation] is a curious process of divine burglary. The first thing to be wrested from one by a God who said 'Thou shalt not steal' is one's good opinion of one's self. ~ Elizabeth Goudge, #NFDB
507:So you questioned him?" Raisa prompted. "What did he say for himself?"
"Well, the first thing Gillen does is steal his purse and beat him with a club." Amon said. ~ Cinda Williams Chima,#NFDB
508:A chair is the first thing you need when you don't really need anything and is, therefore, a particularly compelling symbol of civilisation. (Attributed to Ralph Caplan) ~ Witold Rybczynski, #NFDB
509:I land with my knees on either side of him and he yelps and my hair is in his face and we are tangled in his blankets, and his eyes are the first thing I remember understanding. ~ Amy Zhang, #NFDB
510:It is by no haphazard chance that in every age men have risen early to pray. The first thing that marks decline in spiritual life is our relationship to the early morning. ~ Oswald Chambers, #NFDB
511:The first thing missing if you take a robot as a companion is alterity, the ability to see the world through the eyes of another.5 Without alterity, there can be no empathy. ~ Sherry Turkle, #NFDB
512:The first thing one must remember about film is that it is a young medium. And it is essential for every responsible artist to cultivate the ground that has been left fallow. ~ Orson Welles, #NFDB
513:The palindromeis anold tradition: the first thing that man ever said was, probably, “Madam, I'm Adam.” And it has caused terrible distress to even the greatest literary minds ~ Mark Forsyth, #NFDB
514:If you ask me, I'd like to become the first female president. That would be really cool. The first thing I would do is redecorate the White House, it doesn't look very cozy. ~ Jennifer Lopez, #NFDB
515:The first thing that hit their eyes was what appeared to be a coffin.
And the next four thousand nine hundred and ninety nine things that hit their eyes were also coffins. ~ Douglas Adams,#NFDB
516:Chloe said the first thing that popped into her head., "I don't sleep with dead guys..."
Luca gave her an amused look. "Good. I'm not dead. Never have been.... I'm immortal. ~ Linda Howard,#NFDB
517:In fact when I first got my Apple II the first thing I did was turn it on and off, on and off, just because I had the power to do so, which I'd never had on a computer before ~ Andy Hertzfeld, #NFDB
518:Rhythms and sounds are often the first thing I hear and want in a poem, so I can't imagine trying to translate something without at least being able to hear what it sounds like. ~ Joan Larkin, #NFDB
519:The difficult thing is that vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I'm willing to show you. In you, it's courage and daring. In me, it's weakness. ~ Brene Brown, #NFDB
520:Utah could elect its first black Republican woman to Congress. In other words, Utah finally got one black person and the first thing they want to do is send her to Washington. ~ Conan O Brien, #NFDB
521:What's the best part of a movie? I love to know what my name is. It's just so fun. That's the first thing I ask. It's just fun because you have a different name in every movie. ~ Elle Fanning, #NFDB
522:When you think of Napster, you think of music. But the first thing that struck me was that this was an important case not only for the music industry but for the whole Internet. ~ David Boies, #NFDB
523:Blues was my first love. It was the first thing where I said, 'Oh man, this is the stuff.' It just sounded so raw and honest, gut-bucket honest. From then I started rebelling. ~ Carlos Santana, #NFDB
524:jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force—one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. ~ Amor Towles, #NFDB
525:that loving him really is the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing before I go to sleep at night. And in my mind, thinking is half the battle. ~ Liliana Hart, #NFDB
526:The first thing everybody would do if they went to France is go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and do a massive spit. We all agreed. Only Connor Green would do a piss instead. ~ Stephen Kelman, #NFDB
527:The first thing is to stand up and be sensible. To handle this body, to handle this mind, to handle these emotions, things that are within you right now, to handle them sensibly. If ~ Sadhguru, #NFDB
528:It bonded us. Branded us as best friends. Because I will always remember that when I told her I needed help burying a body, the first thing she said was, "Let me go get my shovel. ~ Karen White, #NFDB
529:The towers fell, and the first thing that went through my head was my dad's voice: 'Well, you brought a new life into the world, and the world's over. Nice timing, numbnuts! ~ Christopher Titus, #NFDB
530:if i ever have a daughter, the first thing i will teach her to love will be the word “no” & i will not let her feel guilty for using it. - “no” is short for “fuck off.” ~ Amanda Lovelace, #NFDB
531:If you are curious, you won't be satisfied with the "tyranny of custom." People stuck in that rut might say "why?" and the first thing an exploratory person would say is "why not?" ~ John Medina, #NFDB
532:If you're creative, they let you be the showrunner, producer. The first thing my partner and I did as producers was hire ourselves as directors - because who else would hire me? ~ Garry Marshall, #NFDB
533:The first thing we should do in order to grasp the realm of time travel is by redefining
general perception and common concepts regarding time within our daily language structure. ~ Toba Beta,#NFDB
534:Breathing, posturing, etc. are no doubt helps in Yoga; but they are merely physical. The great preparations are mental. The first thing necessary is a quiet and peaceable life. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
535:education is a tender garden, whereas ignorance is weeds. History—the old history—was full of examples proving that, when civilizations fell, learning was the first thing to disappear. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
536:I realized that I couldn't remember a time when you weren't the first thing I thought of in the morning or the last before I fell asleep at night. You own me, Evie. You always have. ~ Mia Sheridan, #NFDB
537:Kissing is a thousand times more intimate than sex. He knew some people would disagree, but the first thing that goes when a marriage is coming apart is not the sex. It’s the kissing. ~ Amy Harmon, #NFDB
538:The first thing I do when I start my day is, I get down on my hands and knees and give thanks to God. Whenever I go outside of my house, the first thing I do is stop at the church. ~ Mark Wahlberg, #NFDB
539:The first thing I would do for anyone who's trying to lose body fat, for instance, would be to remove foods from the house that he or she would consume during lapses of self-control. ~ Tim Ferriss, #NFDB
540:The first thing the investigator comes to understand in comparing the dream-content with the dream-thoughts is that work of condensation has been carried out here on a grand scale. ~ Sigmund Freud, #NFDB
541:The first thing you have to do is acknowledge the basic and fundamental goodness of all beings. If you don't, then you are going to have conflict. That's at the core of Shambhala. ~ Sakyong Mipham, #NFDB
542:WHAT do you need in order to obtain mercy? Is it necessary to have a certain predisposition? The first thing that comes to mind is the phrase “I can’t take it anymore!” You ~ Pope Francis, #NFDB
543:When a woman walks into a room, her outfit is the first thing she says, before she even opens her mouth. Women are judged on what they wear in a way men would find incomprehensible. ~ Caitlin Moran, #NFDB
544:Dani said this woman, with whom she’d lived for two years, had never known her. “I feel like people accept the first thing I show them,” she said, “and that’s all I ever am to them. ~ Mary Gaitskill, #NFDB
545:My line is all based on what I would wear, what I love to wear... It's very selfish! The first thing I ask myself is, "Is this something I would want for myself?" If so, I make it. ~ Minnie Mortimer, #NFDB
546:Obviously the first thing we need to do is repeal “Obamacare.” That's one entitlement that we can get rid of. And that's a couple trillion dollars in spending over the next 10 years. ~ Rick Santorum, #NFDB
547:People love misery, they love to feel sorry for themselves, and they definitely don't want to be enlightened. That's the first thing they tell you at boot camp in the higher worlds. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
548:So the first thing to remember is how not to allow words unnecessarily. When there is a need, you can use them, but when there is no need remain empty, remain nonverbal, mouna, remain silent. ~ Osho, #NFDB
549:The first thing he said was, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you? ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
550:The first thing necessary for a constructive dealing with time is to learn to live in the reality of the present moment. For psychologically speaking, this present moment is all we have. ~ Rollo May, #NFDB
551:The first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control. We Republicans came to power to change government, and government changed us. ~ John McCain, #NFDB
552:Truth is the first thing that present-day literature lacks. The writer has drowned himself in lies, he is too accustomed to speak prudently, with a careful look over his shoulder. ~ Yevgeny Zamyatin, #NFDB
553:Yeah, I like that idea. Maybe he'll shoot at us again. I was hoping someone would shoot at me today. That was the first thing I said when I got up: Boy, I hope I get shot at today. ~ Janet Evanovich, #NFDB
554:If we are really anxious not to have nuclear weapons in Iran, the first thing is to call an international conference on abolishing all nuclear weapons, including Israeli nuclear weapons. ~ Bruce Kent, #NFDB
555:Something feels weird," he told Laura. That wasn't the first thing he said to her. The first thing was "I love you," because it's a good thing to say if you can mean it, and Shadow did. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
556:Something feels weird,” he told Laura. That wasn’t the first thing he said to her. The first thing was “I love you,” because it’s a good thing to say if you can mean it, and Shadow did. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
557:Melody is the first thing that comes to me when I'm songwriting. I learned piano classically first, and then I went into soul, and so melody has always been the first. It's so important. ~ Emeli Sande, #NFDB
558:Usually when you start the characters, the first thing is the script. Your design work is about telling the story. It's later that casting comes into play, but it's a huge component. ~ Alexandra Byrne, #NFDB
559:Usually with this genre the first thing that happens is a good fight sequence to show that you're in good hands. So we broke that rule. I think a lot of that comes from the western audience. ~ Ang Lee, #NFDB
560:We tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty. But you can't reduce poverty in a vacuum. You are doing it in an environment. ~ Wangari Maathai, #NFDB
561:Don’t ever let this husband of yours, whoever he is, know you can cook, Dabney Fairchild, or you’ll spend the rest of your life in the kitchen. That’s the first thing I want to tell you. ~ Eudora Welty, #NFDB
562:I could not flourish in the Hollywood system because the first thing spoken about is "What genre is it?" and "Who's it for?" It's a very strange question to me; it's for human beings. ~ Conor McPherson, #NFDB
563:The first thing that strikes the careless observer is that women are unlike men. They are 'the opposite sex' - (though why 'opposite' I do not know; what is the 'neighbouring sex'?). ~ Dorothy L Sayers, #NFDB
564:As a way of getting in touch with my origins
every night I set the alarm clock
for the time I was born so that waking up
becomes a historical reenactment and the first thing I do ~ David Berman,#NFDB
565:He saw through everybody, but he saw through them precisely because the first thing he looked for in people was the very thing he had seen in himself and may not have wished others to see. ~ Andr Aciman, #NFDB
566:If I'm elected president, let me tell you about my first day in office. The first thing I intend to do is to rescind every illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by Barack Obama. ~ Ted Cruz, #NFDB
567:Family is everything. That is the creed in this country. But that creed gets others killed. And it slowly kills you. Your family is the first thing you’ll lose. Your soul will be the last. ~ Karina Halle, #NFDB
568:Silence is the first thing within the power of the enslaved to shatter. From that shattering, everything else spills forth.
Are you ready to shatter the silence?
Share your secrets. ~ Ellen Hopkins,#NFDB
569:It's very much like opera singers. They do the same thing. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, the thing they think about is their voice and how to take care of it. ~ Johnny Mathis, #NFDB
570:People still recognize me all the time on the street. The first thing they say when they stop me is, "Where have you been?" The second comment they make is always, "Oh, you've grown up." ~ Macaulay Culkin, #NFDB
571:The first thing to learn in intercourse with others is non-interference with their own particular ways of being happy, provided those ways do not assume to interfere by violence with ours. ~ William James, #NFDB
572:The first thing you learn on the trading floor is that when large numbers of people are after the same commodity, be it a stock, a bond, or a job, the commodity quickly becomes overvalued. ~ Michael Lewis, #NFDB
573:The first thing to do,' said Psmith, 'is to ascertain that such a place as Clapham Common really exists. One has heard of it, of course, but has its existence ever been proved? I think not. ~ P G Wodehouse, #NFDB
574:I didn't know the first thing about the people around me, but that didn't matter: I was in a new world; and I had the feelings that at last I had put my finger on the secret of freedom. ~ Simone de Beauvoir, #NFDB
575:If I'm selecting a group, the first thing I look for is a record of achievement . . . If (candidates achieve) in small things, there's a very good chance they'll perform well in big things. ~ Edmund Hillary, #NFDB
576:I’m subject to occasional theological nightmares. The one that leaves me in a cold sweat every time is, I arrive at the pearly gates and the first thing I’m asked is where I went to college. ~ Mark Vonnegut, #NFDB
577:We are called the nation of inventors. And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we ever invented, which was human liberty. ~ Mark Twain, #NFDB
578:Evolve? Like a Pokemon?' I have no idea why I say this. I think I'm kind of going into shock, and the first thing that pops into my head when he says evolve is Charmander evolving into Charizard. ~ Nikki Rae, #NFDB
579:Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it. My size may have been the first thing people noticed about me but never, I vowed at that moment, would it be the last. ~ Melanie Benjamin, #NFDB
580:The first thing you learn is how to be alone. You learn, or suffer. It is an easy lesson. You suffer more when people are around. People make you feel alone. And loneliness is a quiet wound. ~ Marjorie M Liu, #NFDB
581:You must not think that because one thing happens after another thing, then it is the first thing that causes the second thing. You must not think that, because it might not be true. ~ Alexander McCall Smith, #NFDB
582:It's a funny thing no matter who you are when you purchase a flower or a plant, the first thing you ask is how do I keep this plant and keep it growing beautiful. People need the same concern. ~ Maxine Powell, #NFDB
583:The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a burst of light so warm and red it could have been the sun or someone's beating heart. I stared up at it, waiting for the room to come clear. ~ Brenna Yovanoff, #NFDB
584:The first thing I would do would be to move forward with an agenda to make sure that we give D.C. the opportunity to elect its own representatives and have some political power on Capitol Hill. ~ Barack Obama, #NFDB
585:The first thing that your should do when you win an Oscar is thank God. The second thing you should do is forget it. The third thing you should do is call your agent and tell him you need a job. ~ Rod Steiger, #NFDB
586:[Spade] scowled at Gutman and burst out irritably: "Jesus God! is this the first thing you guys ever stole? You're a fine lot of lollipops! What are you going to do next-- get down and pray? ~ Dashiell Hammett, #NFDB
587:The Beatles were huge. And the first thing they said when you interviewed them, 'Oh yeah, we grew up on Motown.'..They were the first white act to admit they grew up listening to black music. ~ Smokey Robinson, #NFDB
588:I had all the usual ambition growing up. I wanted to be a writer, a musician, a hockey player. I wanted to do something that wasn't nine to five. Acting was the first thing I tried that clicked. ~ Michael J Fox, #NFDB
589:I try to do an hour of cardio on the days that I have off, and then I'll do 30 to 45 minutes on show days. That's the first thing I do when I wake up, I have breakfast and then I'll hit the gym. ~ Travis Barker, #NFDB
590:The first thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do everyday. There are two reasons for this rule: Getting the work done and connecting with your unconscious mind. ~ Walter Mosley, #NFDB
591:Usually when I go to a place for the first time, unless there's something historical or spectacular that nature has to offer, the first thing I like to do is see what's on the minds of the people. ~ Patti Smith, #NFDB
592:You can't understand the first thing about God unless you love Him. These big so - called Vedic scholars - they don't necessarily love Krishna, so they can't understand Him and give Him to us. ~ George Harrison, #NFDB
593:Agni in the form of an aspiration full of concentrated calm and surrender is certainly the first thing to be lighted in the heart. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - III, Experiences Associated with the Psychic, #NFDB
594:The first thing is to learn how to quiet the mind, relax the mind, and bring the awareness to the front so that we are conscious of what we're doing when we're doing it without all the commentary. ~ Tenzin Palmo, #NFDB
595:A chair is the first thing you need when you don’t really need anything, and is therefore a peculiarly compelling symbol of civilization. For it is civilization, not survival, that requires design. ~ Ralph Caplan, #NFDB
596:And the first thing we have to do is vote. Hey, no, not just once in a while. Not just when my husband or somebody you like is on the ballot. But in every election at every level, all of the time. ~ Michelle Obama, #NFDB
597:But the first thing,” she continued, “is to find out where Charles and Henrietta are, and the second thing is to find where the money is; then we can make a plan. Has anybody anything to suggest? ~ Walter R Brooks, #NFDB
598:The first thing people look at with Four Seasons records is the vocals. But for me, the drum fills and rhythms are as much a part of it as anything. They're the base on which the harmonies were built. ~ Bob Gaudio, #NFDB
599:The first thing that has to be broken down is your relationship to authority. Your insecurity could possibly be the wedge that opens up your perspective on what you think is possible for you to do. ~ Ross Bleckner, #NFDB
600:Why do I regret Chelsea? I'm the boss of the richest club in the world. I have not had much time to adjust myself, but I've found a great restaurant! That is the first thing I did when I arrived! ~ Carlo Ancelotti, #NFDB
601:And Johnson was a convert. Body counts were the first thing he asked for in regular war briefings. He bragged that his general in Vietnam killed thousands of enemy personnel for every one man he lost: ~ Mark Bowden, #NFDB
602:If they ever let me in those pearly gates, I'm going to walk all over God's heaven until I find that girl. And the first thing I'm going to do is ask her if she would marry me, and do it all over again. ~ Dave Isay, #NFDB
603:On that Sunday morning the first thing that impressed the people who approached the tomb was the unusual position of the one and a half to two ton stone that had been lodged in front of the doorway. ~ Josh McDowell, #NFDB
604:So the first thing: become aware of death. Think about it, look at it, contemplate it. Do not be afraid, do not escape the fact. It is there and you cannot escape it! It has come into existence with you. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
605:The first thing I would like to share with you
here is that when you help people, you don’t wait
around until they say thank you because you didn’t
help them so you can hear appreciation. ~ Nouman Ali Khan,#NFDB
606:When I go home, the first thing I do is wash the dishes. It feels real and it feels like home and it's humbling, it's something you don't do when you're living in a hotel, everyone cleaning up after you. ~ V V Brown, #NFDB
607:Have you found a stairs to the light? The first thing you must do is to inform others so that you can all together go to the light! Without others, even the place where light exists will be dark! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan, #NFDB
608:I think Night Court was the first thing I did when I came out to Hollywood. It was just one of those things that... I'm from Texas, and it was a character I'd been doing when I was a kid, just for fun. ~ Brent Spiner, #NFDB
609:My parents were working in a hospital in Memphis. But I didn't live there for any length of time that I remember. The first thing I remember is the town in Mississippi that I live in now, Charleston. ~ Morgan Freeman, #NFDB
610:So the first thing I learned about how to get superior performance is not to buy stocks that are near their lows, but to buy stocks that are coming out of broad bases and beginning to make new highs. ~ William O Neil, #NFDB
611:His philosophy insists that ethics comes first, that “ethics precedes ontology”: the first thing we know is our own being, and the way that we know everything else is through the other person. ~ Jennifer Michael Hecht, #NFDB
612:I believe in the absolute and unlimited liberty of reading. I believe in wandering through the stacks and picking out the first thing that strikes me. I believe in choosing books based on the dust jacket. ~ Rick Moody, #NFDB
613:In my ideal world, it would be a soulful connection to the role because you've shared a lot of the same experiences as the character and you just feel so right in it. That's the first thing I look for. ~ Giles Matthey, #NFDB
614:It's a mystery. That's the first thing that interests me about the idea of God. If there is one, it's mysterious and powerful and awesome to even consider the concept, and you have to take it seriously. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
615:It's nice to have money, but the first thing I did with money was buy my father a snow-blower, because my job was to shovel snow, and I wasn't there to do it any more, so I was able to buy him a blower. ~ Richard Gere, #NFDB
616:I want to be the last thing you see when I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up. I want to sit with you in the sun, on the floor, and anywhere else, just to be close to you. I want it all. ~ Kate Perry, #NFDB
617:I want you to be there.”
“Why, Faith?”
“Because that painting was the first one I painted for me in a very long time. And you’re the first thing I’ve done for me in a very long time. ~ Lisa Renee Jones,#NFDB
618:The first thing that the boy called Smoke told Nick Waters was: “Your biology book’s in my locker. The combination is 5-3-5.” And the second thing he said was: “I didn’t do that fire, man. I’m innocent. ~ Carl Hiaasen, #NFDB
619:When I listen to great music, the first thing I wonder is what people were saying when this came out of the speakers in the studio. I want to know what happened when they played it and said, "This is the one!" ~ Jay Z, #NFDB
620:I don’t know where I will be when you read this, but if I can, I will find you and whisper in your ear. The first thing I will whisper is this: Never give up. Goodness will always outrun evil in the end. ~ Anne Fortier, #NFDB
621:Indeed, the first thing you might learn, in considering jokes, is that Marcel Duchamp’s urinal was one—quite a good one the first time around, corny by mid-twentieth century, and downright stupid today. ~ Roger Scruton, #NFDB
622:In Washington, the first thing people tell you is what their job is. In Los Angeles you learn their star sign. In Houston you're told how rich they are. And in New York they tell you what their rent is. ~ Simon Hoggart, #NFDB
623:Accountability in public office is but one manifestation of this cultural inheritance, and we should not be surprised that it is the first thing to disappear when the utopians and the planners take over. ~ Roger Scruton, #NFDB
624:all human beings need to keep this energy in movement. So, the first thing one must understand is that it is made up of two extremes, which walk side-by-side during the entire act: relaxation and tension. ~ Paulo Coelho, #NFDB
625:I think because "Dollhouse" was the first story that I put out. It was the first thing that people were able to listen to and find the aesthetic of my music, so I figured we could use that as a title. ~ Melanie Martinez, #NFDB
626:You aren’t going to find the time to pursue your goals; you’re going to make the time to pursue your goals. And the first thing you’re going to need to accept is that you are in control of your schedule. ~ Rachel Hollis, #NFDB
627:When Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
628:Wherever you go, and whatever you do, the first thing you're going to see in the morning, and the last thing at night, is the inside of your own head. An unchanging landscape, a still photograph. ~ Michael Marshall Smith, #NFDB
629:The first thing Syrian refugees want is to be able to live within Syria. That means help, humanitarian help, the way we understand it, food, medical care, any other, let's say, basics for the daily life. ~ Bashar al Assad, #NFDB
630:The first thing that any good artist has to develop is a sense of independence from the artworld. What really destroys a young artist is insecurity, the fear that everything could be taken away at any moment. ~ Jeff Koons, #NFDB
631:Twenty-some states in the United States have statutes that say showing the nipples to children is oscene. That's the first thing we come into contact with when we arrive on this palnet: a woman's breasts! ~ Clint Eastwood, #NFDB
632:The first thing to realize in meditation is that there is no authority, that the mind must be completely free to examine, to observe, to learn. And so there is no following, no accepting, no obedience. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti, #NFDB
633:We may not be perfect, but we’re good, and good people can’t imagine evil. It catches us by surprise, and it always will. We don’t know the first thing about the kind of evil that would sacrifice a child. ~ Lisa Scottoline, #NFDB
634:When preparing for the fight choreography, the first thing I have to think about is what fits in the script. Whatever goes along with the story line and the character's personality; they have to be matched. ~ Yuen Woo ping, #NFDB
635:Don’t be mad” was the first thing he said. He really was terrified, as if the most frightening reaper on the planet was no scarier than a mouse, and yet put him in a tux and it was the Apocalypse. ~ Courtney Allison Moulton, #NFDB
636:Everyone talks about the elusive thing with chemistry. If you have a romance on screen or anything, the first thing you have to do is become friends with the person. Its not necessarily about falling in love. ~ Seamus Dever, #NFDB
637:The first thing brought forth by the study of any religion, ancient or modern, is that it is based upon Fear, born of it, fed by it — and that it cultivates the source from which its nourishment is derived. ~ Upton Sinclair, #NFDB
638:The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy. If you want to go towards democracy, the first thing is to involve the people in decision making, not to make it. ~ Bashar al Assad, #NFDB
639:Whenever I travel to the South, the first thing I do is visit the best barbecue place between the airport and my hotel. An hour or two later I visit the best barbecue place between my hotel and dinner. ~ Jeffrey Steingarten, #NFDB
640:A teacher, therefore, who would think that he could prepare himself for his mission through study alone would be mistaken. The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task. ~ Maria Montessori, #NFDB
641:He looked at Ghastly. "Thoughts?"
"I want to kill Sanguine," was the first thing Ghastly said. "And I want to do it slowly, in front of a lot of people. Using a hammer."
Skulduggery nodded. "Very healthy. ~ Derek Landy,#NFDB
642:I didn't know what was going on, didn't understand a bit of it, didn't like any of it. Maybe that's why the first thing I packed was my guns. If your brain won't work, wave a gun around. Sometimes that helps. ~ James Crumley, #NFDB
643:The first thing was not to panic, because all panic does is escalate the problem. (This is the first mistake that people make in situations like this: the cats lose their pee and the humans lose their shit.) ~ Jackson Galaxy, #NFDB
644:If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, #NFDB
645:If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon, #NFDB
646:I should like balls infinitely better," she replied, "if they were carried on in a different manner."
"You should like balls infinitely better," said Darcy, "if you knew the first thing about them. ~ Seth Grahame Smith,#NFDB
647:It's the first thing I tell my students: If you could understand, really understand, that no one needs to read your work, then your writing would improve vastly by the time we meet in this classroom again. ~ Dan Barden, #NFDB
648:That’s how people live, by telling stories. What’s the first thing a kid says when he learns how to talk? “Tell me a story.” That’s how we understand who we are, where we come from. Stories are everything. ~ Jeffrey Eugenides, #NFDB
649:The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.
About anything.
"Need a poo, Todd."
"Shutup, Manchee."
"Poo. Poo, Todd."
"I said shut it. ~ Patrick Ness,#NFDB
650:The questions are important. I have thought harder about them than I have about the answers I already have. That is the first thing I know for sure: If the questions don't make sense, neither will the answers. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
651:ASSIGNMENT NUMERO OTTO: FEEL YOUR FEELINGS
Write down the first thing that comes into your mind. Short and sweet. No pondering! Just WRITE IT DOWN!
Chiara was right. I like the nice boys. I like Darren. ~ Kristin Rae,#NFDB
652:Going to Europe as a budding cook opened my eyes to food in a different way. When I got to Italy, the first thing I did was put my little basil plants in the ground and watch them turn into big, healthy bushes. ~ Frances Mayes, #NFDB
653:I don't have the energy or the mental security to get involved with all that. I think it's a good idea to be able to disappear into the story, so that the first thing the audience sees isn't you, but the part. ~ Jeremy Northam, #NFDB
654:I was constantly, always and forever, trying to perform the musical 'Annie' for anyone who would listen, and I have a terrible singing voice. It was the first thing that made me think I wanted to be an actress. ~ Sarah Paulson, #NFDB
655:No naked little men sat on the summit dispensing wisdom, because the first thing the truly wise man works out is that sitting around on mountaintops gives you not only hemorrhoids but frostbitten hemorrhoids. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
656:The wizards were civilized men of considerable education and culture. When faced with being inadvertently marooned on a desert island they understood immediately that the first thing to do was place the blame ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
657:What else should you be? Human beings didn't evolve brains in order to lie around on lakes. Killing's the first thing we learned. And a good thing we did, or we'd be dead, and the tigers would own the earth. ~ Orson Scott Card, #NFDB
658:Come to think of it, she seemed awfully sure about those ten minutes: it was the first thing out of her mouth. As if nine minutes would be too short or eleven minutes too long. Like cooking spaghetti al dente. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
659:I'll tell you, when you have wounds that are as deep as were caused by the genocide, the first thing you do is try to create some way to pull the wound together. And it may be artificial until the skin grows back. ~ Swanee Hunt, #NFDB
660:The first thing I read was of my character on the phone talking to Sydney's fiance. Though short, it was so beautifully written, and it made me laugh. I thought if I wanted to play a character, this would be it. ~ Victor Garber, #NFDB
661:As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility. ~ Nelson Mandela, #NFDB
662:Hillary Clinton has never created a single job other than government jobs or the staffers that work for her. She doesn't know the first thing about a private sector business other than being in the Rose Law Firm. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
663:Oh god, I wish. I really wish. If I'm time-poor, which I usually am, that's the first thing to go. And I know it shouldn't be, I know I should be really regular, but I like to get it done as quickly as possible. ~ Cate Blanchett, #NFDB
664:The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money. ~ Trevor Noah, #NFDB
665:Benny said, “Oh, I can hardly wait to wash my hands! It has been two days since I’ve really washed them!” “Funny to hear you say that, Ben,” said Henry. “I’m going to take a shower the first thing I do. ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner, #NFDB
666:Get up, Imogen, and get yourself ready for battle. From now on, the orders around here are going to come from me." "And the first thing you're going to do is free my son from that accursed Malachi Configuration. ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
667:In times of life crisis, whether wild fires or smoldering stress, the first thing I do is go back to basics... am I eating right, am I getting enough sleep, am I getting some physical and mental exercise everyday. ~ Edward Albert, #NFDB
668:The first thing we did was change all the clocks so that her siblings thought it was bedtime, then put them to bed ignoring their plaintive protests that they were not tired. They wept themselves to sleep soon enough. ~ Meg Cabot, #NFDB
669:For the first time in a year, I wanted to live -- because I wanted to spend every freaking day watching her open her eyes to the world. Hell, I wanted to be the first thing she saw. Sometimes, reality's a bitch. ~ Rachel Van Dyken, #NFDB
670:I am against conversion (to Buddhism). In my speech at UN, the first thing I said was that I am for conversion, but not from one organised religion to another, but from misery to happiness, from bondage to liberation. ~ S N Goenka, #NFDB
671:if we look at love in its most passionate phase, we see that love often does several key things to reorient the soul. The first thing it does is humble us. It reminds us that we are not even in control of ourselves. ~ David Brooks, #NFDB
672:Simple secularists still talk as if the Church had introduced a sort of schism between reason and religion. The truth is that the Church was actually the first thing that ever tried to combine reason and religion. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
673:The only lesson I really learned from [Gigi Does It] was that I shouldn't bite off more than I could chew. I've written a bunch of scripts and stuff - every actor has - and that was the first thing that got made. ~ David Krumholtz, #NFDB
674:In at least nine cases out of ten, the “likability” factor is the first thing mentioned. And in an overwhelmingly large number of cases, the “likability” factor is given far more weight than the technical factor. ~ David J Schwartz, #NFDB
675:It's important for moms to have alone time. However, that's the first thing that goes on a busy day. Fortunately for me, because of my job, I have to find the time to do it. At least that's the way my mind sees it. ~ Cindy Crawford, #NFDB
676:Prayer is the easiest thing to assume in church and the hardest thing to maintain. Prayer is the first thing our flesh stops when times get easy, and true prayer is the last thing we resort to when times get tough. ~ James MacDonald, #NFDB
677:The first thing an unpublished author should remember is that no one asked him to write in the first place. With this firmly in mind, he has no right to become discouraged just because other people are being published. ~ John Farrar, #NFDB
678:The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
679:The first thing we better get going is strengthening our economy, because if we don't have a strong economy, we can't pay for all of this. And the world wants us to be able to function from strength, believe it or not. ~ John Kasich, #NFDB
680:Well, the first thing to say is that we've worked hard to maintain compatibility, so that any program written with an earlier version of Mathematica can run without change in 3.0, and any notebook can be converted. ~ Stephen Wolfram, #NFDB
681:Donald Trump happened to be in Scotland on the very day, the morning after the Brexit vote. He's there to open his golf course in Turnberry, and, lo and behold, the first thing he talked about was not the Brexit vote. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
682:The first thing I did when I made a little bit of money as a singer was to buy myself an amber necklace. This is often the way we put together our lives, adding the striking qualities of others into our own character. ~ Renee Fleming, #NFDB
683:The first thing is how awful cancer was, the experience. When you first go through it, you're just trying to survive. But when I wrote about it, I really digested it. It was unbearable but I had practice behind me. ~ Natalie Goldberg, #NFDB
684:[In] 2010, Woody Allen said that he felt Barack Obama should be a dictator so that he could get things done, and the first thing obviously that Woody Allen wanted done is to make it legal to have sex with stepdaughters. ~ Greg Gutfeld, #NFDB
685:I think the first thing that you need to detach yourself from is numbers, because music has now splintered off into so many different forms of media, MTV doesn't play videos, the radio is now competing with the Internet. ~ Adam Levine, #NFDB
686:If you cannot be compassionate to yourself, you will not be able to be compassionate to others. When we get angry, we have to produce awareness: “I am angry. Anger is in me. I am anger.” That is the first thing to do. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, #NFDB
687:I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home, we will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank. ~ Barack Obama, #NFDB
688:Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace is the mother of unity. Peace is the rest of the blessed souls. Peace is the dwelling place of eternity. ~ Pope Leo I, #NFDB
689:The first thing I see is the gluten-free section, filled with crackers and bread made from various wheat substitutes such as cardboard and sawdust. I skip this aisle because I’m not rich enough to have dietary restrictions. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
690:The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture. Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality. ~ Richard Branson, #NFDB
691:The introduction is the first and best chance to win the attention of people who otherwise would not care. The first thing you have to do is make people believe that what you have to say is relevant and important. ~ Martyn Lloyd Jones, #NFDB
692:The two best interview subjects are children under 10 and people over 70 for the same reason: they say the first thing that comes to their mind. The children don't know what they're saying and the old folks don't care. ~ Art Linkletter, #NFDB
693:The first thing that came to mind was an angel. Her hair flowing and shiny. Her legs dangling, long and smooth. She looked perfect where she was, like a painting.
And then I remembered that Satan was also an angel. ~ Penelope Douglas,#NFDB
694:The first thing we’re going to do is buy you a pair of cowboy boots, woman.”
She laughed. “That’s the first thing?”
Cull dragged her into another kiss, this one hotter than the last.
“Maybe not the first thing. ~ B J Daniels,#NFDB
695:The first thing I do in the morning when I awaken is say, 'Thank you, Lord!' I'm grateful to be alive, and I'm going to try to tell the truth as well as I know and tell it as eloquently as I can so that people can hear it. ~ Maya Angelou, #NFDB
696:The first thing we do is sit around a table and discuss what we could pick up from daily life, from space. That's how it starts, completely abstract. There's no kind of, "Oh, let's do Peru," or "Let's do pleats," you know? ~ Rei Kawakubo, #NFDB
697:Music and art is regarded as extra and can be the first thing that you cut in a school program, and it's completely not true. If you want to create really boring, frustrated human beings, then yeah, cut out art and science. ~ Reggie Watts, #NFDB
698:Prayer is not supposed to be all we do - it's just supposed to undergird all we do. Prayer is not supposed to be just the first thing we do, but the first, second, fourth, seventh, and final thing we do in each circumstance. ~ Leslie Ludy, #NFDB
699:She’d worn her most ostentatious clothes because she knew that the best camouflage was a kind of flagrancy: you didn’t have to worry how people took you so much if the first thing they noticed was that you were rich. ~ Elizabeth McCracken, #NFDB
700:The first things I saw upon dying were Persephone's breasts and nipples. Or at least one nipple, but there was definitely a nipple.
Something seemed wrong about that being the first thing I saw in the afterlife. ~ Jennifer L Armentrout,#NFDB
701:You’re the first thing I’ve ever seen him want to take for himself.” “What’s your point?” Vhalla knew already she wasn’t going to like it. “That it also means that you are the first thing the world knows it can take from him. ~ Elise Kova, #NFDB
702:I don't know the first thing about holding together a family, especially one that resembles an heirloom vase, shattered but glued back together for its beauty, and no one mentions that you can see the cracks as plain as day. ~ Jodi Picoult, #NFDB
703:Sometimes, we feel conscious but unable to move our body.
The first thing to do is focus in a prayer, then start to wink frequently.
By this way, slowly but sure our body can be moved totally by our persistent willpower. ~ Toba Beta,#NFDB
704:For the first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it would be better for his health. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
705:I always loved mascara and eyelash curlers to make your eyes look very open and wide and when I'm having a conversation with somebody that's always the first thing I'm attracted to, so I've been into mascara since I was little. ~ Erin Brady, #NFDB
706:If you ask anybody about their life, usually the first thing they talk about is how their wife is doing, how their kids are, they don't usually say "My job, my job, my job". It's really true. It's usually about your family. ~ Julianne Moore, #NFDB
707:Parents may be always working, parents may be in and out. When you're dropping them off with coaches, the first thing kids should be coming back and saying is, 'Mom, guess what I learned today? Guess what coach taught me today?' ~ Ray Lewis, #NFDB
708:The first thing I said to myself on 9/11 was, 'There go our civil rights.' I found out by comparing notes later that George Carlin and I both said that at the exact same time. That's the first thing that popped into our head. ~ Penn Jillette, #NFDB
709:The first thing to make clear is that scientists, freely making their own choice of problems and pursuing them in the light of their own personal judgment, are in fact co-operating as members of a closely knit organization. ~ Michael Polanyi, #NFDB
710:The only requirement of a symbol is that it have substance underneath: The first thing to do is to try to establish the substance. The style comes after the substance. Only then can the style help the substance, and vice versa. ~ Wally Olins, #NFDB
711:If you're 22 years old and you can't believe you're even in the position to have a career making music, the first thing you're going to think is: Maintain. Don't lose it. And that's precisely what causes you to lose everything. ~ Danger Mouse, #NFDB
712:If you're opening a hot dog stand, you could worry about the condiments, the cart, the name, the decoration. But the first thing you should worry aout is the hot dog. The hot dogs are the epicenter. Everything else is secondary. ~ Jason Fried, #NFDB
713:It's uncomfortable to just say the first thing that pops into your head, but you have to when you're speaking in front of people. A lot of times I'll say something I don't even believe. I've never actually used "pass" before. ~ Chelsea Martin, #NFDB
714:The first thing that is not obvious to people is global warming is a less-than-1% effect. It's like being shortchanged at the bank by a penny every dollar. Over a long period of time with lots of transactions, that piles up. ~ Nathan Myhrvold, #NFDB
715:The purpose of a headline is to pick out people you can interest. You wish to talk to someone in a crowd. So the first thing you say is, "hey there, Bill Jones" to get the right persons attention.so it is in n advertisement ~ Claude C Hopkins, #NFDB
716:I hate a movie that will end by telling you that the first thing you should do is learn to love yourself. That is so insulting and condescending, and so meaningless. My characters don't learn to love each other or themselves. ~ Charlie Kaufman, #NFDB
717:The first thing I didn't understand was my life. It's a mystery. And today I don't understand economy or politics. I don't know why politics or economy are destroying the world, but I will understand after understanding. ~ Alejandro Jodorowsky, #NFDB
718:The first thing is to be willing. You must become willing to feel the discomfort that's occurred and/or shown up. Some of it is taking ownership of your part in the situation, to clean it up and be willing to make amends. ~ Gabrielle Bernstein, #NFDB
719:What was the first thing that came to your mind when you met Tree?” She blew into her half-empty beer bottle and awaited his answer. It didn’t take him long. “That she was stunning . . . and one day I’d possess her heart.” The ~ Jessica Topper, #NFDB
720:When I saw that goal, the first thing I said was, 'You won't see a goal like that ever again.' It's one thing to have second effort but, on top of that, the athleticism he showed. It's just an example of the talent that he has. ~ Sidney Crosby, #NFDB
721:I like money on the wall. Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. I think you should take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall. Then when someone visited you the first thing they would see is the money on the wall. ~ Andy Warhol, #NFDB
722:I know when we were really little, my mom would say to me, "If you can, the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, just get quiet and ask God, 'Who is Patricia?' You can feel your own nature and know who you are." ~ Patricia Arquette, #NFDB
723:When someone new walks into a room, the first thing we notice about that person is probably their gender. And the second things is what they're wearing. And based on what they're wearing, we start making certain assumptions about them. ~ Tim Gunn, #NFDB
724:But Willa Faye and me, not a war about it between us. It bonded us. Branded us as best friends. Because I will always remember that when I told her I needed help burying a body, the first thing she said was, "Let me go get my shovel. ~ Karen White, #NFDB
725:Maybe I don’t know the first thing about falling in love, because I’ve been telling myself I’m not falling for him yet. That it’s too soon. But it’s not. What’s happening inside my heart right now is way too consequential to deny. ~ Colleen Hoover, #NFDB
726:The lover is moved by the beloved object as the senses are by sensual objects; and they unite and become one and the same thing. The work is the first thing born of this union; if the thing loved is base the lover becomes base. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, #NFDB
727:Wrestling was my first success, the first thing that confirmed that I could be good at anything. Devoting yourself to wrestling, or tennis, or skiing, or dance, or to a musical instrument is a longing to be disciplined for a purpose. ~ John Irving, #NFDB
728:Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day . . . put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older . . . I know you hate to hear this . . . when you are ready, you will know. ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
729:His name is Albert Campion," she said. "He came down in Anne Edgeware's car and the first thing he did when he introduced himself was to show me a conjuring trick with a two-headed penny—he's quite inoffensive, just a silly ass. ~ Margery Allingham, #NFDB
730:The first thing to bear in mind is that Arjuna falls into the error of making a distinction between kinsmen and outsiders. Outsiders may be killed even if they are not oppressors, and kinsmen may not be killed even if they are. The ~ Mahatma Gandhi, #NFDB
731:You know, some people got no choice, and they can never find a voice, to talk with that they can even call their own. So the first thing that they see, that allows them the right to be, why they follow it, you know, it's called bad luck. ~ Lou Reed, #NFDB
732:Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. Your ~ Brian Tracy, #NFDB
733:You know, some people got no choice, and they can never find a voice, to talk with that they can even call their own. So the first thing that they see, that allows them the right to be, why they follow it, you know, it’s called bad luck.. ~ Lou Reed, #NFDB
734:Money...buys privacy, silence. The less money you have, the noisier it is; the thinner your walls, the closer your neighbors.... The first thing you notice when you step into the house or apartment of a rich person is how quiet it is. ~ Fran Lebowitz, #NFDB
735:The first thing that happened was that Helen became an invalid - we know now that there was nothing wrong with her, but Livilla had given her the choice of taking to her bed as if she were ill or taking to her bed because she was ill. ~ Robert Graves, #NFDB
736:But there's more than just solving the how-to problems. I've often said that if we're going to have a real rural renaissance, I'd just take the solving of the how-to problems for granted. The first thing I'd provide would be festivals. ~ Ralph Borsodi, #NFDB
737:I got lost somehow, began staring up her legs. I was always a leg man. It was the first thing I saw when I was born. But then I was trying to get out. Ever since I have been working in the other direction and with pretty lousy luck. ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
738:In any medium, I also start out assuming—even planning—that I’ll delete the first thing I do, whether it’s a paragraph or the first few rows of a scarf. That makes those first steps far less precious and therefore less intimidating. ~ Kim Piper Werker, #NFDB
739:He might be older than hr, but her hormones didn't care. No, they screamed 'fuck yeah, let's ride.' Her nipples tightened and she thanked God she'd worn a bra that morning. Talk about embarrassing if that was the first thing he's see. ~ Carrie Ann Ryan, #NFDB
740:The first thing I do every morning before I even get out of bed is move all the body parts. If something hurts then I know I didn't go to heaven in the middle of the night so I know it's okay to get up and make a pot of coffee. ~ Rebecca Patrick Howard, #NFDB
741:There is no stupidity religions have omitted to revere; and you know just as well as I, my friends, that when one examines a human institution, the first thing one must do is discard all religious notions. They are poison to lucidity. ~ Marquis de Sade, #NFDB
742:After the Cardinals traded their No. 6 pick, I didn't know where I was going, ... The first thing I thought about was me and Ray Lewis doing that commercial, and how he made me do his laundry. And now it's actually going to be a reality. ~ Terrell Suggs, #NFDB
743:Don't just talk about Hispanics and say immediately we must have controlled borders. It's kind of insulting when you think about it. Change the tone would be the first thing. Second, on immigration, I think we need to have a broader approach. ~ Jeb Bush, #NFDB
744:In my rare visits to writers conferences, the first thing I say to aspiring writers is that you need to stop thinking about getting published and start thinking about getting better. If you make the work good enough, it will get published. ~ Mara Altman, #NFDB
745:I set out to become a comedian, and I said in order to do that the first thing I'll do is become a disc jockey and know my pop music. I like it, my voice is good, and I can start out getting confidence without an audience in front of me. ~ George Carlin, #NFDB
746:The first thing about a song is that it has to be real, be lived; it has to be emotional, and melancholic. I don't mean sad. Melancholy is sort of a comfort. Melancholy has a sort of beauty to it. This attracts me to every other form of art. ~ Keren Ann, #NFDB
747:I think that so many actors are defined by the first thing that people see them do, and there were people who simply couldn't accept the fact that I was doing something that they perceived as being a radical departure from Avenue Q. ~ Stephanie D Abruzzo, #NFDB
748:What do you want in a female companion? What is the first thing that attracts you. Her ability to cook and keep house or is it the way she looks? It's not politically correct, GM hates it when I draw that analogy. But it's absolutely correct." ~ Bob Lutz, #NFDB
749:And just like that, I'd been assessed and judged. Nurse Fashoda didn't know the first thing about me but she'd taken one look at my face and now she reckoned she knew my whole life story -- what had gone before and what was yet to come. ~ Malorie Blackman, #NFDB
750:The first thing I noticed was the gun in his hands, and it wasn’t the sort of gun a beginner carries around with him. A big dull black German Mauser 7.63. One of those economical guns; the bullet goes clear through three people at once. ~ Alistair MacLean, #NFDB
751:The question is not only what is grown but what it's used for. There's not going to be a mass transformation of dietary habits in rich countries-on the contrary, the first thing people do when they become more prosperous is to buy more meat. ~ Susan George, #NFDB
752:Art is actually based on the notion that if you would really celebrate an idea or a principle, you must think, you must plan, you must put yourself completely in the state of devotion, and not simply give the first thing that comes to your head ~ Maya Deren, #NFDB
753:He took his mouth from hers and stared down at her with eyes so dark they no longer looked blue. “Amanda, do you trust me?” “Of course not,” she said. “I don’t know the first thing about you.” Laughter rustled from his chest. “Sensible woman. ~ Lisa Kleypas, #NFDB
754:The first thing in faith is knowledge. What we know we must also agree unto. What we agree unto we must rest upon alone for salvation. It will not save me to know that Christ is a Saviour; but it will save me to trust Him to be my Saviour. ~ Charles Spurgeon, #NFDB
755:The first thing to note is that pornography and many abductions occur apart from the use of computers, and that most child abuse happens within the family. So I think the extra degree of danger that computers pose doesn't justify the frenzy. ~ Seymour Papert, #NFDB
756:From a Buddhist point of view, the first thing to help is yourself, to get your own mind together. And to really understand how to benefit beings, not just on the physical level, but on all levels. Then there are endless beings you can benefit. ~ Tenzin Palmo, #NFDB
757:The first thing I do when I read a part is see if I can identify emotionally with a character. If I make that connection, everything else is just working on knowing their life circumstances and manifesting those through practice and research. ~ Joshua Leonard, #NFDB
758:The first thing which I can record concerning myself is, that I was born. These are wonderful words. This life, to which neither time nor eternity can bring diminution - this everlasting living soul, began. My mind loses itself in these depths. ~ Groucho Marx, #NFDB
759:Like I don’t know the first thing about how to be simply grateful that I’m alive. Maybe that’s what’s missing in our generation. Maybe we just feel too safe, too secure. We have too much stuff and no threat of any of it disappearing anytime soon. ~ Dave Eggers, #NFDB
760:Now, here’s a practical technique: the first thing you must do is know exactly what you want in this world. When you know exactly what you want, make as lifelike a representation as possible of what you would see and touch, and what you would ~ Neville Goddard, #NFDB
761:The first thing I did was run. Okay, actually the first thing I did was scream, lose my balance, flail my arms in the air like some kind of uncoordinated bird, then slide down the side of the tree and land on my butt.
Then I ran. ~ Gemma Halliday,#NFDB
762:and you know the first thing Dylan did when they started talking about how much money he could make? He went over in a corner by himself, and started scribbling down a list of who his friends were, because if he was gonna be rich, he’d have to know. ~ Joan Baez, #NFDB
763:I'll get a three-page letter and the last paragraph says 'I know you'll never read this, but here's my number.' I love to call those people because the first thing they say is, 'Governor, I didn't mean everything I said in the letter about you.' ~ Dave Heineman, #NFDB
764:According to Biblical history and all of the history of the world, the blues was built in man from the beginning. The first thing that came out of man is the blues because, according to the Scriptures, when God made man, man was lonesome and blue. ~ Willie Dixon, #NFDB
765:When they got there, the first thing they saw was the man himself, with a white stick burning away in his mouth, cutting row after row of frosted cabbages. Rowsby Woof was with him, wagging his tail and jumping about in a ridiculous manner. After ~ Richard Adams, #NFDB
766:I suppose—I was on a long flight across the Pacific, staring idly out the window at moonlit ocean, when it occurred to me with a certain uncomfortable forcefulness that I didn’t know the first thing about the only planet I was ever going to live on. ~ Bill Bryson, #NFDB
767:Some people don’t even realize they’re bitter. If you don’t know whether you are or not, here’s a quick quiz you can give yourself. If you ever wake up in the morning and the first thing you say is “Oh, fuck, not again,” you might be a little bitter. ~ Marc Maron, #NFDB
768:He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. ~ Andrew Murray, #NFDB
769:It felt like the first thing, but when I first started out, I got a job adapting a book by Russell Banks called 'Rule Of The Bone.' I didn't do a very good job. I didn't really know what I was doing in general, let alone how to adapt a book. ~ Paul Thomas Anderson, #NFDB
770:It is not good that man should be alone. ... Hitherto all things that have been named, were approved of God to be very good: loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good: whether it be a thing, or the want of something, I labour not. ~ John Milton, #NFDB
771:The first thing to be remembered continuously is courage.
The second thing: make all the effort that is possible.
The third thing, which is more difficult than these two, is to always remember that whatsoever happens, it never happens because of you. ~ Osho,#NFDB
772:The first thing to remember is the dual nature of your mind. The subconscious mind is constantly amenable to the power of suggestion; furthermore, the subconscious mind has complete control of the functions, conditions, and sensations of your body. ~ Joseph Murphy, #NFDB
773:I grew up with a fashion-obsessed mother and an older sister, so there was a lot of fashion in my house. The first thing I remember owning was a Pierre Cardin jumpsuit when I was 9 or 10; of course I didn't actually buy it, but I fell in love with it. ~ Nina Garcia, #NFDB
774:Directors are our teachers, and I'm always craving to work with a great director. They're pretty much the first thing that interests me about a project. Let's put it this way: It'll take me a lot longer to read a script if there's no director attached. ~ Naomi Watts, #NFDB
775:I should have said the right thing just then, but I did not know what that would be, if such a thing existed, I did not think so, and those who said it did, knew nothing. So I said the first thing that came into my head.
"Are you afraid?". I said. ~ Per Petterson,#NFDB
776:We tend to fantasise about eliminating uncertainty so that the world can be safe… the first thing to note about uncertainty – or insecurity, the uncomfortable feeling it produces – is that it is intrinsic to a dynamic existence… insecurity is inescapable. ~ Tim Lott, #NFDB
777:I believe our attitude to our problems ultimately determines how we resolve them. If we truly want to be set free, the first thing we need to deal with is our attitude. If you don’t get your attitude right, then your life is never going to change. ~ Corallie Buchanan, #NFDB
778:If you are interested in preventing animal suffering, the first thing you should give up is eggs and milk, because the animals who produce those foods lead the most unhappy lives. You would do better to eat meat and stop eating eggs and dairy products. ~ Cesar Chavez, #NFDB
779:I think the first thing we need to talk about is you not running around in tight T-shirts and yoga pants.”
“Fine. I’ll stop doing that as soon as you shave.”
Jack ran his hand along his jaw and grinned. “You like the scruff, huh?”
Did she ever. ~ Julie James,#NFDB
780:When I attack a role, be it TV, film or stage, the first thing I say is, I don't want to know anything. If it's good I don't want to hear it; if it's bad I don't want to hear it. The only thing either thing can do is distract me. I like to stay focused ~ Cicely Tyson, #NFDB
781:In 1964, when Lee Iacocca said, 'Shelby, I want you to make a sports car out of the Mustang,' the first thing I said was, 'Lee, you can't make a race horse out of a mule. I don't want to do it.' He said, 'I didn't ask you to make it; you work for me.' ~ Carroll Shelby, #NFDB
782:The message of music was also the first thing what I learned from my first teacher. She was an organist too and she was very devoted to what she played, so she had a respect for every piece and she felt that she is not allowed to add something of her own. ~ Kurt Masur, #NFDB
783:With scheduling and the way projects come up, I take the first thing that interests me and that moves me. If it's going to be fun, if I'm going to have a good time, and I'm going to enjoy the people I'm with, then that's a good enough reason to do it. ~ Nathan Fillion, #NFDB
784:Does a crow become a salmon simply because it wishes to? You do not know the first thing about mortality, prince-who-is-not. Why would you want to become like them?'
'Because,' Grimalkin answered before I could say anything, 'he is in love.'
'Ahhh. ~ Julie Kagawa,#NFDB
785:The first thing that editor does is they take out a red pen, or nowadays you go online, and they start striking things. Basically eliminating things, the biggest task of an editor is to simplify, simplify, simplify and that usually means omitting things. ~ Keith Rabois, #NFDB
786:There is no curse on me, Tessa. The demon tricked me. There never was a curse. All these years, I've been a fool. But not so much a fool that I didn't know that the first thing I needed to do once I had learned the truth was tell you how I really felt ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
787:If I see someone not laughing, the first thing I'm thinking is, "OK, am I cursing too much? Am I doing a joke he doesn't understand? Is he resting?" Then he starts becoming my focal point. Once I see him laugh, I'm like, [snap] "All right, now I'm funny." ~ Leslie Jones, #NFDB
788:If we are to find a more effective way of handling the stress in our lives, the first thing we will need to do is to be aware of these automatic judgments so that we can see through our own prejudices and fears and liberate ourselves from their tyranny. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn, #NFDB
789:In my world, the first thing I reach for is the sound. Technique is Ok, but if you got the technique and I got a good sound, I'll beat you every time. You can play a thousand notes and I can play one note and wipe you out. What I reach for is ... a sound. ~ Dewey Redman, #NFDB
790:She watches him for hours. She wants to be the sheets that cover his toes. She wants to be the ceiling separating him from the sky: above him, the first thing he sees before and after dreams. She wants to be the open window letting in the light for him. ~ Natalia Jaster, #NFDB
791:The first thing I think about is music, and the last thing I think about is music. I'm like some Monk. I don't see a lot of daylight. I hang out with musicians, I hang out with directors and I just try to spend as much of my life as possible playing music. ~ Hans Zimmer, #NFDB
792:Well I'm not just gon' go and do rap songs. I wanna touch, and maybe help, and see what I can do in these areas.' As I start looking around me, looking at things in ways that I can become helpful, starting at the first thing, water. Something as simple as water. ~ Jay Z, #NFDB
793:When you talk about humanitarian, it doesn't only mean to offer the people the help, the food, their necessary needs for their life. The first thing, if you ask the Syrian refugees, for example, the first thing they want is to go back to their country. ~ Bashar al Assad, #NFDB
794:No more Dane,” he eventually said with unnerving finality. I tried to be funny. “I can't decide if that means you don't want me to see him again or if you're planning to kill him.” “It means if the first thing happens, the second thing is likely to follow. ~ Lisa Kleypas, #NFDB
795:The title is the first thing that I have. Then when I have that title, I have to make sure that the title...is like, so...I have to make sure I can tell a whole story from that one title and like make sure that it, from beginning to end it makes sense. ~ Melanie Martinez, #NFDB
796:The best thing about being President is that it gets you out of American life. I don't know what the theory is behind this, but it is a fact. The first thing we do with a President is shunt him off to a siding where nothing American can ever happen to him. ~ Russell Baker, #NFDB
797:The first thing we looked at, in what case were people more likely to be attracted to the jar or jam, so in which case are people more likely to stop when they saw the display of jams and what we found was that more people stopped when there were 24 jams. ~ Sheena Iyengar, #NFDB
798:He took his mouth from hers and stared down at her with eyes so dark they no longer looked blue. “Amanda, do you trust me?”
“Of course not,” she said. “I don’t know the first thing about you.”
Laughter rustled from his chest. “Sensible woman. ~ Lisa Kleypas,#NFDB
799:I think the hardest thing to teach a student is that what he or she puts down on paper is changeable. It's not the final thing, it's the first thing, which may just be the suggestive, vague identification of something that you have to come back to and rewrite. ~ M H Abrams, #NFDB
800:When I get it home and start to read it, the first thing I notice is that Warren has copyrighted the phrase “Purpose-driven.” It has a little ® after it. This makes me angry. Did Jesus copyright “Turn the Other Cheek”®? Did Moses trademark “Let My People Go?”™ ~ A J Jacobs, #NFDB
801:God’s ways with us are all designed to establish in us this other principle, namely, that our work for Him springs out of our ministering to Him. I do not mean that we are going to do nothing; but the first thing for us must be the Lord Himself, not His work. ~ Watchman Nee, #NFDB
802:I had seen Orange Is The New Black show on Netflix and the first thing that came to my mind was, "Why am I not on this show? It's just irritating me right now." So I made some phone calls and told them, "I want to be on your show." And they found a spot for me. ~ Lori Petty, #NFDB
803:...religions all have the same timeline...First the people feel the need to worship something. The sun or the giant corn of ear. That's the first thing. Then the guys say okay, now that we've got the giant corn thing going, how can we use it to oppress women? ~ Carol Anshaw, #NFDB
804:The first thing I can remember I ever wanted was to go to the United States. And for reasons that are as conventional as you can imagine: I wanted to know if it was really true that it was the land of opportunity, of democracy, and individual liberty. ~ Christopher Hitchens, #NFDB
805:The irony is that when we’re standing across from someone who is hidden or shielded by masks and armor, we feel frustrated and disconnected. That’s the paradox here: Vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see in me, but the first thing I look for in you. ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
806:I can still remember the miraculous feeling of writing a sentence, then more sentences, telling a story. The first thing I wrote was a one-page summary of Robinson Crusoe and I am so sorry I do not have it any more; it was at that moment I became an author. ~ Henning Mankell, #NFDB
807:There are personality traits, or baggage from their backgrounds, goals that they have and the first thing I need to do is understand and then acknowledge and then accept those properties. That's kind of the baseline requirement to have a productive relationship. ~ Ian Bogost, #NFDB
808:There were a lot of fences and walls existing in my life, literally and figuratively, and that was really not indicative of the kind of person that I'd always been. So, when I moved back to Seattle, the first thing I said was, "I will never live in fear again." ~ Ben Gibbard, #NFDB
809:Tris," Tobias says, crouching next to me. His face is pale, almost yellow. There is too much I want to say. The first thing that comes out is, "Beatrice." He laughs weakly. "Beatrice," he amends, and touches his lips to mine. I curl my fingers into his shirt. ~ Veronica Roth, #NFDB
810:When we finally have this recall election in October, there could be as many as 200 people on the ballot. And you know what's really scary? Most of them don't know the first thing about driving a state into bankruptcy. They're not experts like Governor Gray Davis. ~ Jay Leno, #NFDB
811:Asking questions is the authority of the young, and it’s the first thing girls are told not to do. Don’t put your hand up in class, or the boys will shout you down. Don’t talk back to your teachers, to your parents, to the police. Asking questions is dangerous. ~ Laurie Penny, #NFDB
812:Sorry, Sage. Last I checked, you aren’t an expert in social matters..." "At least I take action. You? You let the world go by without you. You have no spine. You don’t fight back." “You don’t know the first thing about me, Adrian Ivashkov. I fight back plenty. ~ Richelle Mead, #NFDB
813:When you begin to become conscious, more aware, when your eyes begin to open, the first thing you see is how deluded you are and how much you're holding onto that which makes you suffer. This is, in many ways, the most important step: Are you willing to be aware? ~ Adyashanti, #NFDB
814:The first thing on Dr. Amen’s master to-do list, the first thing he sees each day, is his gratitude list. Rather than just writing down a few things, he keeps a running tab on what he is grateful for, looks at it every day, and adds to it as joyful moments occur. ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
815:The irony is that when we’re standing across from someone who is hidden or shielded by masks and armor, we feel frustrated and disconnected. That’s the paradox here: Vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see in me, but the first thing I look for in you. If ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
816:[The Women's Room] was the first thing I read that explained a lot of the feelings I was having and a lot of the rage and the feeling uncomfortable in my body and knowing that I was feeling a certain way in the world, but I didn't have the language for it. ~ June Diane Raphael, #NFDB
817:Julie nearly fainted when I showed up at home that night with the new Lexus. The first thing she wanted to do was drive it. I let her drive all over San Francisco with the windows rolled up, because we didn’t want to lose one precious whiff of that new-car smell. ~ Lee Goldberg, #NFDB
818:That’s the first thing that strikes an
American woman about Europe – that it’s unsanitary. Impossible for
them to conceive of a paradise without modern plumbing. If they
find a bedbug they want to write a letter immediately to the
chamber of commerce. ~ Henry Miller,#NFDB
819:You’re a demigod,” he said hoarsely.
It was the first thing he said.
“Yeah,” I replied, my voice breathy. “Is that…um, okay with you?”
His gaze flicked up to mine, and he arched a brow. “Do I need to kiss you again?”
My lips twitched. “Maybe. ~ Jennifer L Armentrout,#NFDB
820:My first and last love will always be fiction. It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night. I love the novel because it's like a love affair. You can just fall into it and keep going, and you never know where it's going to take you. ~ Daniel Alarcon, #NFDB
821:The first thing we notice about our story is that we can't really see the solid outlines of it--it seems bathed in something of its own. It is wrapped in an atmosphere. This is what makes it shine, perhaps, as well as what initially obscures its plain, real shape. ~ Eudora Welty, #NFDB
822:You would think that if neoliberals were in any way honest, after the collapse of the Soviet Union the first thing to do is get rid of the Red Army and the KGB, and build up the economy. Instead, they just get rid of the economy and keep the military and the KGB. ~ David Graeber, #NFDB
823:British General Andrew Skeen, who faced a similar military mission in 1939, wrote, “When planning a military expedition into Pashtun tribal areas, the first thing you must plan is your retreat. All expeditions into this area sooner or later end in retreat under fire. ~ Eric Blehm, #NFDB
824:His smell was the first thing she noticed, and it wafted into the car, an intoxicating blend of Budweiser, Calvin Klein Eternity cologne, and Marlboros. If Your Parents Would Hate Him were the name of a cologne, this was exactly what it would smell like. ~ Jennifer Hillier, #NFDB
825:In principle the first thing on the stream would be my birth certificate, a little electronic version of that, my parents would put my school records, health records, whatever of their child onto the stream. And the stream continues to flow forward through time. ~ David Gelernter, #NFDB
826:Sometimes the characters that I'm most resistant to are the ones that I find the most satisfying to play, because you have to dig deeper and you have to find different parts of yourself that are not necessarily the first thing you access and that's fun and interesting. ~ Aya Cash, #NFDB
827:One of the reasons I believe in jazz is that the oneness of man can come through the rhythm of your heart. It’s the same anyplace in the world, that heartbeat. It’s the first thing you hear when you’re born — or before you’re born — and it’s the last thing you hear. ~ Dave Brubeck, #NFDB
828:All things left her, all
But one. Her highborn courtliness
Accompanied her to the end,
Beyond the rapture and its eclipse,
In a way like an angel's. Of Elvira
The first thing that I saw - such years ago -
Was her smile and also it was the last. ~ Jorge Luis Borges,#NFDB
829:I want to grow old with you. I want your face to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. I want to feel my children growing inside you. Sarah, my love. I want to worship the Lord with you, and hear your laughter until the day I die. ~ Tessa Afshar, #NFDB
830:The first thing to understand is the difference between the natural person and the fictitious person called a corporation. They differ in the purpose for which they are created, in the strength which they possess, and in the restraints under which they act. ~ William Jennings Bryan, #NFDB
831:The hat, Make America Great Again. I fought like crazy to find a company in this country that could make the hats. And I found one. And they're American-made, but it's - because I knew the first thing people would do is, where is the hat made. OK, Make America Great. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
832:...when we broke the surface again the first thing I saw was the great bold stripe of the Milky Way painted across the heavens, and it occurred to me that together the fish and the stars formed a complete system, coincident parts of some ancient and mysterious whole. ~ Ransom Riggs, #NFDB
833:When we look at the settling of America we see a Bible in hand and God. Every Thanksgiving has God and the peacefulness of gratitude. It was important when the Twin Towers were hit and the sorrow with them that the first thing Congress did was sing "God Bless America." ~ Bill Cosby, #NFDB
834:And it's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. All other people. Everybody. The kid never knew the man's name. But he never forgot that smile. "Hero" isn't the first word, but it's the first word that comes to mind. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
835:And it’s funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. All other people. Everybody. The kid never knew the man’s name. But he never forgot that smile. “Hero” isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
836:If he be really and seriously seeking to live a good life, the first thing from which he will abstain will always be the use of animal food, because ...its use is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to the moral feeling - killing. ~ Leo Tolstoy, #NFDB
837:It’s like a dream and a nightmare both come true. Every night I’ve prayed for this, and when it happens the first thing I feel is resentment. Anger, honestly. There’s something wrong with me.” “It’s not wrong. You can miss someone without missing the way they hurt you. ~ Leah Raeder, #NFDB
838:The first thing we did was to proclaim our Liverpoolness to the world, and say 'It's all right to come from Liverpool and talk like this'. Before, anybody from Liverpool who made it, like Ted Ray, Tommy Handley, Arthur Askey, had to lose their accent to get on the BBC. ~ John Lennon, #NFDB
839:So the first thing love does is it humbles us. It reminds us we are not even in control of ourselves. It’s like an invading army that reorganizes your sleep patterns, your thoughts, your emotions, and is the kind of invading army you welcome and you want to be invaded by. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
840:This is going to sound crazy, but the first thing I do when I get home is take off all my clothes - at home, just around the house. I take everything off. I can't stand clothes! I take everything off - my shoes, my socks, my watch, shirt, everything. I am completely naked. ~ Tom Ford, #NFDB
841:When I finally let someone into my narrow bed, the first thing I told her was what I could not do. I said, "I can't fix it, girl. I can't fix anything. If you don't as me to fix it, you can ask anything else. If you can say what you need, I'll try to give it to you. ~ Dorothy Allison, #NFDB
842:You really don't understand the first thing about writing...for one thing, early in the morning is the worst possible time. the brain is like a wet sponge at that hour. And for another, real writing is a question of staring into space and waiting for the right ideas. ~ Cornelia Funke, #NFDB
843:You're just being logical...You're just giving me a regular, intelligent answer. I was trying to help you. You asked me how I get out of the finite dimensions when I feel like it. I certainly don't use logic when I do it. Logic's the first thing you have to get rid of. ~ J D Salinger, #NFDB
844:In a few Zen monasteries, every monk has to start his morning with laughter, and has to end his night with laughter - the first thing and the last thing! You try it. . . For no reason! Because there is no reason. Simply, you are again there, still alive - it is a miracle! ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
845:Strangely, meanness pays more than offering constructive and interesting commentary. Every season I think, "This is the last season. I'm not gonna read tomorrow morning. Forget it." The first thing when I wake up - quite late, usually - I am craving the newspaper. ~ Nicolas Ghesquiere, #NFDB
846:Well, the first thing I had to do was to read a lot. First of all, about education... and looking at education from the Middle Ages right through to the 20th Century. The second major area was country life in the 19th Century, which I don't know much about these days. ~ Michael Haneke, #NFDB
847:An 11 year old sister has been taught by the media that her body is an object, will be compared to other bodies, and that it holds more significance than her mind or talent. This should not be the first thing she learns. This should not be her first social experience. ~ Rowan Blanchard, #NFDB
848:So the first thing to be reminded of: love is never a relationship. Then something else is masquerading as love. Maybe you are searching for a husband or a wife - you are searching for some security, you are searching for some structure. A structured life is a murdered life. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
849:When a young artist asked me for advice on drawing the human foot, I told him, ‘The first thing you must learn is how to take your shoe off, and then how to take your sock off, then prop your leg up carefully on your other knee, take a piece of paper, and draw your foot.’ ~ Chuck Jones, #NFDB
850:In Tantrism, the first thing is having the experience of touch, of profound contact with things, with the universe, without mental commotion. Everything begins there: touching the universe deeply. When you touch deeply, you no longer need to let go. That occurs naturally. ~ Daniel Odier, #NFDB
851:No more Dane,” he eventually said with unnerving finality.
I tried to be funny. “I can't decide if that means you don't want me to see him again or if you're planning to kill him.”
“It means if the first thing happens, the second thing is likely to follow. ~ Lisa Kleypas,#NFDB
852:She taught me so much, she said to herself. She built me as we were walking around after the sheep, and she told me all those things that I needed to know, and the first thing was to look after people. Of course, the other thing had been to look after the sheep. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
853:After college, I knew I wanted to work in comedy, so the first thing I did was go to where the comedy was. I moved from Charlottesville to Chicago, because that's where The Second City and Improv Olympics are. You have to go wherever you need to go to study what interests you. ~ Tina Fey, #NFDB
854:I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time. ~ Pope Francis, #NFDB
855:I suppose you'll see her. You'll be disappointed at first. Then without being able to say how or when it happened, you'll find you've forgotten your disappointment, and the first thing you know you'll be telling her your life's history, and all your troubles and hopes. ~ Dashiell Hammett, #NFDB
856:The first thing to be understood: effort is needed, but effort alone is not enough - effort and then effortlessness, effort plus effortlessness. Effort precedes, and then effortlessness follows. Effortlessness is the peak of effort, it comes only when you have reached the peak ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
857:There was a time when I was really going to give up acting-- right after Foxfire. I was trying to find characters with a certain strength and things going on, but I was always disappointed. Wallace was the first thing I did where I felt their ideas were better than mine. ~ Angelina Jolie, #NFDB
858:walked into this exam room, I was expecting another mundane case, considering the evening I’d had thus far. The smell of vomit had been the first thing that hit me when I entered, and I instantly groaned. God, I hated vomit. Give me blood and guts any day. I would rather stitch ~ J L Berg, #NFDB
859:But I think what made me go into theater was seeing my mother onstage. The first thing she did was Mrs. Frank in 'The Diary of Anne Frank.' The second thing she did was a play about Freud called 'The Far Country.' She played a paralyzed woman in Vienna who goes to see Freud. ~ Tony Kushner, #NFDB
860:I bury my mind in my book, the Bible. Every morning it's the first thing that I do. I've been doing it for years and years. So I want to come back here [to Israel] to see the places that I read about every day. It's very important to my faith to feed [my] spirit in Israel. ~ Bobby McFerrin, #NFDB
861:The central idea of love is not even a relationship commitment, the first thing is a personal commitment to be the best version of yourself with or without that person that you're with. You have to every single day-mind, body, and spirit-wake up with a commitment to be better. ~ Will Smith, #NFDB
862:The first thing politicians ask after these tragedies is essentially: “What can we do to limit the freedom of the people?”
And that is the wrong question. The question we should be asking is: “What can we do to nurture and support a people capable of living in freedom? ~ Sarah Palin,#NFDB
863:The folks who invented Lent—no, it wasn’t Jesus’s idea—decided that just like Christ’s time in the desert, it should last forty days. Actually, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday it’s forty-six days, so it looks like the first thing someone ever gave up for Lent was math. ~ Jenny McCarthy, #NFDB
864:At the risk of sounding pedestrian, I'll be completely honest: the first thing I do in the morning is check Google News, partially because it seems sort of random and unbiased and partially because I tend to stay in hotels that don't necessarily have the fastest Internet connections. ~ Moby, #NFDB
865:But the problem was that the program was designed to protect itself against ignorant computer users who don’t know the first thing about anything other than sending an email and playing solitaire — the types of people that can generally be found working in government offices. ~ Nick Thacker, #NFDB
866:rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn’t approve of imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw — and it didn’t improve his mood — was the tabby ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
867:The first thing to say about Eve is that she was a big improvement on the Adam design, or that Adam was an extremely misguided variation on the Eve design. (Consider testicles. Two concentrated nuclei of absolute vulnerability. Where? Dangling between the legs. I rest my case.) ~ Glen Duncan, #NFDB
868:Whenever I'm asked what advice I have for young writers, I always say that the first thing is to read, and to read a lot. The second thing is to write. And the third thing, which I think is absolutely vital, is to tell stories and listen closely to the stories you're being told. ~ John Green, #NFDB
869:But the rest are even scared to open up and laugh. You know, that's the first thing that got me about this place, that there wasn't anybody laughing. I haven't heard a real laugh since I came through that door, do you know that? Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing. ~ Ken Kesey, #NFDB
870:I am old.
That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.
I am old - old in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old. ~ Matt Haig,#NFDB
871:I think the first thing is to recognize that there is an ebb and flow to your career. There are going to be moments that are really high, and then you're going to have moments where you step away for a little bit, and maybe that's just by choice or maybe you have a family. ~ Michelle Monaghan, #NFDB
872:Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. ~ Andrew Murray, #NFDB
873:This may sound weird,but the first thing I thought as I watched that ten-feet-tall bronze lady plummet toward my face was, "Well, at least it can't kill me." Only demonglass could do that, after all, but I wasn't sure even Cal could heal the amount of broken I was about to be. ~ Rachel Hawkins, #NFDB
874:It hasn't even been competitive. That's the first thing we're going to have to do is just find a way to stay competitive because these (first two games) have been over by halftime. We saw that last year too (on Halloween). It was 21-3 (Steelers) at the end of the first quarter. ~ Bill Belichick, #NFDB
875:I was the breakable one. Women always are. It's not so much a question of one big disappointment, though. It's more like a thousand little disappointments raining down on top of each other. After a while it gets to seem like a flood, and the first thing you know you're drowning. ~ Carol Shields, #NFDB
876:The first thing to depart in mental illness is the familiar. And what takes its place is bad news because not only can you not understand it, you also cannot communicate it to other people. The madman experiences something, but what it is or where it comes from he does not know. ~ Philip K Dick, #NFDB
877:The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it out, see what looks correct, what looks wrong, look at other material which wasn't discussed, figure out what the truth really is. That's what you've got a brain for. ~ Noam Chomsky, #NFDB
878:Aldous Huxley took the drug mescaline and then chronicled his experience in the book The Doors of Perception. Now, I don't actually think that's the first thing he wrote: he probably wrote 'my brain is melting' ten thousand times, but it was the book that the critics latched on to. ~ Bill Bailey, #NFDB
879:Margaret liked this smile; it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character, shown in all these details of appearance she had just been noticing, seemed to explain the attraction they evidently felt towards each other. ~ Elizabeth Gaskell, #NFDB
880:Sorry, Sage. Last I checked, you aren’t an expert in
social matters..."
"At least I take action. You? You let the world go by
without you. You have no spine. You don’t fight back."
“You don’t know the first thing about me, Adrian Ivashkov. I fight back plenty. ~ Richelle Mead,#NFDB
881:The first thing Holmes does when he enters a scene is to gain a sense of what has been going on. Who has touched what, what has come from where, what is there that shouldn’t be, and what isn’t there that should be. He remains capable of extreme objectivity even in the face of extreme ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
882:The first thing my agent told me in 1959 was he said you have to have something recognizable that people will remember. “What are you? Do you have cleft in your chin? You have a Jimmy Stewart kind of talk?” And I thought I don’t know what I can give them that will be different. ~ George Hamilton, #NFDB
883:A fat lot of good it would do if I told you that Titian's courtesans make you want to caress them. Some day you'll see the Titians for yourself, and if they have no effect on you, then you don't understand the first thing about painting. And I wouldn't be able to help you. ~ Pierre Auguste Renoir, #NFDB
884:I always get everyone prepared so there aren't so many arguments on set. I have a policy that the first thing I do in the morning is go over to the trailers and discuss exactly what we're shooting that day. It's time-consuming but it reduces the chances of 'misunderstandings' on set. ~ Tony Scott, #NFDB
885:It’s simple, but it’s not easy, and the first thing you have to let go of is the belief that all you have to do (or all you can do) is hand your credit card to a physical therapist, a podiatrist, or a salesperson at a running shoe store and expect someone else to fix the problem. ~ Kelly Starrett, #NFDB
886:What advice would I give the average homeowner to protect himself against burglars? Well, the first thing is to keep a light on in the house when you go out. It must be at least a sixty-watt bulb; anything less and the burglar will ransack the house, out of contempt for the wattage. ~ Woody Allen, #NFDB
887:I think the first thing I thought when I got out to L.A. was just: Oh, if I want to act, I have to find a different way to go about it because the parts for girls are as dispiriting as the banking jobs. You have to really be willing to invent, I guess, a different path for yourself. ~ Brit Marling, #NFDB
888:Passion Of Mind movie is one of my rare romantic things. I'm ready for another. Shooting that, I remember France. We were in the south of France, and Paris. That's the first thing that comes to mind for that. I just remember that that was a beautiful place to be when we shot it. ~ William Fichtner, #NFDB
889:The first thing Martin always did when he found some new data file was to search for his own name. It may seem egocentric, but Martin wasn’t worried about that. He had spent a lot of time thinking about himself, and had come to the conclusion that he was definitely not self-absorbed. ~ Scott Meyer, #NFDB
890:In my culture, shoes are more or less the first thing women look at. Women look at the build, and then they look at the shoes. If you don't have nice shoes, you don't have money. When I meet a lawyer, the first thing I look at are his shoes. If he has good shoes, he's getting my money. ~ Method Man, #NFDB
891:I've been doing morning pages: the first thing I do when I wake up is sit down and write three pages of whatever comes into my head. The more I do them, the more creative I get and the smaller my problems seem. I can turn something that I hated a few days ago into a short story or a song. ~ T Mills, #NFDB
892:The first thing you do when you sit down at the computer: If you're an artist, a leader or someone seeking to make a difference, the first thing you do should be to lay tracks to accomplish your goals, not to hear how others have reacted/ responded/ insisted to what happened yesterday. ~ Seth Godin, #NFDB
893:Children are the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. It hurts me to be away from them for a few hours. It really does. I love them and they're girls, so they know how to push my buttons. But I've learned a lot and I have to thank my wife for that. ~ Sylvester Stallone, #NFDB
894:If you go into a bar or restaurant with a cop, the first thing he does is he'll stand in the entrance, and he'll look at every single face in that room because he doesn't want to spend an hour having a drink or lunch and didn't spot some villain they've been looking for, for two years. ~ Peter James, #NFDB
895:First we have to recognize that the cause of poverty is both structural and behavioral. And the first thing about the behavior part is that we need a moral revolution within the African American community. Look - no white racist makes you get pregnant when you are a black teenager. ~ Henry Louis Gates, #NFDB
896:I think the work in front of us is the first work task given our forbearers, which is to care for the garden. Now because it's the first thing commanded, maybe it's the first thing forgotten. But it is the first admonition and it is absolutely unequivocal. It is part of right livelihood. ~ Wes Jackson, #NFDB
897:It's my firm intention to whop cancer into submission and I truly believe I've given myself the best start possible by radically overhauling my diet and by staying true to my motto, which is: Don't worry, be happy, feel good. The first thing I did when I was diagnosed was to turn vegan. ~ Larry Hagman, #NFDB
898:Sometimes when I pick up a book off the shelf, when I'm buying a new book to read, I'll look at all of them and they all have the exact same words inside, but I'll think that one is meant to go home with me. I'll never pick the first thing off the shelf, I'll always go one behind. ~ Jennifer Carpenter, #NFDB
899:The first and best response to someone whose faith is unraveling is a hug. Apologetics aren’t helpful. Neither are Scripture references. The first thing a hurting person needs is to know they’re not alone. My path back to God was paved with grace by those who received my doubt in love. ~ Mike McHargue, #NFDB
900:I object in the strongest possible terms to the fact that the instant we stumble over possibly the most important thing anybody's ever found anywhere ever, the first thing SC does is snap into Full-Scale Raving Paranoia mode and apply this M32 total-secrecy-or-we'll-pull-your-plugs-out-baby ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
901:Azdaha were no joke. ... Not much is known about this dragon [the aforementioned Gandarw], except that he apparently had yellow heels. I wonder why that was such an important detail. I mean if I were describing Godzilla, the color of his heels wouldn’t be the first thing I would mention. ~ Ilona Andrews, #NFDB
902:I didn't hear the footsteps. Or see the shadow. Instead from where I was crouched on the ground, the green of the grass filling my vision, the first thing I made out were hands, a flat silver ring on the middle finger of each. One was clutching my notes. The other was reaching out for me. ~ Sarah Dessen, #NFDB
903:He who experiments must, while doing so, divest himself of every preconception. It is clear then that if we wish to make use of a method of experimental psychology, the first thing necessary is to renounce all former creeds and to proceed by means of the method in the search for truth. ~ Maria Montessori, #NFDB
904:If you just had an inspiration at night or with a girl or whatever and you want to talk about it, you don't necessarily want to share it with everybody . . . That's the first thing that made me want to go solo; I wanted to talk about my own things, I wanted to try to be creative [in] my own way. ~ K Maro, #NFDB
905:Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. When we enquire into any subject, the first thing we have to do is to know what books have treated of it. This leads us to look at catalogues, and at the backs of books in libraries. ~ Samuel Johnson, #NFDB
906:Each piece of dialogue MUST be "something happening". . .The "amusing" for its OWN sake should above all be censored. . .The functional use of dialogue for the plot must be the first thing in the writer's mind. Where functional usefulness cannot be established, dialogue must be left out. ~ Elizabeth Bowen, #NFDB
907:The first thing he noticed was that Las Vegas seemed to have invented a new school of functional architecture, 'The Gilded Mousetrap School' he thought it might be called, whose main purpose was to channel the customer-mouse into the central gambling trap whether he wanted the cheese or not. ~ Ian Fleming, #NFDB
908:The first thing to get clear about Christian morality between man and man is that in this department Christ did not come to teach any brand new morality. The Golden Rule of the New Testament (Do as you would be done by) is a summing up of what everyone, at bottom, had always known to be right. ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
909:Unless you are addressing the issues people are concerned about and contributing positive direction, they'll never support you. The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us ~ Assata Shakur, #NFDB
910:Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate is the thing we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Time to dream, time to contemplate what's working and what's not, so that we can make changes for the better. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach, #NFDB
911:Fuck the lot of you and your hypocritical bullshit. You sit around spouting brotherhood. You don't know the first thing about being a brother. Or being a man. Because a real man sure as hell would never have disrespected a woman the way each and everyone of you have disrespected Maysie. ~ A Meredith Walters, #NFDB
912:How can you put the Law of Least Effort into action? There are three things you can do. The first thing is to accept people, situations, and events as they are, not as you wish they were, in this moment. This moment is as it should be, because it took the entire universe to make this moment. ~ Deepak Chopra, #NFDB
913:Military is a great place for a jock. That's the first thing they test you, they test you physically. If you can run, if you can do the pushups, it's not as hard a transition. If you can't do that, you're going to have a problem because they're going to really work it out of you or work it into you. ~ Ice T, #NFDB
914:The First thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is "good" or "bad." It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing to know is that all conditions are temporary. Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you. ~ Neale Donald Walsch, #NFDB
915:The first thing you have to do is take everything with a grain of salt. You know, you've gotta just look at the goal, focus on what you gotta do and take one step at a time as a whole, as every performance being that's it, that's one objective, and let's just move forward and work on that. ~ Stefano Langone, #NFDB
916:When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
917:When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast,” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
918:Why is failure the first thing I think of when I find myself in this sort of situation? Why can't I just enjoy myself? But if you have to ask the question, then you know you're lost: self-consciousness is a man's worst enemy. Already I'm wondering whether she's as aware of my erection as I am. ~ Nick Hornby, #NFDB
919:Fifteen minutes later, Justin looks at his pint of blood with pride. He doesn't want it to go to some stranger, he almost wants to bring it to the hospital himself, survey the wards and present it to someone special, for it's the first thing to come straight from his heart in a very long time. ~ Cecelia Ahern, #NFDB
920:I'm just not going to do it so that we can say that we've done it. And I'm not going to do it if the first thing you say afterwards is 'please don't tell anyone' or 'let's forget it ever happened'. If you have to keep something secret it's because you shouldn't be doing it in the first place! ~ David Nicholls, #NFDB
921:...You are the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You are the face in all of my dreams and the smile I see when I close my eyes. Your voice when you sing in the shower late at night, when you think you’re alone, is like music to my ears... ~ Ginger Scott, #NFDB
922:The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That's the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet. ~ Wladimir Klitschko, #NFDB
923:Why is failure the first thing I think of when I find myself in this sort of situation? Why can't I just enjoy myself? But if you have to ask the question, then you know you're lost: self-consciousness is a man's worst enemy. Already I'm wondering whether she's as aware of my erection as I am... ~ Nick Hornby, #NFDB
924:But I knew the first question Mom asked Gail was, Is it a boy or a girl? Because, for some reason, that is the first thing everybody wants to know the minute you're born. Should we label it with pink or blue? Wouldn't want anyone to mistake the gender of an infant! What is that so important? ~ Ellen Wittlinger, #NFDB
925:In theory, the Internet provides an opportunity to widen knowledge-to see beyond screens and neighborhoods into a broader universe-and yet the first thing many people want to do is wall themselves off and broadcast how narrow-minded they are. It seems to absolutely miss the point of the experience. ~ Jason Gay, #NFDB
926:The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven't had a glass of sweet tea in three years. ~ Paula Deen, #NFDB
927:The first thing to do was slip away from her father, who might have questions about why she kept insisting on going back to the lair of ultimate evil. Kami saw why so many teenagers who had adventures in books were interestingly tragic orphans. Parents were a real buzzkill, adventure-wise. ~ Sarah Rees Brennan, #NFDB
928:When I was playing soccer at the age of 14, the first thing we'd do before going out onto the field would be to climb up on one another's thighs and massage the legs; it was a regular thing. None of us had a thought of being gay, absolutely not, and it's the same with most bodybuilders. ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger, #NFDB
929:It doesn't matter if it's in my class or around the world, anywhere, the first thing I say is "First of all guys, I want to give my Heavenly Father credit for all I do and the Lord Jesus Christ to give me the opportunity to go out and reach and save lives." To me, that's the most important thing. ~ Billy Blanks, #NFDB
930:Libraries are the mainstays of democracy. The first thing dictators do when taking over a country is close all the libraries, because libraries are full of ideas and differences of opinion, all the things we say we want in a free and open society. So keep ‘em, fund ‘em, embrace and cherish ‘em. ~ David Baldacci, #NFDB
931:The first thing they would do would be to open my mouth and extract the soggy ball of my handkerchief, and as they spread it out flat on the table beside my white remains, an orange stamp—a stamp belonging to the King—would flutter to the floor: It was like something right out of Agatha Christie. ~ Alan Bradley, #NFDB
932:When I was at my worst, the first thing I had to do was convince myself that I could succeed again. Then, and only then, could I take the first step back—the tiniest step that would release me from my fears and anxieties and allow me to move forward, if not to mastery, then at least to success. ~ James Altucher, #NFDB
933:If we all got kicked off the staff and the board, and an outside group (a group of leaders who were fearlessly committed to the mission of this church) took our place, what changes would they introduce?68 What’s the first thing they would do? Who would they replace? What would they refuse to fund? ~ Andy Stanley, #NFDB
934:I remember the first thing I did when I found out I was illegal was to get rid of my thick Filipino accent. I figured that I had to talk white and talk black at the same time, like Charlie Rose and Dr. Dre. If I can talk white and black then no one is ever going to think that I'm "illegal." ~ Jose Antonio Vargas, #NFDB
935:Because what you have to remember, if there’s one thing, it’s that everybody’s human, that’s the first thing they are, whether they’re beautiful or not, or rich or poor, or actresses from the 1940s or Frank . . . They’re all humans, the first thing they are is human, do you see? Do you see, Charles? ~ Paul Murray, #NFDB
936:In a sales presentation, the first thing you must do is to separate prospects from suspects. You need to ask questions to determine the prospect’s pain, problem, need, or goal that your product or service can alleviate or take away. The rule is “no need, no sale.” But even in nonselling presentation ~ Brian Tracy, #NFDB
937:Simon stood up and said the first thing that popped into his mind. "I just wanted to tell you that we all really enjoyed that beef stew they saved for dinner. You should serve that again."
Dean Penhallow gave him an odd look. " those weren't beets, Simon."
This didn't surprise him. ~ Cassandra Clare,#NFDB
938:We started in the basement, and the first thing I noticed was the strange lack of personal items on employees’ desks. At Pixar, people’s work areas are virtual shrines to individuality—decorated, adorned, modified in ways that express the quirks and passions of the person who occupies that space. But ~ Ed Catmull, #NFDB
939:When you’re sick and dying, the ego is and should be the first thing to go. I know there’re gurus who teach people how to release the ego, to conquer the ego. I get it now, but I didn’t back when I was healthy. It’s moot now. The guy who falls off the toilet and knocks himself out no longer has an ego. ~ J R Rain, #NFDB
940:It wasn’t…it wasn’t anything personal,” he finally said. “Funny,” I told him. “When somebody tries to screw somebody else over and fails hard? That’s always the first thing out of their mouth. ‘It was only business.’ ‘It wasn’t personal.’ Thing is, to the guy getting screwed? It’s always personal. ~ Craig Schaefer, #NFDB
941:I was thinking of how, when we think of loss in our life, how our sense of ‘home’ was the first thing to go. You know, we lose that place of childhood innocence, of feeling protected. And so many of us spend the rest of our lives trying to reclaim that place called home, that life made simple again. ~ Tabitha Vohn, #NFDB
942:Science is starting to show that our brains are less able to detect calories in liquids. So, people in the know, including food industry executives, when they run into health trouble, the first thing they do is cut calories out of all the liquids that they drink as a way of maintaining their weight. ~ Michael Moss, #NFDB
943:You don't fall in love because you fall in love; you fall in love because of the need, desperate, to fall in love. when you feel that need, you have to watch your step: like having drunk a philter, the kind that makes you fall in love with the first thing you meet. It could be a duck-billed platypus. ~ Umberto Eco, #NFDB
944:Guildenstern: What's the first thing you remember?
Rosencrantz: [thinks] No, it's no good. It was a long time ago.
Guildenstern: No, you don't take my meaning. What's the first thing you remember after all the things you've forgotten?
Rosencrantz: Oh, I see... I've forgotten the question. ~ Tom Stoppard,#NFDB
945:I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be fixed up with another one of your ideas of the perfect man. Contrary to popular belief, we all don’t want to get fucked by the first thing that shows any interest in us. Besides, testosterone-driven sex machines with little to no brains do not appeal to me! ~ Mandy M Roth, #NFDB
946:There's not gonna be any tuition cuts. There aren't gonna be any drastic reductions in salaries. And in fact when the subject of cuts comes up, the first thing that the opponents of cuts say, "You can't cut this faculty. You can't cut the salaries. You wouldn't save enough money, you can't go there." ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
947:All religions are nothing but a science - or an art - to teach you how to die. And the only way to teach you how to die is to teach you how to live. They are not separate. If you know what right living is, you will know what right dying is. So the first thing, or the most fundamental thing is: how to live. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
948:What did it mean, the first time, a thinking creature looked deeply into another's eyes? Did it take a hundred thousand years before this happened or it was the first thing they did, transcendingly, the thing that made them higher, made them modern, the gaze that demonstrates we are lonely in our souls? ~ Don DeLillo, #NFDB
949:Neither of us uttered a word about what happened. We never do. But I can't smudge it from my mind. The farm boys' sneering red faces. The runt shaking the fence. The brown lump of spit tobacco. The anguish in David's eyes. They don't know the first thing about us; they just hate us because we're black ~ Julia Scheeres, #NFDB
950:This is the first thing the Holy Spirit does in your life. He brings you God's presence, and when He does, you will no longer be in the dark. The Holy Spirit has a beautiful identity. He is called 'The Angel of God's presence.' He is the One Who brings us the presence of God and makes it real to us. ~ Chris Oyakhilome, #NFDB
951:This is the first thing the Holy Spirit does in your life. He brings you God’s presence, and when He does, you will no longer be in the dark. The Holy Spirit has a beautiful identity. He is called ‘The Angel of God’s presence.’ He is the One Who brings us the presence of God and makes it real to us. ~ Chris Oyakhilome, #NFDB
952:Hello," he greeted her cheerfully. "You must be Alan of Trebond. You're very hardy to have made it this far the first day. Has anyone said what we try to learn in here?"
Alanna said the first thing that came to her lips. "The only thing I know is that I jump when I'm told to and I have no free time. ~ Tamora Pierce,#NFDB
953:So the first thing is to spend less energy digesting food. Skip dinner (so your body is not trying to digest when you sleep), go to sleep early, don’t expose yourself to news, avoid pop culture, don’t drink alcohol, try to only be around the people you love, and have a sense of surrender and gratitude. ~ James Altucher, #NFDB
954:Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate is the thing we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Time to dream, time to contemplate what's working and what's not, so that we can make changes for the better. (January 17) ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach, #NFDB
955:He gathered her against him tightly, chest to chest, hip to hip. She wouldn’t have minded staying there forever.
“I wanted to do this from the moment I saw you sleeping in my bed,” he murmured against her mouth.
“I just wanted to shoot you,” she said the first thing that popped into her dazed mind. ~ Dana Marton,#NFDB
956:They [Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz] will never give peace a chance because they are saying the moment they are elected, the first thing they will do is to rip up the agreement that allowed $150 billion of Iranian money to be returned to them. They don't want this agreement and that will surely lead to war. ~ Louis Farrakhan, #NFDB
957:For the first time in my life I had money, and it was the most liberating thing in the world. The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money. ~ Trevor Noah, #NFDB
958:-I love you, Lenny.
-From the diaphragm.
-What are you talking about?
-You have to say it from the diaphragm. That's a muscle in here. Real deep, not from the throat. I tried to be an actor once and that's the first thing they told me. That's when I quit. I just didn't have that much in my diaphragm. ~ Romain Gary,#NFDB
959:Love is influenced by no consideration, recognizes no restraints of reason, and is of the same nature as death, that assails alike the lofty palaces of kings and the humble cabins of shepherds; and when it takes entire possession of a heart, the first thing it does is to banish fear and shame from it. ~ Miguel de Cervantes, #NFDB
960:Sorry I called you Goat-molester,” Virgil said. “It was the first thing that came into my head, honestly.”
“I don’t need your damn apology!”
“Then why are you here?”
“I came here to kick your ass!”
“You might want to do that from a standing position.”
“Screw you! I’ll get up in my own time! ~ Derek Landy,#NFDB
961:The first thing you notice about women in Hollywood, besides their low percentage of body fat, is how few are married. And the number of great-looking, successful single women without a social life is staggering. ... The most glaring misconception about Hollywood is that it is the romance capital of the world. ~ Lynda Obst, #NFDB
962:... when people freed themselves they usually forced change on everyone else. In fact, the first thing people sometimes did with their freedom was to find another version of the thing that had imprisoned them. Not changing, in other words, deprived them of what they'd gone to such trouble to attain (freedom). ~ Rachel Cusk, #NFDB
963:Beauty is a burden as well as a gift. Beauty puts other women on edge. It torments men. Man is born adoring beauty and carries, just below the surface, a predisposition, a gut feeling, that beauty should be profaned and destroyed. The first thing conquering armies do is burn the library and rape the virgins. ~ Chloe Thurlow, #NFDB
964:I wish you wouldn't say the first thing that comes into your head, Ludo. There is an obvious difference between someone who works within the technical limitations of his time which are beyond his control and someone who accepts without thinking limitations which are entirely within his own power to set aside. ~ Helen DeWitt, #NFDB
965:The first thing Gutenberg sought to publish, after the Bible, was a laxative timetable he called a “Purgation-Calendar.” Then there is the astonishing number of anal German folk sayings. “As the fish lives in water, so does the shit stick to the asshole!,” to select but one of the seemingly endless examples. ~ Michael Lewis, #NFDB
966:When I first started acting I was about nine years old. I had never been to audition in my life and my agent sent me out. It was just a commercial for 'Harry Potter.' That was the first thing I ever went out for and I got the 'Harry Potter' commercial which was really cool, but I didn't play Harry Potter. ~ Alexander Ludwig, #NFDB
967:I'm still being followed?" asked Harry angrily.
"Yeah, you are," said Sirius, "and just as well, isn't it, if the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organise an illegal defence group."
But he looked neither angry nor worried. On the contrary, he was looking at Harry with distinct pride. ~ J K Rowling,#NFDB
968:Iraq broke our back in terms of counterterrorism. There's no doubt about it. The first thing, though, that hurt us was the fact that the U.S. military was absolutely unprepared to do anything on 9/11 - or 9/12 or 9/13. And by the time we actually attacked Afghanistan, al Qaeda and the Taliban had dispersed. ~ Michael Scheuer, #NFDB
969:I think that-that anyone, the painter, the musician, the writer works in a-a kind of an-an insane fury. He's demon-driven. He can get up feeling rotten, with a hangover, or with-with actual pain, and-and if he gets to work, the first thing he knows, he don't remember that pain, that hangover-he's too busy. ~ William Faulkner, #NFDB
970:Toto sits up, holding tight to the bar and staring out at the world. He drops a new toy that came with the pram and starts crying. Jimmy picks it up and crouches, looking into his caramel eyes. ‘I’m Jimmy,’ he whispers, ‘and you’re the first thing I’ve ever sort of owned and I don’t want to get this wrong. ~ Melina Marchetta, #NFDB
971:For the first time in my life I had money, and it was the most liberating thing in the world. The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money. With ~ Trevor Noah, #NFDB
972:There were things Thor did when something went wrong. The first thing he did was ask himself if what had happened was Loki’s fault. Thor pondered. He did not believe that even Loki would have dared to steal his hammer. So he did the next thing he did when something went wrong, and he went to ask Loki for advice. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
973:More or less the first thing that comes into my head is that some people are always looking for what they want to do in life and never finding it. I'm not one of those people. It has been very obvious to me from an early age who I am, and this has been tied up with creativity, and, specifically, with writing. ~ Quentin S Crisp, #NFDB
974:The first thing I notice is his hair - it's the first thing I notice about anyone. It's dark brown and messy and somehow both long and short at the same time. I think of the Beatles, since I've just seen them in Meredith's room. It's artist's hair. Musician hair. I-pretend-I-don't-care-but-I-really-do hair. ~ Stephanie Perkins, #NFDB
975:Allen was “queer in those days, experimenting with himself to the hilt, and Neal saw that, and a former boyhood hustler himself in the Denver night, and wanting dearly to learn how to write poetry like Allen, the first thing you know he was attacking Allen with a great amorous soul such as only a conman can have. ~ Jack Kerouac, #NFDB
976:If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. ~ J D Salinger, #NFDB
977:If you will have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is convince yourself that the person is subhuman. The second thing you have to do is convince your allies so you'll have some help, and the third and probably unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he or she is subhuman and deserves it. ~ Maya Angelou, #NFDB
978:I guess Twitter is the first thing that has been attractive to me as social media. I never felt the least draw to Facebook or MySpace. I've been involved anonymously in some tiny listservs, mainly in my ceaseless quest for random novelty, and sometimes while doing something that more closely resembles research. ~ William Gibson, #NFDB
979:The sad thing is that I feel so boring because 'Twilight' is literally how every conversation I have these days begins - whether it's someone I'm meeting for the first time or someone I just haven't seen in a while. The first thing I want to say to them is, 'It's insane! And, as a person, I can't do anything!' ~ Kristen Stewart, #NFDB
980:When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. ~ A A Milne,#NFDB
981:If we don't know that there is such a person as God, we don't know the first thing (the most important thing) about ourselves, each other and our world. This is because the most important truths about us and them, is that we have been created by the Lord, and utterly depend upon him for our continued existence. ~ Alvin Plantinga, #NFDB
982:Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. ~ Andrew Murray, #NFDB
983:We can talk about the value of sportsmanship on one hand, and on the other hand, the leading shots, highlights ... you see every night are the outrageous and unsportsmanlike, so I think there is a double standard here. On the one hand, we complain about it, on the other hand it's the first thing you see every night. ~ Joe Dumars, #NFDB
984:When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “What’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said. —A. A. Milne ~ Karen Amster Young, #NFDB
985:I thought about how houses weren't just houses. They were like relationships. They're where we unfold ourselves -- the real version of us -- the first-thing-in-the-morning, up-late-working, sick-as-a-dog, movie-watching, crying-in-a-heap version of ourselves. Slowly but surely, our places become a part of us. ~ Allison Vesterfelt, #NFDB
986:The most nervous I've ever been was on a 250 pound music video which is the first thing I ever did. And I stepped on there with a directing partner, so I could blame him when everything went tits up. But since then my nerves have incrementally decreased so I'm not plagued by the same sense of nerves as I used to be. ~ Guy Ritchie, #NFDB
987:I love you" Ty said, the quiet words devoid of any self-consciousness of his usual bravado. " And I've never been able to say that before with such conviction. I can't remember a time when you weren't the first thing I thought of, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care what stands in our way. ~ Abigail Roux, #NFDB
988:I think the first thing parents need to start doing is absolutely refuse to cooperate with any psychological evaluation of children in school. Schools should not be mental hospitals. Parents should say that the only tests they want their children to have are those respecting their academic subjects and nothing else. ~ Peter Breggin, #NFDB
989:One time there was a girl. Her name was Jane. She was a little baby. And she had a blanket. It was a small blanket. It was pink, and soft, and warm. In the morning she woke up. And the first thing she did was to touch the blanket, and it felt soft and warm when she put her fingers on it. Jane loved her pink blanket. ~ Arthur Miller, #NFDB
990:The custom of speaking to God Almighty as freely as with a slave - caring nothing whether the words are suitable or not, but simply saying the first thing that comes to mind from being learnt by rote by frequent repetition - cannot be called prayer: God grant that no Christian may address Him in this manner. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila, #NFDB
991:The first thing a leader can focus on is the act of tightening the tribe. It’s tempting to make the tribe bigger, to get more members, to spread the word. This pales, however, when juxtaposed with the effects of a tighter tribe. A tribe that communicates more quickly, with alacrity and emotion, is a tribe that thrives. ~ Seth Godin, #NFDB
992:The first thing they saw on leaving the elevator was a long concrete wall with over fifty doors in it offering lavatory facilities for all of fifty major life forms. Nevertheless, like every parking lot in the Galaxy throughout the entire history of parking lots, this parking lot smelled predominantly of impatience. ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
993:Someone trying to be funny probably isn't as funny as someone who doesn't want to be funny but is and can't help it. Someone being serious or angry might be funny. If you get angry, the first thing I want to do is laugh because I don't know why you're getting that angry. Pathos makes me laugh, funerals make me laugh. ~ Ricky Gervais, #NFDB
994:The 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair. ~ Jeff Cooper, #NFDB
995:The first thing I noticed as we exited the theater was how much colder it was than when we arrived. The second thing I noticed was how slick the sidewalk was. I didn’t notice that it was snowing until I was sprawled on the pavement.
“Scout! Are you okay?” Alex’s face loomed above me.
“I think I broke my butt. ~ Tammy Blackwell,#NFDB
996:The first thing is to accept that theater is an unknown. If you go to a concert, you know the music. If you go to an art show, you can literally see the art on your phone before you see it in person. But with theater, often times people aren't prepared to take risks, even though that's exactly what's great about it. ~ Cate Blanchett, #NFDB
997:You know what I can’t wait for? I can’t wait to throw that damn stuffed cockblocker out the window. That’s gonna be the first thing to go.” That made me crack up. He was referring to the body-length pregnancy pillow that I’d been sleeping up against these last few weeks. It formed a big barrier between us. “Actually, ~ Penelope Ward, #NFDB
998:As for cancer, the first thing is that you should drive off all fear. \* If you want to get cured there are two conditions. First you must be without fear, absolutely fearless, you understand, and secondly you must have a complete faith in the Divine protection. These two things are essential.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother III,#NFDB
999:The female heart is a labyrinth of subtleties, too challenging for the uncouth mind of the male racketeer. If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is to win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, #NFDB
1000:Think about it - what's the first thing you do when waiting for someone who's late? Grab your smartphone and do something with it ...anything with it - so that you don't look like a loser. However by doing so we've lost our ability to be present - to observe, to connect with others and most importantly to be bored. ~ Martin Lindstrom, #NFDB
1001:The first thing we need to find,' said Mr Golan, 'is a reason to live'.
...
'Without a reason, why bother? Existence needs purpose: to be able to endure the pain of life with dignity; to give us a reason to continue. The meaning must enter our hearts, not out heads. We must understand the meaning of our suffering. ~ Sarah Winman,#NFDB
1002:The intelligent person will go inward first. Before going anywhere else, you will go into your own being. That is the first thing, and it should have the first preference. Only when you have known yourself can you go anywhere else. Then wherever you go you will carry a blissfulness around you, a peace, a silence, a celebration. ~ Osho, #NFDB
1003:Well, the first thing that clued me in to the fact that there was something really scary about breast cancer, way beyond the thought of dying, was coming across an ad in the newspaper for pink breast cancer teddy bears. I am not that afraid of dying, but I am terrified of dying with a pink teddy bear under my arm. ~ Barbara Ehrenreich, #NFDB
1004:I grew up in Harlem. My grandmother was one of the best cooks around, but the first thing she did on Sunday mornings when she started cooking a daylong meal was to take a big block of lard from the back of the refrigerator and throw it into the pan. I know how Hispanics buy their food, and it is not always nutritious. ~ Richard Carmona, #NFDB
1005:I took ethics classes in college, and it always amazes me how they [tabloids] will blatantly say something that I did not say, in quotation marks. The first thing that we learned in ethics is that you better have it right. If you're putting quotation marks around something, it better be exactly what that person said. ~ Carrie Underwood, #NFDB
1006:Like a blinking cursor on an empty page, it was just the first thing. The beginning of the beginning. But at least it was done.” “It was kind of soothing, these sounds of lives being lived all around me, for better or for worse. And there I was, in the middle of them all, newly reborn and still waiting for mine to begin. ~ Sarah Dessen, #NFDB
1007:The first thing I saw was blue. Blue sweater, blue eyes. Blue. Beautifully blue. Then I saw red as I recognized who belonged to the blue. “Fucking Wallbanger,” I hissed, frozen on the spot. His grin slid off as well as he played place-the-face for a moment. “Fucking Pink Nightie Girl,” he finally concluded. He grimaced. ~ Alice Clayton, #NFDB
1008:Well, the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. Stick it somewhere and let it tantrum until it wears itself out. You may still hear the brain and all the shitty things it is saying to you, but it will be muffled, and just the fact that it is not in your head anymore will make things seem clearer. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
1009:I think 40 years ago, it would have been a little bit different because people had a tendency to think the actor was their part. I do find people who, all of a sudden, realize who is sitting in the restaurant and the first thing they react on is not necessarily, "There's that actor," but it's, "There's that killer guy." ~ Mads Mikkelsen, #NFDB
1010:The first thing you have to do is understand what success looks like. And to understand what success looks like you have to understand the intent. If you understand that intent is to make sure the sea lines are secure, then suddenly bombing Kosovo makes sense, because you don't want Serbia to reemerge as a major power. ~ George Friedman, #NFDB
1011:In 1980, during my sophomore year at MIT, I realized that the school didn't have a student space organization. I made posters for a group I called Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and put them up all over campus. Thirty-five people showed up. It was the first thing I ever organized, and it took off! ~ Peter Diamandis, #NFDB
1012:The first thing we can do as individuals and as communities, like a school or a university or a church, is cut our energy use. Do an energy audit or measure our carbon footprint using online carbon calculators that are free, easy, and cheap. Get a list of the ways that we can stop wasting so much energy and save money. ~ Katharine Hayhoe, #NFDB
1013:What do you do for a living?"
The first thing everyone always wants to know is what I do when I'm not sleeping, what sorts of exams and theses I have to my name as if they wanted to reserve a place in my curriculum vitae for the date of my death. There ought to be a curriculum vitae whose first line is the date of death. ~ Y ko Tawada,#NFDB
1014:I love you,” Ty said, the quiet words devoid of any self-consciousness or his usual bravado. “And I’ve never been able to say that before with such conviction. I can’t remember a time that you weren’t the first thing I thought of, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t care what stands in our way.” Zane’s ~ Abigail Roux, #NFDB
1015:It’s funny how people ask that as soon as they get you on the phone. I think it’s a byproduct of cell phones: people—girls and moms especially—want to nail you down in physical space. The fact is that you could be anywhere on a cell phone and it shouldn’t be important where you are. But it becomes the first thing people ask. ~ Ned Vizzini, #NFDB
1016:The media has changed. We now give broadcast licenses to philosophies instead of people. People get confused and think there is no difference between news and entertainment. People who project themselves as journalists on television don't know the first thing about journalism. They are just there stirring up a hockey game. ~ Gary Ackerman, #NFDB
1017:When I think something nice is going to happen I seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation; and then the first thing I realize I drop down to earth with a thud. But really, Marilla, the flying part is glorious as long as it lasts. . . it's like soaring through a sunset. I think it almost pays for the thud. ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, #NFDB
1018:Lara Jean, promise me you won’t let her get her hooks in Daddy. He doesn’t know the first thing about dating in the twenty-first century, and she’ll just eat him alive. He needs to be with someone mature, someone with wisdom in her eyes.” I snort. “Like who? A grandma? If so, I know a few from Belleview I could set him up with. ~ Jenny Han, #NFDB
1019:To me, Fight Club was a comedy. When [David] Fincher sent me the book and I read it, the first thing I asked him was, "This is a comedy, right?" he said, "Yeah, that's the whole point," and I said, "Okay, I'm in." I certainly wasn't imagining myself as a dramatic actor when I was running around in my underwear in that film. ~ Edward Norton, #NFDB
1020:You have no idea. when you're a salesman here in Marrakech medima, lying is the first thing you learn. generation after generation, they pass it on. its the secret ingredient the foundationfor a salesman's success. lie well and you make a fortune every day. your wife purrs like a kitten, and your children ealk tall with pride. ~ Tahir Shah, #NFDB
1021:Lion prides contain two or three males and up to eight females and their young. Wandering over the savannah are bachelor groups of two or three males, each group looking for a pride from which they can oust the current males. If they succeed, the first thing they do is kill the cubs, the pride's legacy from the previous males. ~ Robin Baker, #NFDB
1022:The first thing to be understood: you are perfect. If somebody says to you that you have to become perfect, he is the enemy. Beware of him! Escape from him as soon as possible. Don’t let him poison your being. Don’t let him destroy you. He may have been destroyed by others; now he is doing the same to you. He himself may be a victim. ~ Osho, #NFDB
1023:The first thing you do is sit down with your wife and say something like this, Honey, I've made a terrible mistake. I've given you my role. I gave up leading this family. ... I'm not suggesting that you ask for your role back, I'm urging you to take it back ... Be sensitive. Listen. Treat the lady gently and lovingly. But lead! ~ Tony Evans, #NFDB
1024:The study of the self will one day prove the master-key to open all philosophical doors, all scientific conundrums, all life’s locked problems. Self is the ultimate—it is the first thing we know as babes; it will be the last thing we shall know as sages. The greatest certainty in knowledge comes only in the sphere of self. We ~ Paul Brunton, #NFDB
1025:The first thing I ask is that people should not make use of my name, and should not call themselves Lutherans but Christians. What is Luther? The teaching is not mine. Nor was I crucified for anyone...How did I, poor stinking bag of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the children of Christ by my evil name? ~ Martin Luther, #NFDB
1026:When you start a movie, it's not like other kinds of work that you have when you know your boss for years or colleagues for years. You're meeting everyone, mostly, for the first time. You have to get comfortable with those people so you can perform, because the first thing that is going to shut you down is any kind of anxiety. ~ Nicolas Cage, #NFDB
1027:I'm the first secretary of defense that's had to deal with sequestration. I've prepared two budgets that deal with sequestration. And you bring the chiefs together, the leadership of this enterprise together, to work through, how do we then take these cuts? Where do we apply those cuts? Readiness is the first thing that suffers. ~ Chuck Hagel, #NFDB
1028:Oh God, it's such a big world right now for artists. There are as many possibilities as you can have time for, getting your music out there with the internet, and Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, and everything that you have, there is a way to spread the word. To me, the first thing you have to have is substance and content and real depth. ~ Amy Ray, #NFDB
1029:Sometimes we are outright rude when we interact with people. We meet a gay guy or a couple living together, and we think we have the obligation and right to warn them what God thinks about their sexuality on our first meeting. As if their sex life is the first thing on God's agenda.It's not.Love is. Grace is. Mercy is. Jesus is. ~ Judah Smith, #NFDB
1030:The first thing I saw was a mottled green face half a yard wide staring through the broken window. I said something intelligent like, “Gleep!” The face grinned. It was a groll, a hybrid of human, troll, and the Beast That Talks that is never named in polite company. I grinned back. Grolls are slow of wit and often quick of temper. ~ Glen Cook, #NFDB
1031:Ow!' was the first thing out of her mouth, followed by a steam of articulate and literate curses that were neither blasphemous nor prurient.She'd had years to develop a vocabulary of invective that wouldn't offend anyone. It was the sort of thing a princess had to do if she was going to be able to adequately vent her feelings. ~ Mercedes Lackey, #NFDB
1032:Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re pound-in’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to. ~ John Steinbeck, #NFDB
1033:I met, not long ago, a young man who aspired to become a novelist. Knowing that I was in the profession, he asked me to tell him how he should set to work to realize his ambition. I did my best to explain. 'The first thing,' I said, 'is to buy quite a lot of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen. After that you merely have to write.' ~ Aldous Huxley, #NFDB
1034:People just sticking names on places, so that no one could see those places properly any more. Every time they looked at them or thought about them the the first thing they saw was a huge big sign saying 'Housing Commission' or 'private school' or 'church' or 'mosque' or 'synagogue'. They stopped looking once they saw those signs. ~ John Marsden, #NFDB
1035:Barack Obama was elected President in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. The natural thing would be to suggest money on the right [wing] doesn't really matter that much. The first thing you have to know is that the presidential elections are the ones where it's most difficult for money to hold sway, in that they're the most public elections. ~ Jane Mayer, #NFDB
1036:Hands that wrap us in warmth, that hold us close. Hands that guide us to shelter, to comfort, to food. Hands that hold and touch and reassure us through our very first crisis, and guide us into our very first shelter from pain. The first thing we ever learn is that the touch of someone else’s hand can ease pain and make things better. ~ Jim Butcher, #NFDB
1037:Because it was Noah and no one else, Gansey could admit, “I don’t know what I’ll do if I find him, Noah. I don’t know what I’ll be if I’m not looking for him. I don’t know the first thing about how to be that person again.”
Noah put the clay in Gansey’s hands. “That’s exactly how I feel about the idea of being alive again. ~ Maggie Stiefvater,#NFDB
1038:If you are going to build the Empire State Building, the first thing you need to do is dig a deep hole and pour a strong foundation. If you are going to build a home in the suburbs, all you need to do is pour a 6-inch slab of concrete. Most people, in their drive to get rich, are trying to build an Empire State Building on a 6-inch slab. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1039:I like to talk about very different topics. I like to jump around a lot because I don't want people to come see me and then for an hour I tell jokes about being a little person. I just don't want that to happen. I understand that it's part of me, that's the first thing that you notice and it's something that people are curious about. ~ Brad Williams, #NFDB
1040:The first thing was that I hated being a lawyer. I wasn’t suited to the work. I felt empty doing it, even if I was plenty good at it. This was a distressing thing to admit, given how hard I’d worked and how in debt I was. In my blinding drive to excel, in my need to do things perfectly, I’d missed the signs and taken the wrong road. ~ Michelle Obama, #NFDB
1041:The first thing you see, directly in front of you, is a dim-lit tunnel receding deep under the island. The tunnel is paved with tiny glass beads of light, one for each of the two hundred thousand deportees. On the end wall of the tunnel is a bright light, almost a searchlight, which I’ve been told is intended to represent hope. But it ~ Paul Monette, #NFDB
1042:Fine, just don’t get shot again,” she told me as she grabbed her backpack. Really? I thought. Wouldn’t that kind of be the first thing I would avoid? That’s like saying, ‘Don’t let that train hit you’. Or, ‘don’t let the chainsaw-wielding madman disembowel you’. Or better yet ‘Contents of Coffee Cup are extremely hot, do not pour in lap’. ~ Mark Tufo, #NFDB
1043:No other creative field is as closed to those who are not white and male as is the visual arts. After I decided to be an artist, the first thing that I had to believe was that I, a black woman, could penetrate the art scene, and that, further, I could do so without sacrificing one iota of my blackness or my femaleness or my humanity. ~ Faith Ringgold, #NFDB
1044:The first thing I want to make clear is that this violence, this terrorism, is not cultural. It isn’t integral either to Arab or Muslim culture. I’ve done too many briefings for senators and congressmen who think that all ‘towelheads’ carry a pistol and a grenade. If you can’t see beyond this stereotype, then we might as well stop now. ~ Steven Gould, #NFDB
1045:The first thing the Cross does is cross out the world's word by a Wholly-Other Word, a Word that the world does not want to hear at any price. For the world wants to live and rise again before it dies, while the love of Christ wants to die in order to rise again in the form of God on the other side of death, indeed, IN death. ~ Hans Urs von Balthasar, #NFDB
1046:As a student who has no idea of dharma and no mind training, you decide to commit to the path and to train yourself. As you train your mind, you begin to see all kinds of things. What you see is not so much the inspiration of a glimpse of enlightenment, or buddha nature. Instead, the first thing you see is what is wrong with samsara. ~ Ch gyam Trungpa, #NFDB
1047:When people get cancer now, the first thing you do is you go to some doctors to get some advice, figure out what to do. People live a long long life after a cancer diagnosis. Not that it's not scary. The people I know have done so many stupid things. And they're still alive. Just being alive at this point is kind of icing on the cake. ~ Exene Cervenka, #NFDB
1048:As a student who has no idea of dharma and no mind training, you decide to commit to the path and to train yourself. As you train your mind, you begin to see all kinds of things. What you see is not so much the inspiration of a glimpse of enlightenment, or buddha nature. Instead, the first thing you see is what is wrong with samsara. ~ Chogyam Trungpa, #NFDB
1049:It seems that it is impossible to live without discovering the purpose of your life. And the first thing which a person should do is to understand the meaning of life. But the majority of people who consider themselves to be educated are proud that they have reached such great height that they cease to care about the meaning of existence. ~ Leo Tolstoy, #NFDB
1050:Looking back though, she knew that nothing could have been as unfamiliar as this grief -- this vast landscape of sorrow, emptiness and guilt, in which there were not signposts, and no rules on how to behave. If she weren't so numb, she might be amused by the irony of it all; the first thing she ever had to do without Harry was mourn him. ~ Nicola Upson, #NFDB
1051:That meadow scene is the first thing that comes back to me. The smell of grass, the faint chill of the wind, the line of the hills, the barking of a dog: these are the first things, and they come with absolute clarity. I feel as if I can reach out and trace them with a fingertip. And yet, as clear as the scene may be, no one is in it. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
1052:The first thing I became interested in in terms of 'Brain Storm' was neuroscience, and that is like saying you're interested in the universe. So ultimately I knew if I was going to handle this in a fictional format, I would have to take a subsection of neuroscience, and that turned out to be the use of neuroscience in criminal courts. ~ Richard Dooling, #NFDB
1053:We have entered a time when a writer's first idea is his best idea, when the first thing a reporter hears is the first thing that she reports. We live in a time now when we have seen major television networks take video off of YouTube and broadcast it to millions of Americans without verifying whether the video had been fabricated or not. ~ Scott Pelley, #NFDB
1054:I looked at the piles of plates and cups, and kettles, and bottles and jars, and pies and stoves, and cakes, and tomatoes, &c., and felt that the thing would soon become exciting. It did. They started with breaking a cup. That was the first thing they did. They did that just to show you what they COULD do, and to get you interested. ~ Jerome K Jerome, #NFDB
1055:Sometimes we are outright rude when we interact with people. We meet a gay guy or a couple living together, and we think we have the obligation and right to warn them what God thinks about their sexuality on our first meeting. As if their sex life is the first thing on God’s agenda.
It’s not.
Love is. Grace is. Mercy is. Jesus is. ~ Judah Smith,#NFDB
1056:How could you live without human touch? Wasn't that the first thing you knew, when you came into the world and they laid you on your mother's belly? Her hand would come across and stroke your back, and cup your head, and she would smile through tears of exhaustion and wonderment. That touch of love would be the very first thing for you. ~ Juliet Marillier, #NFDB
1057:The first thing I want to make clear is that this violence, this terrorism, is not cultural. It isn't
integral either to Arab or Muslim culture. I've done too many briefings for senators and congressmen who think that all 'towelheads' carry a pistol and a grenade. If you can't see beyond this stereotype, then we might as well stop now. ~ Steven Gould,#NFDB
1058:The first thing that Shaytan (Satan) will try to do is get you to stop praying. You know why? Because he has to kill the guard if he wants to penetrate the castle. Once the guard is gone, then Shaytan(satan) can open the floodgates for evil. And he has a lot of patience. He has done this to many people before so he’s experienced as well. ~ Nouman Ali Khan, #NFDB
1059:I promise you, the next time there is attack on - an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is, why didn't we know about it and why didn't we stop it? And the answer better not be because we didn't have access to records or information that would have allowed us to identify these killers before they attacked. ~ Marco Rubio, #NFDB
1060:Just because somebody hears something you say, or reads something that you write, doesn't mean you've reached them. With reading comprehension being what it is in the U. S., you can safely toss that one out the window. If you want to judge by the listening habits of people who buy records, the first thing they do is put it on and talk over it. ~ Frank Zappa, #NFDB
1061:The first thing I did was lock myself in the bathroom and unwind my binders. I was moist and sour from adrenaline and fear sweat and I felt like I would die if I didn’t rinse off. There was no soap and the rusty, lukewarm water dribbled out of the showerhead like blood from the wrist of a reluctant suicide. Still, it was better than nothing. ~ Christa Faust, #NFDB
1062:People have judged you; you have accepted their idea without any scrutiny. And you are suffering from all kinds of people's judgments, and you are throwing those judgments on other people. And this game has become out of proportion. The whole humanity is suffering from it. If you want to get out of it, the first thing is: Don't judge yourself. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1063:As my skin touched his, I saw his face, and I felt electricity shooting through my body. His eyes were the first thing I noticed: They were emerald green with flecks of something I couldn’t even describe to myself, and they seemed to be glowing, almost floating in front of his face. There was something about them that seemed almost alien. Was ~ Danielle Paige, #NFDB
1064:So the first thing about the history of rhyme . . . is that it’s all happened before. It’s all part of these huge rhymeorhythmic circles of exuberance and innovation and surfeit and decay and resurrectional primitivism and waxing sophistication and infill and overgrowth and too much and we can’t stand it and let’s stop and do something else. ~ Nicholson Baker, #NFDB
1065:There is a cruelty in a wish that comes true. It is weighed, it is measured, it is absolute. No less than the words that invoked it, but no more neither. This is the first thing she learned: Just because someone can love you doesn't mean they will. This is the second: It is worse to know that someone can love you and that they have chosen not to. ~ Kat Howard, #NFDB
1066:Every time you walk into church, the first thing you see is a man on a cross. He died to save us-not to give us everything we want-to save us. That's what's so hard to understand. It's not about him answering your prayers-it's about you being like him not matter what happens on this Earth. 'Thy will be done.' There will always be sadness and pain. ~ Jack Mayer, #NFDB
1067:In fact, people who posses not magic at all can instill their home-cooked meals with love and security and health, transforming ingredients and bringing disparate people together as family and friends. There's a reason that when opening one's home to guests, the first thing you do is offer food and drink. Cooking is a kind of everyday magic. ~ Juliet Blackwell, #NFDB
1068:The first thing she noticed when the light popped on was that the wallpaper had rows and rows of tiny lilacs on it, like scratch-and-sniff paper, and the room actually smelled a little like lilacs. There was a four-poster bed against the wall, the torn, gauzy remnants of what had once been a canopy now hanging off the posts like maypoles. ~ Sarah Addison Allen, #NFDB
1069:Well, the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. Stick it somewhere and let it tantrum until it wears itself out. You may still hear the brain and all the shitty things it is saying to you, but it will be muffled, and just the fact that it is not in your head anymore will make things seem clearer. And then you just do it. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
1070:
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
The Catcher in the Rye by ~ J D Salinger,#NFDB
1071:Craig, where are you?” It’s funny how people ask that as soon as they get you on the phone. I think it’s a byproduct of cell phones: people—girls and moms especially—want to nail you down in physical space. The fact is that you could be anywhere on a cell phone and it shouldn’t be important where you are. But it becomes the first thing people ask. ~ Ned Vizzini, #NFDB
1072:The first thing to get in your head is that every single
Girl can be caught - and that you'll catch her if
You set your toils right. Birds will sooner fall dumb in
Springtime,
Cicadas in summer, or a hunting-dog
Turn his back on a hare, than a lover's bland inducements
Can fail with a woman, Even one you suppose
Reluctant will want it. ~ Ovid,#NFDB
1073:Well, the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. Stick it somewhere and let it tantrum until it wears itself out. You may still hear the brain and all the shitty things it is saying to you, but it will be muffled, and just the fact that it is not in your head anymore will make things seem clearer. And then you just do it. You ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
1074:That’s why political work and organizing are so important. Unless you are addressing the issues people are concerned about and contributing positive direction, they’ll never support you. The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us. ~ Assata Shakur, #NFDB
1075:The first thing was to get down to Addie Richardson's henhouse, and that was a goodish way, four or five miles. She found herself wondering if the Lord was going to send her an eagle to fly her those four miles, or send Elijah in his fiery chariot to give her a lift. Blasphemy," she told herself complacently. "The Lord provides strength, not taxicabs. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
1076:I might believe I had unusual talent if I did not know what good music was; I might enjoy half an hour's practice a day if I were busy and happy the rest of the time. You do not know what life means when all the difficulties are removed! I am simply smothered and sickened with advantages. It is like eating a sweet dessert the first thing in the morning. ~ Jane Addams, #NFDB
1077:I was raised religious. I was raised Christian. And there’s a lot of edgy topics and things that go on with religion, but to me the most important thing, is that the first thing is that you’re supposed to love everyone the same and not judge anyone… Technically, we’re all the same. And everybody makes mistakes. So no one is better than another person. ~ Tyler Hoechlin, #NFDB
1078:they’re the goverment,” said Adam simply. “That’s what goverments do. They’ve got this great big building in London full of books of all the things they’ve hushed up. When the Prime Minister gets in to work in the morning, the first thing he does is go through the big list of everything that’s happened in the night and put this big red stamp on them. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
1079:The first thing I did was commit to my success and playing to win. I swore I would focus and not even consider leaving this business until I was a millionaire or more. This was radically different from my previous efforts, where, because I always thought short-term, I would constantly get side-tracked by either good opportunities or when things got tough. ~ T Harv Eker, #NFDB
1080:I remember when I was a kid, I loved Sherlock Holmes. I thought Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the greatest writers, because I felt I knew Sherlock Holmes. He existed to me. When I went to England the first thing I did was go to Baker Street to look for his house. I think you've got to try to make all of your characters as empathetic and realistic as possible. ~ Stan Lee, #NFDB
1081:It sounds like the right woman just walked into your life, Connor. Just don’t screw it up. Become
friends with her. This is the first time you’ve opened up since you’ve started coming to see me. If you
start falling for Ellery, the first thing you must do is tell her about your past and the women you see.
There can be no secrets, Connor. ~ Sandi Lynn,#NFDB
1082:Teaching in Providence and Oakland, I realized that the first thing is that it wasn't good enough to come in and assume that I had what my students needed in terms of knowledge and skills. I also had to show them that I was their ally. I had to show them that I was concerned about them, wanted to relate to them, and that I was fundamentally on their side. ~ Pedro Noguera, #NFDB
1083:A leader must always put the clan’s interests before his own; it is the first thing you must learn. That is why self-control is so essential to a leader. The clan’s survival is his responsibility. A leader has less freedom than a woman, Broud. He must do many things he may not want to. If necessary, he must even disown the son of his mate. Do you understand? ~ Jean M Auel, #NFDB
1084:But that was the first thing I had to learn about her, and maybe the hardest I’ve ever learned about anything—that she is her own, and what she gives me is of her choosing, and the more precious because of it. Sometimes a butterfly will come to sit in your open palm, but if you close your hand, one way or the other, it—and its choice to be there—are gone. ~ Barbara Hambly, #NFDB
1085:I’ve been thinking about two states of being—being gay, being Jewish. They have a lot in common. You don’t choose it, that’s the first thing. If you are, you are. There’s nothing you can do to change it. Some people might deny this, but even if you’re only “a little bit gay” or “a little bit Jewish,” that’s enough for you to identify yourself if you want. ~ Naomi Alderman, #NFDB
1086:I've never understood it. That is always the first thing someone asks: Where are you from. Not 'What do you like?' or 'What do you believe?' or even 'What is your mother like?' which all have more bearing on the person I am. And if I don't tell them where I'm from, they try to guess.... It drives them mad, as if to know me they need to know where I am from. ~ Meljean Brook, #NFDB
1087:The first thing was to get down to Addie Richardson's henhouse, and that was a goodish way, four or five miles. She found herself wondering if the Lord was going to send her an eagle to fly her those four miles, or send Elijah in his fiery chariot to give her a lift.
Blasphemy," she told herself complacently. "The Lord provides strength, not taxicabs. ~ Stephen King,#NFDB
1088:There used to be a huge snobbism between the film industry and the television industry. I produced and acted in my first - well way back - but the first thing that I produced and acted in was Sarah, Plan and Tall. And the only place to go at the time for really quality television was Hallmark Hall of Fame. And think how much television has changed since then. ~ Glenn Close, #NFDB
1089:Why would Gaia be back at camp?’ Leo asked. ‘Percy’s nosebleed was here.’
‘Dude,’ Percy said, ‘first off, you heard Athena – don’t blame my nose. Second, Gaia’s the earth. She can pop up anywhere she wants. Besides, she told us she was going to do this. She said the first thing on her to-do list was destroying our camp. Question is: how do we stop her? ~ Rick Riordan,#NFDB
1090:She is fragile, she is soft, she is weaker, she is afraid. All around is a man-created world, and she is a stranger in it. She needs security. So when she falls in love, the first concept, the first idea, is how to be secure, safe. She would not like to make love to a man unless marriage is settled. Marriage has to be the first thing, then anything else can follow. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1091:The first thing I think I ever played in public, aside from singing in church, would have been - and this is a true story - when I was about nine or 10 years old, I was obsessed with Twin Peaks. I played the theme from Twin Peaks on a little tiny Casio keyboard. People politely applauded. I just fell in love with that song and thought it was very heartbreaking. ~ Bradford Cox, #NFDB
1092:Kitesurfing is one of the greatest sports in the world. I highly recommend this to anyone who has access to the ocean. There is nothing more freeing than being out there and kitesurfing. When my schedule permits, it's the first thing I do in the morning, before I have breakfast. Tennis is also fun, especially against someone far better at the sport than I am. ~ Richard Branson, #NFDB
1093:Okay, so, flying,” I started, taking a deep breath and focusing on the thing I loved most in the world. “Flying is … great. It feels great when you’re doing it. It’s fun. Pure freedom. There’s nothing better.” Dylan smiled, a slow, easy smile that seemed to light up his whole face. “So the first thing we’re going to do,” I told him, “is push you off the roof. ~ James Patterson, #NFDB
1094:...that was the first thing I had to learn about her, and maybe the hardest I've ever learned about anything - that she is her own, and what she gives me is of her choosing, and the more precious because of it. Sometimes a butterfly will come to sit in your open palm, but if you close your hand, one way or the other, it - and its choice to be there - are gone. ~ Barbara Hambly, #NFDB
1095:The first thing you discover is a kind of emptiness, a silence, a presence which doesn't seem to have content to it, like looking up at a limitless sky. That boundary-less place inside you is your own consciousness, your awareness. When you relax into it, you realize that it's also full - it is everything. You realize this presence is what you really are: Love. ~ Arjuna Ardagh, #NFDB
1096:Those titles, Executive Producer or actor, are unimportant. I always try to approach my role as an artist. The first thing you want to do, that you attempt to do as an artist, is to have some sort of input into the material that you are working on. That is how my process begins; I say to myself: "I want to do this kind of work or I want to do that kind of work." ~ Danny Glover, #NFDB
1097:It was the first thing I learned when I started. An old boss said to me, 'Your job is to reflect interest, not to create it.' And what I've taken from that is, if you're not talking about things people are interested in, then they're going to find someone who is. It's not any more complicated than that. But if you forget it, you won't have a show for very long. ~ Mike Greenberg, #NFDB
1098:Always look up! Every time I step out-side, that's the first thing I do. Ask your-self, "what star is that?", grab a star chart and try to figure it out. That is basically how I started. Learn your planets and learn how to distinguish them from the stars. Study star charts even during the day and that night, go and see if you can find them. You may surprise yourself! ~ Will Young, #NFDB
1099:The thought of her gave me such a continual anguish that I could no more forget her than an aching tooth. It was involuntary, hopeless, compulsive. For years she had been the first thing I remembered when I woke up, the last thing that drifted through my mind as I went to sleep, and during the day she came to me obtrusively, obsessively, always with a painful shock. ~ Donna Tartt, #NFDB
1100:ALTHOUGH HE WOULD NOT REMEMBER IT, WHEN LUCIEN WAS BORN, the first thing he saw as he peeked over the edge of the world was Madame Lessard’s bunghole. Well that can’t be right, he thought. And he thought he might cry for the shock. Then the midwife flipped him over and the second thing he saw was the blue sky through the skylight. He thought, Oh, that’s better. ~ Christopher Moore, #NFDB
1101:I’m the least fanciful guy around, but on nights when I wonder whether there was any point to my day, I think about this: the first thing we ever did, when we started turning into humans, was draw a line across the cave door and say: Wild stays out. What I do is what the first men did. They built walls to keep back the sea. They fought the wolves for the hearth fire. ~ Tana French, #NFDB
1102:It's a heady aphrodisiac being exposed to his unique voice when he adopts that tone. His voice reverbs on a bunch of notes simultaneously. It's the first thing you notice about Ryan, his voice sounds like an orchestra playing a symphony composed by angels. It's most distracting until you grow immune to it, and now I'm back to completely infected with the Ryan voice virus. ~ Poppet, #NFDB
1103:What is the first thing young people ask about in job interviews today: What are the health benefits? When I asked a savvy focus group of New Yorkers in their mid-twenties, “How safe do you feel—about sex, money, relationships, marriage, street violence, job security?” The response was urgent and unanimous. “None of the above. Unsafe on all levels. At all times.” And ~ Gail Sheehy, #NFDB
1104:Look at young people today in the presence of death...the first thing they do is call a funeral company. They act like helpless children. Such an embarrassing situation never arose in the past. The truly shocking part...is that young people today don't seem to be embarrassed about it either. So not only do the young have zero death literacy, they don't seem to mind. ~ Caitlin Doughty, #NFDB
1105:Love is when you feel safe in someone’s arms, when he’s the first thing you want to see in the morning, love is surrendering. You risk getting hurt but you don’t care. You are willing to give someone the power to break your heart. Love means seeing someone at their worst and still seeing the good in them, love means someone is perfect for you despite their imperfections ~ Cora Reilly, #NFDB
1106:The next time we met was at Appomattox, and the first thing that General Grant said to me when we stepped inside, placing his hand in mine was, Pete, let us have another game of brag, to recall the days that were so pleasant. Great God! I thought to myself, how my heart swells out to such magnanimous touch of humanity. Why do men fight who were born to be brothers? ~ James Longstreet, #NFDB
1107:The order and harmony of the Western world, its most famous achievement, and a laboratory in which structures of a complexity as yet unknown are being fashioned, demand the elimination of a prodigious mass of noxious by-products which now contaminate the globe. The first thing we see as we travel round the world is our own filth, thrown into the face of mankind. ~ Claude Levi Strauss, #NFDB
1108:Here’s the first thing you need to know: all the fairy tales are true. Oh, the specific events that the Brothers Grimm chronicled and Disney animated may only have happened once, in some kingdom so old that we’ve forgotten whether it ever really existed, but the essential elements of the stories are true, and those elements are what keep repeating over and over again. ~ Seanan McGuire, #NFDB
1109:My daughter and I are so close. I can describe anything she's doing, the least little thing, and I get all excited about it. It's like medicine. When I come home from work and the first thing I see is her and she runs and jumps in my arms - everything that went bad in the day goes completely out the window. It's like taking a dose of medicine. It makes everything better. ~ Nancy O Dell, #NFDB
1110:A traveling show visited a country town and one of the acts was advertised as a striptease. A small boy begged his mother for a quarter to buy a ticket, but the mother refused, telling her son that if he went to that show he would see something awful. Well, the boy sneaked in the show and the first thing he saw was something awful - his own dad sitting on the front row. ~ Art Linkletter, #NFDB
1111:If you have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is to convince yourself that the person is subhuman. And won't mind the enslavement. The second thing you must do is convince your allies that the person is subhuman so that you have some support. But the third and the unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he, she, is not quite a first class citizen. ~ Maya Angelou, #NFDB
1112:In the event of a Law Enforcement Breach, a computer would the first thing the LEOs --law enforcement officers --would confiscate. I had a laptop upstairs in plain view, partially for that exact purpose. They were welcome to my Twitter account and my gallery of cute fluffy animals dressed in hilarious Halloween costumes. Nobody thought to check the dead-tree books anymore, ~ Ilona Andrews, #NFDB
1113:Upon all the new settlements the Spaniards make, the first thing they do is build a church,” wrote the British captain Thomas Walduck in 1708. “The first thing the Dutch do upon a new colony is to build them a fort, but the first thing the English do, be it in the most remote part of the world, or amongst the most barbarous Indians, is to set up a tavern or drinking house. ~ Susan Cheever, #NFDB
1114:The first thing that got to me was seeing David Bowie on a children's TV show, but Bowie was way beyond my aspirations. The Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch came out in 1977 and it had a breakdown of the recording costs, then you saw Pete Shelley playing a broken guitar from Woolworths. We already had an idea of the kind of music we wanted to do, but punk showed us a way to do it. ~ Edwyn Collins, #NFDB
1115:The first thing I would say to young writers is, "Don't do it, unless you can't stand not to do it." And the second thing I would say is, "If you do do it, and get into it, the constant rule you should have in mind is to explore your material." It sounds simple, but it isn't, because people often want to get from A to B, and they don't stop to look at what is in the material. ~ Russell Hoban, #NFDB
1116:Without fail, the first thing these patients choose to do is to stop devoting as much of their time and energy to emotional issues that are painful to them. Rather, they focus on what is truly important in their lives: God, love of family, forgiveness, and other aspects of life that bring them deep peace and happiness. A death sentence has a way of clarifying a person's values. ~ Don Colbert, #NFDB
1117:It was filled with books. That was the first thing I noticed when I went in—how many books there were. Three of the four walls were lined with shelves from the floor to the ceiling, and every inch of those shelves was crammed with books. There were further clusters and piles of them on chairs and tables, on the rug, on the desk. Hardcovers and paperbacks, new books and old books ~ Paul Auster, #NFDB
1118:Any idiot knows that the first thing you do when seizing absolute power is bribe the Praetorian Guard. It’s really the only tenured and tacitly understood method of making the cogs of accession mesh smoothly. First you hand out big fat bonuses to the military, then seize your power by force, then build your consensus via relentless intimidation and bondage attire. Authoritarian ~ Cintra Wilson, #NFDB
1119:Anytime that I have an impulse to pull out my phone and take a picture, especially of a landscape or something, if the first thing I do is reach for the phone, I actually force myself to sit there and at least wait thirty seconds before I actually grab my phone. I'm, like, "No, sit here for thirty seconds, and just see what you think about. What does this make you think about?" ~ Tyler Hoechlin, #NFDB
1120:...if you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear peeled for the avant-garde coterie, that you are not being yourself. You don't even know yourself. For the first thing a writer should be is-- excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
1121:If we're going to improve the environment, the first thing we should do is duck the government. The second thing we should do is quit being moral. Screw the rights of nature. Nature will have rights as soon as it get duties. The minute we see birds, trees, bugs, and squirrels picking up litter, giving money to charity, and keeping an eye on our kids at the park, we'll let them vote. ~ P J O Rourke, #NFDB
1122:None of the chase scenes that I did had any opticals. We had to do all of that physically. The first thing you have to do is see it in your mind's eye. You have to envision it. Imagine someone knitting a sweater or a scarf. They either have a pattern in front of them, or they see a pattern in their mind's eye. Then it's one stitch at a time. That's what shooting a chase is like. ~ William Friedkin, #NFDB
1123:Radio Poem
You little box, held to me escaping
So that your valves should not break
Carried from house to house to ship from sail to train,
So that my enemies might go on talking to me,
Near my bed, to my pain
The last thing at night, the first thing in the morning,
Of their victories and of my cares,
Promise me not to go silent all of a sudden.
~ Bertolt Brecht,#NFDB
1124:When I teach criticism, the first thing I say, and this sometimes pisses off younger - I mean, students, is that, opinions are the least part of criticism. We've all had the experience of going with a friend to a movie or a concert and you leave the theater and one of you loved it and one of you hated it, and that doesn't mean that one of you is an idiot. That's the way things work. ~ Gary Giddins, #NFDB
1125:Damn me, it's worth a fellow's while to be born into the world, if only to fall right asleep. And now that I think of it, that's about the first thing babies do, and that's a sort of queer, too.Damn me, but all things are queer, come to think of 'em. But that's against my principles. Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth - So here goes again. ~ Herman Melville, #NFDB
1126:I began to wonder what turn my life would have taken had someone else shown up instead. I wouldn’t have gone to Rome. But I might have gone elsewhere. Wouldn’t have known the first thing about San Clemente. But I might have discovered something else which I’d missed out on and might never know about. Wouldn’t have changed, would never be who I am today, would have become someone else. ~ Andr Aciman, #NFDB
1127:I needed out. The Jeep wasn’t fast enough. I shut it down, grabbed the keys and started running like a bear was at my heels. I couldn’t even see Henry anymore through my tears so it surprised me when he caught me in his arms halfway. The first thing I did was pound on his chest and ask him why he hadn’t called. The second thing I did was kiss him so hard he couldn’t answer me. ~ Laura Anderson Kurk, #NFDB
1128:The first thing that jumps out in my mind is David versus Goliath. That's one of the first stories we ever learn as kids. That's one of the most inspirational stories about courage. David stood in the face of terrible odds and defeated the giant. I love reading that story to my boys. Being courageous is doing something isn't easy or fun but you do it because it's the right thing to do. ~ Matt Cullen, #NFDB
1129:On the plane from Paris I heard a man say, “The first thing I’m going to do when I get home is order a Big Gulp. I’m going to supersize everything!” He said he’d been thirsty the entire time he was in Paris, and though I’d never thought about it, if you’re used to carrying a trash-can-size cup filled with crushed ice and soda, I suppose it would be hard to spend a few weeks in Europe. ~ David Sedaris, #NFDB
1130:We have a long road ahead of us because of our pasts. We both still struggle on a daily basis, and I can’t swear to you that will ever stop. But it doesn’t feel impossible when I’m with you. You make me smile and laugh. You make things right even when the world feels completely wrong. Sarah, it’s easy to remember why I should open my eyes every morning when the first thing they see is you. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1131:When I was about 16, I did a Neil LaBute play called 'A Gaggle of Saints' from a collection of plays called 'Bash' - very violent story about a young Mormon who goes to Central Park with his friend and beats up a gay guy. But it was the first thing I had ever done, and I thought, "God, this is fun! This is far more fun than anything else I've been doing at school. I want to stick with it." ~ Max Irons, #NFDB
1132:Writers have always liked my stuff, pretty much. That's what I wanted - I think my goal wasn't to get rich and famous, necessarily, though I cared about that. I always thought, "Oh, this could be a hit," or "that will sell records." But the first thing I wanted was that people who knew a lot about music, or had taste-making qualities, they would like my stuff. Writers, people like that. ~ Randy Newman, #NFDB
1133:Go look at what any liberal says about anybody they disagree with, and especially conservatives, the first thing you're gonna hear them talk about is hate, too much hate. Then you'll hear racist, and then bigoted, and automatically homophobic, intolerant. Just go down the list. And they all believe it about any conservative alive. And, in many of their cases, about any Republican alive. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
1134:I said I wasn’t sure: when people freed themselves they usually forced change on everyone else. But it didn’t necessarily follow that to stay free was to stay the same. In fact, the first thing people sometimes did with their freedom was to find another version of the thing that had imprisoned them. Not changing, in other words, deprived them of what they’d gone to such trouble to attain. ~ Rachel Cusk, #NFDB
1135:You’re okay," Zane said quietly but clearly. "Just focus on me for a few minutes. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?" While talking, he was gently wiping away the blood. Ty blinked at him, opening his mouth as he thought the very first thing that came to mind when Zane prompted him. I love you. He snapped his mouth closed and stared at Zane, unable and unwilling to answer. ~ Abigail Roux, #NFDB
1136:Maybe I don't know the first thing about falling in love, because I've been telling myself I'm not falling for him yet. That it's too soon.
But it's not. what's happening inside my heart right now is way too consequential to deny. I think I've been misjudging the whole concept of insta-love. Now if I can just figure out how we can finish these next few years with a happy ending. ~ Colleen Hoover,#NFDB
1137:Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern world. [...] The first thing to observe about the moderate’s retreat from scriptural literalism is that it draws its inspiration not from scripture but from cultural developments that have rendered many of God’s utterances difficult to accept as written. ~ Sam Harris, #NFDB
1138:The cow-shaped cookies have a beef flavoring, the turkey-shaped cookies have a poultry flavoring, and..."
Jane held up one of the cookies. "Human-flavored?"
Meg stifled a sigh. That would be the first thing on her feedback list: don't make people-shaped cookies. The Wolves were way too interested and all of them leaped to a logical, if disturbing, expectation about the taste. ~ Anne Bishop,#NFDB
1139:The center for me is my heart, actually, and my emotional connection with the work. That's where authenticity comes from. It's also the first thing that hits me about other people's work, or watching other people perform, "Do I believe the person?" Even if I don't like what someone is doing or if I don't like the sound, if I believe them, I do like them. I am able to appreciate them as an artist. ~ Mirah, #NFDB
1140:the first thing that’s gonna tip everyone off that the world is ending is this thing called Fimbulvetr which just means THE WINTER OF WINTERS and that is exactly what it is. It is a winter MADE OF MULTIPLE WINTERS like, there is going to be a winter and then once that winter is finished there will be ANOTHER WINTER. And then after that maybe it will be spring? Think again, son. MORE WINTER. ~ Cory O Brien, #NFDB
1141:I can't remember exactly the first thing I wrote, but one of the stories, was about a pilot whose plane crashed on a desert island, and the only other life on the island was a brown cow with yellow spots. The cow had... to survive, had taught itself to eat and get nutriments from sand. I guess, I've always been interested in adaptability and taking whatever life hands you and running with it. ~ Tom Robbins, #NFDB
1142:So many people don’t even know what hits them when they grow up. They feel clobbered over the head the minute the first thing goes wrong, and they spend the rest of their lives trying to avoid pain at all costs. But you all know that avoiding pain is impossible. And I think having that knowledge, plus the experiences you’ve lived through, make you definitely not fragile. They make you brave. ~ Meg Wolitzer, #NFDB
1143:George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to. ~ John Steinbeck, #NFDB
1144:So the first thing to be remembered: don't confine creativity to anything in particular. A man is creative - and if he is creative, whatsoever he does, even if he walks, you can see in his walking there is creativity. Even if he sits silently and does nothing, even non-doing will be a creative act. Buddha sitting under the Bodhi Tree doing nothing is the greatest creator the world has ever known. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1145:Why would anybody connect to someone who has everything going for them? It's the person who has faults that people want to connect to. So people identify with certain insecurities on stage and just by me talking about my diabetes people come up to me after the show and tell me "Gabe, my blood sugar is out of control and I feel you". That's the first thing they say, they say "I feel you!". ~ Gabriel Iglesias, #NFDB
1146:and we're just chatting and then I'm in the middle of a sentence about analogies or something and like a hawk he reaches down and he honks my boob. HONK. A much-too-firm, two- to three-second HONK. And the first thing I thought was Okay, how do I extricate this claw from my boob before it leaves permanent marks? and the second thing I thought was God, I can't wait to tell Takumi and the Colonel. ~ John Green, #NFDB
1147:Do you trust me?” Tam said it almost too softly to be heard.
I hesitated, sighed, then reached down and took his hand. Tam’s fingers wrapped warm and strong around mine. The magic sparked between us, though this time it was warm and tingling, not violent and lustful.
“Though you’re the last thing I need,” I muttered.
I heard the smile in his voice. “But I’m the first thing you want. ~ Lisa Shearin,#NFDB
1148:If you have loans, the first thing you want to do is say, "Okay, look I have a credit card, if I really need to borrow, I have this emergency money that I can get, but for now there is no reason for me to keep cash at zero percent interest rate and at the same time, pay all of this money out. So, I think people need to figure out quickly how to pay loans and how much cash they should really keep. ~ Dan Ariely, #NFDB
1149:...if you have the ambition to become a villain, the first thing you should do is learn to be impenetrable. Don’t act like Blofeld—monocled and ostentatious. We journalists love writing about eccentrics. We hate writing about impenetrable, boring people. It makes us look bad: the duller the interviewee, the duller the prose. If you want to get away with wielding true, malevolent power, be boring. ~ Jon Ronson, #NFDB
1150:The picture is supposed to go up just inside the front door, so it's the first thing you see when you come in. It's green. It's about the size of a barn door. It has one vertical orange stripe, and it's called 'The Temptation of Saint Anthony.' Mother wrote a letter to the paper, saying the picture was an insult to the memory of Father, and to the memory of every serious artist who ever lived. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
1151:What is so 'only' about 'yourself'? Is not the first thing one has to learn in this respect that to do something for yourself--I mean, the right kind of thing--is just as valuable and ethical than to do it for somebody else? Wouldn't you say that the good feeling we get simply because we did 'it' (whatever) for somebody else is cheating, in that it postpones the question: what is it good for? ~ Rudolf Arnheim, #NFDB
1152:The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a lesson in determination and moderation. It would be fair to ask if I took the moderation part to heart. But it certainly was a lesson in respecting your camera. If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant. There were not going to be any pictures without it. ~ Annie Leibovitz, #NFDB
1153:Everything we knew condemned us, and our questioning condemned us most of all. Knowledge was the way of our people, and knowledge was dangerous. It was the first thing that freed you and the thing that put you in peril. It was the key to the ten gates. I saw them clearly now, each and every one, the gates that were there for me. Ashes, Bones, Grass, Heart, Stone, Love, Sorrow, Blood, Earth, Sky. ~ Alice Hoffman, #NFDB
1154:They have removed the struggle to find anything. And therefore there is no genuine sense of discovery. Struggle is the first thing we know getting along the birth canal, out in the world. It's pretty basic. Book store owners and record store owners used to be oracles, in that way; you'd go in this dusty old place and they might point you toward something that would change your life. All that's gone. ~ Tom Waits, #NFDB
1155:Here’s the thing about Cricket Bell. You can’t NOT notice him when he walks into a room. The first thing that registers is his height, but it’s quickly followed by recognition of his energy. He moves gracefully like his sister, but with an enthusiasm he can’t quite control- the constantly moving body, hands, feet. He’s been subdued the last few times I’ve seen him, but he’s fully revived now. ~ Stephanie Perkins, #NFDB
1156:The Navy’s caste system has the reputation of being about as rigid as any in the world. The first thing most Navy officer do when they meet you is look at your hands to see whether or not you’re wearing a Naval Academy class ring. If you do, then you’re about of the club. If you don’t, then you’re an untouchable. I was the original untouchable. The only things I wore on my knuckles were scars. ~ Richard Marcinko, #NFDB
1157:I felt a strange tightness coming over me, and I reacted instinctively – for the first time in a long, long while – by slipping my notebook into my belt and reaching down to take off my watch. The first thing to go in a street fight is your watch, and once you’ve lost a few, you develop a certain instinct that lets you know when it’s time to get the thing off your wrist and into a safe pocket. ~ Hunter S Thompson, #NFDB
1158:Los Angeles is Hollywood and Hollywood is Hollywood Blvd. It's the first thing you want to see. It's the only thing really that you know about as far as Los Angeles is concerned. And so you go and you look at Joan Crawford's hands and feet and the whole history of American filmmaking is encapsulated in that one little area on that one street. That street, to me, has always been the street of dream. ~ Helen Mirren, #NFDB
1159:Haiti is the kind of place that grabs your heart, and never lets go ... When you arrive in Port-au-Prince, the first thing that strikes you is how vibrant the colors are. Buses, buildings, fences, clothing, everything is brightly painted in primary hues. On closer inspection, you see the reality behind this brightly colored landscape: a dark, grinding poverty, the worst in the Western hemisphere. ~ Andrea Mitchell, #NFDB
1160:The first thing that has to be said about the biblical gospel of reconciliation, however, is that it begins with reconciliation to God, and continues with a reconciled community in Christ. Reconciliation is not a term the Bible uses to describe ‘coming to terms with oneself’, although it does insist that it is only through losing ourselves in love for God and neighbour that we truly find ourselves. ~ John R W Stott, #NFDB
1161:A part of control is learning to correct your own weaknesses. The person doesn't live who was born with everything. Sometimes he has one weak point, generally he has several. The first thing is to know your faults. And then take on a systematic plan of correcting them. You know the old saying about a chain only being as strong as its weakest link. The same can be said in the chain of skills a man forges. ~ Babe Ruth, #NFDB
1162:I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time. The wisdom of discernment redeems the necessary ambiguity of life and helps us find the most appropriate means, which do not always coincide with what looks great and strong. ~ Pope Francis, #NFDB
1163:I myself, as I'm writing, don't know who did it. The readers and I are on the same ground. When I start to write a story, I don't know the conclusion at all and I don't know what's going to happen next. If there is a murder case as the first thing, I don't know who the killer is. I write the book because I would like to find out. If I know who the killer is, there's no purpose to writing the story. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
1164:I myself, as I’m writing, don’t know who did it. The readers and I are on the same ground. When I start to write a story, I don’t know the conclusion at all and I don’t know what’s going to happen next. If there is a murder case as the first thing, I don’t know who the killer is. I write the book because I would like to find out. If I know who the killer is, there’s no purpose to writing the story. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
1165:I've been doing this new ritual where the first thing I do in the morning is put a tablespoon of coconut oil in my mouth and swish it around. Then I put Kora Organics Rosehip Oil all over my body, which is incredible for your skin, and have a freezing-cold shower, all while I'm swishing the coconut oil in my mouth. It's a way to get the circulation going and to make you feel reenergized and refreshed. ~ Miranda Kerr, #NFDB
1166:the first thing is to get you settled. Tell your men to gather their families and move to the city of Ziklag. It is twenty miles south-west of Gath, on the outer reaches of Philistia in the Negeb. I will relocate the current inhabitants to Gaza and Ashkelon.” David bowed and left the cup on the table. “Lord Achish, you are too kind and too wise. I only hope to be worthy of your goodness and greatness. ~ Brian Godawa, #NFDB
1167:if you wish to train yourself for higher executive positions, the first thing for you to decide is what you are training for. Ability to dominate or manipulate others? That ought to be easy enough, since most of the magazines advertise sure ways of developing something they call 'personality.' But I am convinced that the first essential of business success is the capacity for organized thinking. ~ Mary Parker Follett, #NFDB
1168:I was a voracious reader and the library fed my curiosity, imagination and my soul. I read by the shelf - biographies, fantasy - all and everything fed my dreams. Then as an adult whenever I would go on location the first thing we would do as a family is sign up at the closest library. Not only would we find books, but what was happening in that town, because the library is the head of the community. ~ Susan Sarandon, #NFDB
1169:The first thing that strikes you about Timothy Murphys verse is the palpable texture of his line - that sound of sense practised by that other American poet-farmer, Robert Frost. And just as Murphys ear is trained on the rhythms of local speech and classical epigram, his eye holds fast on the image. This is an undeluded vision, sometimes bleak, often funny, and never less than painstakingly crafted. ~ Michael Donaghy, #NFDB
1170:The first thing to recognize is how fortunate Ireland is to be an island off the west coast of Europe, and therefore helped by the prevailing winds to escape the effects of acid rain and other problems. We were also lucky not to have had the same kind of industrial revolution and industry as some other countries. Our problem now is to create employment, but to do it in ways that value our environment. ~ Mary Robinson, #NFDB
1171:Good. Now the first thing you do is press in the clutch and slide the gear into reverse." She placed his hand on the gear shift in the center of her car, and showed him how to move it up and down. "You know, you really shouldn't fondle that in front of me, Grace. It's cruel." "Julian! Do you mind? I'm only trying to show you how to shift my gears." He snorted. "I wish you'd shift my gears like that. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon, #NFDB
1172:The first thing I would like to tell you about death is that there is no bigger lie than death. And yet, death appears to be true. It not only appears to be true but also seems like the cardinal truth of life - it appears as if the whole of life is surrounded by death. Whether we forget about it, or become oblivious to it, everywhere death remains close to us. Death is even closer to us than our own shadow. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1173:Emma dropped the letter. The first thing she felt was a sinking in her stomach and a trembling in her knees; then, a sense of blind guilt, of unreality, of cold, of fear; then, a desire for this day to be past. Then immediately she realized that such a wish was pointless, for her father's death was the only thing that had happened in the world, and it would go on happening, endlessly, forever after. ~ Jorge Luis Borges, #NFDB
1174:Forget about all the women in the world. I can’t even deal with one girl next door and I’m in such pain I feel like I’m going to die. And never mind my superior capabilities—I don’t know the first thing about governing a kingdom. And as for people gazing at me in wonderment, well, all they do is deceive me. All that happens is they swindle me. I’m endlessly afraid of people. I am continually awed by them. ~ Osamu Dazai, #NFDB
1175:The first thing is time, and the fact that we live in it. Our existence and experience are dependent on the passing of time, and on change. No, not dependent — dependent is too weak a word. Time and change are integral to who we are, the foundation of our consciousness, and its warp and weft as well. I can’t imagine what it would mean to be conscious without passing through time and being aware of it. ~ Greta Christina, #NFDB
1176:The guys that write Once Upon a Time were major writers on Lost, and we had lunch when I started on OUAT and the first thing I said to them was, "I spent five years on Lost, you have to tell me, was my character good or bad?" They looked at me and said, "We have no idea." That's why you have to make your own backstory. I decided Widmore was the evilest of the evil, but in the end, not even the writers knew. ~ Alan Dale, #NFDB
1177:The rivers of mythology and philosophy run parallel and do not mingle till they meet in the sea of Christendom. Simple secularists still talk as if the Church had introduced a sort of schism between reason and religion. The truth is that the Church was actually the first thing that ever tried to combine reason and religion. There had never before been any such union of the priests and the philosophers. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
1178:Inside, I had a pit in my stomach. What had the world become that children were now discussing their own death, as though it were a menu option? As I looked around and saw the blank faces clustered amongst us, I realized that our emotions might be the first thing we are forced to abandon in war. That the numbness that engulfed our senses was the only way we could sustain ourselves against all the chaos. ~ Alyson Richman, #NFDB
1179:Oh Shnorhk, how beautifully you speak Armenian, the third thing I miss most about you. The second thing I miss most about you: how beautifully you play."
Shnorhk not say anything. What trying to say only take away. Shnorhk just scald throat with more tea and eat cake after cake.
Grateful still, in the end, that Mnatsagan, always kind, is kind enough not to say the first thing he miss so much. ~ Mark Z Danielewski,#NFDB
1180:10. Breathe. Breathe deep and pure and smooth. Concentrate on it. Breathing is the pace you set your life at. It’s the rhythm of the song of you. It’s how to get back to the centre of things. The centre of yourself. When the world wants to take you in every other direction. It was the first thing you learned to do. The most essential and simple thing you do. To be aware of breath is to remember you are alive. ~ Matt Haig, #NFDB
1181:The first thing that went wrong, according to Fat, had to do with the radio. Listening to it one night- he had not been able to sleep for a long time- he heard the radio saying hideous words, sentences which it could not be saying. Beth, being asleep, missed that. So that could have been Fat's mind breaking down; by then his psyche was disintegrating at a terrible velocity.
Mental illness is not funny. ~ Philip K Dick,#NFDB
1182:Usually, the first thing a country does in the course of economic development is to introduce a lot of livestock. Our data are showing that this is not a very smart move and the Chinese are listening. They are realizing that animal-based agriculture is not the way to go.... We are basically a vegetarian species and should be eating a wide variety of plant food and minimizing our intake of animal foods. ~ T Colin Campbell, #NFDB
1183:I didn't have a sense of how to dress. I still don't really, but, like, back then, I truly had no sense of how to dress because I wanted to be a tomboy - I thought I was a tomboy, but secretly wanted to be girly, but didn't know the first thing about making myself girly. So I ended up like wearing just like sweatpants to school with, like, long T-shirts that I got on family vacations. And it was just weird. ~ Rachel Bloom, #NFDB
1184:They didn’t know the first thing about Diem’s tyranny, or the nature of Vietnamese nationalism, or the long colonialism of the French—this was all too damned complicated, it required some reading—but no matter, it was a war to stop the Communists, plain and simple, which was how they liked things, and you were a treasonous pussy if you had second thoughts about killing or dying for plain and simple reasons. I ~ Tim O Brien, #NFDB
1185:Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thin was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming. ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
1186:We're in a hyper-connected world, and there's a crisis of connection. The first thing that God says about woman and man in the Bible is that it's not right for humans to be alone. Social media interaction cannot take the place of face-to-face interaction. If anything, it prevents us from doing that. We're staring into our screens for so long that we're forgetting to look at the people directly in front of us. ~ Bruce Feiler, #NFDB
1187:The word translated, koan, it means a problem. But it's a very special problem. And to strip it down to the way it works, you are given a problem which has no rational solution. There is a contradiction built into it. One standard - one is this is the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping? And so on. All right, so the first thing is that it brings your rational mind to an impasse. ~ Huston Smith, #NFDB
1188:Well, the first thing I do is I try to listen to whatever rapping is already on the track. I listen for cadence and melody to see how the track's already been written, and to make sure that whatever flow or flows I decide to run with, or patterns or melodies that I decide to put into the song, that they're not already in there. Then I try to see if there's a different part of the subject matter that I can talk about. ~ Bun B, #NFDB
1189:Have you ever thought about seeing a healthcare professional? I could find someone who would help you better understand the power of the amulet.'
'Healthcare is just another way of allowing employers and the government to control you. What's the first thing they do when you step into a doctor's office? They take your clothes. It's a power grab. A naked man has no power.'
Clearly he doesn't know Ranger. ~ Janet Evanovich,#NFDB
1190:The first thing she noticed were the lightbulbs in the ceiling.
She wondered where the spindlers had gotten them, and where the wires for the electricity ran to, and pictured some poor family Above whose bills were always too high at the end of the month, and the father who would yell at the children about where all that power went - when really, of course, it was the spindlers that were the whole problem. ~ Lauren Oliver,#NFDB
1191:I think it's great some hotels provide stationery. Because the first thing I like to do when I get to a hotel room is write a letter. "My dearest Gwendolyn, I arrived by nightfall at the Embassy Suites. It will be a fortnight after my return that this letter shall arrive. Allow me to explain the curious charge at the ledger. It is because I miss thee so much, darling, I accidentally ordered Sorrority Sisters 7." ~ Jim Gaffigan, #NFDB
1192:I've told you many times that the first thing I decide is the kind of story I want. (...) This is not the kind of story I want. The story we bought had shine and glow - it was a happy story. This is all full of doubt and hesitation. The hero and heroine stop loving each other over trifles - then they start up again over trifles. After the first sequence you don't care if she never sees him again or he her. ~ F Scott Fitzgerald, #NFDB
1193:... the first thing his education demands is the provision of an environment in which he can develop the powers given him by nature. This does not mean just to amuse him and let him do what he likes. But it does mean that we have to adjust our minds to doing a work of collaboration with nature, to being obedient to one of her laws, the law which decrees that development comes from environmental experience. ~ Maria Montessori, #NFDB
1194:There are things about ourselves that we need to get rid of; there are things we need to change. But at the same time, we do not need to be too desperate, too ruthless, too combative. Along the way to usefulness and happiness, many of those things will change themselves, and the others can be worked on as we go. The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not lose sight of it. ~ Benjamin Hoff, #NFDB
1195:I think I may cool off in the water for a few minutes. Do you want to come?” He stands and brushes the sand off his knees.
Darren wet? Yes, please.
I smile and pop right up. “Andiamo.”
ASSIGNMENT NUMERO OTTO: FEEL YOUR FEELINGS
Write down the first thing that comes into your mind. Short and sweet. No pondering! Just WRITE IT DOWN!
Chiara was right. I like the nice boys. I like Darren. ~ Kristin Rae,#NFDB
1196:Good. Now the first thing you do is press in the clutch and slide the gear into reverse."
She placed his hand on the gear shift in the center of her car, and showed him how to move it up and down.
"You know, you really shouldn't fondle that in front of me, Grace. It's cruel."
"Julian! Do you mind? I'm only trying to show you how to shift my gears."
He snorted. "I wish you'd shift my gears like that. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon,#NFDB
1197:When you've lived as long as I have, you tend to think you've heard
everything, that there's nothing left that can shock you anymore.
You grow a little complacent about your so-called knowledge of the
world, and then, every once in a while, something comes along that
jolts you out of your smug cocoon of superiority, that reminds you all
over again that you don't understand the first thing about life. ~ Paul Auster,#NFDB
1198:I had written four scripts before I wrote Recount. Each one progressed my career a little bit, but I didn't make a dime off any of them. Recount was the first thing I sold, and I actually sold it as a pitch to HBO. They bought it as a pitch, which was a miracle. I thought, "Wow, this could be the last time I'll be paid to write a script again, which would be too bad because that was an amazing experience I just had." ~ Danny Strong, #NFDB
1199:I took care not to be ostentatious (I detest snobs), but my style kind of dazzled my staff at the office. They were eager to follow my examples. I stressed the importance of making a good appearance, wearing a nicely pressed suit, well-polished shoes, hair combed, and nails cleaned. “Look sharp and act sharp,” I told them. “The first thing you have to sell is yourself. When you do that, it will be easy to sell paper cups. ~ Ray Kroc, #NFDB
1200:My benefactor said that when a man embarks on the paths of sorcery he becomes aware, in a gradual manner, that ordinary life has been forever left behind; that knowledge is indeed a frightening affair; that the means of the ordinary world are no longer a buffer for him; and that he must adopt a new way of life if he is going to survive. The first thing he ought to do, at that point, is to want to become a warrior. ~ Carlos Castaneda, #NFDB
1201:If you’re a Christian who wonders what to do with someone who’s in doubt, consider these words carefully: Love and grace speak loudly. The first and best response to someone whose faith is unraveling is a hug. Apologetics aren’t helpful. Neither are Scripture references. The first thing a hurting person needs is to know they’re not alone. My path back to God was paved with grace by those who received my doubt in love. ~ Mike McHargue, #NFDB
1202:Hair is so linked to how we feel and everyone goes for something radical after a break-up, but my advice if you've suffered heartbreak or you’ve broken up with someone is not to touch your hair. It's the first thing women do but you're not in a fit state to make long-term decisions. You'll have to spend four years growing it out. Buy a lipstick instead. Go and kiss loads of other people, but don't f***ing touch your hair. ~ Alexa Chung, #NFDB
1203:Red RodsBefore elaborating any system of education, we must therefore create a favorable environment that will encourage the flowering of a child's natural gifts. All that is needed is to remove the obstacles. And this should be the basis of, and point of departure for, all future education. The first thing to be done, therefore, is to discover the true nature of a child and then assist him in his normal development. ~ Maria Montessori, #NFDB
1204:There's always someone kicking guns. We wanted ["Badlands"] to be a world without guns and bullets, where martial arts was the form of fighting and defense and attack. Martial arts is king in this world. That was the first thing. We didn't want it to be a period piece either. We felt those are overdone and stuffy. That was what lead us to explore that area of science fiction and future, a world we can create and control. ~ Miles Millar, #NFDB
1205:I am the deepest of unbelievers. Every neurosis is a religion to its owner and religions is the universal neurosis of mankind. This is much beyond doubt: the characteristics we attribute to God reflect the fears and wishes we first feel as infants and as small children. Anyone who does not see that much cannot have understood the first thing about human psychology, If it is religion you are looking for, do not follow me. ~ Jed Rubenfeld, #NFDB
1206:Now, you also want to ask yourself how they stand, what they carry in their pockets or purses, what happens in their faces and to their posture when they are thinking, or bored, or afraid. Whom would they have voted for last time? Why should we care about them anyway? What would be the first thing they stopped doing if they found out they had six months to live? Would they start smoking again? Would they keep flossing? You ~ Anne Lamott, #NFDB
1207:You have to have a lot of ideas. First, if you want to make discoveries, it's a good thing to have good ideas. And second, you have to have a sort of sixth sense-the result of judgment and experience-which ideas are worth following up. I seem to have the first thing, a lot of ideas, and I also seem to have good judgment as to which are the bad ideas that I should just ignore, and the good ones, that I'd better follow up. ~ Linus Pauling, #NFDB
1208:The first thing the boy Garion remembered was the kitchen at Faldor's farm. For all the rest of his life he had a special warm feeling for kitchens and those peculiar sounds and smells that seemed somehow to combine into a bustling seriousness that had to do with love and food and comfort and security and, above all, home. No matter how high Garion rose in life, he never forgot that all his memories began in that kitchen. ~ David Eddings, #NFDB
1209:We are obliged to profess that the life of Christ is our example. This, in the first place, are we called unto, and every Christian doth virtually make that profession. No man takes that holy name upon him, but the first thing he signifies thereby is, that he makes the life of Christ his pattern, which it is his duty to express in his own; and he who takes up Christianity on any other terms doth woefully deceive his own soul. ~ John Owen, #NFDB
1210:When we find ourselves devoid of passion and purpose, the first thing we need to do is stop. But that's not easy. The rest of the world is zooming by at full speed. Left alone with ourselves, without a project to occupy us, we can become nervous and self-critical about what we should be doing and feeling. This can be so uncomfortable that we look for any distraction rather than allowing ourselves the space to be as we are. ~ Dawna Markova, #NFDB
1211:Every artist knows that there is no such thing as "freedom" in art. The first thing an artist does when he begins a new work is to lay down the barriers and limitations; he decides upon a certain composition, a certain key, a certain relation of creatures or objects to each other. He is never free, and the more splendid his imagination, the more intense his feeling, the farther he goes from general truth and general emotion. ~ Willa Cather, #NFDB
1212:The first thing you need to know is that the hair on your head is worthless. The color, the length, the thickness, everything. You will never see anyone on TV sporting their own God-given hair, unless it’s on, like, a sad miniseries about factory workers in East Germany. The same goes for hair color. Yes, your natural color may be appropriate for your skin tone, but this isn’t the land of appropriate—this is Hollywood, baby. ~ Mindy Kaling, #NFDB
1213:The first thing is to lower the level of education, science and accomplishment.1 A high level of science and accomplishment is accessible only to people of high ability, and there’s no need for high ability! People of high ability have always seized power and been despots. People of high ability can’t help but be despots and have always corrupted more than they have brought benefit; they are sent into exile or executed. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, #NFDB
1214:The first thing that happens is the cleansing of the former character. I don't think a lot of actors talk about it, but there is usually a process where you essentially purge yourself of the character played prior to the movie. Then you want to think about what the character represents, and you write down all of the elements about this character and then take the time to find some synchronicity and start breathing the character. ~ Vin Diesel, #NFDB
1215:People sometimes ask: Is Putin a clever man? Yes, he's clever in his own way, when it comes to political intrigue, and he's got a good head for numbers. But as soon as he took office, the first thing he did was to institute a new anthem based on the old Soviet one; that was a very major step, not a petty issue. He began at once to appeal to people's basest instincts. It is true that people in Russia are used to obedience. ~ Vladimir Voinovich, #NFDB
1216:I have to write. It’s not an option. When I write, I am literally building myself a place in which to live. Once I’m firmly established within the narrative I pop awake in the morning and it’s the first thing I think about. Not in an analytical way, as in “Oh, I haven’t really reached the crisis point and it’s already page 200—I’d better work on that.” It’s very much just running towards and into the place I most want to be. ~ Kathryn Harrison, #NFDB
1217:The first thing that sometimes keeps next generation leaders from playing to their strengths is that the idea of being a balanced or well-rounded leader looks good on paper and sounds compelling coming from behind a lectern, but in reality, it is an unworthy endeavor. Read the biographies of the achievers in any arena of life. You will find over and over that these were not “well-rounded” leaders. They were men and women of focus. ~ Andy Stanley, #NFDB
1218:What’s the first thing you do when you’re depressed? • What’s the most important decision you’ve ever made in your life? • What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made in your life? • If you were to give an eighteen-year-old one specific piece of wisdom, what would it be? • What’s the smartest thing your parents ever did? • What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed? • What difference did someone make in your life as a child? ~ Andy Andrews, #NFDB
1219:Maybe I’ll never be able to figure out what I’m passionate about. But when I choose something, it has to be something that when I wake up it’s the first thing I think about, and it’s also the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. I read about other people and how much they love their jobs—like, how they just want to do it all the time and it doesn’t feel like work because they love it so much. I want that to happen to me. ~ Maria Malonzo, #NFDB
1220:Not that the incredulous person doesn't believe in anything. It's just that he doesn't believe in everything. Or he believes in one thing at a time. He believes a second thing only if it somehow follows from the first thing. He is nearsighted and methodical, avoiding wide horizons. If two things don't fit, but you believe both of them, thinking that somewhere, hidden, there must be a third thing that connects them, that's credulity. ~ Umberto Eco, #NFDB
1221:'Two things.'
'Name them. I am instructing you to name them.'
'I don't think you've been in love. Not recently, anyway. I'm not sure you remember what it's like. It compromises you. It takes over your body. Like a bareword. I think love is a bareword. That's the first thing.' Yeats didn't react. If anything, he seemed baffled. 'The second thing is I wouldn't characterize Harry as indecisive and untrained with weapons.' ~ Max Barry,#NFDB
1222:If you’re sitting in the living room but want to be in the kitchen, the first thing you have to do is realize you’re in the fucking living room.” Oh God, I thought. Good News Jack is speaking in metaphor again. I nodded, following the concept thus far. “Otherwise,” he said, “you’ll never know to get up and walk into the kitchen.” I stared at him with my mouth open. We can’t get someplace new until we’re honest about where we are. ~ Janelle Hanchett, #NFDB
1223:The first thing to understand about travel in this environment is that the forest can be your friend; it can supply you with almost everything you need for life if you learn where and how to look. The second thing is that you can be a friend to the forest; if you consider carefully the consequences of your actions, you can learn to harvest resources without causing any harm, sometimes even assisting the natural process of forest growth. ~ Ray Mears, #NFDB
1224:He laughs. "Put some clothes on so you don't scare poor Kiara with your morning hard-on."
I look down at my shorts. Sure enough, I've got la tengo dura in front of Kiara and Tuck. Shit. I reach out for the first thing I can grab and put it in front of me to shield myself from view. It happens to be one of Kiara's stuffed animals, but I don't have much choice right now.
"That's Kiara's Mojo," Tuck says, laughing. "Get it? Mojo? ~ Simone Elkeles,#NFDB
1225:So what are you doing here?" Dylan asked in between forkfuls of eggs.
That was the first thing Dylan had said that bothered Joey. He didn't want Aaron thinking too much about it, either. Going for the kill, Joey said, "I suck your brother's cock and take it up my ass. Any more questions?"
"Gross. Fuck no. Jesus." Dylan grabbed his plate and went into the living room.
"If you spill anything clean it up," Aaron yelled after him. ~ K A Mitchell,#NFDB
1226:You get used to being naked, that's the first thing that Ivan discovered. Crashing through thick brush with branches snagging at your bare skin, you stop worrying about who's looking and and spend your time trying to keep yourself from being flayed alive. He got shy again when they entered the village, but once he decided simply to let the gawkers gawk, he found himself much more interested in what he was seeing than what they were. ~ Orson Scott Card, #NFDB
1227:As I glanced at the phraseology of the research report, dull and unfathomable to outsiders like me, I thought that if you have the ambition to become a villain, the first thing you should do is learn to be impenetrable. Don't act like Blofeld--monocled and ostentatious. We journalists love writing about eccentrics. We hate writing about boring, impenetrable people. ...If you want to get away with wielding true, malevolent power, be boring. ~ Jon Ronson, #NFDB
1228:It does not occur to them to have any inclination, except for what is customary. Thus the mind itself is bowed to the yoke: even in what people do for pleasure, conformity is the first thing thought of; they like in crowds; they exercise choice only among things commonly done: peculiarity of taste, eccentricity of conduct, are shunned equally with crimes: until by dint of not following their own nature, they have no nature to follow. ~ John Stuart Mill, #NFDB
1229:I blew into L.A. streaking down the freeway, the song "L.A. Woman" blasting out of the car speakers, the wind in my hair, the music in the wind. The first thing you notice about L.A. is that it’s overflowing with people, tourists, the homeless, the starstruck, it was like an old fashioned boom town, a few ghosts wandered it’s streets but it was still booming, if L.A. lived off the people that were successful, the city would be awfully empty. ~ Jim Cherry, #NFDB
1230:If Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins or any of these compromising Negros who say exactly what the white man wants to hear is interviewed anywhere in the country you don't get anybody to offset what they say. But whenever a black man stands up and says something that white people don't like then the first thing that man does is run around to try and find somebody to say something to offset what has just been said. This is natural but it is done. ~ Malcolm X, #NFDB
1231:I let her through. She checked Derek's pulse and his breathing, saying both seemed okay, then leaned down to his face. "Nothing weird on his breath. Smells . . . like toothpaste." Derek's eyes opened, and the first thing he saw was Tori's face inches from his. He jumped and let out an oath. Simon cracked up. I madly motioned for him to be quiet. "Are you okay?" I asked Derek. "He is now," Simon said. "After Tori jump-started his heart. ~ Kelley Armstrong, #NFDB
1232:I think the first thing is to recognize a mistake that Obama made. And others have made in thinking that you can revolutionize a system that's unbelievably complex and interlinked, one-sixth of the economy. That was a mistake because whenever you change one thing, it changes 80 other things, and now if you're changing everything at once, you have no idea what the outcome is going to be and you get all of these unintended side effects. ~ Charles Krauthammer, #NFDB
1233:Write down the most important things you have to do tomorrow. Now, number them in the order of their true importance. The first thing tomorrow morning, start working on an item Number 1, and stay with it until completed. Then take item Number 2 the same way. Then Number 3, and so on. Don't worry if you don't complete everything on the schedule. At least you will have completed the most important projects before getting to the less important ones. ~ Ivy Lee, #NFDB
1234:The first thing to do about an obstacle is simply to stand up to it and not complain about it or whine under it but forthrightly attack it. Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have. Just stand up to it, that's all, and don't give way under it, and it will finally break. You will break it. Something has to break and it won't be you, it will be the obstacle. ~ Andrew Carnegie, #NFDB
1235:The office was different. That was the first thing Dick noticed. Not that he’d spent enough time in the Oval Office for it to feel like home. The sunburst rug was the same, and so were the paired cream colored couches, but the heavy draperies that had covered the windows were gone. The Remington bronzes of cowboys on pitching horses had been replaced by white china containers with subdued ivy topiaries. And the desk was different. It was a mess. ~ Jo Graham, #NFDB
1236:I met Pendragon when I made the journey to the far desert. He is from the tribe known as...as..." Loor was scrambling. Bokka didn't know about the Travelers. I had to bail her out. Yankees," I said. "The Yankees tribe." Hey, what can I say? It was the first thing that came to mind. "It's a strong tribe," I added. "Respected by all...except for our mortal enemies, the Sox tribe. They hate us. Especially the Red ones. Cannibals. Nasty characters. ~ D J MacHale, #NFDB
1237:The first thing the intellect does with an object is to class it along with something else. But any object that is infinitely important to us and awakens our devotion feels to us also as if it must be sui generis and unique. Probably a crab would be filled with a sense of personal outrage if it could hear us class it without ado or apology as a crustacean, and thus dispose of it. "I am no such thing," it would say; "I am MYSELF, MYSELF alone. ~ William James, #NFDB
1238:The first thing the intellect does with an object is to class it along with something else. But any object that is infinitely important to us and awakens our devotion feels to us also as if it must be sui generis and unique. Probably a crab would be filled with a sense of personal outrage if it could hear us class it without ado or apology as a crustacean, and thus dispose of it. 'I am no such thing,' it would say; 'I am MYSELF, MYSELF alone. ~ William James, #NFDB
1239:The first thing the intellect does with an object is to class it along with something else. But any object that is infinitely important to us and awakens our devotion feels to us also as if it must be sui generis and unique. Probably a crab would be filled with a sense of personal outrage if it could hear us class it without ado or apology as a crustacean, and thus dispose of it. “I am no such thing,” it would say; “I am MYSELF, MYSELF alone. ~ William James, #NFDB
1240:I have friends who will say, "Oh you gotta come and see our show." And the first thing I say is, "Is it sketch or improv?" I'll go in a minute to see a sketch show. I love sketch; it's my favorite form. But if it's all improv, they're either very good and it's annoying how good they are and it makes you feel bad, or they're not too good then you're sweating for them. And you don't want to sweat for them, see actors repeating each other's lines. ~ Fred Willard, #NFDB
1241:There were other things,too, to ask him. Always she tries to be less forward. Always she tried to find the right thing to say and didn't trust the etiquette pendulum swinging in her head, so she simply said nothing, which was perceived either as painful shyness of haughtiness. Dasha never had that problem. She just said the first thing that came into her head. Tatiana knew she needed to rust her inner voice more. It was certainly loud enough ~ Paullina Simons, #NFDB
1242:There are yokels out there who think that if they touch a woman's behind and she doesn't complain, they've hooked her. Amateurs. The female heart is a labryinth of subtleties, too challenging for the uncouth mind of the male racketeer. If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is to win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, #NFDB
1243:I met Pendragon when I made the journey to the far desert. He is from the tribe known as...as..." Loor was scrambling. Bokka didn't know about the Travelers. I had to bail her out.
Yankees," I said. "The Yankees tribe." Hey, what can I say? It was the first thing that came to mind. "It's a strong tribe," I added. "Respected by all...except for our mortal enemies, the Sox tribe. They hate us. Especially the Red ones. Cannibals. Nasty characters. ~ D J MacHale,#NFDB
1244:Lace and ruffles, swords and coaches, elegance and leisure, duels and gallant death. All lies. They used perfume instead of soap, their teeth rotted because they never cleaned them, their fingernails smelled of stale gravy. The nobility of France urinated against the walls in the marble corridors of Versailles, and when you finally got several sets of underclothes off the lovely marquise the first thing you noticed was that she needed a bath. ~ Raymond Chandler, #NFDB
1245:Each part of the mind sees only a little of what happens in some others, and that little is swiftly refined, reformulated and "represented." We like to believe that these fragments have meanings in themselves - apart from the great webs of structure from which they emerge - and indeed this illusion is valuable to us qua thinkers - but not to us as psychologists - because it leads us to think that expressible knowledge is the first thing to study. ~ Marvin Minsky, #NFDB
1246:And if we all have shame, the good news is that we’re all capable of developing shame resilience. Shame resilience is the ability to recognize shame, to move through it constructively while maintaining worthiness and authenticity, and to ultimately develop more courage, compassion, and connection as a result of our experience. The first thing we need to understand about shame resilience is that the less we talk about shame, the more we have it. Shame ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
1247:One day you'll hear that song you both liked on the radio and it won't make you cry. You'll wake up one morning and they won't be the first thing you think about, or the last thing you think about when you're falling asleep at night. Their face won't be the one you see any more when you close your eyes, or in a crowd when you're walking down a street. And when something makes you laugh, or cry, they won't be the person you want to share it with. ~ Alexandra Potter, #NFDB
1248:The first thing that always pops into my head regarding our president, is that all of the people who are setting up this barrier for him... They just conveniently forget that Barack had a mama, and she was white - very white; American, Kansas, middle of America. There is no argument about who he is, or what he is. America's first black president hasn't arisen yet. He's not America's first black president. He's America's first mixed-race president. ~ Morgan Freeman, #NFDB
1249:The first thing to remember is the dual nature of your mind. The subconscious mind is constantly amenable to the power of suggestion; furthermore the subconscious mind has complete control of the functions, conditions, and sensations of your body. Trust the subconscious mind to heal you. It made your body, and it knows all of its processes and functions. It knows much more than your conscious mind about healing and restoring you to perfect balance. ~ Joseph Murphy, #NFDB
1250:I think the arts has great potential to create citizens. Citizenship is about the direction your imagination travels. We can't plan or calculate or examine citizenship; it's an imagined thing. Community is an imagined thing. And if your imagination isn't working - and, of course, in oppressed people that's the first thing that goes - you can't imagine anything better. Once you can imagine something different, something better, then you're on your way. ~ Lee Maracle, #NFDB
1251:I soon set Castor’s mind at ease about how I’d protect my borrowed identity. To stave off any challenges I couldn’t handle, the first thing I did was issue a challenge of my own against any man who wanted to try his luck besting me in a footrace. I beat five men, including Kalais, a so-called son of Boreas, the North Wind. No one else challenged me for the rest of the morning. What man wanted to risk losing to a woman in front of all his friends? ~ Esther M Friesner, #NFDB
1252:I let her through. She checked Derek's pulse and his breathing, saying both seemed okay, then leaned down to his face.
"Nothing weird on his breath. Smells . . . like toothpaste."
Derek's eyes opened, and the first thing he saw was Tori's face inches from his. He jumped and let out an oath. Simon cracked up. I madly motioned for him to be quiet.
"Are you okay?" I asked Derek.
"He is now," Simon said. "After Tori jump-started his heart. ~ Kelley Armstrong,#NFDB
1253:By marrying her, Tony Takitani brought the lonely period of his life to an end.
When he awoke in the morning, the first thing he did was look for her. When he found her sleeping next to him, he felt relief. When she wasn't there, he
felt anxious and searched the house for her. There was something odd for
him about not feeling lonely. The very fact that he had ceased to be lonely
caused him to fear the possibility of becoming lonely again. ~ Haruki Murakami,#NFDB
1254:Denial—usually in some form of rationalization—is the primary device that humans use to deal with their own wrongness. It was the first thing out of the mouths of Adam and Eve after they sinned, and it continues up to the latest edition of the newspaper. The prophetic witness from God must throw itself against the massive weight of group and individual denial, often institutionalized and subtly built into our customary ways of speaking and interacting. ~ Dallas Willard, #NFDB
1255:Does he—does your husband not like music?’ he asked, saying the first thing that came into his head, not really wanting in the least to know what that damned George liked or didn’t like. She hesitated. ‘I—don’t know,’ she said. ‘He—usedn’t to.’ ‘But he doesn’t come here?’ ‘How can he?’ She stopped, and then said softly, ‘The poor darling’s dead.’ His heart gave a bound. A widow. The beastly war had done one good thing, then,—it had removed George. ~ Elizabeth von Arnim, #NFDB
1256:The first thing apparent was that this world and its people were often quite wrong. To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got. The usual outcome was that people continued to wrong us and we stayed sore. Sometimes it was remorse and then we were sore at ourselves. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters got. As in war, the victor only seemed to win. Our moments of triumph were short-lived. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, #NFDB
1257:They say the eyes are the first thing to go”—he glances meaningfully at the reading glasses—“but I say it’s curiosity. People hit middle age and they stop questioning. That’s aging. That’s the beginning of the end.” “Questioning? Give me a break. You figured out the world in 1979, at a Grateful Dead show probably, and haven’t questioned anything since. Well, demonstrate all you want, if it makes you feel righteous. But trust me, that’s the only benefit. ~ Jennifer Haigh, #NFDB
1258:Take a good look at your mind. Examine it closely. The first thing you will come to know is that the mind has become the master - not you and not your soul! The mind says: Do this! And you do it! If you don't the mind creates problems. It become sad, and the sadness of the mind becomes your sadness. If you do as it says you get nowhere, for the mind is blind. Where can you reach by obeying the mind! The is unconsciousness. If you listen to it you reach nowhere. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1259:The Democrats are coming along, and Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have made it look like, "Hey, we're willing to work with Donald Trump. Hey, we'll help him get what he wants, but it's gotta be what we want." They struck a deal. Chuck and Nancy go out there tell the media, "Hey, we got rid of the wall! Trump's joining us on the DACA kids and we got rid of the wall." They report that; everybody believes it. Everybody believes the first thing that they hear. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
1260:Are you the government?"
He seemed surprised by the question. "Does the government fight evil?"
I thought about it. For some reason, the first thing that came to mind wasn't the FBI or the justice system, but my last trip to the DMV. "Well," I said, "it can."
"Lots of things can fight evil," True replied. "Cinderblocks, for example--if a Cinderblock had fallen in Josef Stalin's crib, the twentieth century might have been a bit more pleasant.(...) ~ Matt Ruff,#NFDB
1261:[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg, Berg and Webern? Are you listening to that music and what do you feel about it?" These were the conversations that he was having. And he also said, what he learned from Charlie Parker was, not that he studied with him in the formal sense, is that the first thing that Charlie Parker would always ask was, "Did you eat today?". ~ Jon Gordon, #NFDB
1262:We are in tough economic times right now, and the first thing we have to do is look at how we're spending the dollars that we have, and at what kind of return on investment we're getting. Because I think it will show that spending more money without fixing the fundamental flaws in the system won't produce anything different in terms of results. In DC, we were spending a whole lot of money on things that had no positive impact on students' achievement levels. ~ Michelle Rhee, #NFDB
1263:he had bought a ticket for the High Holy Day services being held in the Shrine Auditorium. He walked in expecting to find a welcoming communal atmosphere; instead, the first thing they did was raise funds for some cause. He was shocked—and stood up and walked out. His experience had been that a shul was a place for a community of people to come together to celebrate meaningful rituals. This was more like the department-store version of religious observance. ~ William Shatner, #NFDB
1264:I can still remember the miraculous feeling of writing a sentence, then more sentences, telling a story. The first thing I wrote was a one-page summary of Robinson Crusoe and I am so sorry I do not have it any more; it was at that moment I became an author."
[As quoted in the author biography on Mankell's official website.] ~ Henning Mankell,#NFDB
1265:There's a great Anton Chekhov quote. He says, "The Russian loves recalling life, but he does not love living." That scene has always been something that I have held dear. When something happens, the first thing you want to do is tell it. That's almost more exciting. It's almost simultaneous with the experience; you are already telling something incredible while it's happening. The stories that everybody carries around and repeats, I am really interested in that. ~ Peter Orner, #NFDB
1266:One thing my mother always instilled in me is to always know my worth. Don't settle for less. She used to say to me 'Iman, no is a complete sentence, learn to say no. You don't have to explain it you don't have to say anything after it. It's a complete sentence.' So when I came to America 1975, I found out that the black models were being paid less than white models. So the first thing I did was say I'm not going to do the job unless I'm paid the same amount. ~ Iman Abdulmajid, #NFDB
1267:There really isn't a good way to tell a relative stranger that you think dead people are trying to tell you something. It's personal information. It's like telling someone you just met that you have a yeast infection. It might be true, but it's not the kind of thing people want to know about you. Plus, you know that every time they see you after that it will be the first thing they think about: There she is, the girl with the yeast infection/ghost problem. ~ Eileen Cook, #NFDB
1268:I traveled the world ten times over doing something I never thought I'd do in a million years. I found myself in Tokyo, Japan. I (was in) a Dell Computer commercial, the first thing I had ever done, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the green screens, I fell in love with (everything). The translator was explaining everything to me. It was a passion like I had never felt before. I came back and it took me five years to really accept that that was okay. ~ Drew Waters, #NFDB
1269:Esperanza entered the Parker Inn. The first thing that hit her was the smell—a pungent combination of dried vomit and body odor, only less olfactorily pleasing. She wrinkled her nose and continued inside. The floor was hardwood with lots of sawdust. The light was dingy, coming off the pool table ceiling fixtures that were supposed to look like imitation Tiffany lamps. The crowd was probably two-to-one men over women. Everyone was dressed—in a word—cheesy. Esperanza ~ Harlan Coben, #NFDB
1270:She wouldn’t fit in at a formal ball anyway. Even if she
did find dress gloves and slippers that could hide her metal
monstrosities, her mousy hair would never hold a curl, and
she didn’t know the first thing about makeup. She would just
end up sitting off the dance floor and making fun of the girls
who swooned to get Prince Kai’s attention, pretending she
wasn’t jealous. Pretending it didn’t bother her.
Although she was curious about the food. ~ Marissa Meyer,#NFDB
1271:The first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. This was nothing like the kind of quiet he heard when he woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream. When that happened, there were always strange, unidentifiable sounds seeping into his room from the tiny gaps where the windowpanes weren't sealed together correctly. At those moments he could always tell there was life outside, even if all that life was fast asleep. It was a silence that wasn't silence at all. ~ John Boyne, #NFDB
1272:It's hard to pin down what the politics would be, in a way. For me the politics are very visual and felt, thought, seen, but not necessarily put into words. The confusions and conditions within the work are the politics. The fact that a lot of the time the first thing people want to talk to me about is the racial angle, which is a part of the work and I am happy to talk about it, but it's not necessarily the first thing on my mind when I am making something. ~ Lynette Yiadom Boakye, #NFDB
1273:Lots of people perish on the highways. All those faces should be preserved, engagements kept, promises upheld. Impossible. I walked out instantly. Fleeing the scene of a crime. That kind of game can destroy you. Anyway, I've never known who I was. I authorize my biographer to simply call me "a man," and I wish him luck. I've been unable to lengthen my stride, my breath, or my sentences. He won't understand the first thing about this story. Neither do I. We're even. ~ Patrick Modiano, #NFDB
1274:The mouse began to shift and Kammy marvelled at the sight. Soon a second boy stood before her. She hardly noticed Eric appear beside him.
He was dressed much like Eric, though his shirt hung looser on his slimmer frame. His hair was a fluffy, chocolate mess. He was taller than Eric and he glared between them both before his eyes came to rest fully on Kammy. The first thing she noticed was the purple bruise on his cheek. The second was how bright his blue eyes were. ~ Natalie Crown,#NFDB
1275:I don’t want to be a regret.” I shake my head. “Not with you.”
She walks to me, and I’m mesmerized by her. “Carter.” She puts her hand up to cup my cheek.
“Don’t,” I tell her. “If you touch me, it’s all going to be over.” I grab her hands in mine and hold them in front of us. “This is the first thing that I’ve had that isn’t because of who I am.” I swallow down. “It’s the first thing that is just mine that no one knows about or has smeared across the headlines. ~ Natasha Madison,#NFDB
1276:That is the first thing to learn - not to seek. When you seek you are really only window-shopping. 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, philosophers 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. To understand yourself is the beginning of wisdom. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti, #NFDB
1277:What’s the first thing you should do when creating a PowerPoint presentation? If you’re like many people you’ll say, “Open PowerPoint.” Wrong answer. You should plan the story first. Just as a movie director storyboards the scenes before he begins shooting, you should create the story before you open the tool. You’ll have plenty of time to design pretty slides once the story is complete, but if the story is boring, you’ve lost your audience before you’ve spoken a word. ~ Carmine Gallo, #NFDB
1278:I know a lot of people don't like the big phone [ iPhone] because they can't use it one-handed. But I'm telling you, it is a marvel. Aside from a couple of things, it's my favorite thing that I have. It's just the absolute best. The thinking, the inventiveness, the innovation that's in these devices blows me away. It's the first thing to come along in a long time that actually makes me regret getting older. I'm now realizing the tech that I'm going to miss at some point. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
1279:People are scared, and when people are scared, they do foolish things, mostly against people who make ’em feel more scared. We rode in here, and the first thing that happened was someone attacked you.” “Because I was the Devil’s Hand.” “Because you were the Hand, because you had power they didn’t, because you were different. Because something made ’em scared, and being scared makes ’em angry. And scared and angry people are fools, even if they weren’t born that way. ~ Laura Anne Gilman, #NFDB
1280:Why did you read it? Why did you come?” I ask. I can’t help myself. it’s the first thing I’ve said since we all sat down, and it feels like my cheeks are blazing. For a moment, everyone is looking at me like I have three heads and no nose. Rooke sets his win glass down and just…looks at me.
“I read the book because I wanted to know more about you. What interests you. What excited you. What turns you on. I came here tonight because I wanted to see you again. Okay ~ Callie Hart,#NFDB
1281:At first, you will think of Rhun with every breath. Then you will think of him every hour, and then twenty times a day. He will be the first thing you think of when you wake and the last when you go to sleep. “And then, one day, you will fall asleep too quickly to have thought of him. “That day will be a good one, and not because you’ve somehow betrayed your brother’s memory by forgetting him. On that day, you will be honoring his memory by learning to live without him. ~ Sarah Woodbury, #NFDB
1282:Like the American correspondents, jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force—one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidedly unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going—exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe? ~ Amor Towles, #NFDB
1283:The first thing you'd have to do is be able to actually prove this linkage here, that there is an effort to sabotage, and what anybody would do is they would just laugh at you."This is because [Donald] Trump is elected; it's what Trump did."This is a battle for the minds and hearts of the American people is what's going on here. Somebody who knows more than I do is gonna have to proclaim that it's treasonous. But there's no question that they are trying to take Trump out. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
1284:Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In France, I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville, #NFDB
1285:I'm going to enjoy every second, and I'm going to know I'm enjoying it while I'm enjoying it. Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or not. ~ Jean Webster, #NFDB
1286:And one day she said to me, 'For the rest of my life, it's the first thing they'll say about me when I leave the room.' And I remember thinking: Yes that's true, it will be. But we can't really do anything about what they say when we leave the room. We'll never be able to control that. And we shouldn't try. Our job is just to...well, be in the room while we're there, and try not to think too much about where we're not. Whatever room we happen to be in, just, be there. ~ Jean Hanff Korelitz, #NFDB
1287:She woke to sunlight and the scent of coffee. The first thing she saw was Roarke, with a mug of coffee in his hand.
"how much would you pay for this?"
"Name your price." she sat up took it from him, drank gratefully. "this is one of my favorite parts of the marriage deal." She let the caffeine flow through her system. "I mean the sex is pretty good, but the coffee...the Cofee is amazing. And you're all-round handy yourself most of the time.. thanks."
"Don't mention it. ~ J D Robb,#NFDB
1288:They approached the motel’s horseshoe from the south, so the first thing they saw was the wing with the office in it. There were three things on the sidewalk under its window. The first was the plastic lawn chair, unoccupied, but still in its overnight position. The second thing was Keever’s battered valise, last seen in room 215, now repacked and waiting, all bulging and forlorn. The third thing was Chang’s own suitcase, zipped up, its handle raised, also repacked and waiting. ~ Lee Child, #NFDB
1289:Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country. Tocqueville ~ Eric Metaxas, #NFDB
1290:The first thing I saw was the pink bubble gum, four feet lower than it should have been, inches above the ground, and framed by a set of perfectly painted lips.
It was one of those huge bubbles you just know is going to pop and cover the girl's face, and she'll shriek and yell and whine that her makeup is ruined, blah, blah, blah. But the bubble didn't pop—she did that thing where you suck all the air back into your mouth, and the bubble deflated into a little pink heap. ~ Aprilynne Pike,#NFDB
1291:Like the American correspondents, jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force—one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidedly unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going—exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe? The ~ Amor Towles, #NFDB
1292:The first thing I plan to do is what I did while serving in Arizona’s legislature — and that was to seek out members that I often disagreed with on important issues. It was through our authentic relationships and mutual respect that we found common ground on legislation that helped people. The challenge for Congress is to move past the harsh partisanship that we saw in the last term. This is a critical step in advancing policies that will strengthen and protect LGBT families. ~ Kyrsten Sinema, #NFDB
1293:It is of the extraordinary insights of Imam Malik that the first section of his Muwatta', which precedes even the section on ritual purity, is on the times of the prayer. It is the times of prayer that obligate purity. Observing the times of prayer is the first thing we do when we wake and the last thing we do before retiring to bed; it is done in the middle of the day and in its decline. It is an unrelenting reminder of to whom we belong, why we are here, and where we are going. ~ Hamza Yusuf, #NFDB
1294:The first thing you need to know about me is I’m not retarded. Or mentally handicapped I guess is the polite term these days. But whatever you call it, I’m not that. I have a mental disability, but I wasn’t born this way. It took extra stupidity for me to get this way— driving drunk, shooting through the windshield, landing on my noggin, and scrambling my brains permanently. I don’t babble and I don’t drool, except sometimes on my pillow when I’m sleeping, but everybody does that. ~ Bonnie Dee, #NFDB
1295:It is of the extraordinary insights of Imam Malik that the first section of his Muwatta'*, which precedes even the section on ritual purity, is on the times of the prayer. It is the times of prayer that obligate purity. Observing the times of prayer is the first thing we do when we wake and the last thing we do before retiring to bed; it is done in the middle of the day and in its decline. It is an unrelenting reminder of to whom we belong, why we are here, and where we are going. ~ Hamza Yusuf, #NFDB
1296:IT’S A TRUTH universally acknowledged that when rich people move into the hood, where it’s a little bit broken and a little bit forgotten, the first thing they want to do is clean it up. But it’s not just the junky stuff they’ll get rid of. People can be thrown away too, like last night’s trash left out on sidewalks or pushed to the edge of wherever all broken things go. What those rich people don’t always know is that broken and forgotten neighborhoods were first built out of love. ~ Ibi Zoboi, #NFDB
1297:The first thing I did in the studio was to want to tear that camera to pieces. I had to know how that film got into the cutting room, what you did to it in there, how you projected it, how you finally got the picture together, how you made things match. The technical part of pictures is what interested me. Material was the last thing in the world I thought about. You only had to turn me loose on the set and I`d have material in two minutes, because I`d been doing it all my life. ~ Buster Keaton, #NFDB
1298:But remember, the first thing you learn in the army is to be a man. And what do men do? They smoke, they drink, they gamble, they fuck. The cadets all know they get expelled of they're discovered. IF, Gamboa. We've already expelled quite a few. But the smart ones don't get caught. If they're going to be men, they have to take chances, they have to use their wits. That's the way the army is. Discipline isn't enough. You've got to have guts, and you've also got to have brains. ~ Mario Vargas Llosa, #NFDB
1299:Arguably, Semco’s most controversial initiative is to let its employees set their own salaries. Pundits are quick to bring up their dim view of human nature, on the assumption that people will obviously set their salaries much higher than feasible. It’s the same argument we hear about people setting their own work schedules in a seven-day weekend mode. The first thing that leaps to mind is that people will come as late or little as possible—and this has never been our experience. ~ Ricardo Semler, #NFDB
1300:If I had your life story, it would be the first thing I mentioned to anyone. ‘Hullo, I’m Chase Reynaud. I learned to toddle aboard a merchant ship, and the Seven Seas rocked my cradle. And have I mentioned that no tropical sunset could compare with your beauty?’ The women would fall into bed with me.” “Don’t they fall into bed with you anyway?” “That’s true. But they might do so a half minute faster. Over months and years, those half minutes add up. So let’s hear the rest of the tale. ~ Tessa Dare, #NFDB
1301:THE SATURN RINGS ROUNDABOUT MOTEL was located beneath an overpass on Route 22. The neon sign advertised hourly rates, free Wi-Fi, and color television, as if some rivals might only be using black-and-white ones. The motel was, as the name suggested, round, but that wasn’t the first thing you noticed. The first thing you noticed was the filth. The Saturn Rings was the kind of seedy and dirty place that made you want to dunk your whole body in a giant bottle of hand sanitizer. Myron’s ~ Harlan Coben, #NFDB
1302:George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” Lennie was delighted. “That’s it—that’s it. ~ John Steinbeck, #NFDB
1303:I'm not going to try and change you mind."
"If you're here, you accept it's my choice. This is the first thing I've been in control of since the accident."
"I know."
And there it was. He knew it, and I knew it. There was nothing left for me to do. Do you know how hard it is to say nothing ? When every atom of you strains to do the opposite? I just tried to be, tried to absorb the man I loved through osmosis, tried to imprint what I had left of him on myself. I did not speak... ~ Jojo Moyes,#NFDB
1304:A mockingbird has moved into our neighborhood. It perches atop a telephone pole behind our backyard. Every morning it is the first thing I hear. It is impossible to be unhappy when listening to a mockingbird. So stuffed with songs it is, it can't seem to make up it's mind which to sing first, so it sings them all, a dozen different songs at once, in a dozen different voices. On and on it sings without a pause, so peppy, even frantic, as if its voice alone is keeping the world awake. ~ Jerry Spinelli, #NFDB
1305:I'm not going to try and change your mind."
"If you're here, you accept it's my choice. This is the first thing I've been in control of since the accident."
"I know."
And there it was. He knew it, and I knew it. There was nothing left for me to do. Do you know how hard it is to say nothing ? When every atom of you strains to do the opposite? I just tried to be, tried to absorb the man I loved through osmosis, tried to imprint what I had left of him on myself. I did not speak... ~ Jojo Moyes,#NFDB
1306:But I didn't frame it; I put into an envelope and sealed it and stuffed it far back into a corner drawer of a filing cabinet. It's there, just in case one of these days I start to lose her.
There might be a morning when I wake up and her face isn't the first thing I see. Or a lazy August afternoon when I can't quite recall anymore where the freckles were on her right shoulders. Maybe one of these days, I will not be able to listen to the sound of snow falling and hear her footsteps. ~ Jodi Picoult,#NFDB
1307:He unwrapped his pack and the first thing he did was to count his matches. There were sixty-seven. He counted them three times to make sure. He divided them into several portions, wrapping them in oil paper, disposing of one bunch in his empty tobacco pouch, of another bunch in the inside band of his battered hat, of a third bunch under his shirt on the chest. This accomplished, a panic came upon him, and he unwrapped them all and counted them again. There were still sixty-seven. He ~ Jack London, #NFDB
1308:The first thing, the very very first thing, "Find out what your greatest characteristic is, your greatest undoing, your central characteristic of unconsciousness." Each one's is different. Somebody is sex-obsessed. In a country like India, where for centuries sex has been repressed, that has become almost a universal characteristic; everybody is obsessed with sex. Somebody is obsessed with anger, and somebody else is obsessed with greed. You have to watch which is your basic obsession. ~ G I Gurdjieff, #NFDB
1309:It's the first thing liberals notice about people is what group are you in! "What group do I put you in? Are you a woman? Are you lesbian? Are you straight? Are you Native American? Are you African-American? Are you a mix? What are you?" That's how they see people, because that then identifies the victim status they hold. Victims of what? Victims of America! All these people are victims of America, "the white, patriarchal majority." They're all victims of America, as the left sees them. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
1310:Grant I have bad news. The networks don't want you to come pitch the show. Instead, they want to start shooting right away.” The first thing I thought of was the guy who had told me, “For every TV show that gets made, 300 are pitched.” The second thing I thought of was the person who told me that no one wanted to see a show on sales. (Stay focused on the future, be unreasonable about it, continue to add wood, and don't focus on what people say has been done, can be done, or is possible!) ~ Grant Cardone, #NFDB
1311:The First thing that strikes a traveler in the United States is the innumerable multitude of those who seek to emerge from their original condition; and the second is the rarity of lofty ambition to be observed in the midst of the universally ambitious stir of society. No Americans are devoid of a yearning desire to rise, but hardly any appear to entertain hopes of great magnitude or to pursue very lofty aims. All are constantly seeking to acquire property, power, and reputation. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville, #NFDB
1312:Hardy! Hardy —” He had come for me. I nearly lost it then. In the wild torrent of relief and gratitude, there were at least a dozen things I wanted to tell him at once. But the first thing that came out was a fervent, “I'm so sorry I didn't have sex with you.”
I heard his low laugh. “I am too. But honey, there are a couple of maintenance guys with me who can hear every word we're saying.”
“I don't care,” I said desperately. “Get me out of here and I swear I'll sleep with you. ~ Lisa Kleypas,#NFDB
1313:He don't know it's anything he can't know," the old man said. "That's his trouble. He thinks if it's something he can't know then somebody smarter than him can tell him about it and he can know it just the same. And if you were to go there, the first thing he would do would be to test your head and tell you what you were thinking and howcome you were thinking it and what you ought to be thinking instead. And before long you wouldn't belong to your self no more, you would belong to him. ~ Flannery O Connor, #NFDB
1314:You're all equipped for the world, for adulthood, in a way that most people aren't," she continues. "So many people don't even know what hits them when they grow up. They feel clobbered over the head the minute the first thing goes wrong, and they spend the rest of their lives trying to avoid pain at all costs. But you all know that avoiding pain is impossible. And I think having that knowledge, plus the experiences you've lived through, make you definitely not fragile. They make you brave. ~ Meg Wolitzer, #NFDB
1315:The first thing is love: love deeply. If you have been with a person for a few years, in deep love, and you have experienced all the joys and all the miseries, and still you decide to be with the person, then marriage is okay. Because marriage is only a legal arrangement, it cannot make anything more beautiful than it is. It can only make it ugly, it cannot beautify it. Once it is settled legally, once you start taking each other for granted, things will start going down rather than rising high. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1316:The first thing you notice, coming to Israel from the Arab world, is that you have left the most courteous region of the globe and entered the rudest. The difference is so profound that you're left wondering when the mutation in Semitic blood occurred, as though God parted the Red Sea and said: "Okay, you rude ones, keep wandering toward the Promised Land. The rest of you can stay here and rot in the desert, saying 'welcome, most welcome' and drowning each other in tea until the end of time. ~ Tony Horwitz, #NFDB
1317:I've always wondered if people who block each other from expressing their opinions do so because they have so little confidence in their own. To me, encountering an opposing point of view is a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the issues at stake and develop my own point of view. But the first thing you've got to do is you've got to let people speak and you've got to listen. And that's what the first amendment is all about. That's what really distinguishes this country from others. ~ Michael Bloomberg, #NFDB
1318:The first thing Julian wanted to do in life, well, before he wanted to be an artist and then a musician, was to be a chef. He'd come home and say 'Why don't you bake cakes like my friends' mothers?' I'd say, 'Oh, Julian, go out and buy a Mary Baker cake mix and do it yourself!' That started him off! By the time he was 13, he'd disappear into the kitchen whenever we had visitors and emerge with beautiful canapes. Now he thinks nothing of cooking for ten or 15 people, and he does it so calmly. ~ Cynthia Lennon, #NFDB
1319:Chris [ Nolan] and I have a strange way of working from the non-movie process, where after all these conversations and reading the script and more conversations, Chris went out and shot the films and the first thing he did, he wouldn't show it to me until I had written the music - not out of meanness, or anything, it just sort of seemed an interesting idea to see if there was some synchronicity and letting me use my imagination to the fullest instead of being constricted by cuts and images. ~ Christopher Nolan, #NFDB
1320:For a while, I thought I might be in a love story, but I hardly ever wake up next to anyone anymore. It still happens once in a while. When it does, the first thing I do, doesn't matter where I am, in the ocean, on the moon of some minor distant planet, doesn't matter where, doesn't matter if she knows who I am of if I know who she is or how strong gravity is or if I feel terrible or if the world is logically impossible, the first thing I do if she's there, is I tell her how nice it is to see her. ~ Charles Yu, #NFDB
1321:It's possible to think of photography as an act of editing, a matter of where you put your rectangle pull it out or take it away. Sometimes people ask me about films, cameras and development times in order to find out how to do landscape photography. The first thing I do in landscape photography is go out there and talk to the land - form a relationship, ask permission, it's not about going out there like some paparazzi with a Leica and snapping a few pictures, before running off to print them. ~ Michael Kenna, #NFDB
1322:Later on, when they had all said “Good-bye” and “Thank-you” to Christopher Robin, Pooh and Piglet walked home thoughtfully together in the golden evening, and for a long time they were silent.
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what's the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What's for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting to-day?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It's the same thing,” he said. ~ A A Milne,#NFDB
1323:The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds - the cemeteries - and they're a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who've died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn't pass away so quickly here. You could be dead for a long time ~ Bob Dylan, #NFDB
1324:There she was, lying on a single bed in a room so small that there wasn't even space for a chair, and the first thing that struck him was that she was beautiful. She had lost too much weight - her long legs were too thin in greasy jeans and her upper body looked as frail as a bird's under a greasy workman's shirt - but her pale and famished face, with its great blue eyes and delicate, thin-lipped mouth, made her look like the heartbreaking debutante her mother might always have wanted her to be. ~ Richard Yates, #NFDB
1325:In my country, families are raised as though they are one. Although I am from the Dinka tribe, my parents didn't raise us as the Dinka tribe. They raised us as the Wek family, in the way they believed their children should grow up. So when you leave, the first thing you think is the ones you left behind. It's natural to help them in any way you can. I found a way to support myself rather than asking my Mum to give me money. I would work before school and send money back to pay for their rent and food. ~ Alek Wek, #NFDB
1326:Now you've got people who don't really have the skills, because technology hides it, going out and putting these crappy singles out, and because that's all there really is, people basically eat it like hamburgers. It's become very, very commercialized. Which wouldn't bother me as much if people actually had talent. When I listen to something and the first thing I notice is that it's been turned into crap, I shut it off and throw it out the window of my car. Like it's the most offensive thing to me. ~ Corey Taylor, #NFDB
1327:Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or not. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of little happinesses, even if I never become a Great Author. ~ Jean Webster, #NFDB
1328:The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds - the cemeteries - and they're a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who've died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn't pass away so quickly here.
You could be dead for a long time ~ Bob Dylan,#NFDB
1329:This tug-of-war often obscures what's also happening between us. I am your mother, the first mile of your road. Me and all my obvious and hidden limitations. That means that in addition to possibly wrecking you, I have the chance to give to you what was given to me: a decent childhood, more good memories than bad, some values, a sense of tribe, a run at happiness. You can't imagine how seriously I take that - even as I fail you. Mothering you is the first thing of consequence that I have ever done. ~ Kelly Corrigan, #NFDB
1330:I do three drafts handwritten and then it's typed up... They are different from each other, they are hopefully improvements in the sense you're going back over something. The first time you write it, it's the first thing that you can think. The second time you're trying to shape the dialogue, helping the characters. The third time you're doing it because you want the words to sound nice, hopefully making the prose better, making it more fun to read, making the jokes funnier and the scary bits scarier. ~ Clive Barker, #NFDB
1331:We climbed up the stairs to the jet. As I entered, the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Holy shit, I'm on an episode of Criminal Minds.' The jet was super posh. Cream-colored leather seats in groups of four, with real wood tables in between, filled the spacious interior. The plush carpeting underfoot make our steps soundless, muffling the noises of our boarding. I was willing to bet that those chairs could recline all the way. This is about as far from coach class as I was ever going to get. ~ Elle Casey, #NFDB
1332:As I glanced at the phraseology of the research report, dull and unfathomable to outsiders like me, I thought that if you have the ambition to become a villain, the first thing you should do is learn to be impenetrable. Don’t act like Blofeld—monocled and ostentatious. We journalists love writing about eccentrics. We hate writing about impenetrable, boring people. It makes us look bad: the duller the interviewee, the duller the prose. If you want to get away with wielding true, malevolent power, be boring. ~ Jon Ronson, #NFDB
1333:People generally know only the barter system. “You give me this; I will give you that!” This is not sharing. Most relationships are not about sharing; they are only about bartering – your money, your body, your emotions. Now, sharing is, “You don’t have to give me anything because I don’t need anything from you, but anyway, I will share this with you.” Setting up a whole life of barter may be convenient, but it is the way of the weak. This weakness is the first thing that has to go if you want to meet Shiva. ~ Sadhguru, #NFDB
1334:For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent. Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards... If you don't set a baseline standard for what you'll accept in life, you'll find it's easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that's far below what you deserve... Whatever happens, take responsibility... The only thing that's keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself. ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
1335:I was thinking the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful -" "Oh please," said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?" "I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life last June." Smith opened his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was very quiet. "But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave. ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
1336:My father calls me a ‘character’, because I tend to say the first thing that pops into my head. He says I’m like my Aunt Lily, who I never knew. It’s a bit weird, constantly being compared to someone you’ve never met. I would come downstairs in purple boots, and Dad would nod at Mum and say, ‘D’you remember Aunt Lily and her purple boots, eh?’ and Mum would cluck and start laughing as if at some secret joke. My mother calls me ‘individual’, which is her polite way of not quite understanding the way I dress. ~ Jojo Moyes, #NFDB
1337:Why has the car stopped?"
"Ah!" I said with manly frankness that became me well. "There you have me."
You see, I'm one of those birds who drive a lot but don't know the first thing about the works. The policy I pursue is to get aboard, prod the self-starter, and leave the rest to Nature. If anything goes wrong, I scream for an A.A. scout. It's a system that answers admirably as a rule, but on the present occasion it blew a fuse owing to the fact that there wasn't an A.A. scout within miles. ~ P G Wodehouse,#NFDB
1338:All action is for the sake of some end, and rules of action, it seems natural to suppose, must take their whole character and colour from the end to which they are subservient. When we engage in a pursuit, a clear and precise conception of what we are pursuing would seem to be the first thing we need, instead of the last we are to look forward to. A test of right and wrong must be the means, one would think, of ascertaining what is right or wrong, and not a consequence of having already ascertained it. ~ John Stuart Mill, #NFDB
1339:In the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker, just before making a fateful decision, one character says to another, “There must be a principle: never do anything that can’t be undone.” That principle is why, on the brink of a big decision, the first thing to fill my mind is doubt. What separates the strong from the weak, I reminded myself as I wandered sticker-shocked through the streets of Basseterre, is the ability to act instead of spending most of life paralyzed, too scared to make a choice that might be wrong. ~ Neil Strauss, #NFDB
1340:You know me. Guys like me come a dime a dozen. No fire. No backbone. Dead weight waiting to be pulled around and taken to places where we want to go but can't go alone. Because we're afraid to go alone. Because we're afraid to be alone. Because we can't face people and we can't talk to people. Because we don't know how. Because we can't handle life and don't know the first thing about taking a bite out of life. Because we're afraid and we don't know what we're afraid of and still we're afraid. Guys like me. ~ David Goodis, #NFDB
1341:They fell into contemplative silence until Jack asked, “Do you think unmarried women fantasize?”
Luke looked up. “About what?”
“About bedding.”
“No. They wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why wouldn’t they know where to begin?”
“Because they don’t know the first thing about what goes on between a man and a woman.”
“Once they’ve learned they could fantasize.”
“Possibly.”
“So Lady Catherine isn’t a virgin. ~ Lorraine Heath,#NFDB
1342:When I had something I thought God was talking to me about, the first thing I did, before I ever talked to the congregation, was to sit down with the major influencers of the church and share with them what I thought God was speaking to me. I gave them time for input or questions. Many times they would ask questions and I would reply, "I need to spend more time on this. I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly there." Other times they added value and helped make this vision better or more accessible to the people. ~ John C Maxwell, #NFDB
1343:I think the first thing - if you want to be a writer - the first thing you need to do is write. Which sounds like an obvious piece of advice. But so many people have this feeling they want to be a writer and they love to read but they don't actually write very much. The main part of being a writer, though, is being profoundly alone for hours on end, uninterrupted by email or friends or children or romantic partners and really sinking into the work and writing. That's how I write. That's how writing gets done. ~ Cheryl Strayed, #NFDB
1344:My feeling about young people who want to pursue a career is - the first thing is do your homework on where it all started. Go back and look at history. Look at why the shows you are loving today happened and the artists you are listening to happened. And do your homework on history. Whether it's musical movies, musical plays, Broadway musical recordings - do your homework! And then, that way you will have an understanding of why, now, certain movies, certain plays, certain musicals are making some sort of sense. ~ Lorna Luft, #NFDB
1345:Real power comes from the mind. When someone wants to keep you powerless, the first thing they do is try to control what is permissible for you to think. They write your story for you without your consent and tell you this is how you must believe until even your own thoughts seem like alien things in your head. They hem you in so there is no escape or relief, until in desperation you step off the page, out of the story, into a place their narrative cannot find you. Then you can see the world as it really is. ~ Curtis Craddock, #NFDB
1346:And yet, the art form had grown on him. Like the American correspondents, jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force—one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidedly unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going—exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe? ~ Amor Towles, #NFDB
1347:Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's nothing like it in the literary canon that exalts genocide, to that extent. And it's not a joke either. Like where I live, New England, the people who liberated it from the native scourge were religious fundamentalist lunatics, who came waving the holy book, declaring themselves to be the children of Israel who are killing the Amalekites, like God told them. ~ Noam Chomsky, #NFDB
1348:The first thing Harvath removed was a sand-colored, modified Palafox 9mm SIG Sauer P226 pistol. It had bright green TRUGLO Tritium/Fiber-Optic Day/Night sights that allowed for fast target acquisition regardless of light conditions. Portions of the slide had been milled away to lessen the weapon’s weight. It also helped to reduce muzzle flip and better assist recoil management. Accompanying the pistol was a Sticky-brand inside-the-waistband holster, spare magazines, and several boxes of TNQ frangible 9mm ammunition ~ Brad Thor, #NFDB
1349:To Christy it all sounded and smelled exquisitely beautiful, like tiny bits of heaven sprinkled through the halls for their enjoyment. But none of it compared to the overwhelming surge of wonder that met her as she pushed through the doors at Austin’s side. The first thing she saw was the sky—a brilliant gray so rich in hue and laced with such wispy strands of white that she gasped. She knew that anyone else might see the same sky and frown, but to her it was a staggering canvas, majestically painted just so. They ~ Ted Dekker, #NFDB
1350:But when the Holy Spirit does His mysterious work of regeneration, the first thing that changes in a person is the disposition of his or her soul. Now he cares for the things of God and desires to seek God. Now there is an affection for God that was not there before. It is far from perfect, but it is real. Its origins and its power remain mysterious. But the reality is that the person's heart is beating for God, whereas it never did before. This is the undeniable effect of the blowing of the Pneuma through the soul. ~ R C Sproul, #NFDB
1351:I was thinking the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful -"
"Oh please," said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life last June."
Smith opened his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was very quiet.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave. ~ J K Rowling,#NFDB
1352:SPEAKING OF CONTROL “She did not have to struggle to stay on task for hours. She was in a state of flow.” “His ego was depleted after a long day of meetings. So he just turned to standard operating procedures instead of thinking through the problem.” “He didn’t bother to check whether what he said made sense. Does he usually have a lazy System 2 or was he unusually tired?” “Unfortunately, she tends to say the first thing that comes into her mind. She probably also has trouble delaying gratification. Weak System 2. ~ Daniel Kahneman, #NFDB
1353:I wore my suit and the polka-dot tie. As soon as I spotted Malta Kano, I tried to walk in her direction, but the crowd kept getting in my way. By the time I reached the bar, she was gone. The tropical drink stood there on the bar, in front of her now empty stool. I took the next seat at the bar and ordered a scotch on the rocks. The bartender asked me what kind of scotch I'd like, and I answered Cutty Sark. I really didn't care which brand of scotch he served me, but Cutty Sark was the first thing that came to mind. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
1354:When I finally walked onto stage the first thing I did was make eye contact with several people in the audience. I asked the stage managers to bring up the houselights so I could see people. I needed to feel connected. Simply seeing people as people rather than 'the audience' reminded me that the challenges that scare me- like being naked- scare everyone else. I think that's why empathy can be conveyed without speaking a word- it just takes looking into someone's eyes and seeing yourself reflected back in an engaged way. ~ Bren Brown, #NFDB
1355:One night a guy hit his head on a welding gun. He went to his knees. He was bleeding like a pig, blood was oozing out. So I stopped the line for a second and ran over to help him. The foreman turned the line on again, he almost stepped on the guy. That's the first thing they always do. They didn't even call an ambulance. The guy walked to the medic department -- that's about half a mile -- he had about five stitches put in his head. The foreman didn't say anything. He just turned the line on. You're nothing to any of them. ~ Studs Terkel, #NFDB
1356:...the first thing you do at the end is reflect on the beginning. Maybe it's some form of reverse closure, or just the basic human impulse toward sentimentality, or masochism, but as you stand there shell-shocked in the charred ruins of your life, your mind will invariably go back to the time when it all started. And even if you didn't fall in love in the eighties, in your mind it will fee like the eighties, all innocent and airbrushed, with bright colors and shoulder pads and Pat Benatar or The Cure on the soundtrack. ~ Jonathan Tropper, #NFDB
1357:In all we do, almost the first thing we think about is, what will people say; and nearly half the troubles and bothers of life may be traced to our anxiety on this score; it is the anxiety which is at the bottom of all that feeling of self-importance, which is so often mortified because it is so very morbidly sensitive. It is solicitude about what others will say that underlies all our vanity and pretension, yes, and all our show and swagger too. Without it, there would not be a tenth part of the luxury which exists. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer, #NFDB
1358:So whatever is experientially real, accept it. You cannot do anything by denying it. By denying it you create the problem, and the problem becomes more complex. It is simple: you feel you are a coward, so what? So, “I am a coward.” Just see the point! If you can accept cowardice you have already become brave. Only a brave person can accept the fact of being a coward; no coward can do that. You are already on the way to transformation. So the first thing is that nothing that is experienced as a fact has to be denied reality. Second, ~ Osho, #NFDB
1359:The first thing to understand about nutritionism is that it is not the same thing as nutrition. As the "-ism" suggests, it is not a scientific subject but an ideology. Ideologies are ways of organizing large swaths of life and experience under a set of shared but unexamined assumptions. This quality makes an ideology particularly hard to see, at least while it's still exerting its hold on your culture. A reigning ideology is a little like the weather--all pervasive and so virtually impossible to escape. Still, we can try. ~ Michael Pollan, #NFDB
1360:Later that same year John F. Kennedy was elected president by a thin margin. The first thing he did was appoint his brother attorney general of the United States. This put Bobby in charge of the Justice Department, all of the United States attorneys, and of the FBI and the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover. And the first thing Bobby Kennedy did was turn against the very men who helped elect his brother. For the first time in American history an attorney general committed his office to the eradication of organized crime. Toward ~ Charles Brandt, #NFDB
1361:The first thing I did when I got inside was turn on the kitchen light. Then I moved to the table, putting my dad's iPod on the speaker dock, and a Bob Dylan song came on, the notes familiar. I went into the living room, hitting the switch there, then down the hallway to my room, where I did the same. It was amazing what a little noise and brightness could do to a house and a life, how much the smallest bit of each could change everything. After all these years of just passing through, I was beginning to finally feel at home. ~ Sarah Dessen, #NFDB
1362:But I knew the first question Mom asked Gail was, Is its a boy or a girl? Because, for some reason, that is the first thing everybody wants to know the minute you’re born. Should we label it with pink or blue? Wouldn’t want anyone to mistake the gender of a infant! Why is that so important? Its a baby! And why does it have to be a simple answer? One or the other? Not all of us fit so neatly into the category we get saddled with on Day One when the doctor glances down and makes a quick assessment of the available equipment. ~ Ellen Wittlinger, #NFDB
1363:As for Ms. Banks’s claim that she didn’t even notice that the gang rapists were Mexican and their victim white, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. The media always notice race. It is the first thing they look for in any crime—hoping against hope to have finally found Tom Wolfe’s “great white defendant.” They’ll even turn a Hispanic perpetrator white, as the New York Times did with George Zimmerman. After the police shooting in Ferguson, did anyone need to ask: Hey, does anyone know the race of the cop or the race of the guy he shot? ~ Ann Coulter, #NFDB
1364:The Professor took the old practices and studied them, worked out their mechanical principles and then devised a graded scientific set of tricks, but is based on the elementary laws of mechanics, a study of the equilibrium of the human body, the ways in which it is disturbed, how to recover your own and take advantage of the shifting of the center of gravity of the other person. The first thing that is taught is how to fall down without being hurt, that alone is worth the price of admission and ought to be taught in all our gyms. ~ John Dewey, #NFDB
1365:Going beyond fear begins when we examine our fear: our anxiety, nervousness, concern, and restlessness. If we look into our fear, if we look beneath the veneer, the first thing we find is sadness, beneath the nervousness. Nervousness is cranking up, vibrating all the time. When we slow down, when we relax with our fear, we find sadness, which is calm and gentle. Sadness hits you in your heart, and your body produces a tear. Before you cry, there is a feeling in your chest and then, after that, you produce tears in your eyes. ~ Elizabeth Lesser, #NFDB
1366:The first thing I needed, possibly the only thing, was to kiss her and I did, for as long as I could. I let us both breathe for a minute, and I perched her on a counter so I could touch the face I’d missed so much.
I poured every bit of frustration, anger, sadness, and worry into that kiss. Meg understood and received it all, pushing her fingers into my hair and giggling against my lips. I didn’t care that anybody passing by could be watching us through the window, or that I could fall right there and sleep for a week. ~ Laura Anderson Kurk,#NFDB
1367:I received a letter from the mother, saying that I was most ungrateful...
When you get a letter like that, the first thing you do is to think how you can be severe with a person who has committed an impropriety, or even been a little impertinent. Then you may compose an answer. Then if you are wise, you will put the letter in a drawer and lock the drawer. Take it out in the course of two days- such communications will always bear two days' delay in answering- and when you take it out after that interval, you will not send it. p190 ~ Dale Carnegie,#NFDB
1368:Makina had never seen snow before and the first thing that struck her as she stopped to watch the weightless crystals raining down was that something was burning. One came to perch on her eyelashes; it looked like a stack of crosses or the map of a palace, a solid and intricate marvel at any rate, and when it dissolved a few seconds later she wondered how it was that some things in the world — some countries, some people — could seem eternal when everything was actually like that miniature ice palace: one-of-a-kind, precious, fragile. ~ Yuri Herrera, #NFDB
1369:You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity. You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they? When you are reconciled to the fact that each is for himself in the world you will ask less from your fellows. They will not disappoint you, and you will look upon them more charitably. Men seek but one thing in life -- their pleasure. ~ W Somerset Maugham, #NFDB
1370:I wanted to start over completely, to begin again as new people with nothing of the past left over. I wanted to run away from who we had been seen to be, who we had been... It's the first thing I think of when trouble comes - the geographic solution. Change your name, leave town, disappear, make yourself over. What hides behind that impulse is the conviction that the life you have lived, the person you are, is valueless, better off abandoned, that running away is easier than trying to change things, that change itself is not possible. ~ Dorothy Allison, #NFDB
1371:The executive orders. Barack Obama is doing it again with this ban that he thinks is in perpetuity on offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and north of Alaska. It's bad what Obama's trying to do, and I know exactly what he is doing with this. But the first thing is, the areas that Obama has, by executive order, declared off-limits are areas nobody wants to drill in anyway. There are no plans to drill off the coast, the East Coast of the country out in the Atlantic, and there are no plans to drill north of Alaska in the Arctic Circle. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
1372:If the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is eat a live frog, then nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day!"
Brian Tracy says that your "frog" should be the most difficult item on your things-to-do list, the one you're most likely to procrastinate on; because, if you eat that first, it'll give you energy and momentum for the rest of the day. But, if you don't...if you let him sit there on the plate and stare at you while you do a hundred unimportant things, it can drain your energy and you won't even know it. ~ Brian Tracy,#NFDB
1373:Katherine Johnson never complained, it just was what it was. She just said, "I just wanted to go to work and do my numbers." And she stopped right there. I think about that as a Black woman in Hollywood when I'm asked about diversity. I hate when people say diversity because the first thing you jump to is Black and white. When you talk about diversity, you're talking about women being hired in front of and behind the camera. You are talking about people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community...so I hate when people think about diversity. ~ Taraji P Henson, #NFDB
1374:The first thing I notice is the man’s staggering frame. He and Des are nearly the same height, and like Des, he seems to be made entirely of muscle. Seriously, what do they feed these guys? I thought fairies were supposed to be lithe. The second thing I notice is the eyepatch covering his left eye. That’s just not something you see on earth. Peeking out from the edges of the eyepatch is a thin, deep scar that bisects his eyebrow and cuts into his cheek. His skin is a deep olive color, made all the more striking against his deep brown hair. ~ Laura Thalassa, #NFDB
1375:The first thing to understand is that being a vegetarian is actually a private matter. I'm still taken aback by the question " then what do you eat?" and am embarrassed as I struggle to produce the weeks food diary. Its not that I'm ashamed of what I eat, but its none of anyone's business. I imagine I would have a similar feeling counting up how many pairs of underwear I went thru in a week. The only reason opening someone's fridge is more socially acceptable than opening someone's medicine cabinet is that people keep beer in their fridge. ~ Sloane Crosley, #NFDB
1376:Their wine was probably the best I’d ever had, and I was quickly coming to the conclusion that the creation of alcohol was probably an instinctual trait throughout all intelligent life.
A silly concept, I know, but it had to be more than a coincidence that every world I’d ever been to had some form of alcoholic beverage. It was as if the first thing creatures did when they achieved a level of intelligence that no longer required them spending their entire lives scavenging for food or reproducing, was look for ways to get fucked up. ~ Terra Whiteman,#NFDB
1377:Being a creative person is a really personal process so there is no one-size-fits-all advice, that's kind of the first thing I'd say. Because everybody's goals are different. Everybody's talents are different. Some women that I'm talking to want to create a television show. Some women want to be a director. They want to use comedy in different ways, and I find that really fascinating. The main thing I would say is, start! Just do it. Keep going. When people come at you with the negativity and the nos, you've got to ignore it. Push through. ~ Elizabeth Banks, #NFDB
1378:I wasn't trying to write a corrective novel - that would just end up tasting like medicine, and I tried to stay away from polemics as best I could. I think that, if anything, Fobbit is my way of showing readers there's another side to war - the backstage of combat, if you will. If you play a word association game with Americans and say "war," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Soldiers running across a battlefield through a hail of bullets, right? Rambo, smoke, explosions. In Fobbit, I hope readers will see something a little different ~ Dave Abrams, #NFDB
1379:The first thing that struck you about Claire’s plate was its vast emptiness. Of course I’m well aware that, in the better restaurants, quality takes precedence over quantity, but there are voids and then there are voids. The void here, that part of the plate on which no food at all was present, had clearly been raised to a matter of principle.
It was as though the empty plate was challenging you to say something about it, to go to the open kitchen and demand an explanation. ‘You wouldn’t even dare!’ the plate said, and laughed in your face. ~ Herman Koch,#NFDB
1380:I love you," Sam said, and set his mouth against hers, and broke off the kiss because he had to say it again. "I love you."
Lucy's trembling fingers came to his lips, caressing them gently, "Are you sure? How do you know it's not just about sex?"
"It is about sex...sex with your mind, sex with your soul, sex with the color of your eyes, the smell of your skin. I want to sleep in your bed. I want you to be the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see at night. I love you the way I never thought I could love anyone. ~ Lisa Kleypas,#NFDB
1381:So you must be the guys she was talking about.” “Really?” Katz said. “What’d she say?” “Oh, nothing,” he said, but he was suppressing a small smile in that way that makes you say: “What?” “Nothing. It was nothing.” But he was smiling. “What?” He wavered. “Oh, all right. She said you guys were a couple of overweight wimps who didn’t know the first thing about hiking and that she was tired of carrying you.” “She said that?” Katz said, scandalized. “Actually I think she called you pussies.” “She called us pussies?” Katz said. “Now I will kill her. ~ Bill Bryson, #NFDB
1382:most likely you will want to know my history - the details of my birth and adolescence, what it was like to grow up with a distant parents, and other similar matters- but I would actually rather not discuss that part of my life.
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. ~ J D Salinger,#NFDB
1383:Now, though, that meadow scene is the first thing that comes back to me. [...] And yet, as clear as the scene may be, no one is in it. No one. Naoko is not there, and neither am I. Where could we have disappeared to? How could such a thing have happened? Everything that seemed so important back then - Naoko, and the self I was then and the world I had then: where could they have all gone? It's true, I can't even bring back her face - not straight away, at least. All I'm left holding is a background, pure scenery, with no people at the front. ~ Haruki Murakami, #NFDB
1384:Probability amplitudes are very strange, and the first thing you think is that the strange new ideas are clearly cock-eyed. Yet everything that can be deduced from the ideas of the existence of quantum mechanical probability amplitudes, strange though they are, do work, throughout the long list of strange particles, one hundred per cent. Therefore I do not believe that when we find out the inner guts of the composition of the world we shall find these ideas are wrong. I think this part is right, but I am only guessing: I am telling you how I guess. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1385:Then much later—about four or five years ago—I was on a long flight across the Pacific, staring idly out the window at moonlit ocean, when it occurred to me with a certain uncomfortable forcefulness that I didn’t know the first thing about the only planet I was ever going to live on. I had no idea, for example, why the oceans were salty but the Great Lakes weren’t. Didn’t have the faintest idea. I didn’t know if the oceans were growing more salty with time or less, and whether ocean salinity levels was something I should be concerned about or not. ~ Bill Bryson, #NFDB
1386:The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.”—Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google * “A handful of people, working at a handful of technology companies, through their choices will steer what a billion people are thinking today . . . I don’t know a more urgent problem than this . . . It’s changing our democracy, and it’s changing our ability to have the conversations and relationships that we want with each other.”—Tristan Harris, former Google employee ~ Matt Haig, #NFDB
1387:The first thing to do is to keep silent – to abolish audiences and learn to be your own judge. To keep a balance between active concern for the body and an attentive awareness of being alive. To abandon all claims and devote yourself to achieving two kinds of freedom: freedom from money, and freedom from your own vanity and cowardice. To have rules and stick to them. Two years is not too long to spend thinking about one single point. You must wipe out all earlier stages, and concentrate all your strength on forgetting nothing and learning patiently. ~ Albert Camus, #NFDB
1388:After modernism, things changed. Indeed, modernism sometimes seems to me like an equivalent of the Fall. Remember, the first thing Adam and Eve did when they ate the fruit was to discover that they had no clothes on. They were embarrassed. Embarrassment was the first consequence of the Fall. And embarrassment was the first literary consequence of this modernist discovery of the surface. "Am I telling a story? Oh my God, this is terrible. I must stop telling a story and focus on the minute gradations of consciousness as they filter through somebody's. ~ Philip Pullman, #NFDB
1389:Dear Complete and Utter Stranger,
The first thing that I have to say is that I hate oatmeal. I really hate it. And you know what? If you like oatmeal at all? I mean even the tiniest bit? I mean, say you were lost in the Himalayas, right, and you hadn't eaten anything except a Mars Bar for about seven years, right, and you're really cold and your fingers are all dropping off, right, and you look behind this rock, and there's this bowl of oatmeal?
Say you would even think about eating the oatmeal?
Well, JUST DON'T BOTHER WRITING TO ME, OKAY? ~ Jaclyn Moriarty,#NFDB
1390:I’m sorry I ever asked you guys to be friends. You don’t have to be friends. You don’t even have to like each other. Forget I said anything.”
Warner drops his crossed arms.
Kenji raises his eyebrows.
“I promise,” I say. “No more forced hangout sessions. No more spending time alone without me. Okay?”
“You swear?” Kenji says.
“I swear.”
“Thank God,” Warner says.
“Same, bro. Same.”
And I roll my eyes, irritated. This is the first thing they’ve managed to agree on in over a week: their mutual hatred of my hopes for their friendship. ~ Tahereh Mafi,#NFDB
1391:So, Jesus is a man. That is the first thing. But there is something more. From the beginning Jesus says things no man is allowed to say, at least not a Jew speaking to other Jews. He says he existed before he was born. He says any sin he pardons is forgiven, as if he is the one any sin has wronged. He says honor due the Father is due him. He says final judgment in the final day falls to him. He says he is drink for the thirsty and bread for the hungry, so they will never thirst or hunger again. He says those who trust in him will live, even if they die.4 ~ Gregory Koukl, #NFDB
1392:asked about the food because i loved it: curried chicken, groundnut stew (chicken in peanut sauce), and corn bread that you cook over the stove. You would break off a little piece, roll it into a ball, dip your thumb in the middle and make a spoon that you would fill with gravy and eat. It really made me think about how bad they’ve done us. We know everything about spaghetti and egg rolls and crepes suzette, but we don’t know the first thing about our own food. When i was a little kid, if you had asked me what Africans ate, i would have answered, “People! ~ Assata Shakur, #NFDB
1393:The first thing we have to do,” I told Luke the next day, “is find a nice place we can rent or sublet. Should we focus on the downtown area? Montrose? Or would you be open to finding something close by in Sugar Land? We could always go to Austin, but we’d have to take care to avoid you-know-who. And it’s a lot more expensive to rent in Austin.”
Luke looked contemplative, sucking slowly on the bottle as if he were mulling the possibilities.
“Are you thinking it over?” I asked him. “Or are you working on another dirty diaper?”
-Ella & Luke ~ Lisa Kleypas,#NFDB
1394:Kell wore a very peculiar coat.
It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.
The first thing he did whenever he stepped out of one London and into another was take off the coat and turn it inside out once or twice (or even three times) until he found the side he needed. Not all of them were fashionable, but they each served a purpose. There were ones that blended in and ones that stood out, and one that served no purpose but of which he was just particularly fond. ~ V E Schwab,#NFDB
1395:Although he would not remember it, when Lucien was born, the first thing he saw as he peeked over the edge of the world was Madame Lessard’s bunghole. Well that can’t be right, he thought. And he thought he might cry for the shock. Then the midwife flipped him over and the second thing he saw was the blue sky through the skylight. He thought, Oh, that’s better. So he cried for the beauty and was at a total loss for words for almost a year. He wouldn’t remember the moment, but the feeling would come back to him from time to time, when he encountered blue. ~ Christopher Moore, #NFDB
1396:The Protein Myth is so ingrained in us that the first thing family and friends will ask a newly declared vegetarian is how they will get their protein. The fact is, protein is easy to find. A head of Romaine lettuce has 106 calories and 8 grams of protein. Eat six of them and you get 636 calories and 48 grams of protein, all the protein a 132-pound person needs in a day. Nobody is recommending that as a diet, but it illustrates that as long as you are eating adequate calories of natural, healthful foods, the fabled protein problem almost takes care of itself. ~ Robin Asbell, #NFDB
1397:Why? If I’d run into her in the street, the first thing she would have said would have been, “What are you doing back in Tokyo?” If I had used a different name, surely she would have commented on that. And if she heard me speaking in unaccented, native Japanese, of course she would have said, “I thought you said you were more comfortable with English?” So her reticence was situation-specific. I thought of the fear I had detected when her eyes had first alighted on Murakami. It was him. She was afraid of saying or doing something that would draw his attention. ~ Barry Eisler, #NFDB
1398:Does a crow become a salmon simply because it wished to? You do not know the first thing about mortality, prince-who-is-not. Why would you want to become like them?"
"Because," Grimalkin answered before I could say anything, "he is in love."
"Ahhh." The Witch looked at me and shook her head. "I see. Poor creature. Then you will not hear a word I have to say"
I was in love. With a human.
I smiled bitterly at the thought. The old Ash, if faced with such a suggestion, would've either laughed scornfully or removed the offender's head from his neck. ~ Julie Kagawa,#NFDB
1399:She sets things on fire,” Coen announced without preamble. “All the time,” Siret added. Rome shrugged. “It’s her thing.” I really wanted to argue with them: it was not my thing. If anything was my thing it was … swimming. Arghh. Of course that would be the first thing on my mind, because I was addicted to se—swimming now. No, Willa! For gods’ sake, this was not the time. My thing was being naked, which was marginally better. Yael laughed out loud, which had a perfect O forming on Adeline’s full lips. I wasn’t surprised: Yael wasn’t really the laughing kind. ~ Jane Washington, #NFDB
1400:See, the first thing about actors is, you're just trying to get a job; and you audition and audition and you finally get them. And you still consider yourself an auditioning actor. I auditioned for One Fine Day, I wasn't offered that. So you're still in that 'Hey, I'm just trying to get a job' thing. Then, you get to the point where, if you decide to do it, then they'll make the film. That's a different kind of responsibility, and it usually takes a couple of films to catch up. And then you have to actually pay attention to the kind of films that you're making. ~ George Clooney, #NFDB
1401:We’ve been to hell and back, and I love you more for every single step of that journey. I only hope you feel half of what I feel when you look at me, when you love me, or when you laugh with me. The world stops for me—time stands still—when I put my arms around you. I love that feeling, and I love that I’ve only ever felt that way with you. I want to be the first thing you touch in the morning and the last thing you taste at night before you dream. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Had. . . . I want to stop wasting that precious time. Will you marry me? ~ K Bromberg, #NFDB
1402:I tended to keep mixing up pairs of words that looked somewhat alike, such as, at first, også and altså, later enda and ennå, våre and være, enke and ekte, vist and visst, skjedde and skjebne, jul (Christmas) and juli (July), nettopp and neppe, and må, mål, måle, mat, måte, måten, måtte. To a Norwegian, these words are miles apart in meaning, perhaps, and it’s laughable to mix them up. But I mix them up because, after all, the first thing you encounter, looking at a page of unfamiliar language, is not the meaning but the appearance of the words, the way they look. ~ John Freeman, #NFDB
1403:To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems…which he has to solve…And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of—such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilized amenities, the more his problems grow in hardness and complexity….Perhaps the first thing he can learn form the artists is that the only way of 'mastering' one's material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant. ~ Dorothy L Sayers, #NFDB
1404:Clem is my first dead body. I’ve heard again and again—mostly from friends who’ve lost other friends to AIDS—that it’s essential to see the corpse of someone you love, especially someone who’s died undeservedly young; how it will confirm the way nothing else can that he or she is no longer here. The body won’t look like the person you know, the self of that person, at all. This tells you there has to be a soul because something’s missing; what else could that something be? The first thing I know, when I see her, isthat this is not a piece of advice I will ever pass on. ~ Julia Glass, #NFDB
1405:Forty percent of the thirteen hundred members of Yale’s graduating class of 1986 applied to one investment bank, First Boston, alone. There was, I think, a sense of safety in the numbers. The larger the number of people involved, the easier it was for them to delude themselves that what they were doing must be smart. The first thing you learn on the trading floor is that when large numbers of people are after the same commodity, be it a stock, a bond, or a job, the commodity quickly becomes overvalued. Unfortunately, at the time, I had never seen a trading floor. The ~ Michael Lewis, #NFDB
1406:Radio, or at least the kind of radio we're proposing to do, can cut through that. It can reach people who would otherwise never hear your work, and of course I find that very notion inspiring. Radio stories are powerful because the human voice is powerful. It has been and will continue to be the most basic element of storytelling. As a novelist (and I should note that working my novel is the first thing I do in the morning and the very last thing I do before I sleep), shifting into this new medium is entirely logical. It's still narrative, only with different tools. ~ Daniel Alarcon, #NFDB
1407:Whenever I see lifestyle magazines where everything’s so clean, I wonder, “Where’s all the junk?” The first thing I figure out when furnishing a room is where to put the junk. Two words: secret storage. The key to a harmonious and clutter-free living area, especially when you have kids, is to hide everything. I’m talking about closets everywhere, drawers on everything, and ottomans that are really storage chests. Baskets for Legos. Shelves for games. Just please don’t open any cabinets in my house . . . I’m afraid there might be a waterfall of toys coming at you! ~ Reese Witherspoon, #NFDB
1408:get in touch with the seamiest side of yourself. Pick a fantasy, one you wouldn’t tell anyone about. One that makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed when you think about it. In the Tenderloin there’s somebody who’ll do it with you, for you, or to you, or somebody who’ll let you watch if that’s your need. Let your imagination run away. You can’t think of anything somebody hasn’t thought and done already. Hell, somebody’s thought of something even more disgusting. And it’s all available there in Wonderland. And not just sex, though that’s the first thing that jumps to mind. ~ Glen Cook, #NFDB
1409:There’s a workaround for encroaching phone stupidity. The first thing I did when I got to my place in Austin – an apartment rented for three days over the internet – was connect the thing to wifi. Just like that, my secondary brain got all its little grey cells back. The next few days were all about scurrying from wifi field to field, trying to keep the thing on life support. It’s a workaround. We live in a workaround culture. You have to jiggle the key in the ignition just right to start the car. You have to hold the TV remote at a certain angle. You know how it goes. ~ Warren Ellis, #NFDB
1410:The first thing I did when I was forty years old, I put handcuffs on and I jumped off Alcatraz prison and swam to San Francisco handcuffed. That made national publicity. Then, there were three or four years where I would do more difficult feats. Another birthday I towed a thousand pound boat across the Golden Gate. On my 65th Birthday I towed 65 boats a mile and a half in Tokyo. On my 70th Birthday I towed 70 boats with 70 people in it with my feet and hands tied a mile and a half in Long Beach.... My next Birthday I will be 93. I'm gonna tow my wife across the bathtub. ~ Jack LaLanne, #NFDB
1411:Svengal lay groaning on the turf. His thighs were sheer agony. His buttocks ached. His calf muscles were on fire. Now, afterhe had tumbled off the small pony he was riding and thudded heavily to the turf on the point of his shoulder, the shoulder would hurt too. He concentrated on trying to find one part of his body that wasn't a giant source of pain and failed miserably. He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the face of the elderly pony that he had been riding peered down at him. Now what made you do a strange thing like that? The creature seemed to be asking. ~ John Flanagan, #NFDB
1412:We’re sliding into a society where the first thing you need to do to demonstrate that you’re any good at something is to say that you are. Under the old rules, boasts were assumed empty until proved otherwise. You had to impress with your actions, draw attention to yourself subtly without being seen to do so. It’s a hell of a lot more fun than the pantomime of self-belief we see on reality TV today. A society where you’re not allowed to blow your own trumpet is so much more nuanced, sophisticated and interesting than the grim world of literalism that’s being ushered in. ~ David Mitchell, #NFDB
1413:To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems...which he has to solve...And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of-such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilized amenities, the more his problems grow in hardness and complexity....Perhaps the first thing he can learn form the artists is that the only way of 'mastering' one's material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant. ~ Dorothy L Sayers, #NFDB
1414:Let’s trace it, just for kicks, for a minute. And I’ll use myself. I won’t say “me,” but it’s my story. The first thing an artist finds out when he is very, very young (when I say “young” I mean before he is fifteen, that is to say, before, properly speaking, he or she can walk or talk, before he or she has had enough experience to begin to assess his or her experience)—and what occurs at that point in this hypothetical artist’s life is a kind of silence—the first thing he finds out is that for reasons he cannot explain to himself or to others, he does not belong anywhere. ~ James Baldwin, #NFDB
1415:Svengal lay groaning on the turf. His thighs were sheer agony. His buttocks ached. His calf muscles were on fire. Now, afterhe had tumbled off the small pony he was riding and thudded heavily to the turf on the point of his shoulder, the shoulder would hurt too. He concentrated on trying to find one part of his body that wasn't a giant source of pain and failed miserably. He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the face of the elderly pony that he had been riding peered down at him.
Now what made you do a strange thing like that? The creature seemed to be asking. ~ John Flanagan,#NFDB
1416:For people who are coming out of an oral tradition, it is very exciting to get into reading and writing and it is quite interesting how frequently people want to write their own story. Sometimes it is straight history - this is how we came about, how our town was created, a lot of that kind of effort, as soon as literacy came. The first thing you wanted to do was to put something down about who you are or how you are related to you neighbors. Then the next stage would be the stories, the cultural part of the story: this is the kind of world our ancestors made or aspired to. ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
1417:I mean I get used to myself at night, it takes that long sometimes. The first thing in the morning I feel sort of undefined, but by midnight you've done all the things you have to do, I mean all the things like meeting people and, you know, and paying bills, and by night those things are done because by then there's nothing you can do about them if they aren't done, so there you are alone and you have the things that matter, after the whole day you can sort of take everything that's happened and go over it alone. I mean I'm never really sure who I am until night, he added. ~ William Gaddis, #NFDB
1418:Try to relax, and you will find out that you feel more tense than ever. Try harder and you will feel more tense and more tense. Relaxation is not a consequence, is not a result of some activity; it is the glow of understanding. This is the first thing I would like to relate to you: life is purposeless. It is very hard to accept it. And why is it so hard to accept that life is purposeless? It is hard because without purpose the ego cannot exist. It is hard to conceive that life has no goal because without any goal being there, there is no point in having a mind, in having an ego. ~ Rajneesh, #NFDB
1419:imagine instead that you’re a fifth-century AD student of philosophy. You have come to the great center of learning that is the city of Alexandria in Egypt. (Don’t forget to visit the lighthouse, I hear it’s wonderful.) You already have a good education under your belt—you are literate, and have studied some rhetoric—and now you are going to try to master philosophy. What’s the first thing you will study? Of course it will be Aristotle. In late antiquity even Platonists introduced their students to philosophy through Aristotle, saving Plato’s texts for more advanced research. ~ Peter Adamson, #NFDB
1420:Don't make fun of her," the Duke said. "She needs gentle encouragement. Carla, baby, we love you. You are such a good car. And we believe in you one hundred percent." ... "Don't listen to him, Carla. You're gonna do this." ... "I love you, Carla. You know that, don't you? I wake up every morning and the first thing I think is that I love Tobin's mom's car. I know that's weird, baby, but I do. I love you. And I know you can do this." ... "Carla," the Duke said, "it's time to tell you the truth. I'm in love with you. I want to be with you, Carla. I've never felt this way about a c- ~ John Green, #NFDB
1421:If Snow kept weaving around the corners, she would reach the center of the maze and her mother's beloved aviary. The two-story wrought iron dome looked like a giant birdcage. It was her mother's pride and joy and the first thing she had commissioned when she became queen. She'd always had a love of birds. Snow's mother kept several species inside the netted walls, and she patiently explained each bird's nature to Snow in detail. The two had spent countless hours watching the aviary, with Snow naming all of the creatures inside it. Her favorite was Snowball, a small white canary. ~ Jen Calonita, #NFDB
1422:In high school, my first thing ever was I played Tony in West Side Story when I was about 17. I was a really shy kid and I just like forced myself to learn how to sing this one month because I loved West Side Story so much and I somehow managed to get the role. I had an afro and glasses, and the guy who cast me goes, "All right, the first thing to go is the afro and the next thing, I'm going to buy you contacts and we're going to get you..." So he kind of molded me into what it had to - that's still probably the hardest role I've every played in anything, the most taxing role. ~ Paulo Costanzo, #NFDB
1423:Maybe we all need to forgive our mamas and papas for the things they did that hurt us or confused us ... I came to realize that I needed to forgive Mr. Daniels for the resentment I'd allowed myself to feel toward him. If he was my father, then maybe God wanted that word to mean something in my life. And maybe the first thing it meant was forgiveness. I realized that I could never altogether be the person God wanted me to be without it. I realized that lots of times wholeness as a person starts with forgiving others, and usually somebody close to you like a mother or father. ~ Michael R Phillips, #NFDB
1424:After the first difficulties in Rochester, New York, I was asked to consult with community leaders. I went and spoke for quite a long time. The leaders were concerned and sincere men. The first question one of them asked after I talked was: “Well, Mr. Griffin, what is the first thing we should do now?” I told him that I had been asked to come and consult with community leaders, and yet I was sitting in a room full of white men. The white man who had asked the question slapped his forehead in real chagrin. “It never occurred to me to ask any of them," he said apologetically. ~ John Howard Griffin, #NFDB
1425:I’m Scarlet,” she said. The smile never left her lips for a second. “Scarlet Monroe.”
She was absolutely gorgeous. With her long blonde mane of hair, almost pure-white porcelain skin, those ruby red lips and the queenly arched eyebrows, it was impossible not to notice how beautiful she was. But her being beautiful didn’t strike me right off the bat. It wasn’t the first thing I noticed about her. What that first thing was, it’s impossible for me to say. Any skull has a human face, but that’s not the first thing anyone notices about a skeleton—that it was human once, and so still is. ~ Lauren Sapala,#NFDB
1426:I remember at the time - right before we started Feministing.com - doing a Google search for the term "young feminism" and the term "young feminist," and the first thing that came up was a page from the National Organization for Women that was about 10 or 15 years old. And it just struck me as so odd that there was all of this young feminist activism going on, but that it wasn't necessarily being represented online, that the first things in a Google search to come up were really, really old. I think to a certain degree we really filled a gap, and that's why we got such a large readership. ~ Jessica Valenti, #NFDB
1427:One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of temperament. We make our temperament and our natural affinities barriers to coming to Jesus. The first thing we realize when we come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatever to our natural affinities. We have the notion that we can consecrate our gifts to God. You cannot consecrate what is not yours; there is only one thing you can consecrate to God, and that is your right to yourself (Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you. God’s experiments always succeed ~ Oswald Chambers, #NFDB
1428:Don't make fun of her," the Duke said. "She needs gentle encouragement. Carla, baby, we love you. You are such a good car. And we believe in you one hundred percent."
...
"Don't listen to him, Carla. You're gonna do this."
...
"I love you, Carla. You know that, don't you? I wake up every morning and the first thing I think is that I love Tobin's mom's car. I know that's weird, baby, but I do. I love you. And I know you can do this."
...
"Carla," the Duke said, "it's time to tell you the truth. I'm in love with you. I want to be with you, Carla. I've never felt this way about a c- ~ John Green,#NFDB
1429:what I wanted, and what I’d asked for. So, when I walked into this exam room, I was expecting another mundane case, considering the evening I’d had thus far. The smell of vomit had been the first thing that hit me when I entered, and I instantly groaned. God, I hated vomit. Give me blood and guts any day. I would rather stitch up anything then walk into a room that smelled like this. I was focused on the file, trying to re-learn how to breathe through my mouth when I looked up and saw my new patient lying in a hospital bed. She looked like an angel with a head full of long strawberry blonde curls and ~ J L Berg, #NFDB
1430:The first thing that struck me was how the single women of my acquaintance were exceptionally alert to the people around them, generous in their attention, ready to engage in conversation or share a joke. Having nobody to go home to at night had always seemed a sad and lonesome fate; now I saw that being forced to leave the house for human contact encourages a person to live more fully in the world. In the best instances, the result was an intricate lacework of friendships varying in intensity and closeness that could be, it seemed, just as sustaining as a nuclear family, and possibly more appealing. ~ Kate Bolick, #NFDB
1431:No movement can survive unless it is constantly growing and changing with the times. If it isn't growing, if it's stagnant, and without the support of the people, no movement for liberation can exist, no matter how correct its analysis of the situation is. That's why political work and organizing are so important. Unless you are addressing the issues people are concerned about and contributing positive direction, they'll never support you. The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us. ~ Assata Shakur, #NFDB
1432:Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern world. No doubt an obscure truth of economics is at work here: societies appear to become considerably less productive whenever large numbers of people stop making widgets and begin killing their customers and creditors for heresy. The first thing to observe about the moderate's retreat from scriptural literalism is that it draws its inspiration not from scripture but from cultural developments that have rendered many of God's utterances difficult to accept as written. ~ Sam Harris, #NFDB
1433:I love weather. I'm a connoisseur of weather. Wherever my travels take me, the first thing I do is turn on the weather channel and see what's going on, what's coming. I like to know about regional weather patterns, how storms are created in different altitudes, what kinds of clouds are forming or dissipating or blowing through, where the winds are coming from, where they've been. That's not a passion everybody shares, I know, but I don't believe there are any people on earth who, properly sheltered, don't feel the peace inside a summer rain and the cleansing it brings, the renewal of the earth in its aftermath. ~ Johnny Cash, #NFDB
1434:Then, too, the senate has a rule that no point is discussed on the same day it is brought up, but rather it is put off till the next meeting; they do this so that someone who blurts out the first thing that occurs to him will not proceed to think up arguments to defend his position instead of looking for what is of use to the commonwealth, being willing to damage the public welfare rather than his own reputation, ashamed, as it were, in a perverse and wrong-headed way, to admit that his first view was short-sighted. From the start such a person should have taken care to speak with deliberation rather than haste. ~ Thomas More, #NFDB
1435:Now, you look here! The first thing you got to understand is that all this uplift and flipflop and settlement-work and recreation is nothing in God's world but the entering wedge for socialism. The sooner a man learns he isn't going to be coddled, and he needn't expect a lot of free grub and, uh, all these free classes and flipflop and doodads for his kids unless he earns 'em, why, the sooner he'll get on the job and produce - produce - produce! That's what the country needs, and not all this fancy stuff that just enfeebles the will-power of the working man and gives his kids a lot of notions above their class. ~ Sinclair Lewis, #NFDB
1436:And what a story. The first thing that drew me in was disbelief. What? Humanity sins but it's God's Son who pays the price? I tried to imagine Father saying to me, 'Piscine, a lion slipped into the llama pen today and killed two llamas. Yesterday another one killed a black buck. Last week two of them ate a camel. The situation has become intolerable. Something must be done. I have decided that the only way the lions can atone for their sins is if I feed them you.' ... 'Yes, Father, that would be the right and logical thing to do. Give me a moment to wash up'. What a downright weird story. What a peculiar psychology. ~ Yann Martel, #NFDB
1437:You only have a certain amount of energy, and when you spread it around, everything gets confused, and the first thing you know, you can't remember which one you've told which story to, and the next thing you know, you're moaning "Oh, Morty, Morty, Morty," when what you mean is "Oh, Sidney, Sidney, Sidney," and the next thing you know, you think you're in love with both of them simply because you've been raised to believe that the only polite response to "I love you" is "I love you too," and the next thing you know, you think you're in love with only one of them, because you're too guilty to handle loving them both. ~ Nora Ephron, #NFDB
1438:Become individuals, that’s the first thing. The second thing is, don’t expect perfection and don’t ask and don’t demand. Love ordinary people. Nothing is wrong with ordinary people. Ordinary people are extraordinary! Each human being is so unique; have respect for that uniqueness. Third, give, and give without any condition—then you will know what love is. I cannot define it. I can show you the path to grow it. I can show you how to put in a rosebush, how to water it, how to give fertilizers to it, how to protect it. Then one day, out of the blue, comes the rose, and your home is full of the fragrance. That’s how love happens. ~ Osho, #NFDB
1439:And there is only one way you can live, now. There must be an emotional hand to slap you on the back to make you move. A desire, a want, an emotion. Then the first thing you know you quiver and rise and strike your brow against silk-skinned wood. That emotion surges through you, calling you. If it is not strong enough, you will settle down wearily, and will not wake again. But if you grow with it, somehow, if you claw upward, if you work tediously, slowly, many days, you find ways of displacing earth an inch at a time, and one night you crumble the darkness, the exit is completed, and you wriggle forth to see the stars. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
1440:So what do I do? What do we do? How do we move forward when we are tired and afraid? What do we do when the voice in our head is yelling that WE ARE NEVER GONNA MAKE IT? How do we drag ourselves through the muck when our brain is telling us youaredumbandyouwillneverfinishandnoonecaresanditistimeyoustop? Well, the first thing we do is take our brain out and put it in a drawer. Stick it somewhere and let it tantrum until it wears itself out. You may still hear the brain and all the shitty things it is saying to you, but it will be muffled, and just the fact that it is not in your head anymore will make things seem clearer. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
1441:Alive. That was the first thing.
A daughter. That was the second.
They knew this without being told, without searching the newborn's features for some telltale sign. If the child had been a boy, the Mothers would have emerged empty-handed. They would have filed quietly from the house, leaving the family to their disappointment.
A boy was simply another mouth to feed, another body to keep warm during the winter. A boy might wield an axe or trap a bird. He might mend a roof or skin a rabbit.
Such things were useful; there was no denying it. But a daughter? A daughter could do those too, and much more besides. ~ Meg McKinlay,#NFDB
1442:And there is only one way you can live, now. There must be an emotional hand to slap oyou on the back to make you move. A desire, a want, an emotion. Then the first thing you know you quiver and rise and strike your brow against silk-skinned wood. That emotion surges thorugh you, calling you. If it is not strong enough, you will settle down wearily, and will not wake again. But if you grow with it, somehow, if you claw upward, if you work tediously, slowly, many days, you find ways of displacing earth an inch at a time, and one night you crumble the darkness, the exit is completed, and you wriggle forth to see the stars. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
1443:I attended my first Star Wars convention right after freshman year of college, when the wounds of the prequels were fresh. It was a big milestone for me. “Finally,” I told my roommate, Svetlana, “I’ll get to be myself and go among my people.” “I don’t understand,” Svetlana said. “Who were you before? Literally the first thing you did on arriving at college was unpack your lightsabers. Do you think you’ve been hiding? If this is you concealing your love of Star Wars, what would it look like if you let it hang out? Would you just dress up as Jabba the Hutt all the time?” That wasn’t a bad idea, I thought. Maybe I should. ~ Alexandra Petri, #NFDB
1444:Kilvin’s face broke into a great white smile. “Good. I would not have wanted to lose you to the other side of the river. Music is a fine thing, but metal lasts.” He struck the table with two huge fingers to emphasize his point. Then he made a shooing motion with the hand that held his unfinished lamp. “Go. Do not be late for work or I will keep you polishing bottles and grinding ore for another term.” As I left, I thought about what Kilvin had said. It was the first thing he had said to me that I did not agree with wholeheartedly. Metal rusts, I thought, music lasts forever. Time will eventually prove one of us right. ~ Patrick Rothfuss, #NFDB
1445:If I Was President
If I was President
The first thing I would do
is call Mumia Abu-Jamal.
No,
if I was president
the first thing I would do
is call Leonard Peltier.
No,
if I was president
the first person I would call
is that rascal
John Trudell.
No,
the first person I'd call
is that other rascal
Dennis Banks.
I would also call
~ Alice Walker
.
I would make a conference call.
And I would say this:
Yo, you troublemakers,
it is time to let all of us
out of prison.
Pack up your things:
Dennis and John,
collect ~ Alice Walker,#NFDB
1446:Eli snorted, her eyes narrowed.
— Because I am like you.
— What do you mean like me? I..
Eli thrust her hand through the air as if she was holding a knife, said:
— What are you looking at, idiot? Want to die, or something? — Stabbed the air with empty hand. — That what happens if you look at me.
Oskar rubbed his lips together, dampening them.
— What are you saying?
— It's not me that's saying it. It's you. That was the first thing I heard you say. Down on the playground.
Oskar remembered. The tree. The knife. How he had held up the blade of the knife like a mirror, seen Eli for the first time. ~ John Ajvide Lindqvist,#NFDB
1447:The first thing that happens, for example, when a law is passed that no one shall be paid less than $106 for a forty-hour week is that no one who is not worth $106 a week to an employer will be employed at all. You cannot make a man worth a given amount by making it illegal for anyone to offer him anything less. You merely deprive him of the right to earn the amount that his abilities and situation would permit him to earn, while you deprive the community even of the moderate services that he is capable of rendering. In brief, for a low wage you substitute unemployment. You do harm all around, with no comparable compensation. ~ Henry Hazlitt, #NFDB
1448:During the year of 2015 stay grounded. How? Each night before you go to sleep, write a word/expression capturing a positive state of mind on a sheet of paper. Fold the paper in a V and prop it on your nightstand beside your bed so you will see it the first thing in the morning.
When you wake up, look at the word, put the word into your mind and feel it/express it throughout the day, no matter what happens to you that day. Examples are: appreciation, look for the positive in others and events; happy, worthiness, creative, cheerful, forgiving, gratitude, letting go of your ego and focus on others, selfless, love, kindness, etc. ~ J F Kelly,#NFDB
1449:Ella didn’t say anything. Matthew did. He always said stuff. If you put him in a vacuum sealed room with a limited oxygen supply and told him his only hope at survival was to use as little air as possible and speak not at all, the first thing he would do would probably be to say, “Cool, how did you make this place?” and go on from there. Silence was not an option. Dad once said that Matthew had been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. And once he explained to Ella what a phonograph even was, and what the needle did, she thought that was pretty funny. And totally true. Matthew had two settings: asleep and talking. ~ Michaelbrent Collings, #NFDB
1450:I saw the texts on Bethany's phone. I know you kidnapped her and I know she's in danger and I have no idea what you're planning on doing to her, but I swear to God, I will bring you down and destroy everything you love and I heard you talking in that locker and I don't care how you got in there but I am so sick of these freaking secrets so bring me to her right now or...or...I'll" I wracked my brain in the second it took to catch my breath and said the first thing that came to my mind, raging lunatic or not: "Or I'll puke on you. I swear to God, I'll throw up right on you." I paused for dramatic effect. "And I had tacos for lunch. ~ Lisa Roecker, #NFDB
1451:Face Connection With this method you make a link between the name and an outstanding feature on the person’s face. Every person’s face is unique and every face has an outstanding feature. Let me give you an example. Imagine you are introduced to a woman and the first thing you notice about her face is that she has striking blue eyes. That will then be her outstanding feature. When she gives you her name you will then have a place to put the name. Imagine she says her name is Janice. You then make an image of the name: Janice sounds like chain ice. You then make the connection and think of a chain of ice flying out of her blue eyes. ~ Kevin Horsley, #NFDB
1452:The principle of painting is also to make a choice. "Even genius," writes Delacroix, ruminating on his art,
"is only the gift of generalizing and choosing." The painter isolates his subject, which is the first way of
unifying it. Landscapes flee, vanish from the memory, or destroy one another. That is why the landscape
painter or the painter of still life isolates in space and time things that normally change with the light, get
lost in an infinite perspective, or disappear under the impact of other values. The first thing that a
landscape painter does is to square off his canvas. He eliminates as much as he includes. ~ Albert Camus,#NFDB
1453:The first thing you need to know if you are a survivor is that parts of you have probably been trained to create a variety of symptoms and behaviours. Abusers actually train child parts to cut the body, to make other parts cut, to attempt suicide, to create flashbacks by releasing pieces of visual or auditory memories, to create body memories of pain or electroshock, and to create depression, terror, anxiety, and despair by releasing the emotional components of memories to the rest of the personality system. The front person and most of the rest of the system do not know that this is the source of these feelings and behaviours. p126 ~ Alison Miller, #NFDB
1454:I POINT OUT the embankment leading down to the water’s edge. “All the way down to that walking trail,” I say to Ringer. “And don’t wait for me.” She shakes her head, frowning. I lean in, keeping my expression as serious as I can. “I thought I had you with the zombie remark. One of these days, I’m going to get a smile out of you, Private.” Very much not smiling. “I don’t think so, sir.” “You have something against smiling?” “It was the first thing to go.” Then the snow and the dark swallow her. The rest of the squad follows. I can hear Teacup whimpering beneath her breath as Dumbo leads her off, going, “Run hard when it goes, Cup, okay? ~ Rick Yancey, #NFDB
1455:Think about any foreign language you’ve learned (or attempted to). What’s the first thing you learn? Usually how to say “Hello, my name is [Kory]. How are you?” You don’t learn the word for “name,” and the learn the conjugation of “be” (and good thing, too, because it is stubbornly irregular in most languages). You don't learn the interrogative “how” and the various declensions of the second-person pronoun. All that comes later when you have a little something to hand that information on. You learn two complete, if rudimentary, sentences, and that gives you the confidence to keep moving forward—until you reach the subjunctive, anyway. ~ Kory Stamper, #NFDB
1456:
Sweet Mother, how can we find the Divine who is hidden in us?
... This we have explained many, many times. But the first thing is to want it, and know precisely that this comes first, before all other things, that this is the important thing. That is the first condition; all the rest may come later, this is the essential condition. You see, if once in a while, from time to time, when you have nothing to do and all goes well and you are unoccupied, suddenly you tell yourself, Ah, I would like so much to find the Divine! - well, this
- it may take a hundred thousand years, in this way. ~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1954, [T2],#NFDB
1457:I think you must ask yourself what will make you happy. Not anyone else. You.’ I stared at her. ‘I suppose you think that sounds selfish, but it’s how I’ve lived my own life. Each morning I wake up and the first thing I think is what can I do today to make myself happy. You’d be surprised how hardly anyone else does that.’ ‘Actually I wouldn’t.’ ‘Most people think only about what they have to do. They don’t stop to ask if they really want to. Me, I dance the tango to be happy, I make love to be happy, look at art, listen to music, wear beautiful clothes, enjoy all my passions as often as I can. I make happiness the thing that matters most. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1458:Somewhat unnerved by what he felt were Germanic currents in a man whom he had taken to be just an Italian intellectual who ate flowers, Strassnitzky cautiously argued that "the records are secret, part of the War Office. How do you expect to match the number with the man?" "I haven't the slightest idea," Alessandro said, almost arrogantly, "but God is directly in charge of all things relating to life and death. That I've learned in the war." "You think God is going to get you the operations records of the Austrian army?" "I don't know, but if He were, wouldn't you imagine that the first thing He'd do would be to have me conveyed to Vienna? ~ Mark Helprin, #NFDB
1459:Mantova"
The first thing I saw in the morning
Was a huge golden bee ploughing
His burly right shoulder into the belly
Of a sleek yellow pear
Low on a bough.
Before he could find that sudden black honey
That squirms around in there
Inside the seed, the tree could not bear any more.
The pear fell to the ground,
With the bee still half alive
Inside its body.
He would have died had I not knelt down
And sliced the pear gently
A little more open.
The bee shuddered, and returned.
Maybe I should have left him a lone there
Drowning in his own delight.
The best days are the first
To flee. ~ Richard Wilbur,#NFDB
1460:Deleo and Dark mages seem insane to you because you're judging them by your standards - I said - You're assuming they have the same goals as you. What makes you so sure Deleo wants to warn people off peacefully?
(...) The point is that Deleo doesn't live in your world (...) To Dark Mages that'd be a joke. They only respect authority if it's backed up by force (...) And it would mostly be other Dark mages she'd be worried about.
Yes! Dark mages are different from you, don't you get that? They don't follow rules and they don't do as they're told! If you set a boundary the first thing they'll do is push it to see if you'll do anything. ~ Benedict Jacka,#NFDB
1461:In pathology class they would have called it a starburst entry wound. The muzzle had been hard against him, and naturally the first thing out was the bullet, which punched a neat nine-millimeter hole through his flesh, which didn’t stay neat for long, because the next thing out was a blast of exploding gas, which had nowhere to go but straight down the bullet hole, deep inside Joey’s body itself, which was not as hard as the steel of a gun barrel, so the gas swelled instantly to a hot bubble the size of a basketball, which burst the skin at the entry point, so that when it settled back down after the gas was gone, it looked like a five-pointed star. ~ Lee Child, #NFDB
1462:The first thing she did after she found out she was sick was to send me to live with my older female cousin in the city. I was in middle school at the time. For my mother, sending me away was her way of loving me. She said I was too young to be tied down to a sick mother and that I had too much to live for. Everybody has to say goodbye eventually, she told me, so you may as well start practicing. I cannot say she was right. I think that if we all have to say goodbye eventually then the best we can do is try to stay together as long as we possibly can. But it’s not that one of us was right and the other was wrong. We just saw things differently. ~ Kyung Sook Shin, #NFDB
1463:I need to be casual but not too casual. Dressy but not too dressy. I need him to think I just threw on the first thing I found and that I'm not taking this too seriously or overthinking it or even that I was thinking about it at all. Because I'm not. I'm totally not thinking about him, and I don't want him to think I was thinking about him, but I don't want him to think that I'm not thinking about him, because clearly he thought about me enough to ask me out and it would be mean not to be thinking about him at all, so I need just the right amount of thinking, and I'm not sure if that means boots and a skirt or skinny jeans and ballet flats. Help! ~ Gemma Halliday, #NFDB
1464:The first thing to realize is that it is is a country that is still being imagined. Here every patch of earth has a story, all your places have nuances; if you say Cornwall to an English person, they think of smugglers, and King Arthur and fish. But there are great parts of my country about which American's know nothing beyond an idea of unimaginable vastness. Of course the Indians that live there know the spirits of these places, but that is not the point. You can't imagine how blue the sky is out West, Charlotte. So much space. It's really wild, not like your Lake District with its little stone walls. In the West the landscape is unmarked by man. ~ Daisy Goodwin, #NFDB
1465:Eroticism is, above all else, exclusively human: it is sexuality socialized and transfigured by the imagination and the will of human beings. The first thing that distinguishes eroticism from sexuality is the infinite variety of forms in which it manifests itself. eroticism is invention, constant variation, sex is always the same.
In every erotic encounter there is an invisible and ever-active participant: imagination, desire.Eroticism is first and foremost a thirst for otherness.
Many years ago I wrote: love is a sacrifice without virtue. Today I would say: love is a bet, a wild one, placed on freedom. Not my own: the freedom of the other. ~ Octavio Paz,#NFDB
1466:[D]espite her alternative leanings, it turned out Crystal was not particularly psyco-babbly or airy-fairy or tree-huggy, as one might have expected.
In fact, the first thing she did was write a list. She said writing lists helped calm her down when she was stressed about anything because it put problems in order. You can look at a list of things and see how you can tackle each one separately without feeling sick about it, she said. Whereas if they all just stayed jumbled in your mind in one great bit sticky ball you never got to consider them individually.
She actually spoke a lot of sense for someone with toe rings and a Chinese tattoo. ~ Sarah Kate Lynch,#NFDB
1467:Death sat on a mountaintop. It wasn’t particularly high, or bare, or sinister. No witches held naked sabbats on it; Discworld witches, on the whole, didn’t hold with taking off anymore clothes than was absolutely necessary for the business in hand. No specters haunted it. No naked little men sat on the summit dispensing wisdom, because the first thing the truly wise man works out is that sitting around on mountaintops gives you not only hemorrhoids but frostbitten hemorrhoids.
Occasionally people would climb the mountain and add a stone or two to the cairn at the top, if only to prove that there is nothing really damn stupid that humans won’t do. ~ Terry Pratchett,#NFDB
1468:Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into friends and enemies, we and they, good and evil. The easiest way to unite a group isn't through love, because love is hard, It makes demands. Hate is simple. So the first thing that happens in a conflict is that we choose a side, because that's easier than trying to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time. The second thing that happens is that we seek out facts that confirm what we want to believe - comforting facts, ones that permit life to go on as normal. The third is that we dehumanize our enemy. ~ Fredrik Backman, #NFDB
1469:Of course I didn’t think I’d heard him correctly. Why would he have told me something so important now, so casually, in the middle of a street fair?
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the first thing I thought.
“Just one?”
The look he gave me was shattering.
Given everything I knew about him, though, I’d expected him to have killed a man.
It was the fact that his having taken a single life had resulted in his banishment to the Underworld for all eternity that I found so astonishing.
“I had no idea,” he said, with a dry smile, “that you were so bloodthirsty, Pierce. Should we try to find you one of those pirate costumes? ~ Meg Cabot,#NFDB
1470:A coaching session works like this: The coach asks the client to describe the greatest source of pain in his or her life. The client talks, the coach asks follow-up questions, and as soon as the coach forms an opinion, she discloses it to her client. The technique is meant to distinguish the life coach from a quiet, diffident therapist. 'The first thing I teach coaches to say is, 'Here's what I think is going on with you. Your job is to please, please tell me where I'm wrong and tell me precisely.' Asking for this confirmation, number one, it builds trust. Number two, it puts you in a position of servant rather than overseer. It creates humility and an open mind. ~ Jessica Weisberg, #NFDB
1471:Wesley: To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles. Then your hands at the wrists. Next your nose. The next thing you will lose will be your left eye followed by your right.
Prince Humperdink: And then my ears, I understand let's get on with it.
Wesley: WRONG. Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, "Dear God! What is that thing," will echo in your perfect ears. That is what to the pain means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever. ~ William Goldman,#NFDB
1472:There isn't an hour of my life without you in it. I mend the boats, test them and all the while the memories come in like the tide.
I was thinking today of when we were young, and you left our world for a bigger world. I was a lot more scarred then I would admit. I fought my fear by telling myself you'd come back someday, and trying to think of the first thing I'd say to you when I saw you again. I must have tried out a hundred possibilities. What did I finally say? Not much, my mouth wouldn't work except to kiss you, and when you said I'm here to stay that said it all. Well, I'm doing it again. I keep imagining what I'd say to you if somehow you came back. ~ Nicholas Sparks,#NFDB
1473:And what a story. The first thing that drew me in was disbelief. What? Humanity sins but it's God's Son who pays the price? I tried to imagine Father saying to me, 'Piscine, a lion slipped into the llama pen today and killed two llamas. Yesterday another one killed a black buck. Last week two of them ate a camel. The situation has become intolerable. Something must be done. I have decided that the only way the lions can atone for their sins is if I feed them you.' ... 'Yes, Father, that would be the right and logical thing to do. Give me a moment to wash up'.
'Hallelujah, my son.'
'Hallelujah, Father.'
What a downright weird story. What a peculiar psychology. ~ Yann Martel,#NFDB
1474:People who want to acquired powers over somebody else, for them imagination is a powerful tool. If you are seeking liberation, if you want to become free, the first thing that you must become free from is your imagination, because that is the deepest trap. Your memory and your imagination are the two traps. Do you see? One of your legs is stuck in memory; another leg is stuck in imagination. If you release yourself from these, meditation is just natural. When you sit for meditation, what is your basic problem? You are either thinking about tomorrow or thinking about what happened yesterday, isn't it? If you are free from memory and imagination, you will always be meditative. ~ Sadhguru, #NFDB
1475:Diva had "popped" into the grocer's. She always popped everywhere just now; she popped across to see a friend, and she popped home again; she popped into church on Sunday, and occasionally popped up to town, and Miss Mapp was beginning to feel that somebody ought to let her know, directly or by insinuation, that she popped too much. So, thinking that an opportunity might present itself now, Miss Mapp read the news-board outside the stationer's till Diva popped out of the grocer's again. The headlines of news, even the largest of them, hardly reached her brain, because it was entirely absorbed in another subject. Of course, the first thing was to find out by what train . . . ~ E F Benson, #NFDB
1476:We know that Rangi can at least mutter because Digger Gibson says he used to talk to the bear. In his group home for orphaned Moa boys, Rangi had a pet cinnamon bear. I saw her once. She was just a wet-nosed cub, a cuff of pure white around her neck. Rangi found her on the banks of the Waitiki River and walked her around on a leash. He filed her claws and fed her tiny, smelly fishes. They shot her the day his new father, Digger, came to pick him up.
"Burying that bear," I overheard Digger tell Mr. Oamaru once. "The first thing we ever did together as father and son."
Rangi's given us this global silent treatment ever since, a silence he extends to people, animals, ice. ~ Karen Russell,#NFDB
1477:When, some months later, Zoltan emailed me about his decision to run for president, I immediately called him. The first thing I asked was what his wife thought of the plan.
“Well, in a way,” he said, “it was Lisa who gave me the idea. Remember how I said she wanted me to do something concrete, get some kind of a proper job?”
“I do,” I said. “Although I’m guessing running for president on the immortality platform was not what she had in mind.”
“That’s correct,” he confirmed. “It took a little while for her to come around to the idea.”
“How did you break it to her?”
“I left a note on the refrigerator,” he said, “and went out for a couple hours. ~ Mark O Connell,#NFDB
1478:I am again feeling that depression, but I cannot find out its cause. I feel a burning pain inside me and then some part in me becomes very hostile. There is also some inertia in the nature.
These are the two difficulties, one of the vital dissatisfaction and restlessness, the other of the inertia of the physical consciousness which are the chief obstacles to the sadhana. The first thing to do is to keep detached from them, not to identify yourself mentally with these movements - even if you cannot reject them - next to call on the Mother's force quietly but steadily for it to descend and make the obstacles disappear. 31 January 1934 ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother,#NFDB
1479:I’ve attended some pretty glamorous events over the years, like the Costume Ball at the Met, the Golden Globes, and the Vanity Fair Oscar party. They are usually held at distinguished cultural institutions like the Met or the Annenberg Center—always beautiful spaces that are home to priceless works of art. The first thing they do when a Hollywood party rents out the place is push all the art to the corner so it doesn’t get in the way. They have to do that so there’s room for a red carpet, a bar, a prime rib carving station, a photo booth, and, for some reason, an Acura parked inside, in the middle of the party floor. There’s always a parked Acura at every major Hollywood party. Who ~ Mindy Kaling, #NFDB
1480:If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all - I'm not saying that - but they're also touchy as hell. Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. ~ J D Salinger, #NFDB
1481:In bed that night, in the darkness, with the illuminated dial of her alarm clock glowing from the bedside table, she asked herself whether one could force oneself to like somebody, or whether one could merely create conditions for affection to come into existence and hope that it did, spontaneously. Open then our hearts - these words came into her mind, dredged from somewhere in her memory, from some unknown context. If one opened one's heart, then friendship, and love, too, might alight and make their presence known. It was the act of opening that came first; that was the important thing, the first thing. But who was it who said, Open then our hearts? Where did that come from? ~ Alexander McCall Smith, #NFDB
1482:If he had begun with the human soul—that is, if he had begun on himself—he would have found original sin almost the first thing to be believed in. He would have found, to put the matter shortly, that a permanent possibility of selfishness arises from the mere fact of having a self, and not from any accidents of education or ill-treatment. And the weakness of all Utopias is this, that they take the greatest difficulty of man and assume it to be overcome, and then give an elaborate account of the overcoming of the smaller ones. They first assume that no man will want more than his share, and then are very ingenious in explaining whether his share will be delivered by motor-car or balloon. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
1483:I guess we could find a bench.”
“No, you wanted the grass.” He stood for a minute, brow creased. Then abruptly he took off his suit jacket and spread it out on the ground. “There. You can sit on that.”
She stared at him. Surely he didn’t mean that? She knew how important having his jacket all in order was to him, because every day when he came home from work, the first thing he did was take off his suit and hang it up so it remained perfectly pressed. He was a tidy kind of guy and she respected that, even if she didn’t understand it.
“But…it’ll get dirty.”
“I’ll get it dry-cleaned afterward.” And when she hesitated, he gestured toward it again. “Go on, sit. ~ Jackie Ashenden,#NFDB
1484:May Christ, indeed, be the theme of your song. CONCLUSION If you are like me, this may be the first thing in the book you are reading. We expect a conclusion to tell us something about the premise, scope, and plan of the book. Recognizing this tendency, I will, therefore, offer a brief synopsis of what I have done. After that I will make some concluding remarks that are corollary to this study. Summary The theme of this book is simply finding Christ in the Old Testament, and the purpose is to establish and illustrate the necessary principles of interpretation for discovering what the Old Testament reveals about Christ. Recognizing that not every student of the Bible has the same level ~ Michael P V Barrett, #NFDB
1485:Oh, Talbot,” Tracy said, falling welcomingly into my arms. “What are we going to do with you?” she said, burying her face into my shoulder. “There’s always the rodeo,” I told her. It was the first thing that came to my mind. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at me. “You rarely think before you speak, don’t you?” “What? I think I’d be great, those guys that get in the barrel and everything.” “You know those are rodeo clowns, right?” she was telling me. “Clowns? I hate clowns. They are the root of all evil in this world,” I answered. “You honestly believe that, don’t you?” Tracy said. “There are zombies and vampires roaming this world, but clowns rule as the supreme evil being in your world. ~ Mark Tufo, #NFDB
1486:Because just as in more confused times, like today, we don’t just need experts. We also need people who will think more radically to arrive at the real root of problems. So the first thing to fight for, I think, is simply to make people, the experts in certain domains, be aware of not just accepting that there are problems, but of thinking more deeply. It is an attempt to make them see more. I think it can be done. I believe this may be the main task for today: to prevent the narrow production of experts. This tendency, as I see it, is just horrible. We need, more than ever, those who, in a general way of thinking, see the problems from a global perspective and even from a philosophical perspective. ~ Slavoj i ek, #NFDB
1487:Much of our modern difficulty, in religion and other things, arises merely from this: that we confuse the word "indefinable" with the word "vague." If some one speaks of a spiritual fact as "indefinable" we promptly picture something misty, a cloud with indeterminate edges. But this is an error even in commonplace logic. The thing that cannot be defined is the first thing; the primary fact. It is our arms and legs, our pots and pans, that are indefinable. The indefinable is the indisputable. The man next door is indefinable, because he is too actual to be defined. And there are some to whom spiritual things have the same fierce and practical proximity; some to whom God is too actual to be defined. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
1488:That's just stupid, Tory! Quit being so damn stubborn!”
“Not a chance! You've got some kind of death wish! We can't even trust our power lately. They're too erratic for a public heist.”
Ben thumped the steering wheel in frustration. “Maybe for you.”
I glowered at Ben from the backseat. I'd given Hi shotgun, having sensed this argument was inevitable. I didn't want to be close. The urge to slap might become overpowering.
“Why don't we all use our friendly words?” Hi suggested. “Let's take five, and everyone can say something we like about each other. I'll start. Shelton, you're super at——”
“Shut up, Hi!” Ben and I shouted, the first thing we'd agreed upon all morning. ~ Kathy Reichs,#NFDB
1489:In answer to the question, "How shall we overcome temptation," a noted writer said, "Cheerfulness is the first thing, cheerfulness is the second, and cheerfulness is the third." A habit of cheerfulness, enabling one to transmute apparent misfortunes into real blessings, is a fortune to a young man or young woman just crossing the threshold of active life. He who has formed a habit of looking at the bright, happy side of things, who sees the glory in the grass, the sunshine in the flowers, sermons in stones, and good in everything, has a great advantage over the chronic dyspeptic, who sees no good in anything. His habitual thought sculptures his face into beauty and touches his manner with grace. ~ Orison Swett Marden, #NFDB
1490:By His Holy Spirit, He has access to our heart, and teaches us to pray by showing us the sin that hinders the prayer, or giving us the assurance that we please God. He teaches, by giving not only thoughts of what to ask or how to ask, but by breathing within us the very spirit of prayer, by living within us as the Great Intercessor. We may indeed and most joyfully say, 'Who teacheth like Him?' Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. ~ Andrew Murray, #NFDB
1491:I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men, all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives. Each of them, living apart, is as a stranger to the fate of all the rest; his children and his private friends constitute to him the whole of mankind. As for the rest of his fellow citizens, he is close to them, but he does not see them; he touches them, but he does not feel them; he exists only in himself and for himself alone; and if his kindred still remain to him, he may be said at any rate to have lost his country. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville, #NFDB
1492:It doesn’t eat only birds—it mostly eats rats and insects—but they still call it the “Bird-Eating Spider” because the fact that it can eat a bird is the most important thing you need to know about it. If you run across one of these things, like in your closet or crawling out of your bowl of soup, the first thing somebody will say is, “Watch it, man, that thing can eat a goddamned bird.” I don’t know how they catch the birds. I know the Goliath Fucking Bird-Eating Spider can’t fly because if it could, it would have a different name entirely. We would call it “sir” because it would be the dominant species on the planet. None of us would leave the house unless a Goliath Fucking Flying Bird-Eating Spider said it was okay. ~ David Wong, #NFDB
1493:I found a place that I hoped would be obscure, over on one side, in the back, and went to it without genuflecting, and knelt down. As I knelt, the first thing I noticed was a young girl, very pretty too, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, kneeling straight up and praying quite seriously. I was very much impressed to see that someone who was young and beautiful could with such simplicity make prayer the real and serious and principal reason for going to church. She was clearly kneeling that way because she meant it, not in order to show off, and she was praying with an absorption which, though not the deep recollection of a saint, was serious enough to show that she was not thinking at all about the other people who were there. ~ Thomas Merton, #NFDB
1494:There is also the fact that red and gold are my colors,” he went on. “They are the colors on my family’s banners and devices, worn by all Chiavari males when they ride into battle, and worn by their ladies at tournaments or other important occasions. You can imagine my surprise when a lady wearing Chiavari colors fell into my arms inside a drafty castle in England.”
“I doubt the color of my gown was the first thing you noticed,” she teased.
“No, that was not the first thing I noticed.” His voice had gone soft with the memory. The first thing he had noticed was how right she had felt in his arms, the realization that his arms had been empty until that moment when he found what belonged there, who belonged there. ~ Elizabeth Elliott,#NFDB
1495:He was rough too, and hurt me in handling, but he did not starve me. He chained me, indeed, by my light collar to the log of a chair, and kept me prisoner in his little sitting-room upstairs that looked out on the market-place; but he was out a great deal, and I was left chiefly alone. I might be there but a day, I might be there for n week; I cannot recollect. I only know I was miserable. The first thing that recalled me to consciousness was the sharp sting of a whip across my back. I shrieked with the pain ; in Ben's house even A vice had never dared to beat me. The only response to my cry was a sharper blow than the first;—and this was repeated, till I was literally blind and stupefied, and was quiet because numbed with anguish. ~ Ouida, #NFDB
1496:Going beyond fear begins when we examine our fear: our anxiety, nervousness, concern, and restlessness. If we look into our fear, if we look beneath its veneer, the first thing we find is sadness, beneath the nervousness. Nervousness is cranking up, vibrating, all the time. When we slow down, when we relax with our fear, we find sadness, which is calm and gentle. Sadness hits you in your heart, and your body produces a tear. Before you cry, there is a feeling in your chest and then, after that, you produce tears in your eyes. You are about to produce rain or a waterfall in your eyes and you feel sad and lonely, and perhaps romantic at the same time. That is the first tip of fearlessness, and the first sign of real warriorship. ~ Ch gyam Trungpa, #NFDB
1497:Before the invention of the GDP, economists were rarely quoted by the press, but in the years after World War II they became a fixture in the papers. They had mastered a trick no one else could do: managing reality and predicting the future. Increasingly, the economy was regarded as a machine with levers that politicians could pull to promote “growth.” In 1949, the inventor and economist Bill Phillips even constructed a real machine from plastic containers and pipes to represent the economy, with water pumping around to represent federal revenue flows. As one historian explains, “The first thing you do in 1950s and ’60s if you’re a new nation is you open a national airline, you create a national army, and you start measuring GDP. ~ Rutger Bregman, #NFDB
1498:This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people. We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity. And the church is Mother; the church is fruitful. It must be. You see, when I perceive negative behavior in ministers of the church or in consecrated men or women, the first thing that comes to mind is: ‘Here’s an unfruitful bachelor’ or ‘Here’s a spinster.’ They are neither fathers nor mothers, in the sense that they have not been able to give spiritual life. Instead, for example, when I read the life of the Salesian missionaries who went to Patagonia, I read a story of the fullness of life, of fruitfulness. ~ Pope Francis, #NFDB
1499:Perhaps this is the bottom line to mental illness: incomprehensible events occur; your life becomes a bin for hoax-like fluctuations of what used to be reality. And not only that—as if that weren't enough—but you, like Fat, ponder forever over these fluctuations in an effort to order them into a coherency, when in fact the only sense they make is the sense you impose on them, out of the necessity to restore everything into shapes and processes you can recognize. The first thing to depart in mental illness is the familiar. And what takes its place is bad news because not only can you not understand it, you also cannot communicate it to other people. The madman experiences something, but what it is or where it comes from he does not know. ~ Philip K Dick, #NFDB
1500:Please we would much rather sail free we mean you no harm I promise ” he floated upright in the water frowning then bowed his head in agreement. With a flick of their tails the blue men dived and were gone. “I promise ” Hannah breathed. Of course. “That’s a hard one to rhyme with. Scarlet Max and Donovan leapt up and down shouting with joy. “I knew you could do it” Scarlet shrieked. “It was just luck ” Hannah said “I didn’t have time to think. I just said the first thing that came into my mind. I could’ve said I swear and then he could have said pear or mare or square…” “That was amazing ” Donovan said. “You were so quick” I didn’t feel quick ” Hannah grinned ” I felt as thick as a brick.” “O goodness she cant stop ” Donovan said laughing. ~ Kate Forsyth, #NFDB
170 Integral Yoga
8 Occultism
6 Yoga
6 Philosophy
4 Fiction
4 Christianity
3 Poetry
2 Theosophy
2 Education
1 Science
1 Psychology
1 Integral Theory
1 Hinduism
1 Cybernetics
115 The Mother
57 Satprem
49 Sri Aurobindo
26 Nolini Kanta Gupta
6 Aleister Crowley
4 H P Lovecraft
4 A B Purani
2 Swami Vivekananda
2 Swami Krishnananda
2 Sri Ramakrishna
2 Saint Teresa of Avila
2 Plato
2 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
2 Jorge Luis Borges
2 Friedrich Nietzsche
12 Letters On Yoga IV
11 Letters On Yoga II
10 Questions And Answers 1954
9 Questions And Answers 1950-1951
9 Agenda Vol 02
8 Questions And Answers 1957-1958
8 Agenda Vol 03
7 Questions And Answers 1956
7 Questions And Answers 1955
7 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03
7 Agenda Vol 06
6 Questions And Answers 1953
6 Agenda Vol 04
6 Agenda Vol 01
5 Record of Yoga
5 On Thoughts And Aphorisms
5 Magick Without Tears
5 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04
5 Agenda Vol 08
4 The Synthesis Of Yoga
4 The Mother With Letters On The Mother
4 Lovecraft - Poems
4 Letters On Yoga III
4 Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo
4 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07
3 The Life Divine
3 Questions And Answers 1929-1931
3 Letters On Yoga I
3 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01
3 Agenda Vol 11
3 Agenda Vol 10
3 Agenda Vol 09
2 The Study and Practice of Yoga
2 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
2 Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness
2 Some Answers From The Mother
2 On Education
2 Essays In Philosophy And Yoga
2 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05
2 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02
2 Agenda Vol 13
0 0.01 - Introduction, #Agenda Vol 1, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
We landed there, one day in February 1954, having emerged from our Guianese forest and a certain number of dead-end peripluses; we had knocked upon all the doors of the old world before reaching that point of absolute impossibility where it was truly necessary to embark into something else or once and for all put a bullet through the brain of this slightly superior ape. the first thing that struck us was this exotic Notre Dame with its burning incense sticks, its effigies and its prostrations in immaculate white: a Church. We nearly jumped into the first train out that very evening, bound straight for the Himalayas, or the devil. But we remained near Mother for nineteen years. What was it, then, that could have held us there? We had not left Guiana to become a little saint in white or to enter some new religion. 'I did not come upon earth to found an ashram; that would have been a poor aim indeed,' She wrote in 1934. What did all this mean, then, this 'Ashram' that was already registered as the owner of a great spiritual business, and this fragile, little silhouette at the center of all these zealous worshippers? In truth, there is no better way to smother someone than to worship him: he chokes beneath the weight of worship, which moreover gives the worshipper claim to ownership. 'Why do you want to worship?' She exclaimed. 'You have but to become! It is the laziness to become that makes one worship.' She wanted so much to make them
become this 'something else,' but it was far easier to worship and quiescently remain what one was.
0.05 - Letters to a Child, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And when Sri Aurobindo tells you something, the first thing
to do, and the most important if you want to conquer the
0.08 - Letters to a Young Captain, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is why the first thing required when one wants to do
Yoga is to bring down and establish in oneself the calm, the
01.01 - Sri Aurobindo - The Age of Sri Aurobindo, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The ideal or perhaps one should say the policy of Real-politick is the thing needed in this world. To achieve something actually in the physical and material field, even a lesser something, is worth much more than speculating on high flaunting chimeras and indulging in day-dreams. Yes, but what is this something that has to be achieved in the material world? It is always an ideal. Even procuring food for each and every person, clothing and housing all is not less an ideal for all its concern about actuality. Only there are ideals and ideals; some are nearer to the earth, some seem to be in the background. But the mystery is that it is not always the ideal nearest to the earth which is the easiest to achieve or the first thing to be done first. Do we not see before our very eye show some very simple innocent social and economic changes are difficult to carry outthey bring in their train quite disproportionately gestures and movements of violence and revolution? That is because we seek to cure the symptoms and not touch the root of the disease. For even the most innocent-looking social, economic or political abuse has at its base far-reaching attitudes and life-urgeseven a spiritual outlook that have to be sought out and tackled first, if the attempt at reform is to be permanently and wholly successful. Even in mundane matters we do not dig deep enough, or rise high enough.
Indeed, looking from a standpoint that views the working of the forces that act and achieve and not the external facts and events and arrangements aloneone finds that things that are achieved on the material plane are first developed and matured and made ready behind the veil and at a given moment burst out and manifest themselves often unexpectedly and suddenly like a chick out of the shell or the young butterfly out of the cocoon. The Gita points to that truth of Nature when it says: "These beings have already been killed by Me." It is not that a long or strenuous physical planning and preparation alone or in the largest measure brings about a physical realisation. The deeper we go within, the farther we are away from the surface, the nearer we come to the roots and sources of things even most superficial. The spiritual view sees and declares that it is the Brahmic consciousness that holds, inspires, builds up Matter, the physical body and form of Brahman.
01.08 - Walter Hilton: The Scale of Perfection, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
What is day to us is night to the mystics and what is day to the mystics is night for us. the first thing the mystic asks is to close precisely those doors and windows which we, on the contrary, feel obliged to keep always open in order to know and to live and move. The Gita says: "The sage is wakeful when it is night for all creatures and when all creatures are wakeful, that is night for the sage." Even so this sage from the West says: "The more I sleep from outward things, the more wakeful am I in knowing of Jhesu and of inward things. I may not wake to Jhesu, but if I sleep to the world."
Close the senses. Turn within. And then go forward, that is to say, more and more inward. In that direction lies your itinerary, the journey of your consciousness. The sense-ridden secular man, who goes by his physical eye, has marked in his own way the steps of his forward march and progress. His knowledge and his power grew as he proceeded in his survey from larger masses of physical objects to their component molecules and from molecules to their component atoms and from atoms once more into electrons and protons or energy-points pure and simple, or otherwise as, in another direction, he extended his gaze from earth to the solar system, from the solar system to other starry systems, to far-off galaxies and I from galaxies to spaces beyond. The record of this double-track march to infinityas perceived or conceived by the physical sensesis marvellous, no doubt. The mystic offers the spectacle of a still more marvellous march to another kind of infinity.
0 1958-07-06, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
There is nothing to say since the first thing done by the divine forces which emanated for the Creation was to take the wrong path!6 That is the origin, the seed of this marvelous spirit of independence the negation of surrender, in other words. Man said, I have the power to think; I will do with it what I want, and no one has the right to intervene. I am free, I am an independent being, IN-DE-PEN-DENT! So thats how things stand: we are all independent beings!
But yesterday, in fact, I was looking (with all these mantras and these prayers and this whole vibration that has descended into the atmosphere, creating a state of constant calling in the atmosphere), and I remembered the old movements and how everything now has changed! I was also thinking of the old disciplines, one of which is to say, I am That.7 People were told to sit in meditation and repeat, I am That, to reach an identification. And it all seemed to me so obsolete, so childish, but at the same time a part of the whole. I looked, and it seemed so absurd to sit in meditation and say, I am That! I, what is this I who is That; what is this I, where is it? I was trying to find it, and I saw a tiny, microscopic point (to see it would almost require some gigantic instrument), a tiny, obscure point in an im-men-sity of Light, and that little point was the body. At the same timeit was absolutely simultaneous I saw the Presence of the Supreme as a very, very, very, VERY immense Being, within which was I in an attitude of (I was only a sensation, you see), an attitude (gesture of surrender) like this. There were no limits, yet at the same time, one felt the joy of being permeated, enveloped and of being able to widen, widen, widen indefinitelyto widen the whole being, from the highest consciousness to the most material consciousness. And then, at the same time, to look at this body and to see every cell, every atom vibrating with a divine, radiant Presence with all its Consciousness, all its Power, all its Will, all its Loveall, all, really and a joy! An extraordinary joy. And one did not disturb the other, nothing was contradictory and everything was felt at the same time. That was when I said, But truly! This body had to have the training it has had for more than seventy years to be able to bear all that without starting to cry out or dance or leap up or whatever it might be! No, it was calm (it was exultant, but it was very calm), and it remained in control of its movements and its words. In spite of the fact that it was really living in another world, it could apparently act normal due to this strenuous training in self-control by the REASONby the reasonover the whole being, which has tamed it and given it such a great cohesive power that I can BE in the experience, I can LIVE this experience, and at the same time respond with the most amiable of smiles to the most idiotic questions!
0 1958-11-08, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
At the very bottom of the inconscience most hard and rigid Because generally, the inconscience gives the impression, precisely, of something amorphous, inert, formless, drab and gray (when formerly I entered the zones of the inconscient, that was the first thing I encountered). But this was an inconscience it was hard, rigid, COAGULATED, as if coagulated to resist: all effort slides off it, doesnt touch it, cannot penetrate it. So I am putting, most hard and rigid and narrow (the idea of something that compresses, compresses, compresses you) and stiflingyes, stifling is the word.
I struck upon an almighty spring that cast me up forthwith into a formless, limitless vast, generator of all creation. It was yes, I have the feeling that it was not the ordinary creation, the primordial creation, but the SUPRAMENTAL creation, for it bore no similarity to the experience of returning to the Supreme, the origin of everything. I had utterly the feeling of being cast into the origin of the supramental creation something that is already (how can it be expressed?) objectified from the Supreme, with the explicit goal of the supramental creation.
0 1960-05-16, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
If there is one fundamental necessity, it is humility. To be humble. Not humble as it is normally understood, such as merely saying, I am so small, Im nothing at allno, something else Because the pitfalls are innumerable, and the further you progress in yoga, the more subtle they become, and the more the ego masks itself behind marvelous and saintly appearances. So when somebody says, I no longer want to rely on anything but Him. I want to close my eyes and rest in Him alone, this comfortable Him, which is exactly what you want him to be, is the egoor a formidable Asura, or a Titan (depending on each ones capacity). Theyre all over the earth, the earth is their domain. So the first thing to do is to pocket your egonot preserve it, but get rid of it as soon as possible!
You can be sure that the God youve created is a God of the ego whenever something within you insists, This is what I feel, this is what I think, this is what I see; its my way, my very ownits my way of being, my way of understanding, my relationship with the Divine, etc.
0 1960-09-20, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Sri Aurobindo saw more clearly. He saidit was even the first thing he told the boys around him when I came in 1914 (he had only seen me once)he told them that I, Mirra (he immediately called me by my first name), was born free.
And its true, I know it, I knew it then. In other words, all this work that usually has to be done to become free was done beforehand, long agoquite convenient!
0 1960-10-30, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
As soon as the meditation began, I started seeing quite familiar scenes from ancient Egypt. And you, you looked a little different, but quite similar all the same the first thing I saw was their god with a head like this (gesture of a muzzle), with a sun above his head. A dark animal head with I know it VERY WELL, but I dont remember exactly which animal it is. One is a hawk,1 but the other has a head like (Mother makes the same gesture)
Like a jackal?
--
But I found this interesting, so I began looking, and I LIVED the scene, all kinds of scenes of initiation, worship, etc., for quite some time. When that lifted, a light much stronger than the last time (during the last meditation) came down, in a wonderful silence. (I might add that the first thing I did, at the beginning, was to try to establish a silence around you, to insulate you from other things so as to keep your mind quiet; it kept jumping a little, but once this light came down ) And it came down with a very hieratic quality and (how can I put this?) Egyptian in charactervery occult, very occult, very, very distinct, very specific, like this (gesture indicating a block of silence descending).
And then there came a long moment of absolutely motionless contemplation with something that now escapes meit may come back.
0 1960-11-12, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
He wrote this in a letter, I believe, and he spoke of this system of compensation for example, those who take an illness on themselves in order to have the power to cure; and then theres the symbolic story of Christ dying on the cross to set men free. And Sri Aurobindo said, Thats fine for a certain age, but we must now go beyond that. As he told me (its even one of the first things he told me), We are no longer at the time of Christ when, to be victorious, it was necessary to die.
I have always remembered this.
0 1961-03-27, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I dont know, because N. said quite categorically: X told me that on arriving for this mornings meditation he had some difficulties and it took him five minutes to get over it; an adverse force was present. N. was quite positive and I even made him repeat it. Are you sure, I asked him, that it didnt happen when X came to you? No, N. replied, X met that force THERE. He said THERE! Yet that it could have been there, with all the force, light and peace that descended is incomprehensible to me. Because the first thing I do when I sit down is to make a thorough cleaning.
It ruffles me because its like a negation of my power. Till yesterday I had never experienced anything of the kind! On the 29th, you know, it will be forty-seven years since I first came here3thats not exactly yesterday! And ever since I began working with Sri Aurobindo, I have had the sense of this Power, it has never left me; so. It is disconcerting to have this kind of episode come up after such a long time.
0 1961-04-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As for him, even now his way of working consists in eliminating all obstaclesjust the opposite of what Sri Aurobindo was doing. Sri Aurobindo used to envelop them, like this (Mother opens her arms to embrace everything), and then act upon them so that they would no longer be obstacles. But the first thing X said when he first came to the Ashram was, Oh, there are a lot of elements which shouldnt be here! And he would talk about a purge: eliminate, eliminate, eliminate. But if you eliminate everything from life which is unresponsive to the Divine, what will be left?
He certainly hasnt understood Sri Aurobindos yoga. And its useless to try to explain anything to him.
0 1961-04-08, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing he did was to go see the Doctor and ask him to heal his ear, heal his stomach, heal. So the Doctor told him, But why do you eat just anything at any time of day? Naturally youre sick. And then he was constantly running up against our ways of organizing material things herepeople like him dont organize, they dont care, they just let things drift. Regarding his son, for instance, the Doctor told him, Its because you dont look after him. If you did, this wouldnt happen. And X very bluntly replied, But why!?
Theres a gap.
0 1961-04-25, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing I did this morning was to open this book by Alice Bailey (Ive had it for several days, I had to have a look at it). So I looked Ah, I saidwell, well! Heres a person whos dead now, but she was the disciple of a Tibetan Buddhist lama and considered a very great spiritual leader, and she writes, Christ is the incarnation of divine love on earth. And thats that. And the world will be transformed when Christ is reborn, when he comes back to earth. But why the devil does she put Christ? Because she was born Christian? Its deplorable.
And such a mixture of everythingeverything! Instead of making a synthesis, they make a pot-pourri. They scoop it all up, toss it together, whip it up a little, use a bunch of words that have nothing to do with one another, and then serve it to you!
0 1961-07-18, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first things it will dislodge?
Yes, individually and cosmically, so that everything is in its place.
0 1961-09-10, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I feel this so often now. How to put it. I always try not to talktalking bothers me. Yes, its a real nuisance. When I see someone, the first thing I do is to avoid talking. Then, when the Vibration comes, its good; there is a sort of communication, and if the person is the least bit receptive, what comes is like a its subtler than music; its a vibration bringing its own principle of harmony. But people usually get impatient after a while and, wanting something more concrete, oblige me to talk. They always insist on it. Then, being in a certain atmosphere, a certain vibration, I immediately feel something going like this (gesture of a fall to another level), and then hardening. Even when I babble (you see, the very effort of trying to be more subtle makes me babble), even my babblings (laughing) become dry by comparison. There are all sorts of things that are so much fullerfull, packed with an inner richnessand as soon as this is put into words, oh!
The night before last, around 3 in the morning, I was in a place where there were a lot of people from here (you were there), and I was trying to play some music, precisely in order to SAY something. There were three pianos there, which seemed to be interlocked into each other, so I leaned over sideways to get at one of the three and began playing on it. It was in a large hall with people seated at a distance, but you were just at my left alongside a young lady who was a symbol figure (that is, the vibration or impression I received from her and the relationship I had with her could be applied as well to four or five persons here: it was like relating to an amalgam something that is very interesting and often happens to me). Anyway, I was leaning over one of the keyboards and trying trying to work something out, to illustrate how this would translate into that. Finally I realized that playing half-standing, half-leaning was unnecessary acrobatics, because a grand piano was right there in front, so I sat down before it. Well, the most amusing part of it was that the keys (there were two keyboards) were all bluelike the marbled paper we are making now, all blue, and with every possible marbled effect. Black keys, white keys, high keys, low keys (all of them were the same width, quite wide, like this), all seemed to be coated but it wasnt paperwith this blue. Facing the piano I said to myself, Well now, this cant be played with physical eyesit has to be played FROM ABOVE.
0 1961-09-23, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
If anyone ever wanted to write about me, the first thing I would say is: NOT ONE WORD about my personal lifenot a word.
Mother had asked Sri Aurobindo to write something for the Ashram 'Bulletin.' It was later published as The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth.
0 1961-11-05, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As a matter of fact, the books he wrote (especially the first one, The Living Ether) were based on my knowledge; he put my knowledge into French and beautiful French, I must say! I would tell him my experiences and he would write them down. Later he wrote The Gods (it was incomplete, one-sided). Then he became a lawyer and entered politics (he was a first-class orator and fired his audiences with enthusiasm) and was sent to Pondicherry to help a certain candidate who couldnt manage his election campaign single-handed. And since Richard was interested in occultism and spirituality, he took this opportunity to seek a Master, a yogi. When he arrived, instead of involving himself in politics, the first thing he did was announce, I am seeking a yogi. Someone said to him, Youre incredibly lucky! The yogi has just arrived. It was Sri Aurobindo, who was told, Theres a Frenchman asking to see you. Sri Aurobindo wasnt particularly pleased but he found the coincidence rather interesting and received him. This was in 1910.
When Richard had finished his work, he returned to France with a poor photograph of Sri Aurobindo and a completely superficial impression of him, yet with the feeling that Sri Aurobindo KNEW (he hadnt at all understood the man that Sri Aurobindo was, he hadnt felt the presence of an Avatar, but he had sensed that he had knowledge). Moreover, I think he always held this opinion, because he used to say that Sri Aurobindo was a unique intellectual giant without many spiritual realizations! (The same type of stupidity as Romain Rollands.) Well, my relationship with Richard was on an occult plane, you see, and its difficult to touch upon. What happened was far more exciting than any novel imaginable.
--
Throughout the war Sri Aurobindo and I were in such a CONSTANT tension that it completely interrupted the yoga. And that is why the war started in the first placeto stop the Work. At that time there was an extraordinary descent of the Supermind; it was coming like that (massive gesture), a descent! Exactly in 39. Then the war broke out and stopped everything cold. For had we personally continued [the work of transformation] we were not sure of having enough time to finish it before the other one crushed the earth to a pulp, setting the whole Affair back centuries. the first thing to be done was stop the action of the Lord of Nations.
The Lord of Falsehood.
0 1961-11-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But I myself have never had it in trance, and neither did Sri Aurobindonei ther of us ever had trances! I mean the kind of trance where contact with the body is lost. Thats what he always said, and one of the first things I told him when we met was, Well, everybody talks about trance and samadhi and all those things, but I have never had them! I have never lost consciousness. Ah, he replied, its exactly the same for me!
It depends upon the level of development, thats what Theon used to say: One goes into trance only when certain links are missing. He saw people as made up of innumerable small bridges, with intermediary zones. If you have an intermediary zone that is undeveloped, he said, a zone where you are not conscious because its not individualized, then you will be in trance when you cross it. Trance is the sign of non-individualization the consciousness is not awake and so your body goes into trance. But if your consciousness is wide awake you can sit, keeping full contact with things, and have the total experience. I could go out of my body with no need of trance, except when Theon wanted me to do a particular work. That was a different business the vital force (not the consciousness, the vital force) had to go out for that work, so the body had to go into trance. But even then. For instance, very often when I am called and go to do something in response, my body does become still, but its not in trance; I can be sitting and, even in the middle of a gesture, suddenly become immobile for a few seconds.7 But I was doing another type of work with Theondangerous work, at thatand it would last for an hour. Then all the bodys vital energy would go out, all of it, as it does when you die (in fact, thats how I came to experience death).
0 1962-01-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And to Theon, the God of the Jews and Christians was an Asura. This Asura wanted to be unique; and so he became the most terrible despot imaginable. Anatole France said the same thing (I now know that Anatole France had never read Theons story, but I cant imagine where he picked this up). Its in The Revolt of the Angels. He says that Satan is the true God and that Jehovah, the only God, is the monster. And when the angels wanted Satan to become the one and only God, Satan realized he was immediately taking on all Jehovahs failings! So he refused: Oh, nothank you very much! Its a wonderful story, and in exactly the same spirit as what Theon used to say. The very first thing I asked Anatole France (I told you I met him oncemutual friends introduced us), the first thing I asked him was, Have you ever read The Tradition? He said no. I explained why I had asked, and he was interested. He said his source was his own imagination. He had caught that idea intuitively.
Well, if you speak this way to philosophers and metaphysicians, theyll look at you as if to say, You must be a real simpleton to believe all that claptrap! But these things are not to be taken as concrete truths they are simply splendid images. Through them I really did come in contact, very concretely, with the truth of what caused the worlds distortion, much better than with all the Hindu stories, far more easily.
0 1962-03-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its that old habit, the old fear of being lazy. It took me. But Sri Aurobindo cured me of that rather quickly. Thats how it was before I met him. And thats the first thing he did: he gave me a tap on the head, and all activity ceasedtotal silence, all mental constructions and habits swept away in the blink of an eye.
I was very careful not to let it come back.
0 1962-05-31, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It was the first sound that came from the body when I had that last experience [April 13]. Along with the first pain, came that first soundso it must be quite well rooted.6 And it brings in exactly that vibration of eternal Life: the first thing I felt, all of a sudden, was a kind of strong calm, confident and smiling.
Oh, I am sure it is very good, very helpful.
0 1962-06-20, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And for that, surely, the first thing that has to go is haste, impatience that much is clear.
Well, mon petit write your book.
0 1962-07-25, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But whenever there was unpleasantness with my relatives, with playmates or friends, I would feel all the nastiness or bad willall sorts of pretty ugly things that came (I was rather sensitive, for I instinctively nurtured an ideal of beauty and harmony, which all the circumstances of life kept denying) so whenever I felt sad, I was most careful not to say anything to my mother or father, because my father didnt give a hoot and my mother would scold me that was always the first thing she did. And so I would go to my room and sit down in my little armchair, and there I could concentrate and try to understand in my own way. And I remember that after quite a few probably fruitless attempts I wound up telling myself (I always used to talk to myself; I dont know why or how, but I would talk to myself just as I talked to others): Look here, you feel sad because so-and-so said something really disgusting to you but why does that make you cry? Why are you so sad? Hes the one who was bad, so he should be crying. You didnt do anything bad to him. Did you tell him nasty things? Did you fight with her, or with him? No, you didnt do anything, did you; well then, you neednt feel sad. You should only be sad if youve done something bad, but. So that settled it: I would never cry. With just a slight inward movement, or something that said, Youve done no wrong, there was no sadness.
But there was another side to this someone: it was watching me more and more, and as soon as I said one word or made one gesture too many, had one little bad thought, teased my brother or whatever, the smallest thing, it would say (Mother takes on a severe tone), Look out, be careful! At first I used to moan about it, but by and by it taught me: Dont lamentput right, mend. And when things could be mendedas they almost always could I would do so. All that on a five to seven-year-old childs scale of intelligence.
0 1962-09-05, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The experiences that left the most acute impressions on me (Mother makes a poignant gesture)you know, the kind of things that make you say, Oh, no, not that again, Ive had enough!are connected with my lives as a monarch: empress, queen and the like oh! Those are painful impressions, the most painful of all. And I have a keen memory of a resolution taken in my last life as an empress: Never again! I said. Ive had enough, I want no more of it! Id rather be not even Id rather be, I chose deliberately: I WANT to be an obscure being in an obscure family, free at last to do what I want! And thats the first thing I remembered this time: Yes, its an obscure family, an obscure being in an obscure milieu, so I may be free to do what I want; there isnt a horde of people watching me and spying on everything I do and plaguing me with rules about what I ought to be doing.
It didnt last long! (Mother laughs.)
--
Thats the first thing I told Sri Aurobindo: This was the resolution made by my psychic being (my psychic being was in a certain person I know who). And when I left, it declared categorically: I want NO MORE of this!
The rest doesnt matter much to me, it didnt leave such an acute impression.
--
You must go out through here (the heart)you can go out through the top of the head, but its more difficult. You must leave through the heart and return the same way. Its quite natural; its the first thing you learn when you want to exteriorize. The whole consciousness has to be concentrated here (the heart), and thats where you go out. And you must reenter the same way and maintain the link.
Its interesting though, very interesting.
--
I remember that one of the first things I asked Sri Aurobindo when I came here, after innumerable experiences and innumerable realizations, was, Why am I so mediocre? Everything I do is mediocre, all my realizations are mediocre, theres never anything remarkable or exceptionalits just average. It isnt low, but its not high eithereverything is average. And thats really how I felt. I painted: it wasnt bad painting, but many others could do as well. I played music: it wasnt bad music, but you couldnt say, Oh, what a musical genius! I wrote: it was perfectly ordinary. My thoughts slightly excelled those of my friends, but nothing exceptional; I had no special gift for philosophy or whatever. Everything I did was like that: my body had its skills, but nothing fantastic; I wasnt ugly, I wasnt beautiful you see, everything was mediocre, mediocre, mediocre, mediocre. Then he told me, It was indispensable.
All right, so I kept quietand very quickly, within a few weeks, I understood.
0 1962-10-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And as far as expression is concerned, the first thing that comes over you is its not just an impossibility: you dont WANT to talk.
Something else is needed, something else entirely.
0 1962-10-12, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Ive been focusing on this lately. Ive been looking at the difference between similar events in the lives of human beings and the lives of animals. If you identify with animals, you clearly see that they dont take things tragically at allexcept for those which have come into contact with man. (But then theyre not in their natural state; its a transitional state, they are beings in transition between animal and man.) And naturally the first things they pick up from man are his defects thats always whats easiest to pick up! And then they make themselves unhappy for nothing.
So many things, so many things. Human beings have made an appalling tragedy out of death. And I saw, with all these recent experiences, I saw how many, many poor human beings have been destroyed by the very people they loved the most! Under the pretext that they were dead.
0 1963-01-12, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is also here the sister of the old portly doctor, she is (I think) five or six years older than Ishe is getting on for ninety. She has been dying away too, for several months. The doctors (who dont know the first thing in these matters) had declared she would die after a few days. Wait a little, I told them, this woman knows how to enter a state of rest, she has a very peaceful consciousness it will last long, it may last for years. She is in bed, she cant move much, but she lives. She too lives out of habit.
In reality, the body should be able to last MUCH LONGER than human beings think. They knock it about: as soon as someone is unwell, they drug or knock his body about, they take away that kind of calm vegetative serenity that can make it last a very long time. The way trees take a very long time to die.
0 1963-03-23, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
To know that all is You, that You alone exist, to feel You everywhere, to feel You always, and still to be open to the first thing that comes from outside to give you a blow, a sense of insecurityhow absurd!
Of course, with a concentration of the true being (gesture above), it disappears instantly but that means it isnt the body that feels a sense of security! Its the true consciousness (and quite naturally so, for it would not be true if it didnt have that sense). But what we want is the body to exist in ITSELF, by ITSELF, with all qualities WITHIN ITSELF. In other words, God shouldnt need to manifest for the body to live without anxiety!
0 1963-04-20, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In my case, I found out I had that capacity because it made me prone to faintingnot too often, but off and on it happened. When I was a child and didnt know a thing, I fainted a couple of times; the fainting, as it happened, wasnt unconsciousit was consciousand after a bit of practice (not the practice of fainting!), of occult practice, when I fainted I would see myself. Even before that, I had seen myself but without knowing what it all meant, I couldnt make head or tail of it. But I would see myself. And afterwards, whenever I would faint, the first thing I did was to see my body lying down in a ridiculous position. So I would rush back into it vigorously, and it would be all over.
Of course, I was probably born with some abilities! (laughter)
0 1963-05-11, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Satprem draws the Tantric diagram he has been instructed to do 72 times a day for three times 72 days. It is a square divided into 9 smaller squares which contain figures and one Sanskrit letter. the first thing Mother does is to add up all the figures:)
Did you add them up? No? Whatever way you do it, it adds up to 72. 9 is the figure of birth.
0 1963-07-27, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As long as you were here, I didnt bother about it. I simply thought of something else. But when you left, I thought, Theres no reason to leave that here. So I concentrated I called the Lord and put Him here (gesture to the side), and I saw it all, what Ive just told you, that state of stupid negation, and how if you allow the thing to follow what they call its normal course, it becomes a good illness (Mother laughs), a serious illness. I call the Lord. (He is always here! But the fact that I concentrate and keep quiet.) And then its almost instantaneous: the first thing is a reactionalmost a STATE rather than a reactionwhich DENIES the possibility of divine Action. It isnt a will, its an automatic negation. Then there is always a Smile that answers (thats what is interesting, theres never any anger or any force that imposes itself, only a Smile), and almost instantly the pain disappearsThat settles in, luminous, tranquil.
It isnt final, mind you, only a first contact: the experience recurs on another occasion and for another reason (they arent mental reasons, they are occasions), it recurs, but there is already a beginning of collaboration: the cells have LEARNED that with That, the state changed (very interestingly, they remember), so they begin to collaborate, and the Action is even more rapid. Then a third time, a few hours away, it recurs once again; but then THE CELLS THEMSELVES call and ask for the divine Action, because they remember. And then That comes in, gloriously, like something established.
0 1963-11-20, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing is to detach your consciousness, thats most important. And to say: I-AM-NOT-THIS, its something that has been ADDED, placed to enable me to touch Matter but it isnt me. And then if you say, That is me (gesture upward), youll see that you will be happy, because it is lovelylovely, luminous, sparkling. Its really fine, it has an exceptional quality. And thats you. But you have to say, That is me, and be convinced that its you. Naturally, the old habits come to deny it, but you must know that theyre old habits, nothing else, they dont matter that is you.
This movement is indispensable. A moment comes when one must absolutely separate oneself from all this, because only when one has separated oneself and become quite conscious that one is there (gesture above the head), that one is THAT, only then can one come down again to change it all. Not to forsake it, but to be its master.
0 1964-02-05, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
That photograph was clearer than the others, less confusedit was clearer. And I looked at all the details, thinking, A pity the boxes werent open, the books could have been seen, it would have looked better. In other words, I looked at the photo attentively and saw all the details, the different intensities of shade and light: it wasnt just a passing glance. Then I went on looking up to the end of the book and gave it to someone to look at. Naturally, the first thing that someone said to me was, You dont quite get an impression of Paris. I said, True, but there was one photo that gave a very good impression of Paris: that of the bouquinistes on the banks of the Seine. He looked surprised; so I said, Of course! I took the book and started turning the pages. I turned all the pagesmy photo wasnt there! So I thought, Ive missed it (I was looking without my magnifying glass), I must have missed it. I took my magnifying glass, turned all the pages starting from the other end, very carefullynothing! No bouquinistes. I turned the pages a third time (Mother laughs), still no bouquinistes! I said to myself, Theres an aberration somewhere something that makes me turn two pages at a time or that veils my sight. So I said, All right, Ill look tomorrow morning, and I put the book aside.
The next morning I was alone, concentrating I concentrated a lot, saying to myself, I do not want to be under an illusion, I do not want to be fooled by something. I had seen the photo as clearly as I saw it, I looked at it for several MINUTES. Which is to say that I am absolutely sure of what I saw.
0 1965-03-24, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
My means of knowing people now is also like that. But for a long time now, when I see a photograph, for instance, it hasnt been going through thought at all; there are neither deductions nor intuitions: the photograph causes a vibration somewhere. And funny things happen, too; the other day, they gave me the photograph of a person, so I have a very clear perception: from the place that is touched, from the vibration that responds, I know that this man is used to handling ideas and that he has the self-assurance of someone who teaches. I ask (just to see), What does this man do? They tell me, He is a businessman. I said, Well, he isnt made to be a businessman, he doesnt know the first thing about business! And three minutes after, they tell me, Oh, excuse me, I am sorry, I made a mistake, he is a teacher! (Mother laughs) Thats how it is.
And its constant, constant.
--
Let us assume you have a pain somewhere; the instinct (the instinct of the body, of the cells) is to tense up and try to rejectwhich is the worst thing to do: it invariably increases the pain. So the first thing that must be taught to the body is to stay stillnot to have any reactions. Above all no tensing up, and not even a movement of rejectiona perfect stillness. Thats corporeal equanimity.
A perfect stillness.
0 1965-06-30, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Oh, something curious happened two nights ago. I was with Sri Aurobindo, it was in a room oh, what a room. Well, it was magnificent, very high-ceilinged, very large, and without anything at all in it; but it was a very large room, and there were kinds of French windows opening out on a balcony or a terrace (it overlooked a town), and those windows, from top to bottom, were a single pane of glass: it gave a magnificent light. He was there. Then for some reason or other I felt he wanted a cup of tea. So I set out in search of his cup of tea, and went through rooms, halls, even construction sites (!), looking for a cup of tea for him; and they were all large roomsall the rooms were large but contrary to the one in which he was, which was so clear, the others were dark. And there was a large hall which was like a dining hall, with a table and everything needed to serve meals, but dark and also there wasnt anything left. There were people (people I know) who said, Ah, (in a sorry tone) its all finished they had finished everything, they had eaten up everything! (Mother laughs) They had swallowed up everything, there was nothing left. Finally, I found someone in a sort of kitchen down below (someone whom I wont name, I know her), who told me, Yes, yes, Ill bring you that right now, right now! And she brought me a pot, saying, Here. I went off with my pot, then I felt somewhat suspicious, and once outside, I lifted the lid and the first thing I see is earth! Red earth. I scratched off the red earth with my fingers, and underneath (laughing), there was a slice of bread!
Anyway, there was a lot like that, I had all sorts of adventures. Then I looked to see if Sri Aurobindo really needed his cup of tea because it seemed so difficult! I saw him, there was that wonderful French window, so clear, and then as if recessed into the wall (I dont know) a sort of platform couch, a place to sit, but it was very pretty, and he was seated or half-reclining on it, and very comfortable. And there was a boy (or a boy had come to ask him something), and there were kinds of stairs leading up to the couch; the boy was reclining on the stairs, asking questions, and Sri Aurobindo was explaining something. I recognized the boy. I thought, Ah, (laughing) hes no longer thinking of his cup of tea, fortunately! Then I woke up. But I thought, If this is how he sees us having gobbled up everything, you understand.
0 1965-07-10, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Maheshwaris light. But it seems I always had it, because when Madame Thon saw me, its the first thing she told me; she didnt speak of Maheshwari, but she said, You have the white light that automatically dissolves all ill will. And I did experience it: I saw beings crumble into dust. So you take that, picture that, and you build a cocoon around yourselfyou know, just as insects build their own cocoonsyou build a cocoon before falling asleep. I will do it here, but your picturing is to help it be better adapted, better adjusted. You build a cocoon, and when you are quite wrapped in that white cocoon, when the enemies cannot get through it, you let yourself go into sleep. Then all that comes from outside with a manifest ill will cannot get in. Thats certain. Naturally, there is what one carries in ones subconscient one must eliminate that by ones own will, little by little.
But this Light is all-powerful, mon petit! (Speaking to Sujata:) You too can do the same thing if you have enemies at night.
0 1965-07-17, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
She nursed her husband, she even almost brought him back to life, and when he recovered speech and consciousness, the first thing he did was to cut off her means of subsistence and discredit her! To thank her, he spread the word that he was no longer responsible for her. Anyway, thats life for you.2
Would you like to read her letter?
0 1965-09-15a, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It seems, according to astrologers, that the combination of stars for the month of September is very bad for the earth. Naturally, this is always something to be cautious about, because it depends on peoples intuition, on their capacity to interpret, whether their vision is broad enough and so on, but it seems that all the signs are undeniable and indicate that things are bad (thats vague, of course), catastrophic. I was told this before, they said it in July. Only, I never attach too much importance to their conclusions, because they are always And also, they say some very vague things that contradict each other. Personally, I dont know the first thing about all that, I am not trying to seein fact I NEVER try to see (what came last night came very spontaneously, without my trying to see). The work, of course, is devoid of thought, of verbal expression, and constant; but it has been constant for a long time: the first time was at the beginning of the year, I think, at least six months ago. The second time, I told you I had one night an experience [the pressure of the Supreme] before anything really serious had taken place. Well, the first experience I had, of the consciousness hurling a fantastic power on the earth, which was necessarily going to shake things up, was at least six months before that second experience. And for those six months, it was constant: as soon as I came into contact with the earth consciousness, it was there, and constant, constant. Then came that indication: the pressure of the supreme Lord. And the third step was yesterday evening.
Well see.
0 1965-09-25, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And that we are just clumsy fools (laughing) who want things to be otherwise because we dont understand the first thing about anything!
Its beginning to be a little wiser here, a little bit. I told you, after nights like yesterday, you are a little wiser. And mornings you are a little wiser. And a sort of very, very material sensation that its He Because we think, Oh, if it were for us (we dont say it like that, but), everything would instantly be just fine, no? And that just fine, God knows what it would be!
0 1965-12-10, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Thats the EXTRAORDINARY lesson Sri Aurobindo gave us, and thats how I took it. When he left, the first thing I said was, Now everyone may die, it doesnt matter in the slightest. And it was absolutely true, and since that day it has been absolutely true.
It absolutely does not matter.
0 1966-11-19, #Agenda Vol 07, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I should also say that ever since financial affairs started being none too bright, all manner of things have been reaching my ears. There are big difficulties. I am obliged to tell people that I cant pay and they shouldnt spend needlessly, and on the other hand, I am looking, trying to find where the obstacle is. Because the power to attract money remains as it has always been (and its considerable), so there should be no difficulties. So I wrote this note because I see clearly in peoples thought, they all keep saying, Oh, we should do this, oh, we shouldnt do that, oh, if Mother did this, oh, if Mother didnt do that. Some are bold enough to say it, others arent but think that waythere are very few who dont think that way. And still fewer say to themselves, Id better not be concerned with it because I dont understand the first thing about it. So I was as if compelled to take the pen and write that down: They know what should be done, they know (Mother makes a gesture of hammering the disciples heads). And it has done a lot of good.
Did I tell you last time that in Bihar, the rain started that very evening? I found out how it occurred. Its P. who flew over Bihar, and he saw a desert, devastation: dry, dry, dry, nothing growing, cracked earth. Then he remembered certain experiences here.3 When he reached the airport, he was received officially and said, I would like to see the Chief Minister in private, without anyone else. He saw him and told him an experience he had had and had witnessed here [at Pondicherry]. And he said, Why dont you ask Mother? The other answered quite spontaneously, It would be better if you asked for us! Then he sent his telegram. The same evening it started raining. He wrote, saying, This first rain has been like divine nectar to me. He said that people there were entirely trusting and as well-disposed as could be. And he saw a relation between those droughts, those natural catastrophes, and the forces that stop money from coming; he saw they were affected by that experience of unexpected rain. For example, at the same time (a day or two later), he met some people who arent rich (the husb and has a good position, but they arent rich: they have a family, children). For some reason or other the husb and had been given a compensation of 10,000 rupees by the government, and quite spontaneously and naturally they went and saw P. and said to him, You must give this to Mother. He asked the lady, But why do you give all this? She spontaneously answered, But what would I do with this money? I dont need it. In other words, the true attitude. So it immediately made P. think that something is on the move.
0 1967-04-27, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I didnt say anything to anyone; I wanted to know (because when I speak, people try to find something, while I wanted to know the spontaneous reaction). the first thing I received was a letter from G. saying that he was at the Samadhi, and just before it began, a force came down on him so strongly that he fell (he was sitting, he fell forward). So he asked me what it was. I havent replied yet. Then there have been other people, other things.
To me, that was unique, because its the first time it has happened to me. But it has had a result: all that still clings, within, to that old habit of disorder and disharmonywhich is the cause of, oh, everything, all mischief, all illnesses, everything that has been Yesterday afternoon, I saw there was something that needed to be eliminated, and it changed into a head cold. Its nothing.
0 1967-05-13, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Some have already protested against Thoth (the disciples first ape), if now theres an orang-outan theyll reproach me! Because, naturally, the servants were afraid, even the neighbours, anyway it wasnt to their liking. Once, Thoth walked into the room, so the maid started screaming; the neighbour came (luckily he has enough sense), he remained quiet and simply looked at Thoth, with some severity, probably. Then Thoth left without anything happening. But at other times, when Thoth is not happy, he tears up bed sheets or whatever. Finally the neighbour came and told me the incident (that was long ago). I said to him, You dont know the first thing about animals! Happily you have a peaceful nature, but animals are extremely sensitive to our feelings or sentiments: if you are afraid, they instantly get afraid; if you are angry, they instantly get angry; and if you are gentle, kind, affable, they become gentle, kind, affable. He understood quite well, and ever since all has been well. But he isnt alone in the house. An orang-outan is a big thing, you see!
That Thoth is really remarkable. Did I tell you what happened when I first saw him? (And I asked Y. very insistently whether she had taught him, but she hadnt said anything at all to himnei ther taught nor said anything.) He came with her, and as soon as he saw me (he was on Y.s arm), he folded his hands! And then he made a speech to me: his mouth moved; there werent any sounds, but his mouth moved. And an expression Then I complimented him, and he immediately leapt onto my knees, curled up in my arms, and went off into a semi-trancestopped moving, kept still. It lasted at least five minutes. After five minutes, I thought, He cant just stay here forever, he should go now!then he opened his eyes and went away! The receptivity is far more remarkable than in human beings. Then he looked around him, looked out of the window, well, took interest in the place. Then he again looked towards me, came back on my knees, and rested against my shoulder.
0 1967-06-21, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
At present the working is going on with direct Supramental Force. Its immediate action on the world of selfishness, strife and disharmony is not encouraging. We see everywhere clashes; the world is going on in the old way as usual, perhaps worse. One is reminded of the old legend that the first thing that arose from the churning of the Ocean of Life was poison. Nectar came last. The action now looks to be similar. India is going on in the same old way, placating Pakistan and the Musulmans and Russians.
One sentence in the Mothers reply in connection with the Israeli-Arab war seems to me to be very ominous: This is not the conflict that will decide the future of our civilisation. Does it mean that there will be another bigger conflict in which the present civilisation will be destroyed though the world will be saved? Or does it mean that there may not be any war at all and the fate of our civilisation may be decided by natural evolution of consciousness? But the last one seems very unlikely except that the complete transformation of the Mothers physical will produce such tremendous effect everywhere that disharmony will become impossible.
0 1967-07-29, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It came in two ways. Those things are SEEN, you understand, seen. Words come afterwards to try and transcribe what was seen. the first thing that came was thus:
Christians divinize suffering to make it a means of the earths salvation.
0 1967-08-26, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Oh! Moreover, as soon as the group was set up, they threw out the man who had started it! They did it under the pretext he was dishonest, but still he was the founder after all. He had gone to Russia, and it was in Russia that the idea of World Union came to him. So four or five of them came together to form this World Union, and fifteen days later they started quarrellinga year later they threw out the one who had founded it! Then it was the turn of S., who, at least, has some ideas. Anyway, he too was thrown out. Then they came to me to tell me their miseries! I told them, Listen, you are profoundly ridiculous: you want to preach world unity, and the first thing you do is quarrel! It shows that you arent ready. And I left it at that. Then A.B., who was very well known in Africa, recruited all kinds of people and made me see a few of them to ask me if they were able to do somethingabsolutely nothing, you know, nothing at all: old pillars of a house in ruins, nothing else.
***
0 1968-01-24, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
A sort of mechanical fixity is probably going to disappear, thats my belief; its the first thing that will change, a sort of mechanical fixity that was necessary to You understand, physical life was extremely mechanical so as to be able to function normally; well, thats what is now disappearing. But the transition is difficult.
There.
0 1968-04-10, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing, to begin with (this is elementary), is to have no sense of possession Its mine, what does that mean? What does it mean? I cant really understand it now. Why do people want it to be theirs?To be able to use it as they wish, do with it what they wish and handle it according to their own idea. Thats how it is. Otherwise, yes, there are people who love to keep it in a pile somewhere But thats a disease. To be sure of always having money, they heap it up. But if people understood that one must be like a receiver-transmitter set; that the vaster the set (just the contrary of personal), the more impersonal and generous and vast the set is, and the more forces it can contain (forces, that is, to translate materially, banknotes or money). And that power to contain is in proportion to the best capacity of utilization the best, that is, from the standpoint of general progress: the broadest vision, the broadest understanding and the most enlightened, exact, true utilization, not according to the egos falsified needs, but according to the earths general need in its evolution and development. In other words, the broadest vision should have the broadest capacity.
Behind all false movements, there is a true one: there is a joy in being able to direct, utilize, organize things so as to keep wastage to a minimum while having a maximum of results. (Thats a very interesting vision to have.) And that must be the true side in those who want to amass: a capacity of utilization on a very large scale.
--
the first thing to be accepted and recognized by all is that the invisible, higher power (higher in the sense that it belongs to a plane of consciousness which, although veiled to most, one can gain, a consciousness one may call as one likes, any name that doesnt matter but which is integral and pure in the sense that its not mendacious, its based on the Truth), that this power is capable of governing material things for everyone in a MUCH TRUER, happier and more beneficial way than any material power. Thats the first point. Once everyone agrees on it
And its not something you can pretend to have; a being cant pretend to have it: either he has it or he doesnt, because (laughing) if its a pretense, life will use the slightest opportunity to make it obvious! And moreover, it wont give you any material powerhere also, Thon said something in this regard, he said, Those who are all the way up (he was referring to the TRUE hierarchy, the hierarchy based precisely on each ones power of consciousness), one who is all the way up (one or those) necessarily has the least amount of needs; his material needs decrease as his capacity of material vision increases. And its perfectly true. Its automatic and spontaneous; its not the result of an effort: the vaster the consciousness and the more things and realities it embraces, the smaller the material needs becomeautomatically sobecause they lose all their importance and value. Its reduced to a minimal need of material necessities, which will itself change with the progressive development of Matter.
0 1968-11-09, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Then, when I learned she had left, the first thing that came (gesture of mental vibration): Oh, how lonely she must have felt when she died! And it preoccupied me a lot, until her thought told me, Now its over, we wont think about it anymore. She must have had a difficult moment.
She even told me, You were with me, but it was too deep. It was in the active mind that she was.
0 1969-11-19, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
While I was living it, it was But I might not have been able to say it at the time. This (Mother points to her note), I was obliged to take a paper and write it, but I dont even remember what I put. the first thing written was this:
Stability and change
0 1969-12-10, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Thats the first thing that should be spread everywhere.
Never lay the blame on others or on circumstances because whatever the circumstances may be, even apparently the worst, if you are in the true attitude and have the true consciousness, it doesnt matter in the least for your inner progress, not in the leastand Ill say, including death.
0 1969-12-13, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Ah, yes, thats the general rule. Whats needed is the opposite! Instead of repelling it, to offer it. Its to put the thing, the movement itself, to CAST it into the Light . Generally, it squirms and refuses! But (laughing) its the only way. Thats why this Consciousness is so precious . You understand, what caused the repression is the idea of good and evila sort of contempt or shame at whats regarded as evil and so one goes like this (gesture of repelling), one doesnt want to see it, doesnt want to let it be. Whats needed the first thing the first thing to be realized is that the infirmity of our consciousness is what creates this division, and that there is a Consciousness (I am sure of it now), there is a Consciousness in which that doesnt exist, in which what we call evil is as necessary as what we call good, and if we could cast our sensationor our activity or perceptioncast it into this Light, thats what cures.2 Instead of repressing or repelling it as something one wants to destroy (it cant be destroyed!), one must cast it into the Light. I had in fact several days of an experience which for that reason was very interesting; instead of trying to drive far away from yourself certain things (which you dont accept or which cause a disequilibrium in the being), instead of that, accept them, take them as a part of yourself, and (Mother opens her hands) offer themthey dont want to be offered, but theres a way to compel them. A way to compel them: the resistance is lessened to the extent that we can lessen in us the sense of disapproval. If we can replace that sense of disapproval with a higher understanding, then we can do it. Its much easier.
I had a whole baggage which remained like that, of things I did when I was young; it remained like that (gesture on the side), and in fact, after that supramental experience, I was able to gather all of it, and all of a sudden, it got entirely clarified, I understood everything, and it evaporated. Things I had been dragging along for a very long time I didnt want to know, you understand, didnt want to have anything to do with them anymore and then it was all over. It melted, it was clarified like Well, it was in its place.
0 1970-01-03, #Agenda Vol 11, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You know, now, when I am put in contact with all the things I said in the past (yet I did my best) I so much feel its like words of ignoranceall of them based on choice and opposition: this and not that, this and not that, you approve and disapprove. Thats it. And now it looks so stupid! And so narrowso narrow. Whats admired in people who have been regarded as saints (saints, especially saints) is refusal: refusal of almost everything, except of God (Mother holds a single finger erect heavenward). And everything, from the highest thingones approach to the Divinefrom that down to the most material the bodys functionseverything from top to bottom is just the same stupidity: this but not that; this but not that; this in contradiction to that; this in opposition to that. All morality, all social rules, the whole material organization of the world is based on division. And it seems more and more evident that that will be the first thing the firstwhich the higher being (which Sri Aurobindo called the supramental being), the first thing that being will want to abolish.
Now I understand why he said supramental; instead of saying superman he said supramental because superman is Whereas for that being, the very basis of his existence is different; instead of being based on division, its based on union. Man talks a lot about union, but he doesnt have the least idea what it is.
0 1970-01-17, #Agenda Vol 11, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The bodythis bodyis undergoing a discipline, you know, oh, terrible. But it doesnt complain, its happy, it asks for it. And it sees how we are full of VERY SMALL THINGS that are ceaselessly hindering the action of the Force. Well, the first thing is to get rid of all that. We must be like this (gesture of surrender, open) and receive the Force. Then all inspirations will come, and not only inspirations but the MEANS of execution, and the TRUE THING. Otherwise
And since not all of them are quite ready, I do what the Consciousness does: I apply the Pressure and say nothing I wait (Mother laughs).
0 1970-03-18, #Agenda Vol 11, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its very interesting because its an experiment it has made in every detail and at every stage. the first thing it found was not to think of the disease, not to be concerned with it. Thats the first stage. Afterwards, it found that when it was occupied with something else, the pain was greatly lessened. Later on, it had the experience that if someone comes near it, someone who knows you are in pain, it comes back! All that is very, very interesting: lots of small observations of every minute. And finally, it had this repeated and absolutely convincing proof that as soon as it concentrates on the Divine, as soon as it makes contact (because it FEELS, it has the sensation in the cells), as soon as it concentrates (without being concerned with the diseased point: its better not to be concerned with it), the pain totally disappears, to such a point that At such times (those are things that cause pain, so the first effect is not to feel the pain), at times, in the beginning, the body would ask for the Intervention and there would be an effect, but there was the sense of a struggle, a resistance (something of the sort): it would take a little time. But when the body succeeded in concentrating WITHOUT DEMAND, you understand (simply giving itself), on the Divine, then it would stop thinking about the pain, the body itself stops thinking about the pain, and after a certain time, it realizes its completely vanished!It stopped thinking about it and it was gone.
That experience has been repeated HUNDREDS of times, for all kinds of different things.
0 1971-01-16, #Agenda Vol 12, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
They have broadcast it. (Laughing) the first thing they did was to send it to Delhi. Instead of broadcasting it here, they sent it to Delhi. They made such a fuss about it. But its good, it gives people courage.
Yes, Mother, I dont know, but personally I have a strong feeling that its very close.
0 1972-02-01, #Agenda Vol 13, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing the physical consciousness must realize is that all the difficulties we encounter in life arise from the fact that we do not rely exclusively on the Divine to find the help we need.
The Divine alone can liberate us from the mechanism of universal Nature. And this liberation is indispensable for the birth and development of the new race.
0 1972-02-09, #Agenda Vol 13, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing one learns on the way is that giving brings much greater joy than taking.
Then, gradually, one learns that selflessness is the source of an immutable peace. Later, in this selflessness one finds the Divine, and that is the source of an unending bliss.
02.13 - On Social Reconstruction, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
A social organization must have two fundamental objects. The central purpose is to serve and help the individual. That is the first thing to be remembered. Organization for the sake of organization is not the end. Organization for the sake of perpetuating a system, however laudable it may be, is not the end either. It is, as I say, by the service that an organization renders to its individual members, and not merely by its mechanical order and efficiency that it is to be judged. This service, I have said, is twofold. First, each individual must find his proper vocation: the right man in the right place. The function of each man must be in accordance with his nature and character. Secondly, each person, while fulfilling his Dharma, (that is the right word) must be trained, must have the opportunity to grow and increase in his being and consciousness. First of all, a prosperous, at least an adequately equipped outer life, and then as adequate a lebensraum for the inner personality to have its free and full play and expression.
A totalitarian equality takes men as blocks or chunks of wood and also cuts and clips them as such whenever and wherever needed, thrusts them indiscriminately into any nook and corner of the social framework for the sake of its upkeep and maintenance. It is something that is characteristic of a modern armythoroughly mechanisedin which men are not different from the nuts and bolts of a machine, all forming a stream-lined massive unity, where persons and individuals as such have no value or consideration, they are dumb and almost dead materials and when worn out just simply to be replaced by others. If it is to be compared to any living thing, we can think of only the regimentation that obtains in an ant-hill or a bee-hive.
04.03 - The Eternal East and West, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The contrast points to a synthesis parallel to or an extension of the one we spoke of earlier. the first thing to note is that the individual is the source of all progress; the individual has the right, as it is also his duty to maintain himself and fulfil himself, grow to his largest and highest dimensions! Secondly, the individual has to take cognisance of the others, the whole humanity, in fact, even for the sake of his own progress. The individual is not an isolated entity, a freak product in Nature, but is integrated into it, a part and parcel of its texture and composition. Indeed the individual has a double role to perform, first to increase himself and secondly to increase others. Using the terms which the Sartrian view of existence has put into vogue, we can say, the individual en soi (in himself) is the individual in commonalty with others, living and moving in and through every other person; and then there is the individual pour soi (for himself), that is to say, existing for himself, apart and away from others, in his own inner absolute autonomy. The individual is individualised, i.e. raises and lifts himself and then becomes the spearhead breaking through the level where Nature stands fixed, leading others to follow and raise themselves. The individual is the power of organised self-consciousness; the growth of the individual means the growth of this power of organised consciousness. And growth means ascension or evolution from level to level. The individual starts from the organic cell, that is the lower end, it progresses through various gradations of the vital and mental worlds till he reaches the culmination of its growth in the Spirit as tman. But this vertical growth must be reflected in a horizontal growth too. There is a solidarity among the individuals forming the collective humanity so that the progress of one means the progress of others in the same direction, at least a chance and possibility opened for an advance. On the other hand, it may be noted that unless the collectivity rises to a certain level the individual too cannot go very far from it. A higher lift in the individual presupposes a corresponding or some minimum lift in others. There cannot or should not be too great a rift between the individual and the collective.
As I said, the East usually ignores this correspondence and posits an exclusive either-or relation between the two terms. The individual, according to it, can reach its true individuality by only dissolving itin the Infinite. Of course, I am referring to an extreme position which is general in the East and symptomatic of its fundamental character. The West does not concern itself with these higher lines of individual growth and fulfilment, it limits the individual within the social frame and his mundane or profane life; but what we learn from this outlook is the necessity of the collective growth through which only can the individual thrive and grow. It is however a growth in extension, rather than in intensity i.e. depth and height. This outlook errs in the limitation put upon individuality, precisely identifying it more or less with the "egoism" to which the spirituality of the East objects. This normal individual in its normal development cannot go very far, nor can he lead the others, the society or humanity, to a perfect and supreme fulfilment. The ego-bound normal individuality must transcend itselfexactly the thing that the East teaches; only this transcendence need not mean an abolition of all individuality, but a transformation, a higher integration in a spiritualised, a universalised and divinised individuality.
04.05 - The Freedom and the Force of the Spirit, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
the first thing that has to be learnt in life is that circumstances are not all in all: however powerful and overwhelming they may appear to be at a given moment, man can always react against them. If there is not an immediate success externally as desired, the will thus exerted does not go in vain. First of all, it declares and asserts the independence and autonomy of the inner man: something within is found and established which is not touched by the environment, which lives by its own au thentic truth and reality and is ever contented and happy. It is in reference to such a poise of consciousness that the great poet says:
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
04.09 - Values Higher and Lower, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
To the spiritual seeker the higher values are the first things that come first: to the ordinary man it is otherwise, lower values come first and claim topmost priority. To the experience of the spiritual seeker one should give greater value, for he has the experience of both the values, while the ordinary man knows only of one variety. Naturally, as we have said, there is synthesis, a fusion of the two values; but that is elsewhere for the present, not actually here and now.
II
05.02 - Physician, Heal Thyself, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
And if we cannot correct and mould as we wish the little world within which is our own, how can we expect to correct or change the vaster outer world? To leave oneself to be as one is and to try to make others change is evidently an absurd and self-contradictory proposition. On the other hand, if the first thing that one does is to correct oneself, then one will find, much to one's surprise and satisfaction, that there is very little to correct in the world, everything has been already corrected automatically.
Each man is given his little domain within him and he is master of that domain. Nobody is given more (or less even) than what he can successfully manage: the charge is accurately measured according to capacity. One can be indeed a roi fainant, if one chooses to be so; but that is not man's inevitable destiny; he can truly be the ruling king and exercise, to the full, his authority. It is a simple truth that man has a will and can wield it. This will he can consciously develop, increase and enlarge, make it an extremely powerful, if not invincible, instrument for action.
06.11 - The Steps of the Soul, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
the first thing then to do is to find out what it is that you are meant to realise, what is the role you have to play, your particular mission and the capacity or quality you have to express. You have to discover that and also the thing or things that oppose and do not allow it to flower or come to full manifestation. In other words, you have to know yourself, recognize your soul or psychic being.
For that you must be absolutely sincere and impartial. You must observe yourself as if you were observing and criticising a third person. You must not start with an idea that this is your life's mission, such is your particular capacity, you are to do this or you are to do that, in this lies your talent or genius etc. That will carry you away from the right track. It is not the liking or disliking of your external being, your mental or vital or physical choice that determines the true line of your growth. Nor should you take up the opposite attitude and say, I am good for nothing in this matter, I am useless in that other, this is not for me. Neither vanity or arrogance nor self-depreciation or false modesty should move you. As I said, you must be absolutely impartial and unconcerned. You should be like a mirror that reflects the truth and does not judge.
06.19 - Mental Silence, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Now, the value of an idea cannot be determined by the idea itself. Usually one chooses because of some external reason or other: one's education, environment, one's personal temperament, likes and dislikes go a long way in determining one's choice. So the first thing you have to do is not to allow the thoughts to come in pell-mell, as and when they like. Thoughts must come only when you choose them and only those that you choose. There must be a conscious selection. How to proceed in this work? As your own thoughts cannot choose themselves, what you have to do at the outset is to call for a higher guidance and let yourself be absolutely impartial and passive in its hands.
A blankness is needed, a white emptiness somewhere behindeven if it does not come and occupy the front too. Give up personal choosing and wait for the Higher Direction the Divineto do with you whatever it wills. Given the requisite silence and reliance, the decision comes inevitably and you are moved to do automatically what is required to be done from moment to moment. At first you may not get the knowledge of the why and the wherefore of your action, you act merely as an automaton but with the luminous silence within and a tranquil aspiration attending. When once you have been trained in this unquestioning docility, then knowledge will be given to you gradually, at first only of a few steps ahead, later on for a fuller and completer perspective.
07.06 - Record of World-History, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The point, however, is how to go there at all. Well, the first thing is that you must completely silence your mind. Mental cogitations, agitations you must leave behind, no thoughts must enter your consciousness, it must be tranquil and still, like a tram parent sheet of water or smooth and polished like a mirror. The description I have given of a library is only an image, the real thing is something different. However, you have in this way some idea to go upon. In the silent mind you form a point of consciousness and send it out as an emissary to gather the required information. This point of consciousness must be absolutely detached and free to go as it likes; for if it were in any way kept tied to the normal movements of your own mind, then you will not go further than what is in your head. You must be able to make your brain a blank, you must have no preconceived notion, no idea that the solution of your problem might lie in this way or that. As I say, your mind has to be a thoroughly blank page, a clean slate, with nothing written on it, no mark even. There should' be instead a sincere aspiration to know the truth, without postulating beforeh and what kind of truth it might be; other-wise you will meet your own formation in the brain.
You can certainly test and correct the information you get from your inner voyage by outside information, what others have found or what are recorded in books. The inner know-ledge need not and should not replace the outer knowledge, but supplement it, both should support and complete each other. But there is a mixture about which you must be very careful. Your silent mind, your inner consciousness receives the necessary knowledge, but as you want to express it or translate in normal terms, that is to say, as your brain gets active again, it may and often does supply its own materials and formations and the original knowledge gets disturbed and distorted. Sometimes what you may do is to dictate most passively the things you see or perceive and let another take down in writing as you proceed. You must say exactly as you see and the other take down exactly as he hears.
07.21 - On Occultism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Of course, age is really no bar. I was doing occultism when I was twelve years old. But I must tell you I had no fear, I had fear of nothing. Here you come out of the body, you are connected with the body by the very tiniest, almost imperceptible, bit of thread, as it were. If the thread snaps, there is an end of it all, the end of your life. So you come out into another world and begin to look about and see what kind of world it is. Generally, the first things you see, as I said, are absolutely terrifying. In your normal view, the air about you is empty; there is nothingyou see the blue of the sky or the white cloud or the sunshine and everything is beautiful. But when you have the other sight, the picture is quite different. You see that the whole atmosphere is filled with a multitude of small formations, which are the remains of desires and mental deformations and they crowd about you in such a way that the whole thing gives you a very disagreeable impression. Indeed, it is positively ugly more often than not. They come near you, attack you, press upon you and you fear and tremble. Then they assume formidable proportions. But if you are not shaken, if you can look with the eye of a calm curiosity, you will find then there is nothing so very terrifying. Things are not beautiful perhaps, but they are not frightful either.
I shall tell you a story to illustrate my point. I knew a Dane who was a painter, a painter of some talent.' He was interested in occultism. Some of you might have heard of him. He had come here and met Sri Aurobindo. He did a portrait too of Sri Aurobindo. It was the first Great War. He returned to France and saw me. He asked me to teach him this science. I taught him how to come out of the body, how to maintain control, etc., etc. I told him especially, what I tell you now, not to have fear. Now he came to me one day and narrated his experience of a night. He had a dream; but of course it was not a dream: he knew how to come out of the body and was out consciously. Once out he was trying to find where he was. Suddenly he saw moving towards him a tiger, huge and formidable, evidently with dire intentions. He remembered, how-ever, my advice. So he kept calm and quiet and said to himself: There is no danger, I am protected, nothing can happen to me, I am surrounded by the power of protection. And he looked straight at the animal calmly and fearlessly. As he kept on gazing, strange to say, he saw the tiger diminishing in size, shrinking and shrinking, till at last it turned into a small harmless cat!
07.40 - Service Human and Divine, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
You must look into yourself, question yourself before you do a thing and not do it simply because it is the thing normally done and it is how things are normally done. You can do good to others, if you know what is that good and if you possess that in yourself. If you wish to help others, you must be on a higher level than that of theirs. If you are one with the others, level with them in nature and consciousness, what can you do but share in their ignorance and blind movements and perpetuate them? So it happens really that the first thing to do is to serve yourself.
You will make a remarkable discovery as you proceed to know what you are and who you are. That is how you should begin. I want to serve humanity. How can I serve? Who is this 'I' that wants to serve? You say, I am such a person, this form and this name. But the form you have now was not there when you were a baby: it has been changing constantly All the elements of your body are being renewed totally. Neither are your sensations and feelings those you had a few years ago. Your thoughts and ideas have undergone revolutions. The I covers a sum of ever-changing factors. There is nothing particularly to be called I : it is only a ring of changes. An empty name seems to be the only constant thing. One element at a time comes forwardan idea, a feeling, an Impulse and that is your I for the moment. At another moment another element comes up and becomes your I. You are not one I but a crowd of many Is. So what is the value of the declaration of one of the 1's that it has found the goal, the truth, the duty you have to follow? Thus if you proceed further, questioning and analysing yourself thoroughly and sincerely, you will stumble upon the reality. You will find that I does not exist at all. What exists is something else: it is the one indivisible reality, the Divine alone.
08.17 - Psychological Perfection, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
There is a flower to which we have given this name. It is the familiar Champa. The flower has five petals. Each petal represents a quality or movement of consciousness, the five qualities or movements making up the psychological perfection. In the beginning I named them(l) Surrender, (2) Sincerity, (3) Faith, (4) Devotion and (5) Aspiration. Of course the meaning can be changed. In fact, when I give the flower to someone, I do not always mean the same qualities. I change according to the need of the person and at the moment. However, we can have all the same a general scheme. In any case, in all combinations and to whomsoever I may give, the first among the qualities is and must always be Sincerity. For, if sincerity is not there, one cannot move even half a step. So sincerity is the first thing necessary and should be always there.
This can be translated by another word, if you like. That would be transparence. Let me explain.
When someone comes to me and I look at him, I look into his eyes, straight into his eyes. If the person is sincere, that is to say, transparent, I enter into him through his eyes and I see his soul clearly. But when I look and see in the eyes a cloud, and then a screen or continuing farther I meet a wall or something very black and when I find I have to pass through all that and drill holes at places to go through, even so at the last minute I am not sure if I do not stand against a bronze wall that refuses all entry, then in such cases I do not find the soul and the person I can declare to be not sincere. Literally, such a person is not transparent. So, then, this is the first thing.
The next item which is also obviously necessary for all progress is Faith. There is also another word for it which although seemingly limited, possesses for me at least a greater importance; I mean, trust. If your faith is not made of a complete trust in the Divine or if you begin to lose the trust, then you gradually lose faith in the Divine Power or in the Divine Goodness or in the trust that the Divine has in you. These are the three great stumbling-blocks.
08.34 - To Melt into the Divine, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
One needs years of labourorganising, selecting, building up very diligently, very carefully, very rationally, very cohesively, in order simply to form oneself: to form this simple thing, for example, to think in one's own way. You believe you think in your own way, you do not know how much you depend for your thoughts upon the people you speak to, upon the books that you read, upon your varying moods; yes, it depends not unoften upon your good or bad digestion, upon the fact of your being closed in a room or free in the open air, upon the scenery around you, upon sun or shower. You do not notice it, but you think of different things in different ways according to conditions or situations which have nothing to do with your own self. So, I say, to have your thoughts coordinated, cohesive, logical, you would need a long, very long work in minute details. And then, that is the most important part of the thing, when you have come to a beautiful mental structure, well-shaped, very strong, very powerful, the first thing you will be told to do is that you must break it up, if you wish to be united with the Divine! And unless and until you have done that first part you cannot do the second part, unless you form yourself you cannot give yourself, you would have nothing to give to the Divine. You are nothing more than a mass of inchoate things which are not yourself. First you must exist, you must be, before you can give yourself.
At the present moment in the actual state of things what one can give to the Divine is one's body. But that is precisely the thing that one does not give. Yes, try to consecrate your work, your bodily labour; even there, there are so many things that are not true or correct.
08.38 - The Value of Money, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
So the first thing to do when one has money is to give it away. But as you should know, it must not be given without discrimination. Do not give it in the way a philanthropist does; for that only fills him with the sense of his kindness, his generosity, his importance. You must do it with a sattwic sense, that is to say, see where is the best possible use of it. Everyone then has to find in his own consciousness, the highest consciousness he has, what is the best possible use of the money one has.
As a matter of fact, money has value only so far as it is in circulation. For each and everyone money has worth only if and when it is spent. Man has taken care to choose for money a material that does not deteriorate, gold and silver, for example, but all the same it rots, from the moral point of view, if it does not circulate. Nowadays paper is used in place of metal, but if you keep the bundle of paper in your drawer, you will find in course of time all your hoarding worn out, eaten up. Worms and insects would present you with a lace-work that your banks would refuse to accept!
09.05 - The Story of Love, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Necessarily, the love between two human beings is always made of ignorance, misunderstanding, weakness and a terrible sense of isolation. It would be as if you wanted to gain entrance into the presence of a unique Splendour and the first thing you do is to put a screen between yourself and this Splendour and you are very much astonished that you do not have even a vague impression of it! the first thing then to do is to do away with the screen, pass through and stand in the presence of the Splendour. Then you know what it is. But if you go on piling veil after veil between yourself and That, you will never see it. You may have just a vague impression, "there is something" and that is all.
One of the highest expressions of love in human beings is the giving of oneself entirely to the person loved. That is to say, to sacrifice oneself for the motherland, give one's life in defending another person, etc. This may not be the very highest form, but it is already something. From there you have to climb very high up to arrive at the true expression which is on the summit of the ascent. The ultimate expression of love is in the felicity of union.
--
Generally, when people think of the Divine, the first thing they do is to pull as much as they can and they receive nothing. They tell you: "Oh, I have called, I have prayed and I have had no answer". If they are asked: "Have you offered yourself?", they reply: "No, I have pulled." "But that is why you have not received." It is not that the answer did not come. But when you pull, you are so much shut up within your ego that you raise a wall between what is to be received and yourself. You confine yourself within a prison and yet you are astonished that in your prison you feel nothing.
Throw yourself out of yourself. Give yourself without holding back anything, simply for the joy of the self-giving. Then there is a chance of your feeling something.
1.00e - DIVISION E - MOTION ON THE PHYSICAL AND ASTRAL PLANES, #A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, #Alice Bailey, #Occultism
a. Hearing. This, very appropriately, is the first sense to be manifested; the first aspect of manifestation is that of sound, and necessarily therefore we would expect sound to be the first thing noticed by man on the physical plane, the plane of densest manifestation, and of the most marked effects of sound, regarding it as a creating factor. Pre-eminently the physical plane is the plane of hearing and hence the sense ascribed to the lowest plane of evolution, and of each of the five planes. On this seventh or lowest plane man has to come to full cognisance of the effect of the Sacred Word as it is in process of sounding forth. As it reverberates throughout the system, it drives matter into its appointed place, and on the physical plane finds its point of deepest materiality and of most concrete demonstration. The key for man to discover and turn, concerns itself with the revealing of the mystery of:
a. His own sound.
1.01 - Description of the Castle, #The Interior Castle or The Mansions, #Saint Teresa of Avila, #Christianity
9.: As far as I can understand, the gate by which to enter this castle is prayer and meditation. I do not allude more to mental than to vocal prayer, for if it is prayer at all, the mind must take part in it. If a person neither considers to Whom he is addressing himself, what he asks, nor what he is who ventures to speak to God, although his lips may utter many words, I do not call it prayer.12' Sometimes, indeed, one may pray devoutly without making all these considerations through having practised them at other times. The custom of speaking to God Almighty as freely as with a slave-caring nothing whether the words are suitable or not, but simply saying the first thing that comes to mind from being learnt by rote by frequent repetition-cannot be called prayer: God grant that no Christian may address Him in this manner. I trust His Majesty will prevent any of you, sisters, from doing so. Our habit in this Order of conversing about spiritual matters is a good preservative against such evil ways.
10.: Let us speak no more of these crippled souls, who are in a most miserable and dangerous state, unless our Lord bid them rise, as He did the palsied man who had waited more than thirty years at the pool of Bethsaida.13' We will now think of the others who at last enter the precincts of the castle; they are still very worldly, yet have some desire to do right, and at times, though rarely, commend themselves to God's care. They think about their souls every now and then; although very busy, they pray a few times a month, with minds generally filled with a thousand other matters, for where their treasure is, there is their heart also.14' Still, occasionally they cast aside these cares; it is a great boon for them to realize to some extent the state of their souls, and to see that they will never reach the gate by the road they are following.
1.01 - The First Steps, #Raja-Yoga, #Swami Vivkenanda, #unset
Those of you who can afford it will do better to have a room for this practice alone. Do not sleep in that room, it must be kept holy. You must not enter the room until you have bathed, and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers in that room always; they are the best surroundings for a Yogi; also pictures that are pleasing. Burn incense morning and evening. Have no quarrelling, nor anger, nor unholy thought in that room. Only allow those persons to enter it who are of the same thought as you. Then gradually there will be an atmosphere of holiness in the room, so that when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calm. This was the idea of the temple and the church, and in some temples and churches you will find it even now, but in the majority of them the very idea has been lost. The idea is that by keeping holy vibrations there the place becomes and remains illumined. Those who cannot afford to have a room set apart can practice anywhere they like. Sit in a straight posture, and the first thing to do is to send a current of holy thought to all creation. Mentally repeat, "Let all beings be happy; let all beings be peaceful; let all beings be blissful." So do to the east, south, north and west. The more you do that the better you will feel yourself. You will find at last that the easiest way to make ourselves healthy is to see that others are healthy, and the easiest way to make ourselves happy is to see that others are happy. After doing that, those who believe in God should pray not for money, not for health, nor for heaven; pray for knowledge and light; every other prayer is selfish. Then the next thing to do is to think of your own body, and see that it is strong and healthy; it is the best instrument you have. Think of it as being as strong as adamant, and that with the help of this body you will cross the ocean of life. Freedom is never to be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
1.02 - Education, #On Education, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There are other parents who know that their children must be educated and who try to do what they can. But very few, even among those who are most serious and sincere, know that the first thing to do, in order to be able to educate a child, is to educate oneself, to become conscious and master of oneself so that one never sets a bad example to ones child. For it is above all through example that education becomes effective. To speak good words and to give wise advice to a child has very little effect if one does not oneself give him an example of what one teaches. Sincerity, honesty, straightforwardness, courage, disinterestedness, unselfishness, patience, endurance, perseverance, peace, calm, self-control are all things that are taught infinitely better by example than by beautiful speeches. Parents, have a high ideal and always act in accordance with it and you will see that little by little your child will reflect this ideal in himself and spontaneously manifest the qualities you would like to see expressed in his nature. Quite naturally a child has respect and admiration for his parents; unless they are quite unworthy, they will always appear to their child as demigods whom he will try to imitate as best he can.
With very few exceptions, parents are not aware of the disastrous influence that their own defects, impulses, weaknesses and lack of self-control have on their children. If you wish to be respected by a child, have respect for yourself and be worthy of respect at every moment. Never be authoritarian, despotic, impatient or ill-tempered. When your child asks you a question, do not give him a stupid or silly answer under the pretext that he cannot understand you. You can always make yourself understood if you take enough trouble; and in spite of the popular saying that it is not always good to tell the truth, I affirm that it is always good to tell the truth, but that the art consists in telling it in such a way as to make it accessible to the mind of the hearer. In early life, until he is twelve or fourteen, the childs mind is hardly open to abstract notions and general ideas. And yet you can train it to understand these things by using concrete images, symbols or parables. Up to quite an advanced age and for some who mentally always remain children, a narrative, a story, a tale well told teach much more than any number of theoretical explanations.
1.02 - SADHANA PADA, #Patanjali Yoga Sutras, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
becomes pure, and the first thing it gets is memory of past life.
89
1.02 - The Pit, #A Garden of Pomegranates - An Outline of the Qabalah, #Israel Regardie, #Occultism
" If I had my life to live over again, the first thing I would do would be to invent an entirely new system of symbols whereby to convey my ideas." As a matter of fact, had he but known this, certain people-principally some of the early Qabalists, among whom we may include Raymond Lully, William
Postel, etc.-had actually attempted this Great Work of constructing a coherent system. Those which were coherent were, sad to say, hardly comprehended or subscribed to.
1.035 - The Recitation of Mantra, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
This difficulty one has in getting tethered to the notion of the physical body alone arises on account of a distracted, inharmonious movement of the mind and the pranas. If we want to draw the mind or the subtle body away from its contact with or attachment to the physical body, the first thing we should do is to create a system of harmonious feeling in the mind, as well as to very, very carefully isolate every component of the subtle body from its contact with the physical body by a new type of vibration altogether. Sometimes sticking plasters cannot be removed from the finger immediately. If we pull them off, the skin is removed and we feel much pain. So doctors and nurses try to remove a sticking plaster from a wound very, very slowly by pouring some solution over the sticking plaster, and this detaches the plaster automatically by the smoothness and softness produced by the application of the solution.
Likewise, we cannot wrench the subtle body from the physical body by effort; it will mean death if that is attempted. It has to be healthily detracted from its attachment to the physical body, and pinpointed towards the universal object which is God, which the chanting of pranava is supposed to do, as the yoga shastras tell us. We are not in a state of vibration that is appreciably harmonious, usually speaking, because we have attachments to particular objects. Any kind of special concern that the mind has with the particularised objects of sense prevents the subtle body from being in a state of harmony with itself. There is non-alignment of itself with the universal objective. The alignment can be effected only by producing in the subtle body a condition which is akin to the condition of universality. As we know, the universal is the most general of all beings, and nothing can be more harmonious than the universal.
1.03 - Meeting the Master - Meeting with others, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
the first thing this working of the Higher Power does is to establish Shanti, peace, in all the parts of the being and an opening above. This peace is not mere mental Shanti, it is hill of power and, whatever action takes place in it, Samata, equality, is its basis, and the Shanti and Samata are never disturbed. What comes from above is peace, power and joy. It also brings about changes in various parts of our nature so that they can bear the pressure of the Higher Power.
Knowledge also progressively develops showing all in our being that is to be thrown out and what is to be retained. In fact, knowledge and guidance both come and you have constantly to consent to the guidance. The progress may be more in one direction than in another. But it is the Higher Power that works. The rest is a matter of experience and the movement of the Shakti.
1.03 - .REASON. IN PHILOSOPHY, #Twilight of the Idols, #Friedrich Nietzsche, #Philosophy
consists in confusing the last and the first things. They place that
which makes its appearance last--unfortunately! for it ought not
--
emptiest thing is postulated as the first thing, as the absolute cause,
as _ens realissimum._ Fancy humanity having to take the brain diseases
1.04 - The Future of Man, #Let Me Explain, #Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #Christianity
ally more rapid pace. the first thing we have to do when we
try to explain this process, is to realize that the world of man
1.05 - The Universe The 0 = 2 Equation, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
I. The last of these is, on the surface, the most plausible; for almost the first thing that we notice on inspecting the Universe is what the Hindu schools call "the Pairs of Opposites."
This too, is very convenient, because it lends itself so readily to orthodox theology; so we have Ormuzd and Ahriman, the Devas and the Asuras, Osiris and Set, et cetera and da capo, personifications of "Good" and "Evil." The foes may be fairly matched; but more often the tale tells of a revolt in heaven. In this case, "Evil" is temporary; soon, especially with the financial help of the devout, the "devil" will be "cast into the Bottomless Pit" and "the Saints will reign with Christ in glory for ever and ever, Amen!" Often a "redeemer," a "dying God," is needed to secure victory to Omnipotence; and this is usually what little vulgar boys might call a "touching story!"
1.06 - Quieting the Vital, #Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness, #Satprem, #Integral Yoga
Habit of Response the first thing the seeker will detect in his vital exploration is a part of the mind whose only role seems to be to give form, and justification,
to his impulses, feelings or desires; this is what Sri Aurobindo terms the vital mind. Since we already know the necessity for mental silence, we will now strive to extend our discipline of silence to this lower mental layer, too. Once this has been achieved, we will see things far more clearly without all their mental embellishments; the
1.06 - The Three Schools of Magick 1, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
It is customary to describe these three Schools as Yellow, Black, and White. the first thing necessary is to warn the reader that they must by no means be confounded with racial distinctions of colour; and they correspond still less with conventional symbols such as yellow caps, yellow robes, black magick, white witchcraft, and the like. The danger is only the greater that these analogies are often as alluring as the prove on examination to be misleading.
These Schools represent three perfectly distinct and contrary theories of the Universe, and, therefore, practices of spiritual science. The magical formula of each is as precise as a theorem of trigonometry. Each assumes as fundamental a certain law of Nature, and the subject is complicated by the fact that each School, in a certain sense, admits the formul of the other two. It merely regards them as in some way incomplete, secondary, or illusory. Now, as will be seen later, the Yellow School stand aloof from the other two by the nature of its postulates. But the Black School and the White are always more or less in active conflict; and it is because just at this moment that conflict is approaching a climax that it is necessary to write this essay. The adepts of the White School consider the present danger to mankind so great that they are prepared to abandon their traditional policy of silence, in order to enlist in their ranks the profane of every nation.
1.07 - Cybernetics and Psychopathology, #Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, #Norbert Wiener, #Cybernetics
machine? the first thing which we try is to clear the machine of
all information, in the hope that when it starts again with differ-
1.07 - The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, #Sex Ecology Spirituality, #Ken Wilber, #Philosophy
So the first thing I would like to emphasize is that the higher stages of transpersonal development are stages that are taken from those who have actually developed into those stages and who display palpable, discernible, and repeatable characteristics of that development. The stages themselves can be rationally reconstructed (explained in a rational manner after the fact), but they cannot be rationally experienced. They can be experienced only by a transrational contemplative development, whose stages unfold in the same manner as any other developmental stages, and whose experiences are every bit as real as any others.
But one must be adequate to the experience, or it remains an invisible other world. When the yogis and sages and contemplatives make a statement like, "The entire world is a manifestation of one Self," that is not a merely rational statement that we are to think about and see if it makes logical sense. It is rather a description, often poetic, of a direct apprehension or a direct experience, and we are to test this direct experience, not by mulling it over philosophically, but by taking up the experimental method of contemplative awareness, developing the requisite cognitive tools, and then directly looking for ourselves.
1.089 - The Levels of Concentration, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
Before we try to touch upon what exactly is in the mind of the author of the sutra when he speaks of the bhumis, or the stages of meditation, I shall give you a gross commonplace example of how we can take the mind deeper and deeper into the nature of an object. Take a currency note. What do we see there? We see a great meaning. That is the first thing that we see in a currency note. We see a purchasing power, a value, a capacity, a treasure, something worthwhile and very commendable. This is all we can conceive when we cast our eyes on a governments currency note. It is, for the non-critical attention of the mind, a value and not a substance. This is the distinction, because its substance is something different from the value that we see in it. We always mix up two things when we see any object in this world. The substance gets buried under the value that we see. The substance of a child is different from the value that a mother sees in that child and so on, with respect to any object.
The value of a currency note is different from the substance of the currency note. The substance is nothing but a piece of paper; the value is something different. The value is a concept, whereas the substance is physical. What we see in a currency note is a physical something, plus a conceptual meaning. So the value of the physical something is in the brain the head or the mind of the person who conceives or perceives that object called the currency note. If we divest that currency note of the value that we have superimposed upon it, we will be entering into the substance of that object. We remove the notion of meaning in it. Suppose there is an order of the government that these currency notes will not be valid from tomorrow. We know what will happen. The currency notes will have no meaning; they will lose all sense. We will see the substance from tomorrow onwards. The value has gone. They are no more currency notes they are merely a quantity of physical substance. Their worth is only in pounds or kilograms of waste paper. All the meaning that we saw yesterday has gone overnight, merely because of an ordinance of the government that these notes will not be valid from such and such a date.
1.08 - The Supreme Will, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
14:If this is the truth of works, the first thing the sadhaka has to do is to recoil from the egoistic forms of activity and get rid of the sense of an "I" that acts. He has to see and feel that everything happens in him by the plastic conscious or subcon- scious or sometimes superconscious automatism of his mental and bodily instruments moved by the forces of spiritual, mental, vital and physical Nature. There is a personality on his surface that chooses and wills, submits and struggles, tries to make good in Nature or prevail over Nature, but this personality is itself a construction of Nature and so dominated, driven, determined by her that it cannot be free. It is a formation or expression of the Self in her, - it is a self of Nature rather than a self of Self, his natural and processive, not his spiritual and permanent being, a temporary constructed personality, not the true immortal Person. It is that Person that he must become. He must succeed in being inwardly quiescent, detach himself as the observer from the outer active personality and learn the play of the cosmic forces in him by standing back from all blinding absorption in its turns and movements. Thus calm, detached, a student of himself and a witness of his nature, he realises that he is the individual soul who observes the works of Nature, accepts tranquilly her results and sanctions or withholds his sanction from the impulse to her acts. At present this soul or Purusha is little more than an acquiescent spectator, influencing perhaps the action and development of the being by the pressure of its veiled consciousness, but for the most part delegating its powers or a fragment of them to the outer personality, - in fact to Nature, for this outer self is not lord but subject to her, ansa; but, once unveiled, it can make its sanction or refusal effective, become the master of the action, dictate sovereignly a change of Nature. Even if for a long time, as the result of fixed association and past storage of energy, the habitual movement takes place independent of the Purusha's assent and even if the sanctioned movement is persistently refused by Nature for want of past habit, still he will discover that in the end his assent or refusal prevails, - slowly with much resistance or quickly with a rapid accommodation of her means and tendencies she modifies herself and her workings in the direction indicated by his inner sight or volition. Thus he learns in place of mental control or egoistic will an inner spiritual control which makes him master of the Nature-forces that work in him and not their unconscious instrument or mechanic slave. Above and around him is the Shakti, the universal Mother and from her he can get all his inmost soul needs and wills if only he has a true knowledge of her ways and a true surrender to the divine Will in her. Finally, he becomes aware of that highest dynamic Self within him and within Nature which is the source of all his seeing and knowing, the source of the sanction, the source of the acceptance, the source of the rejection. This is the Lord, the Supreme, the One-in-all, Ishwara-Shakti, of whom his soul is a portion, a being of that Being and a power of that Power. The rest of our progress depends on our knowledge of the ways in which the Lord of works manifests his Will in the world and in us and executes them through the transcendent and universal Shakti.
15:The Lord sees in his omniscience the thing that has to be done. This seeing is his Will, it is a form of creative Power, and that which he sees the all-conscious Mother one with him, takes into her dynamic self and embodies, and executive Nature-Force carries it out as the mechanism of their omnipotent omniscience. But this vision of what is to be and therefore of what is to be done arises out of the very being, pours directly out of the consciousness and delight of existence of the Lord, spontaneously, like light from the Sun. It is not our mortal attempt to see, our difficult arrival at truth of action and motive or just demand of Nature. When the individual soul is entirely at one in its being and knowledge with the Lord and directly in touch with the original Shakti, the transcendent Mother the supreme Will can then arise in us too in the high divine manner as a thing that must be and is achieved by the spontaneous action of Nature. There is then no desire, no responsibility, no reaction; all takes place in the peace, calm, light, power of the supporting and enveloping and inhabiting Divine.
1.09 - Sleep and Death, #Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness, #Satprem, #Integral Yoga
Many stages are necessary before the true center, the psychic and its consciousness-force, are formed and impart some coherence and continuity to this volatile mixture. But from the moment the body ceases to be the main center, and one begins to have an inner life independent of physical circumstances and physical life, and especially when one does yoga, which is a process of accelerated evolution, life truly changes, as do death and sleep; one begins to exist. Actually, the first thing one notices is the special nature of certain dreams, as if visible, outward changes were preceded by inner mutations of a subtler order, affecting our dreams. We go from animal sleep to conscious sleep, or sleep of experience, and from a death that 97
Mother India (Journal)
1.09 - The Pure Existent, #The Life Divine, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
15:And the first thing we have to ask ourselves is whether that Force is simply force, simply an unintelligent energy of movement or whether the consciousness which seems to emerge out of it in this material world we live in, is not merely one of its phenomenal results but rather its own true and secret nature. In Vedantic terms, is Force simply Prakriti, only a movement of action and process, or is Prakriti really power of Chit, in its nature force of creative self-conscience? On this essential problem all the rest hinges.
1.09 - To the Students, Young and Old, #On Education, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In fact, the same thing holds true in all circumstances, when life gives you a severe blow, one of those blows which men call a misfortune. the first thing they try to do is to forget, as if they did not forget too soon! And in order to forget, they do all kinds of things. When something is very painful, they try to distract themselveswhat they call distracting themselves, that is, doing stupid things, lowering their consciousness instead of raising it. If something extremely painful happens to you, never try to deaden yourself; you must not forget, you must not sink into unconsciousness. Go right to the heart of the pain and there you will find the light, the truth, the strength and the joy which are hidden behind this pain. But for that you must be firm and refuse to let yourself slide.
In this way every event in life, great or small, can be an opportunity for progress. Even the most insignificant details can lead to revelations if you know how to profit from them. Whenever you are engaged in something which does not demand the whole of your attention, use it as an opportunity to develop your faculty of observation and you will see that you will make interesting discoveries. To help you to understand what I mean, I shall give you two examples. They are two brief moments in life which are insignificant in themselves, but still leave a deep and lasting impression.
1.1.02 - Sachchidananda, #Letters On Yoga I, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Consciousness is made up of two elements, awareness of self and things and forces and conscious power. Awareness is the first thing necessary, you have to be aware of things in the right consciousness, in the right way, seeing them in their truth; but awareness by itself is not enough. There must be a Will and a Force that make the consciousness effective. Somebody may have the full consciousness of what has to be changed, what has to go and what has to come in its place, but may be helpless to make the change. Another may have the will-force, but for want of a right awareness may be unable to apply it in the right way at the right place. The advantage of being in the psychic consciousness is that you have the right awareness and its will being in harmony with the Mother s will, you can call in the
Mother s Force to make the change. Those who live in the mind and the vital are not so well able to do this; they are obliged to use mostly their personal effort and as the awareness and will and force of the mind and vital are divided and imperfect, the work done is imperfect and not definitive. It is only
11.08 - Body-Energy, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The body-content thus is essentially consciousness consolidated, crystallised. The problem then is how to release it. the first thing is that you must be conscious, you, that is to say, your body must be conscious, must be aware always of what it is doing: living, moving, acting; the body must be doing all that consciously, almost voluntarily: there shall be no in voluntary movements. Each physical gesture must know itself by feeling itself in the act. It is not that the mind should know, the mind can have only a memory, but that the limb itself has to pursue its function knowingly, in full awareness. At the beginning there is inevitably a mixture of mental knowing but that is to be cleaned out and over passed
One is conscious, can be conscious only through consciousness; consciousness is born through consciousness. It manifests, it grows through incubation, through self-centration. Energy energises itself, as the Upanishad says, tapas taptv. Energy is consciousness in movement and in moving it expresses itself, embodies itself. A muscle, for example, when moving, awakes to its own activity, the awakening is not confined to itself, but it extends gradually, extends to all its constituent cells and even to contiguous cells. The process in this way permeates the whole body and the entire material content of the body is filled with consciousness and with its radiant energy.
1.10 - Theodicy - Nature Makes No Mistakes, #Preparing for the Miraculous, #George Van Vrekhem, #Integral Yoga
order to be able to see Himself, the first thing in Himself
which He exteriorized was the Knowledge of the world
1.17 - Astral Journey Example, How to do it, How to Verify your Experience, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
The whole mechanism of memory depends on joining up independent data. You must go on adding a little to little, always joining the simple impressions by referring them to others which are more general; and so on until the whole of your universe is arranged like the brain and the nervous system. This system in fact, becomes the Universe. When you have got everything properly correlated, your central consciousness understands and controls every tiniest detail. But you must begin at the beginning you go out for a walk, and the first thing you see is a car; that represents the Atu VII, the Chariot, referred to Cancer.
Then you come to a fishmonger, and notice certain crustacea, very mala chostomous. This comes under the same sign of Cancer. The next thing you notice is an amber-coloured dress in Swan and Edgar's; amber also is the colour of Cancer in the King's Scale. Now then you have a set of three impressions which is joined together by the fact that they all belong to the Cancer class; experience will soon teach that you can remember all three very much more clearly and accurately than you could any one of the three singly.
1.18 - M. AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"Therefore, like Valmiki, one should at first renounce everything and cry to God in solitude with a longing heart. the first thing necessary is the vision of God; then comes reasoning-about the scriptures and the world.
(To M.) "That is why I have been telling you not to reason any more. I came from the pine-grove to say that to you. Through too much reasoning your spiritual life will be injured; you will at last become like Hazra. I used to roam at night in the streets, all alone, and cry to the Divine Mother, 'O Mother, blight with Thy thunderbolt my desire to reason!' Tell me that you won't reason any more."
1.2.01 - The Call and the Capacity, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jagannath are both of them indications that he has the capacity for Yoga experience and that there is a call of the Divine on his inner being. But capacity is not enough; there must be also the will to seek after the Divine and courage and persistence in following the path. Fear is the first thing that must be thrown away and, secondly, the inertia of the outer being which has prevented him from responding to the call.
The Light is the light of the Divine Consciousness. The aim of this Yoga is first to come into contact with this consciousness and then to live in its light and allow the light to transform the whole nature, so that the being may live in union with the
1.2.10 - Opening, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(with the mental idea), that the will or the opening will come. It is by using the will that the will becomes effective, it is by using the aspiration and the will also that the opening comes. the first thing is to call down the calm into the mind and the vital; with the calm established or in course of preparation to invite more and more the Mother s workings and grow conscious of them within you and give your assent to them and refuse all else. All the rest then comes in its time and by the proper process.
It is by confidence in the Mother that the opening needed will come when your consciousness is ready. There is no harm in arranging your present work so that there will be time and energy for some meditation, but it is not by meditation alone that what is needed will come. It is by faith and openness to the
1.24 - (Epic Poetry continued.) Further points of agreement with Tragedy., #Poetics, #Aristotle, #Philosophy
Now the wonderful is pleasing: as may be inferred from the fact that every one tells a story with some addition of his own, knowing that his hearers like it. It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skilfully. The secret of it lies in a fallacy, For, assuming that if one thing is or becomes, a second is or becomes, men imagine that, if the second is, the first likewise is or becomes. But this is a false inference. Hence, where the first thing is untrue, it is quite unnecessary, provided the second be true, to add that the first is or has become. For the mind, knowing the second to be true, falsely infers the truth of the first. There is an example of this in the Bath Scene of the Odyssey.
Accordingly, the poet should prefer probable impossibilities to improbable possibilities. The tragic plot must not be composed of irrational parts. Everything irrational should, if possible, be excluded; or, at all events, it should lie outside the action of the play (as, in the Oedipus, the hero's ignorance as to the manner of Laius' death); not within the drama,--as in the Electra, the messenger's account of the Pythian games; or, as in the Mysians, the man who has come from Tegea to Mysia and is still speechless. The plea that otherwise the plot would have been ruined, is ridiculous; such a plot should not in the first instance be constructed. But once the irrational has been introduced and an air of likelihood imparted to it, we must accept it in spite of the absurdity. Take even the irrational incidents in the Odyssey, where Odysseus is left upon the shore of Ithaca. How intolerable even these might have been would be apparent if an inferior poet were to treat the subject. As it is, the absurdity is veiled by the poetic charm with which the poet invests it.
1.25 - Fascinations, Invisibility, Levitation, Transmutations, Kinks in Time, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
This power if it be one is very curious indeed. It connects more directly with magnetism than almost any other. the first thing we think of when someone says "magnet" is picking up iron filings as a child.
Age before honesty! Let Father Poulain S.J. speak first! He is obliged to admit the phenomenon, because the Church has done so. But precisely similar accounts of the levitation of pagans and heretics must be according to him, lies, or Works of the Devil. As for the method, "God employs the angels to raise the saint, so as to avoid the necessity of intervening Himself." Lazy old parishioner!
1.26 - Continues the description of a method for recollecting the thoughts. Describes means of doing this. This chapter is very profitable for those who are beginning prayer., #The Way of Perfection, #Saint Teresa of Avila, #Christianity
pray as we ought. As you know, the first things must be examination of conscience, confession of
sin and the signing of yourself with the Cross. Then, daughter, as you are alone, you must look for
1.3.03 - Quiet and Calm, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
To remain quiet within, firm in the will to go through, refusing to be disturbed or discouraged by difficulties or fluctuations, that is one of the first things to be learned on the Path. To do otherwise is to encourage the instability of consciousness, the difficulty of keeping experience of which you complain. It is only if you keep quiet and steady within that the lines of experience can go on with some steadiness - though they are never without periods of interruption and fluctuation; but these, if properly treated, can then become periods of assimilation and exhaustion of difficulty rather than denials of sadhana.
A spiritual atmosphere is more important than outer conditions; if one can get that and also create one's own spiritual air to brea the in and live in it, that is the true condition of progress.
--
It is not possible to make a foundation in Yoga if the mind is restless. the first thing needed is quiet in the mind. Also, to merge the personal consciousness is not the first aim of the Yoga; the first aim is to open it to a higher spiritual consciousness and for this also a quiet mind is the first need.
The first step is a quiet mind - silence is a farther step, but quietude must be there, and by a quiet mind I mean a mental consciousness within which sees thoughts arrive to it and move about, but does not itself feel that it is thinking or identify itself with the thoughts or call them its own. Thoughts, mental
1.4.01 - The Divine Grace and Guidance, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
- a regular Abyssinia. It is why we always express depreciation of mental constructions and vital formations - because they are the defence works mind and vital throw up against their capture by the Divine. However the first thing is to become conscious of all that as you have now become, - the next thing is to be firm in knocking it all down and making a tabula rasa, a foundation of calm, peace, happy openness for the true building.
No Insistence on the Grace
14.08 - A Parable of Sea-Gulls, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
On a sea-coasta fairly large tract of land opening out on the vast sea and the infinite skyamong rocks and cliffs there lived a flock of sea-gulls, rather flocks of sea-gulls,for they were almost innumerable, in hundreds and perhaps in thou sandsa whole colony of them. Have you seen a sea-gull, at least in a picture? This beautiful bird, spotlessly white end to end, and when in flight with outspread wings and its delicate supple body so pleasing, so wonderful to look at! Do you know their routine, their daily preoccupations? Of course, the first thing in the morning for them to do was to fly out and look for food. Their food is naturally fishes. So these birds used to fly a certain distance out to sea and from above look down and spot the swimming fishes below and dart down, catch them and fly up again; then they came back to their places and shared their catch among themselves. Naturally there was a good deal of scrambling and fighting but that was part of the life. And there after, most of the time, they passed in dozing or sleeping or at times flying out once again to sea for a forage. And of course there was the item of mating and begetting children. That was their life and they continued it day after day, year after year. They were, I suppose, quite content with the life they were leading.
Now, it happened that one of these sea-gulls thought otherwise. Yes, a thought entered into him. Why should not a thought enter into the head of a bird? A new thought, a faith did enter into the heart of a human child as reported in the Upanishads, so this bird with his questioning thought found the ordinary bird-life quite uninteresting. He wondered: why lay so much stress upon food and sleep and quarrelling and increasing the population? He found flying itself a beautiful adventure. Why fly just a few miles, only to come back, flop down and roost? Why not fly out, out into the vast sea abroad and the limitless sky overhead? Having wings, he thought they were strong enough to fly him far and high; he would try.
1.59 - Geomancy, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
Now here we come to a question of personality. the first thing to remember about Geomancy is that although the various intelligences are attributed to the twelve signs of the Zodiac they all appertain to the element of earth. Anyone therefore who has got in his nativity an earthy sign rising, or the sun in an earthly sign, or a good proportion of planets in an earthy sign, is much more likely to find Geomancy attractive than anyone the principal features of whose horoscope are devoted to other elements, especially air, which of course is the enemy of earth.
Now these remarks apply of course very much to the type of question that is likely to be within the grasp of the Geomantic Intelligences, that must certainly be considered as well as the natural faculty of the practitioner to master the art.
1929-04-07 - Yoga, for the sake of the Divine - Concentration - Preparations for Yoga, to be conscious - Yoga and humanity - We have all met in previous lives, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is the first thing necessaryaspiration for the Divine.
The next thing you have to do is to tend it, to keep it always alert and awake and living. And for that what is required is concentrationconcentration upon the Divine with a view to an integral and absolute consecration to its Will and Purpose.
1929-05-12 - Beings of vital world (vampires) - Money power and vital beings - Capacity for manifestation of will - Entry into vital world - Body, a protection - Individuality and the vital world, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Vital beings move in a supraphysical world where human beings, if they chance to enter, feel at sea, helpless and defenceless. The human being is at home and safe in the material body; the body is his protection. There are some who are full of contempt for their bodies and think that things will be much better and easier after death without them. But in fact the body is your fortress and your shelter. While you are lodged in it the forces of the hostile world find a difficulty in getting any direct hold upon you. What are nightmares? These are your sorties into the vital world. And what is the first thing you try to do when you are in the grip of a nightmare? You rush back into your body and shake yourself into your normal physical consciousness. But in the world of the vital forces you are a stranger; it is an uncharted sea in which you have neither compass nor rudder. You do not know how to go, you do not know where to go and at each step you do just the opposite of what should be done. Directly you enter any realm of this world, its beings gather round you and want to encompass and get out of you all you have, to draw what they can and make it a food and a prey. If you have no strong light and force radiating from within you, you move there without your body as if you had no coat to protect you against a chill and bleak atmosphere, no house to shield you, even no skin covering you, your nerves exposed and bare. There are men who say, How unhappy I am in this body, and think of death as an escape! But after death you have the same vital surroundings and are in danger from the same forces that are the cause of your misery in this life. The dissolution of the body forces you out into the open spaces of the vital world. And you have no longer a defence; there is not the physical body any longer to rush back to for safety.
It is here upon earth, in the body itself, that you must acquire a complete knowledge and learn to use a full and complete power. Only when you have done that will you be free to move about with entire security in all the worlds. Only when you are incapable of having the slightest fear, when you remain unmoved, for example, in the midst of the worst nightmare, can you say, Now I am ready to go into the vital world. But this means the acquisition of a power and a knowledge that can come only when you are a perfect master of the impulses and desires of the vital nature. You must be absolutely free from everything that can bring in the beings of the darkness or allow them to rule over you; if you are not free, beware!
1950-12-21 - The Mother of Dreams, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
One does not know it, one feels it. And in order to feel it one must will with such an intensity, such sincerity, that every obstacle disappears. As long as you have a preference, a desire, an attraction, a liking, all these veil the Truth from you. Hence, the first thing to do is to try to master, govern, correct all the movements of your consciousness and eliminate those which cannot be changed until all becomes a perfect and permanent expression of the Truth.
And even to will this is not enough, for very often one forgets to will it.
1950-12-30 - Perfect and progress. Dynamic equilibrium. True sincerity., #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
When you are absolutely sincere, you make a constant effort to live in harmony with the highest ideal of your being, the truth of your being. At every moment, in all that you think, all that you feel and all that you do, you try as perfectly as possible, as completely as possible, to put yourself in harmony with the highest ideal or, if you are conscious of it, with the truth of your being then you have reached true sincerity. And if you are like that, if truly you do not act from egoistic motives or for personal reasons, if you act guided by your inner truth, that is, if you are perfectly sincere, it is absolutely the same to you whether the whole world judges you in one way or another. In this state of perfect sincerity you do not need to appear good or to be approved by others, for the first thing you experience when you are in harmony with your true consciousness is that you do not care what you look like. Whether you look like this or like that, whether you seem indifferent, cold, distant, proud, all this is of no importance; provided, I repeat this, you are absolutely sincere, that is, you never forget that you live in order to realise your inner, central truth.
Does not perfection consist in pleasing the Divine and no one else?
1951-02-03 - What is Yoga? for what? - Aspiration, seeking the Divine. - Process of yoga, renouncing the ego., #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is the first thing necessaryaspiration for the Divine.
Questions and Answers 1929 (7 April)
1951-02-05 - Surrender and tapasya - Dealing with difficulties, sincerity, spiritual discipline - Narrating experiences - Vital impulse and will for progress, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In all spiritual disciplines the first thing that you are taught is not to narrate your experiences to others. If you need to clarify your mind, tell your experiences to your spiritual teacher and to no one else, and even before your spiritual teacher you must be very careful. When you present or explain to him what has happened in you, if you observe yourself closely, you will see that there are things in you of which you are not wholly aware; in your experiences often there are gaps, interruptions in the continuity (it is extremely difficult to get at the continuity of consciousness and to follow the movement to the end); then, if you narrate your experience without wanting to add anything whatsoever, without failing in sincerity, even so you put in what is not there. When people come and tell me something, an inner event, they find me at times inattentive, not attaching much importance to what I am being toldit is not that, it is that I listen to what is within, I see what is perfectly exact and the little facts that have been added. And it is because of this that generally I do not encourage these things. I know that people may feel relieved, comforted, if they can tell me what has happened, but then one must come with a wonderfully scientific spirit. A scientist would never tell you, It is this, It is that, unless he has made all the possible experiments to have the proof of what he says. And for spiritual things one must follow the same method. Instead of saying, I did that, things happened like that, one must say, I had the impression that things seemed to be like this and It looked as if there was a connection between this and that and not only as a conversational phrase, but as something which expresses truly a mental state. If you seek for a clarification, you yourself must not explain the thing in advance, for once you have given me the explanation, I have no longer any explanation to give you! You bring me flowers, for instance, flowers of all kinds, but you do not arrange them, you tell me, Here I bring you some flowers, it is for you to make a bouquet out of them. In this way, it is much more easy for me, isnt it? I can take those that I need and give you the explanation of whats happened! But if you bring me a ready-made bouquet where I see flowers which are not flowers, which are imitations, I have nothing to tell you, for I need solely things which are so to say pure. Therefore, remember this advice: I am always ready to listen to you but do not bring to me ready-made things. Give me the exact record of what has happened and even so you may be sure that as soon as there is a mental transcription, the mind always knows how to fill up the holesit likes things to be logical, continuous; and without your knowing it, quite spontaneously it supplies elements which were missing in your experience. I do not blame anyone, I know that it is a spontaneous phenomenon. One must be extremely attentive in order to be quite exact and precise.
Is it not dangerous to say, My movements are not mine, I have not to think of them?
--
Naturally, if an impulse happens to come to you which you do not want, the first thing to do is to will that it does not come again; but if, on the contrary, you do not sincerely want it to disappear, then keep it, but do not try to do yoga. You should not take the path unless you have resolved beforeh and to overcome all difficulties. The decision must be sincere and complete. You will notice, besides, as you gradually advance, that what you believed to be complete is not so, what you considered to be sincere is not so, and then you will progress little by little; but to succeed you must have as total a will for progress as possible. If you have this will and if an impulse seizes you with violence, keep the will firm, your being must not vacillate; you must expect these things to come, but when they come, tell yourself, Well, they come from below, I do not want them to recur, they are not mine. This is not the same thing as saying, Let it go, since it is Nature.
There must already be a beginning of realisation in the vital for it to revolt against the impulses that come to it. Most human beings and even those who expect to do yoga say, as soon as the impulse comes, It is quite all right, there is nothing to do, it is all right. Then, if something in you revolts, if something says, I dont want it, that is the higher part of your being. What takes the resolution to do yoga is not your body or your vital, not even your mind, it is the higher part of your mind or it is your psychic being. It is that alone which can take the resolutionyour body does not know very well what it is all about, your vital looks at the beginning of transformation with some anxiety, the mind with its ideas declares, This can be done in that way, can be explained like this, and so on. So if you have made a resolution, it comes from the higher part of your being, and it is upon this that you have to take your support, not upon anything else that is the I. And it must understand in the end that it is not a personal I, but universal and divine.
1951-03-08 - Silencing the mind - changing the nature - Reincarnation- choice - Psychic, higher beings gods incarnating - Incarnation of vital beings - the Lord of Falsehood - Hitler - Possession and madness, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
No, I said that the first thing they have to do to incarnate is to drive away the psychic being of the person whom they possess. That may happen from the very birth. There are children who are almost still-born; they are taken to be dead and suddenly they revivethis means that a vital being has incarnated in them. I have known such cases. This may happen also in the course of an illness: someone is very ill and gradually he lets go of the contact with the psychic being, then, in a swoon or some other similar state, he cuts the contact entirely and the vital being rushes into the body. I have known cases of this kind also. Or it may be a slow action: the vital being enters into the atmosphere of the person, goes on influencing him and finally brings about illness, attacks, especially mental illness; then a time comes when the connection with the psychic being is entirely cut and the vital being takes possession of the body. There are cases of people falling very ill and coming out of the illness altogether different from what they were. Very often it is this that happens.
You have said that these beings of the vital world are attracted by the spiritual life. Why?
1951-03-10 - Fairy Tales- serpent guarding treasure - Vital beings- their incarnations - The vital being after death - Nightmares- vital and mental - Mind and vital after death - The spirit of the form- Egyptian mummies, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The human being is at home and safe in the material body; the body is his protection. There are some who are full of contempt for their bodies and think that things will be much better and easier after death without them. But in fact the body is your fortress and your shelter. While you are lodged in it the forces of the hostile world find a difficulty in getting any direct hold upon you. What are nightmares? These are your sorties into the vital world. And what is the first thing you try to do when you are in the grip of a night-mare? You rush back into your body and shake yourself into your normal physical consciousness.
Questions and Answers 1929 (12 May)
1951-03-19 - Mental worlds and their beings - Understanding in silence - Psychic world- its characteristics - True experiences and mental formations - twelve senses, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Generally, when you want to study occultism, the first thing that the Master does is never to speak to you about it, never to explain it to you, precisely because of this ridiculous phenomenon of the mind which begins to think about it and brings you experiences which have no value: they are mental formations which make a plaything of you, that is all. They have no reality.
You must distrust the mind altogether when you want to enter the world of experiences. It is enough for the mind to be just slightly roused for it to say, Ah, what is going on? Then it may be that things do happen but it is no longer the thing, it is a fabrication.
1951-03-31 - Physical ailment and mental disorder - Curing an illness spiritually - Receptivity of the body - The subtle-physical- illness accidents - Curing sunstroke and other disorders, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It depends on the part. The method is almost the same for all parts of the being. To begin with, the first condition: to remain as quiet as possible. You may notice that in the different parts of your being, when something comes and you do not receive it, this produces a shrinking there is something which hardens in the vital, the mind or the body. There is a stiffening and this hurts, one feels a mental, vital or physical pain. So, the first thing is to put ones will and relax this shrinking, as one does a twitching nerve or a cramped muscle; you must learn how to relax, be able to relieve this tension in whatever part of the being it may be.
The method of relaxing the contraction may be different in the mind, the vital or the body, but logically it is the same thing. Once you have relaxed the tension, you see first if the disagreeable effect ceases, which would prove that it was a small momentary resistance, but if the pain continues and if it is indeed necessary to increase the receptivity in order to be able to receive what is helpful, what should be received, you must, after having relaxed this contraction, begin trying to widen yourselfyou feel you are widening yourself. There are many methods. Some find it very useful to imagine they are floating on water with a plank under their back. Then they widen themselves, widen, until they become the vast liquid mass. Others make an effort to identify themselves with the sky and the stars, so they widen, widen themselves, identifying themselves more and more with the sky. Others again dont need these pictures; they can become conscious of their consciousness, enlarge their consciousness more and more until it becomes unlimited. One can enlarge it till it becomes vast as the earth and even the universe. When one does that one becomes really receptive. As I have said, it is a question of training. In any case, from an immediate point of view, when something comes and one feels that it is too strong, that it gives a headache, that one cant bear it, the method is just the same, you must act upon the contraction. One can act through thought, by calling the peace, tranquillity (the feeling of peace takes away much of the difficulty) like this: Peace, peace, peace tranquillity calm. Many discomforts, even physical, like all these contractions of the solar plexus, which are so unpleasant and give you at times nausea, the sensation of being suffocated, of not being able to brea the again, can disappear thus. It is the nervous centre which is affected, it gets affected very easily. As soon as there is something which affects the solar plexus, you must say, Calm calm calm, become more and more calm until the tension is destroyed.
1951-05-12 - Mahalakshmi and beauty in life - Mahasaraswati - conscious hand - Riches and poverty, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
What! I have told you this I dont know how many times, I have explained it hundreds of times and you still ask this question? I have told you that no matter what you want to do, the first thing is to put consciousness in the cells of your hand. If you want to play, if you want to work, if you want to do anything at all with your hand, unless you push consciousness into the cells of your hand you will never do anything good how many times have I told you that? And this is felt. You feel it. You can acquire it. All sorts of exercises may be done to make the hand conscious and there comes a moment when it becomes so conscious that you can leave it to do things; it does them by itself without your little mind having to intervene.
Sri Aurobindo says here about Mahalakshmi: All that is poor repels her advent? ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, p. 31
1953-03-25, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And you find that there is not a day, not an hour, not a minute when you do not need to intensify, rectify your sincerity atotal refusal to deceive the Divine. the first thing is not to deceive oneself. One knows one cannot deceive the Divine; even the cleverest of the Asuras cannot deceive the Divine. But even when one has understood that, one sees that quite often in ones life, in the course of the day, one tries to deceive oneself without even knowing it, spontaneously and almost automatically. One always gives favourable explanations for all that one does, for ones words, for ones acts. That is what happens first. I am not speaking of obvious things like quarrelling and saying, It is the other ones fault, I am speaking of the very tiny things of daily life.
I know a child who knocked against a door and he gave a good kick to the door! It is the same thing. It is always the other one who is in the wrong, who has committed the mistake. Even when you have passed the stage of the child, when you have a little reason, you still give the stupidest of all excuses: If he had not done that, I wouldnt have done this. But it should be just the other way round!
1953-05-13, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And then, you know, most people when they get bored, instead of trying to rise a step higher, descend a step lower, they become still worse than what they were, and they do all the stupid things that others do, go in for all the vulgarities, all the meannesses, everything, in order to amuse themselves. They get intoxicated, take poison, ruin their health, ruin their brain, they utter crudities. They do all that because they are bored. Well, if instead of going down, one had risen up, one would have profited by the circumstances. Instead of profiting, one falls a little lower yet than where one was. When people get a big blow in their life, some misfortune (what men call misfortune, there are people who do have misfortunes), the first thing they try to do is to forget itas though one did not forget quickly enough! And to forget, they do anything whatsoever. When there is something painful, they want to distract themselveswhat they call distraction, that is, doing stupid things, that is to say, going down in their consciousness, going down a little instead of rising up. Has something extremely painful happened to you, something very grievous? Do not become stupefied, do not seek forgetfulness, do not go down into the inconscience; you must go to the end and find the light that is behind, the truth, the force and the joy; and for that you must be strong and refuse to slide down. But that we shall see a little later, my children, when you will be a little older.
***
1953-05-20, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You must not feel with your head (because you may think so, but thats something vague); you must feel with your sense-feeling. Naturally one begins by wanting it with the mind, because that is the first thing that understands. And then one has an aspiration here (pointing to the heart), with a flame which pushes you to realise it. But if you want it to be truly the thing, well, you must feel it.
You are doing something, suppose, for example, you are doing exercises, weightlifting. Now suddenly without your knowing how it happened, suddenly you have the feeling that there is a force infinitely greater than you, greater, more powerful, a force that does the lifting for you. Your body becomes something almost non-existent and there is this Something that lifts. And then you will see; when that happens to you, you will no longer ask how it should be done, you will know. That does happen.
1953-07-15, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There are exceptions, as there are exceptions to all rules; however I cannot say that money goes spontaneously, freely, without effort there where useful things will be done most. No. The maximum of goodwill is to give money for something which one understands well (which is also easy to understand), to build a hospital, for example, or to open a crche for little children. These are all works of goodwill that men understand. But if they are told that we want to change the human consciousness, we want to create a new world, oh! the first thing they say is: Pardon me! Do not speak of God, for if it is God who is doing the work, well, it is God who will give you the means for it and you have no need of our help. I have heard people saying: If you represent the Divine upon earth you can do whatever you like; there is no need for us to give you anything. And how many among you are free from that idea (an aftertaste of that idea): the Divine is all-powerful, therefore, the Divine can do whatever he likes?
That is the first argument, that is the theory. The Divine is all-powerful, he can do whatever he likes; therefore he does not need anybodys help. And if you push your idea sufficiently far, you will see that if the Divine is truly all-powerful in this world and does always whatever he wants, well, I tell you, he is the greatest monster in the universe! Because One who is all-powerful and makes the world such as it is, looking with a smile at people suffering and miserable, and finding that all right, I would call a monster. It was the kind of thing I used to think about when I was five. I used to tell myself: It is not possible, what is taught there is not true! Now, as you have a little more philosophical mind, I shall teach you how to come out of the difficulty. But, first of all, you must understand that that idea is a childish idea. I simply call on your common sense. You make of your Divine a person, because that way you understand him better. You make of him a person. And then this person has organised something (the earth, it is too big, it is difficult to understandtake anything else) and then this thing the Divine has organised with the full power to do exactly as he likes. And in this thing that he has made with the full power to do as he likesthere is ignorance, stupidity, bad will, fear, jealousy, pride, wickedness, and also suffering, illness, grief, all the pains; and a set of people who cannot say that they have perhaps more than a few minutes of happiness in the whole day and the rest of it is a neutral condition, passing by like a thing thats dead and you call that a creation! I call it something like a hell! And one who would make that deliberately and not only make it but look at it and say: Ah! it is very good, as it is narrated in some religious books, that after having made the world such as it is, the seventh day he looked at it and was extremely satisfied with his work and he rested. Well, that never! I do not call that God. Or otherwise, follow Anatole France and say that God is a demiurge and the most frightful of all beings.
1953-07-22, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So there are two things you have to do when you have discovered the disorder, big or small the disharmony. Firstly, we said that this disharmony creates a kind of tremor and a lack of peace in the physical being, in the body. It is a kind of fever. Even if it is not a fever in general, there is localised fever; there are people who get restless. So the first thing to do is to quieten oneself, bring peace, calm, relaxation, with a total confidence, in this little corner (not necessarily in the whole body). Afterwards you see what is the cause of the disorder. You look. Of course, there are many, but still you try to find out approximately the cause of this disorder, and through the pressure of light and knowledge and spiritual force you re-establish the harmony, the proper functioning. And if the ailing part is receptive, if it does not offer any obstinate resistance, you can be cured in a few seconds.
It is not always the case. Sometimes there is, as I have said, a bad will: you are more or less on strike, at least you want the illness to have its consequences. So, that takes a little more time. However, if you do not happen to be particularly ill-willed, after some time the Force acts: after a few minutes or hours or at the most some days you are cured.
1953-10-07, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing is to learn how to know by identity. That is indispensable when one has the responsibility for others. To learn how to guide other people, the first indispensable step is to know how to enter into their minds so as to know themnot to project ones thought, imagine what they are, but go out of oneself and enter into them, to know what is happening there. Then, in this way, one knows them because one is them. When one knows only oneself in others, that means one knows nothing. One may be completely mistaken. One imagines it is like this or thatone judges by appearances or else through mental preferences, preconceived ideas; that is to say, one knows nothing. But there is one condition in which one doesnt even need to know, to try to know what somebody is like: one cant do otherwise but feel what he is, for he is a projection of oneself. And unless one knows how to do that, one can never do what is necessary for peopleunless one feels as they feel, thinks as they think, unless one is able to enter into them as though one were they themselves. That is the only way. If you try to know with a small active mind, you will never know anythingnor by looking at people and telling yourself: Why, he does this in this way and that way, so he must be like that. That is impossible.
So, the first task of those who have a responsibility for instance, those who are in charge of educating other children, taking care of others, from rulers to teachers and monitors their first task is to learn how to identify themselves with the others, to feel as they do. Then one knows what one should do. One keeps ones inner light, keeps ones consciousness where it ought to be, very high above, in the light, and at the same time gets identified, and so one feels what they are, what their reactions are, what their thoughts, and one holds that before the light one has: one succeeds in thinking out perfectly well what should be done for them. You will tell each one what he needs to hear, you will act with each one as is necessary to make him understand. And that is why it is a wonderful grace to have the responsibility for a certain number of people, for that obliges you to make the most essential progress. And I hasten to tell you that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, people dont make it.But that is exactly why things are in such a bad way. Particularly those who have the responsibility of governing a countrythis is the last thing they think about! They are very eager rather to keep their way of seeing and their way of feeling, and fiercely refrain from realising the needs of those over whom they rule. But indeed one can see that the result is not up to much; so far it is evident that one cant say that governments have been remarkable institutions. It is the same thing on all levels: there are small governments, there are big governments. But the laws are the same, for all. And unless, when giving a lesson, you are able, there and then, to take in the entire atmosphere, to gather the vibrations around people, put them all together, keep all that before you, and become aware of what you can do with this stuff (with the vibrations you can spread, the forces you can give out, those which will be received, those which will be assimilated), unless you do that, mostly you too are wasting your time. In order to do the least work, one must make a lot of progress.
1954-03-03 - Occultism - A French scientists experiment, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
We have subtle senses; even as we have a physical body, we have other more subtle bodies which also have senses, and much more refined senses, much more precise and much more powerful than our physical senses. But naturally, as it is not customary in modern education to work in these domains, these things generally escape our ordinary knowledge. Yet children spontaneously live a great deal in this domain. They see things which are as real for them as physical things, they speak about them and they are usually told that they are stupid because they speak of things others dont see but which are as true for them, as tangible and real as what can be seen by everyone. Their dreams have an intensity and a capital importance in their life, and it is only with intensive mental growth that those capacities diminish. Now, there are people who have the good luck to be born with a spontaneous development, with inner sees, and nothing can prevent them from remaining awake. If these people meet in good time someone who can help them in a methodical development, they can become very interesting instruments for the study and discovery of this occult world. In all ages there have been initiatory schools, which took up these particularly talented people and educated them in this kind of science. These schools were always more or less secret or hidden, for ordinary men are quite intolerant of those capacities which are beyond them and disturb them. But there were fine periods in human history when these schools were recognised and much appreciated and respected, as in ancient Egypt, ancient Chaldea, ancient India, and even partially in Greece and Rome. There were always schools of initiation, even in mediaeval Europe, but there they had to be very carefully hidden, for they were pursued and persecuted by the official Christian religion, and if perchance it was discovered that such and such men or women were practising these occult sciences, they were tied to the stake and burnt alive as sorcerers! In our times this knowledge is almost lost; there are only a very few people who have it; but with mental growth the intolerance also has gone. People dont like these things very muchthey are disturbed, annoyed by them but still they are obliged to admit that these things are not crimes and people practising occultism are no longer burnt at the stake or imprisoned. Only, there are many people who claim to know but there are very few who do know. In any case, before entering upon this study, one must have, as I told you at the beginning, a very great self-mastery, must have attained a kind of abnegation, a self-forgetfulness, an egolessness, a disinterestedness and see of sacrifice which enables one to practise this without any danger. For, if you keep all egoistic or passionate movements, full of desires, you are sure, in the practice of this science, to meet with accidents which may have fatal consequences. As I said at the beginning, the absolutely indispensable condition is to have an intrepidity which does not allow any fear to enter into you. For this has been very often said, and it is quite true, that when you enter the invisible realm, the first things you meet are literally terrifying. If you have no fear, there is no danger, but the least fear puts you into danger. So, before anybody at all was allowed to practise this science, for a very long time, sometimes for years, the novice was submitted to a discipline, which gave him the assurance that he could practise it without experiencing the least fear and without any danger. That is why, my children, I have never spoken to you about it. This article was not specially for you the Bulletin goes to the whole world and it can reach here and there people who are prepared. But still, because it is written, I am telling you about it this evening, and I tell you that if anyone among you feels a special inclination, possesses special faculties and is ready to overcome every weakness, all egoism and all fear, I am ready to help him on the way and reveal these secrets to him. Voil!
Now, you will have to be a little more mature for me to undertake this task.
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That depends upon you, my children! I practised occultism when I was twelve. But I must say I had no fear, I feared nothing. One goes out of ones body, but is tied by something resembling an almost imperceptible thread; if the thread is cut, it is all over. Life also is ended. One goes out, and then can begin seeing the world he has entered. And usually the first things one sees, as I said, are terrifying. Because, for you the air is empty, there is nothing in ityou see something blue or white, there are clouds, sunbeams, and all that is very pretty but when you have the other sight, you see that it is filled with a multitude of small formations which are all residues of desires or of mental deformation and these swarm inside it, you see, in a mass, and this is not always very pretty. At times it is extremely ugly. This assails you; it comes, presses upon you, attacks you; and if you are afraid, it takes absolutely frightful forms. Naturally, if you do not flinch, if you can look upon all that with a healthy curiosity, you perceive that it is not at all so terrifying. It may not be pretty, but it is not terrifying.
I could tell you a little story.
I knew a Danish painter who was quite talented and who wanted to learn occultism. He had come here, you know, had met Sri Aurobindo; he had even done his portrait. That was during the war, and when he came back to France, he wanted me to teach him a little of this occult science. I taught him how to go out of his body e., and the controls, all that. And I told him that, above all, the first thing was not to have any fear. Then, one day he came to tell me that he had had a dream the night before. But it was not a dream, for, as I have told you, he knew a bit about how to go out of his body, and he had gone out consciously. And once he had gone out he was looking around seeing what was to be seen, when suddenly he saw a formidable tiger coming towards him, drawing close with the most frightful intentions. He remembered what I had told him, that he must not be afraid. So he began to say to himself, There is no danger, I am protected, nothing can happen to me, I am wrapped up in the power of protection, and he began looking at the tiger in that way, without any fear. And as he went on looking at the tiger, immediately it began to grow smaller and smaller and smaller andit became a tiny little cat! (Laughter)
What does the tiger represent?
1954-04-14 - Love - Can a person love another truly? - Parental love, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Inevitably, love between two human beings, whatever it may be, is always made of ignorance, lack of understanding, weakness and that terrible see of separation. It is as though one wanted to enter the presence of a unique Splendour and that the first thing one did was to put a curtain, two curtains, three curtains between oneself and that Splendour, and one is quite surprised to have only a vague impression and not at all the thing itself. the first thing to do is to remove the curtains, to take them all away, to go through and find oneself in the presence of the Splendour. And then you will know what that Splendour is. But if you put veil after veil between it and yourself, you will never see it. You may have a sort of vague feeling like Oh! There is something, but that is all.
Naturally, there are all those who dont care for the Splendour, who turn their back upon it and live in their instincts, who are just animals, a little perfected. Let us not speak of these. We have only to let them do what they like, that is of no importance at all. They dont affect us. It is not for them that I have written these things.
1954-05-05 - Faith, trust, confidence - Insincerity and unconsciousness, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Through aspiration, I suppose. Some have it spontaneously You see, it is difficult to pray if one doesnt have faith, but if one can make prayer a means of increasing ones faith, or aspiring, having an aspiration, having an aspiration to have faith Most of these qualities require an effort. If one does not have a thing and wants to have it, well, it needs great, great, great sustained efforts, a constant aspiration, an unflagging will, a sincerity at each moment; then one is sure, it will come one dayit can come in a second. There are people who have it, and then they have contrary movements which come and attack. These people, if their will is sincere, can shield their faith, repel the attacks. There are others who cultivate doubt because it is a kind of dilettantism that, theres nothing more dangerous than that. It is as though one were letting the worm into the fruit: it eventually eats it up completely. This means that when a movement of this sort comesit usually comes first into the mind the first thing to do is to be very plucky and refuse it. Surely one must not enjoy looking on just to see what is going to happen; that kind of curiosity is terribly dangerous.
It is perhaps more difficult for intellectuals to have faith than for those who have a simple, sincere and upright heart, and no intellectual complications. But I think that if an intellectual person has faith, then that becomes very powerful, a very powerful thing which can truly work miracles.
1954-05-19 - Affection and love - Psychic vision Divine - Love and receptivity - Get out of the ego, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The surest means is to give oneself to the Divine; not to try to draw the Divine to oneself but try to give oneself to the Divine. Then you are compelled at least to come out a little from yourself to begin with. Usually, you know, when people think of the Divine, the first thing they do is to pull as much as they can into themselves. And then, generally, they receive nothing at all. They tell you, Ah! I called, I prayed and I did not have the answer. I had no answer, nothing came. But then, if you ask, Did you offer yourself?No, I pulled.Ah, yes, that is why it did not come! It is not that it did not come, it is that when you pull you remain so shut up in your ego, as I told you just now, that it raises a wall between what is to be received and yourself. You put yourself in prison and then you are astonished that in your prison you feel nothing.
Prison, and still more, with no windows on the street.
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Ah! First you must will it, and then you must say, as to people who make a lot of noise, Keep quiet, be quiet, be quiet!; you must do this when the mind comes along with all its suggestions and all its movements. You must tranquillise it, pacify it, make it silent. the first thing is not to listen to it. Most of the time, as soon as all these come, all these thoughts, one looks, seeks to understand, one listens; then naturally that imbecile believes that you are very much interested: it increases its activity. You must not listen, must not pay attention. If it makes too much noise, you must tell it: Be still! Now then, silence, keep quiet! without making a lot of noise yourself, you understand? You must not imitate those people who begin shouting: Keep quiet, and make such a noise themselves that they are even noisier than the others!
(Here the tape-recorder stops at the end of the band. To the disciple:) Dont put in another, it is finished. Fate!
1954-06-23 - Meat-eating - Story of Mothers vegetable garden - Faithfulness - Conscious sleep, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As for these stages of sleep which are spoken about here, if one is conscious of ones nights, one can cover them in a few minutes. One does not need to wait for hours of sleep to do this, you understand; if one is conscious, one can pass through all that in a few minutes. To begin with, when one is conscious of ones nights, the first thing to do before falling fast asleep, just in the state when one begins to relax, relax all ones nerves I have explained this to you already, one relaxes all the nerves and lets oneself go like this you knowwell, at that moment, one must relax very carefully all mental activity and make that quiet, as quiet as possible, and not go off to sleep until the mind is quite calm. Then you escape quite a long period of useless excitement which is extremely tiring. If you can so manage that the mind relaxes and enters into a complete peace first, your sleep will immediately become very peaceful and very refreshing; naturally, your vital must not be in a turmoil, for then, in that case, it will take you into all sorts of places and make you commit all kinds of stupidities, and the result will be that you will wake up even more tired than when you went to sleep.
But if you are conscious, after having calmed your vital, when you begin to come out from your physical consciousness and enter a more subtle consciousness, you put your vital to sleep, you say to it, Rest now, keep very quiet, and then you enter your mental activity and say to the mind, Rest now, remain very quiet, and you put it to sleep also; and then you come out of the mind into a higher region, and there, if it begins to interest you, for instance, if it is the first time you have gone there, you may look at what is happening, have your experience, learn thingsat times one learns very interesting things; and then, sometimes one can become aware of a certain general state also, have ideas about other people, other things; it is interesting! And later, if you have had enough of this, you say, Keep quiet, sleep, dont move, and you put that to sleep, and rise to a still higher consciousness, and so on, till you reach a state where you are on the borders of form, I am not speaking of physical formon the borders of all form, much higher than the form of thought, naturally; on the borders of all form and all vibration, in the perfect silence, what here we call Sachchidananda. And when you are there, everything stops, all vibrations subside, and if you remain there just three minutes, you come back to your body absolutely rested, refreshed, fortified, as though you had slept for hours! This is something one can learn to do. I dont say it can be done overnight, a little work is necessary and also some persistence, but still this one must learn to do; and when you are very anxious, very tired, very for instance, when you have just undergone violent attacks from hostile forces in one form or another and are very tired, if you follow this process consciously, well, within a few minutes all that disappears completely. It is something worth learning. Only, one must be very, very, very persevering, for Wait a bit, I am going to tell you something more about it.
1954-07-28 - Money - Ego and individuality - The shadow, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And for this to become a coordinated, coherent, logical thought, a long thorough work is necessary. And then, the best of the business is that when you have succeeded in making a beautiful, well-formed, very strong, very powerful mental constructions, the first thing you will be told is, You must break this so that you can unite with the Divine! But so long as you havent made it, you cannot unite with the Divine because you have nothing to give to the Divine except a mass of things which are not yourself! One must first exist in order to be able to give oneself. I am repeating what I said a while ago.
Truly, in the present state of the world, the only thing one can give the Divine is ones body. But thats what one doesnt give Him. Yes, one can try to consecrate ones work! But still, here there are so many elements which are not true!
1954-09-08 - Hostile forces - Substance - Concentration - Changing the centre of thought - Peace, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Some people use a rather unclassical word, rarefied, but I dont think it has exactly this see. Well, you see, we say that substance has different deities, and the more material it becomes, the denser it is, the farther it moves away from matter, the less dense it is. But it is a substance all the same. There is even an etheric substance. I dont say that this conforms with scientific theories; I dont guarantee that I am not talking scientific heresies! But this is a cosmic fact. (Mother laughs.) It is exactly I think I said this when I spoke about occultism I said the first thing one must know before being able to practise occultism is that the different states of being have a different deity, and they have an individual independent existence of their own, that they are existing realities, that they are truly real substances, that it is not just a way of being. There can be a mental being and mental activity and, for instance, a thought that is completely independent of the brain, whereas the materialistic theories say that it is the brain which creates mental activity. But this is not correct. The brain is the material transcription of the mental activity, and mental activity has its own domain; the mental domain has its reality, its own substance. One can think outside ones brain, think, act, make formations outside ones brain. One can even live, move, go from one place to another, have a direct knowledge of mental things in the mental world, in a word, absolutely independent of a body which, indeed, can be in a state of complete inertia, not only asleep but also in a cataleptic state. And moreover, it is quite certain that so long as one has not understood that one is made up of different states of being which have their own independent life, one cant have a complete control over ones being. There will always be something that escapes you.
(To a child) Do you have something to ask?
1954-09-15 - Parts of the being - Thoughts and impulses - The subconscient - Precise vocabulary - The Grace and difficulties, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is the most important point. It is to have a certain inner humility which makes you aware of your helplessness without the Grace, that truly, without it you are incomplete and powerless. This, to begin with, is the first thing.
It is an experience one can very well have. When, you see, even people who know nothing find themselves in quite difficult circumstances or facing a problem which must be solved or, as I just told you, an impulse which must be overcome or something that has disturbed them and then they realise they are lost, they dont know what to doneither their mind nor their will nor their feelings helpthey dont know what to do, then it happen; there is within them something like a kind of call, a call to something which can do what one cannot. One aspires to something which is capable of doing what one cant do.
1954-09-29 - The right spirit - The Divine comes first - Finding the Divine - Mistakes - Rejecting impulses - Making the consciousness vast - Firm resolution, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You do not understand the French expression passer.3 However, in English it is the same thing; I dont know what the text is in English, but comes first, do you understand what comes first means? It means that before every other consideration it is the Divine who is the first consideration that all other consideration which are not the Divine are secondary, without importance. That is, as we have just explained for instance: when you have to make a choice, you must choose according to the divine inspiration or what will bring you closer to the Divine or put you in the best situation to attain to the Divine, because it is the Divine who comes first, all personal interest or personal satisfaction must come afterwards. First the Divine. And consecration to the Divine must come first, everything else comes afterwards. If it comes, it comes; if it doesnt, it does not matter. What matters is the seeking for the Divine, this is the first thing, the thing that comes before everything, the most important thing. This is what it means.
There is something truer in you.4 It is the psychic, isnt it?
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This we have explained many, many times. But the first thing is to want it, and know precisely that this comes first, before all other things, that this is the important thing. That is the first condition; all the rest may come later, this is the essential condition. You see, if once in a while, from time to time, when you have nothing to do and all goes well and you are unoccupied, suddenly you tell yourself, Ah, I would like so much to find the Divine!well, thisit may take a hundred thousand years, in this way.
But if it is the important thing, the only thing that matters, and if everything else comes afterwards, and you want nothing but this, thenthis is the first condition. You must first establish this, later we may speak of what follows. First this, that all the rest does not count, that only this counts, that one is ready to give up everything to have this, that it is the only thing of importance in life. Then one puts oneself in the condition of being able to take a step forward.
1954-11-03 - Body opening to the Divine - Concentration in the heart - The army of the Divine - The knot of the ego -Streng thening ones will, #Questions And Answers 1954, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Knot? Oh! It is an image, you see. But it is something that clings to you and holds you as tightly as a well-made rope knot. And so it is always said that in order to progress truly the first thing to do is to cut the knot of the ego. It is very expressive and makes a good image, doesnt it?one is tied up, one is shut up in oneself, bound as in a prison by knots which tie up all the parts of the being together; it is this which produces a cohesion. But at the same time it is a limitation, a limiting. You cannot receive all the forces you would like to, because you are enclosed in this shell made of a heap of knots in the rope thats tying you.
Sweet Mother, how can we cut the knot of the ego?
1955-02-16 - Losing something given by Mother - Using things well - Sadhak collecting soap-pieces - What things are truly indispensable - Natures harmonious arrangement - Riches a curse, philanthropy - Misuse of things creates misery, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So the first thing to do when one has money is to give it. But as it is said that it should not be given without discernment, dont go and give it like those who practise philanthropy, because that fills them with a sense of their own goodness, their generosity and their own importance. You must act in a sattwic way, that is, make the best possible use of it. And so, each one must find in his highest consciousness what the best possible use of the money he has can be. And truly money has no value unless it circulates. For each and every one, money is valuable only when one has spent it. If one doesnt spend it I tell you, men take care to choose things which do not deteriorate, that is, goldwhich does not decompose. Otherwise, from the moral point of view it rots. And now that gold has been replaced by paper, if you keep paper for a long time without taking care of it, you will see when you open your drawer that there are small silver-fish which have regaled themselves on your paper-rupees. So they will have left a lace-work which the bank will refuse.
There are countries and religions which always say that God makes those whom He loves poor. I dont know if that is true; but there is one thing which is true, that surely when someone is born rich or has become very rich, in any case when he possesses much from the point of view of material riches, it is certainly not a sign that the Divine has chosen him for His divine Grace, and he must make honourable amends if he wants to walk on the path, the true path, to the Divine.
1955-03-09 - Psychic directly contacted through the physical - Transforming egoistic movements - Work of the psychic being - Contacting the psychic and the Divine - Experiences of different kinds - Attacks of adverse forces, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The duration of earthly life is the time of progress. Outside earthly life there is, so to say, no progress. It is in earthly life that there is the possibility and the means of progress. But for all conscious beings it is the same thing, not only for those you call incarnated. It is for everyone the same thing. One must first begin with the work on himself. When one has done the work on himself, one can do it on others; but the first thing to do is to do it on oneself.
Sweet Mother, the Divine has come down to this world of darkness and ignorance
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Sweet Mother, if there is someone who wants to have experiences or something like that, what is the first thing he should do?
To have experiences? What kind of experiences? Have visions or have psychological experiences orwhat kind of experiences?
1955-05-18 - The Problem of Woman - Men and women - The Supreme Mother, the new creation - Gods and goddesses - A story of Creation, earth - Psychic being only on earth, beings everywhere - Going to other worlds by occult means, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It began it was a frightful scandal but now it is a recognised fact, and we even find that in certain countries, slightly less backward than others, women are admitted in the government. And I must say that, as far as I know, the first country where this happened was Sweden. I knew it at the beginning of this century. It was then that it happened. Women were admitted into Parliament in Sweden, and in the government, and the first thing they did, that they managed to do, was to abolish drunkenness.
That is?
1955-07-13 - Cosmic spirit and cosmic consciousness - The wall of ignorance, unity and separation - Aspiration to understand, to know, to be - The Divine is in the essence of ones being - Realising desires through the imaginaton, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Only, as I said, there are two things. First, as regards desires, personal circumstances, one is not very persistent or very steady, and after some time what interested you very strongly doesnt interest you any longer. You think of something else, have another desire, and make another formation. But now the first thing one imagined is very well formed; after following its curve in space it is realised. But by then the person has started another construction because for some reason or other the thing doesnt interest him any more, and he is face to face with the realisation of his first desire, while having already embarked upon the second, the third or the fourth. So he is absolutely annoyed: But why, I dont want this any longer, why does it come? without his being conscious that quite simply it is the result of a previous deed. If, however, instead of being desires they are aspirations for spiritual things and one continues his line with a regular progress, then one is absolutely sure to obtain one day what he has imagined. The day may be slightly far-off if there are many obstacles on the path, for example if the formation that you have made is still very alien to the state of the earth atmosphere; well, it takes some time to prepare the conditions for its advent. But if it is something which has already been realised several times on earth and does not imply too categorical a transformation, you may have it quite quickly, provided that you follow the same line persistently. And if you add to this the ardour of a faith and trust in the divine Grace and that kind of self-giving to the Grace which makes you expect everything from It, then it can become tremendous; you can see things being realised more and more, and the most surprising ones can be realised one after another. But for this there are conditions to be fulfilled.
One must have a great purity and a great intensity in ones self-giving, and that absolute trust in the supreme wisdom of the divine Grace, that It knows better than we do what is good for us, and all that. Then if one offers ones aspiration to It, truly gives it with enough intensity, the results are marvellous. But one must know how to see them, for when things are realised most people find it absolutely natural, they dont even see why and how it has happened, and they tell themselves, Yes, naturally it had to be like that. So they lose the joy of the joy of gratitude, because, in the last analysis, if one can be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the divine Grace, it puts the finishing touch, and at each step one comes to see that things are exactly what they had to be and the best that could be.
1955-08-03 - Nothing is impossible in principle - Psychic contact and psychic influence - Occult powers, adverse influences; magic - Magic, occultism and Yogic powers -Hypnotism and its effects, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I dont know whether they suffer after their death or lose their consciousness, but in any case, obviously they are not in any state of peace or happiness, thats absolutely certain. For it is a kind of absolute rule from the spiritual point of view: it is by an inner discipline and by consecration to the Divine that the powers come to you. But if with your aspiration, your discipline and consecration, an ambition is mixed up, that is, an intention to obtain powers, then if they come to you it is almost like a curse. Usually they dont come to you, but something vital which tries to imitate them comes to you with adverse influences which put you entirely under the domination of beings who give you powers simply with the intention of making use of you, using you to do all the work they have the intention of doing, and to create all the disorder they want to create. And when they find that you have served them enough and are no longer good for anything, they just destroy you. They may not be able to destroy you physically because they dont always have the power to do it, but they destroy you mentally, vitally and in your consciousness, and after that you are good for nothing, even before dying. And after death, as you are entirely under their influence, the first thing they do is to swallow you up, because this is their way of making use of peopleto swallow them. So it cannot be a very pleasant experience. It is a very, very, very dangerous game.
But everywhere, in all the teachings, in all the disciplines, in all ages, the same thing has been repeated: that one must never intermingle ambition and personal interest with the sadhana, otherwise he is inviting trouble. So it is not only a particular case, it is all the instances of this kind which have fatal consequences.
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When one wants to act spiritually and for some reason or other it is necessary, for example, to formulate words, the words come spontaneously and are exactly the words needed for the particular occasion. But things written beforeh and which one repeats mechanically most of the time, without even knowing what one is saying and why one is saying itit is difficult to see how this can always work. There is bound to be a great imprecision in the action. And one thing is certain, that this same formula cannot have exactly the same effect, and that one factor is indispensable for it to take effect: fear. the first thing is a kind of fear, a fright created in the person against whom the magic is done; for if he has no fear I am quite sure that it cannot have any effect or has so ridiculously small an effect that its not worth speaking about it.
What opens the door to the action of these forces is fear, a kind of apprehension, the feeling that something is going to happen; and it is these vibrations of fear which put out certain forces from you, forces which give these entities the power to act.
1955-11-16 - The significance of numbers - Numbers, astrology, true knowledge - Divines Love flowers for Kali puja - Desire, aspiration and progress - Determining ones approach to the Divine - Liberation is obtained through austerities - ..., #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It is an evocation. You know what it means? Did you find someone to explain it to you? No? Ah, thats the first thing you should have done, ask what the meaning of these four words is.
The transcription underneath: there are only two of them. He had begun transcribing and then his paper it was on a tiny little scrap of paper, and there wasnt any more space to write everything; so he stopped.
1955-12-07 - Emotional impulse of self-giving - A young dancer in France - The heart has wings, not the head - Only joy can conquer the Adversary, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is the first thing one obtains, and the last one realises. And it is the sign of Victory.
So long as you cant be in joy, a constant, calm, peaceful, luminous, invariable joy, well, it means that you have still to work to purify yourself, and sometimes work hard. But this is the sign.
1956-01-25 - The divine way of life - Divine, Overmind, Supermind - Material body for discovery of the Divine - Five psychological perfections, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Someone is in front of me and I am looking at him; I look into his eyes. And if this person is sincere or transparent, through his eyes I go down and I see his soulclearly. Butthis is precisely the experiencewhen I look at somebody and see a little cloud, then I continue, I see a screen, and then sometimes it is a wall, and afterwards it is something quite black; and all this must be crossed, and holes bored in order to go through; and even then I am not sure if at the last minute I may not find myself before a door of bronze so thick that I shall never get through and see his soul; so, of such a person I can immediately say that he is not sincere. But I can also say, figuratively, that he is not transparent. That is the first thing.
There is a second, which is obviously, as indispensable if you want to go forward; it is to have faith. Or another word, which seems more limited but is for me more important, because (it is a question of experience) if your faith is not made of a complete trust in the Divine, well, you may very easily remain under the impression that you have faith and yet be losing all trust in the divine Power or divine Goodness, or the Trust the Divine has in you. These are the three stumbling-blocks:
1956-02-08 - Forces of Nature expressing a higher Will - Illusion of separate personality - One dynamic force which moves all things - Linear and spherical thinking - Common ideal of life, microscopic, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This is not personal. Not at all personal. And that is very easy to find out; of all things this is the easiest to discern, because ninety times out of a hundred it comes to you from someone else or from a certain circumstance or a set of circumstances, or from a vibration coming from another person or several other people. It is very easy to discern, it is the first thing one can discern: it is a vibration which suddenly awakens something similar in you. You know, something makes an impact on you, and this impact brings up a response, as when you play a note. Well, this vibration of desire comes and strikes you in a certain way and you respond.
It is not very difficult to discern; even when one is very young, even when one is a child, if one pays attention, one becomes aware of this. One lives amidst constant collective suggestions, constantly; for example, I dont know if you have been present at funerals, or if you have been in a house where someone has diednaturally you must observe yourself a little, otherwise you wont notice anything but if you observe yourself a little, you will see that you had no special reason to feel any sorrow or grief whatever for the sing away of this person; he is a person like many others; this has happened and by a combination of social circumstances you have come to that house. And there, suddenly, without knowing why or how, you feel a strong emotion, a great sorrow, a deep pain, and you ask yourself, Why am I so unhappy? It is quite simply the vibrations which have entered you, nothing else.
1956-02-22 - Strong immobility of an immortal spirit - Equality of soul - Is all an expression of the divine Will? - Loosening the knot of action - Using experience as a cloak to cover excesses - Sincerity, a rare virtue, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And this is the first answer people give you. When they are told, Act without being attached to the result of action, have this consciousness that it is not you who are acting, it is the Divine who is acting, the reply which ninety-nine and a half per cent give is, But if I feel like that, I dont move any longer! I dont do anything any more; it is always a need, a desire, a personal impulse which makes me act in one way or another. So Sri Aurobindo says, if you want to realise this teaching of the Gita, the first thing to do is to loosen this knot, the knot binding action to desireso firmly tied are they that if you take away one you take away the other. He says the knot must be loosened in order to be able to remove desire and yet continue to act.
And this is a fact, this is what must be done. The knot must be loosened. It is a small inner operation which you can very easily perform; and when it has been performed, you realise that you act absolutely without any personal motive, but moved by a Force higher than your egoistic force, and also more powerful. And then you act, but the consequences of action no longer return upon you.
1956-06-13 - Effects of the Supramental action - Education and the Supermind - Right to remain ignorant - Concentration of mind - Reason, not supreme capacity - Physical education and studies - inner discipline - True usefulness of teachers, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It is quite obvious that if you are thrown into the world without the least technical knowledge, you may do the most dangerous things. Take a child who knows nothing, the first thing he will do if he has any matches, for instance, is to burn himself. So, in that field, from the purely material point of view, it is good that there are people who know and who can inform you; for otherwise, if each one had to learn from his own experience, he would spend several lives learning the most indispensable things. That is the usefulness, the true usefulness of teachers and instructors. They have learnt more or less by practice or through a special study, and they can teach you those things it is indispensable to know. That makes you save time, a lot of time. But that is their only usefulness: to be able to answer questions. And, in fact, you should have a brain which is lively enough to ask questions. I dont know, but you never have anything to ask me or it is so seldom. But that shows a terrible mental laziness!
At times I tell you, Dont question, try to find out by yourselves certain inner things, that is understood; but when I am here and tell you, Havent you any questions to ask? Silence. So, that proves that you have no mental curiosity. And I dont ask you necessarily to put questions on what I have just read; I am always ready to answer any question whatsoever, asked by anyone. Well, I must say we are not very rich in questions! It is not often that I have an opportunity of telling you something.
1956-06-20 - Hearts mystic light, intuition - Psychic being, contact - Secular ethics - True role of mind - Realise the Divine by love - Depression, pleasure, joy - Heart mixture - To follow the soul - Physical process - remember the Mother, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But one enters the group freely, and therefore one accepts them. Usually, in those groups the first thing they do is to tell you, These are the laws, the rules of the group, do you accept them or not? If you dont accept them, you dont enter; if you accept them, it is you who impose them on yourself. You are not forced into a group like that! It is not like being subject, for example, to the atavism of the family in which you are born. That is imposed from outside. You are born in a family and are subject to the atavism, the laws of a rigid family atavism, which is imposed from outside. For, almost universally, the permission of the one who is brought into the world or his acceptance is never asked: you are brought here by force, the environment is imposed on you by force, the laws of the atavism of the milieu by force, and indeed you do what you can with them the best you can, let us hope! But when it is a group of friends or a society, unless you have no personal will and are carried away by someone else whom you obey, it is you yourself who decide whether you accept these laws or not.
It is obvious that the question becomes a little more subtle when it is a matter of religion, for that is a part of the imposition on the child before he is born. If he is born in a religion, that religion is imposed upon him. Obviously, according to the true rules, there is an age when, supposedly, after having been instructed in the religion in which you are born, you choose to be in it or not. But very few people have the capacity for individual choice. It is the custom of the family or the environment in which they live, and they follow it blindly, for it is more for comfortable than reacting; one is born into it and one is almost forced to follow that religion. One must have a very considerable strength and independence of character to come out of it, for usually you have to break through with much motion and that has serious repercussions on your life.
1956-10-31 - Manifestation of divine love - Deformation of Love by human consciousness - Experience and expression of experience, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I am speaking here of the best cases. I am not speaking of the innumerable cases of those who begin to have an experience and whose mind becomes curious, wakes up and says, Oh! what is happening? Then everything vanishes. Or maybe one catches the deformed tail of something which has lost all its force and all its reality. the first thing to do is to teach your mind not to stir: Above all, dont move! Above all, dont move, let the thing develop fully without wanting to know what is happening; dont be stupid, keep quiet, be still, and wait. Your turn will always come too soon, never too late. It should be possible to live an experience for hours and for days together without feeling the need to formulate it to yourself. When one does that, one gets the full benefit from it. Then it works, it churns the nature, it transforms the cellsit begins its real work of transformation. But as soon as you begin to look and to understand and to formulate, it is already something that belongs to the past.
There we are.
1956-11-21 - Knowings and Knowledge - Reason, summit of mans mental activities - Willings and the true will - Personal effort - First step to have knowledge - Relativity of medical knowledge - Mental gymnastics make the mind supple, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Well, if you want to attain knowledge, the first thing, the first indispensable step is not to believe in the validity of those things. And if you observe yourself, you will realise that this belief in the validity of these observations and deductions is almost absolute in you. It expresses itself through all sorts of ideas which reasonably enough appear evident to you, yet are exactly the limitations which prevent you from reaching knowledge by identity. For instance, if a man plunges into the water without knowing how to swim, he will be drowned; if there is a fairly powerful wind, it will upset things; when it rains, you get wet, etc.you see, there are instances like this at every second, it is like that. And this seems so obvious to you that when you are told, Well, but no, this is a relative knowledge, it is like that but it could be different, the one who tells you this seems to you a priori half-mad. And you say, But still, these things are concrete! These are things we can see, touch, feel, these are proofs our senses give to us every minute, and if we do not take our stand on them, we are sure to go astray and enter the irrational.
So, if you remember what Sri Aurobindo has said, you will understand that the first condition for having knowledge is to go beyond reason. That is why he says, Reason was the helperyes, during the whole childhood of humanity and the whole period of growth of the individual being but if you want to go beyond the human being, the ordinary human state, well, you must go beyond reason; and these things which seem to you so obvious that they are indisputable, you should be able to understand, to feel from within yourself that they are absolutely relative and that what seems completely similar, identical in everyones experiences, these very things, if seen from above with a higher consciousness, become absolutely subjective and relative and are only individual formations adapted to the individual need and consciousness, and that instead of having an absolute reality, they have only an altogether relative reality which completely disappears as soon as you rise to a higher level.
1957-05-08 - Vital excitement, reason, instinct, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Because in the vast majority of cases, what gives interest is vital satisfaction. For you to be interested in training exercises which dont have the stimulus of games, the reason must govern the being. In ordinary men reason is the summit of human consciousness, and this is the part of the being which must govern the rest, for it is orderly and reasonable, that is, it does things with a feeling for order, for goodness, usefulness, and in accordance with a plan, a specific plan, recognised and used by each one, whereas the vital part of the being likes excitement, the unexpected, adventureall that makes games attractiveabove all, competition, the effort to win, victory over the opponent, all these things; it is the vital impulse, and the vital in man being the seat of enthusiasm, ardour, normal energy, when the attraction of the unexpected, of struggle and victory is not there, it goes to sleep, unless it is in the habit of obeying, regularly and spontaneously, the will of the reason. And this is even one of the first things for which all physical training is useful: the fact that it cannot be done really well unless the body is in the habit of obeying the reason rather than the vital impulse. For instance, the whole development of bodily perfection, of physical culture with dumb-bells and the exercises which have nothing particularly exciting and demand a discipline, habits which must be regular, reasonable, which give no scope to passion, desire, impulseone must order ones life according to a very strict and very regular disciplinewell, in order to do them really well one must be in the habit of governing ones life by the reason.
This is not very common. Usually, unless one has taken good care to make it otherwise, the impulses the impulses of desireall the enthusiasms and passions with all their reactions are the masters of human life. One must already be something of a sage to be able to undergo a rigorous discipline of the body and obtain from it the ordered, regular effort which can perfect it. There is no longer any room there for all the fancies of desire. You see, as soon as one gives way to excesses, to immoderation of any kind and a disorderly life, it becomes quite impossible to control ones body and develop it normally, not to mention that, naturally, one spoils ones health and as a result the most important part of the ideal of a perfect body disappears; for with bad health, impaired health, one is not much good for anything. And it is certainly the satisfaction of desires and impulses of the vital or the unreasonable demands of certain ambitions which make the body suffer and fall ill.
--
It is a good thing to begin to learn at an early age that to lead an efficient life and obtain from ones body the maximum it is able to give, reason must be the master of the house. And it is not a question of yoga or higher realisation, it is something which should be taught everywhere, in every school, every family, every home: man was made to be a mental being, and merely to be a manwe are not speaking of anything else, we are speaking only of being a manlife must be dominated by reason and not by vital impulses. This should be taught to all children from their infancy. If one is not dominated by reason, one is a brute lower than the animal; for animals dont have a mind or a reason to dominate them, but they obey the instinct of the species. There is an instinct of the species which is an extremely reasonable instinct that regulates all their activities for their own good, and automatically, without knowing it, they are subject to this instinct of the species which is altogether reasonable from the point of view of that species, of each species. And those animals which for some reason or other become free of itas I was saying just a while ago, those which live near man and begin to obey man instead of obeying the instinct of the speciesare perverted and lose the qualities of their species. But an animal left to its natural life and free from human influence is an extremely reasonable being from its own point of view, for it only does things which are in conformity with its nature and its own good. Naturally, it meets with disasters, for it is constantly at war with all the other species, but it does not itself act foolishly. Stupidities and perversion begin with conscious mind and the human species. It is the wrong use man makes of his mental capacity. Perversion begins with humanity. It is a distortion of the progress of Nature which mental consciousness represents. And, therefore, the first thing which should be taught to every human being as soon as he is able to think, is that he should obey reason which is a super-instinct of the species. Reason is the master of the nature of mankind. One must obey reason and absolutely refuse to be the slave of instincts. And here I am not talking to you about yoga, I am not talking about spiritual life, not at all; it has nothing to do with that. It is the basic wisdom of human life, purely human life: every human being who obeys anything other than reason is a kind of brute lower than the animal. Thats all. And this should be taught everywhere; it is the basic education which should be given to children.
The reign of reason must come to an end only with the advent of the psychic law which manifests the divine Will.
1957-06-26 - Birth through direct transmutation - Man and woman - Judging others - divine Presence in all - New birth, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Judging people is one of the first things which must be totally swept away from the consciousness before you can take even a step on the supramental path, because that is not a material progress or a bodily progress, it is only a very little progress of thought, mental progress. And unless you have swept your mind clean of all its ignorance, you cannot hope to take a step on the supramental path.
In fact, you have said something terrible. When you said, I cannot speak to his soul if he is a brute, well, you have given yourself away you have stuck a label on yourself. There you are.
1957-07-31 - Awakening aspiration in the body, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
If one takes care not to pervert it, the body carries within itself the certitude of victory. It is only the wrong use we make of thought and its influence on the body which robs it of this certitude of victory. So, the first thing to do is to cultivate this certitude instead of destroying it; and when it is there, no effort is needed to aspire, but simply a flowering, an unfolding of that inner certitude of victory.
The body carries within itself the sense of its divinity. There. This is what you must try to find again in yourself if you have lost it.
1957-09-11 - Vital chemistry, attraction and repulsion, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So, essentially, if one wants to develop spiritually, the first thing to do is to overcome ones dislikes and ones likes. Look at all that with a smile.
(Silence)
1957-10-16 - Story of successive involutions, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
When the Supreme decided to exteriorise Himself in order to be able to see Himself, the first thing in Himself which He exteriorised was the Knowledge of the world and the Power to create it. This Knowledge-Consciousness and Force began its work; and in the supreme Will there was a plan, and the first principle of this plan was the expression of both the essential Joy and the essential Freedom, which seemed to be the most interesting feature of this creation.
So intermediaries were needed to express this Joy and Freedom in forms. And at first four Beings were emanated to start this universal development which was to be the progressive objectivisation of all that is potentially contained in the Supreme. These Beings were, in the principle of their existence: Consciousness and Light, Life, Bliss and Love, and Truth.
1958-01-29 - The plan of the universe - Self-awareness, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Otherwise you are not even aware that the whole of life is like that. It seems quite natural to you, it is like that. That means that you act in a way which is hardly semi-conscious; it is automatic, it is a kind of spontaneous habit and you dont watch what you are doing. And so, if you want to have some control over your movements, the first thing is to know what is happening.
And in fact, this perhaps is the reason why things dont always go well. For if they went according to a normal, usual rhythm, one would never be conscious of what one is doing; one would do it by habit, automatically, spontaneously, without thinking, and would not watch what one is doing, and so one would never be able to acquire self-mastery. It would be something, a vague consciousness in the background expressing itself without your even watching what you are doing, and which would make you act; and then if there came along some strange or unknown current of force, it could make you do anything at all, without your even noticing the process by which it makes you act. And in fact that is what does happen.
1958-03-05 - Vibrations and words - Power of thought, the gift of tongues, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So, if you want to exercise the least effect on the mental substance, the first thing is to learn how to think clearly, and not a verbal thought which depends on words but a thought which can dispense with words, which can be understood in itself without words, which corresponds to a fact, the fact of a state of consciousness or a fact of knowledge. Just try to think without words, you will see where you stand.
Have you never tried it? Well then, try.
1958-04-23 - Progress and bargaining, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
To begin with, the first thing to tell yourself is that you are almost entirely incapable of knowing whether you are making progress or not, for very often what seems to us to be a state of stagnation is a long sometimes long, but in any case not endlesspreparation for a leap forward. We sometimes seem to be marking time for weeks or months, and then suddenly something that was being prepared makes its appearance, and we see that there is quite a considerable change and on several points at a time.
As with everything in yoga, the effort for progress must be made for the love of the effort for progress. The joy of effort, the aspiration for progress must be enough in themselves, quite independent of the result. Everything one does in yoga must be done for the joy of doing it, and not in view of the result one wants to obtain. Indeed, in life, always, in all things, the result does not belong to us. And if we want to keep the right attitude, we must act, feel, think, strive spontaneously, for that is what we must do, and not in view of the result to be obtained.
1962 10 06, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In reality, when people speak of transformation they are thinking mainly of a glamorous transformation, no? A beautiful appearance! luminous, supple, plastic, changing at will. But this rather unaesthetic business of transforming the organs they dont give it much thought! And yet that will certainly be the first thing to happen, long before the transformation of the appearance.
Sri Aurobindo spoke of replacing the organs by the functioning of the charkas.1
1962 10 12, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Recently, I have been looking at this carefully. I looked at the difference between similar incidents when they happen to men and when they happen to animals. If you identify yourself with the animals you see quite clearly that they do not take it tragically at allexcept the ones which have come into contact with man; but then it is not their natural state, it is a transitional state. They become transitional beings between animal and man. And the first things they naturally learn from man are his defects they are always the easiest things to learn! And so they make themselves unhappy for nothing.
So many things So many things Man has made a terrible tragedy out of death. These last few days, I have seen this, because last night or the night before I spent at least two hours in a world which is subtle physical, where the living and the dead intermingle without feeling any differenceit doesnt make any difference. There, there is no difference. The living were therethose whom we call the living and those whom we call the dead. They were there together, they ate together, they moved together, they played together; and all this was in a pretty light, quiet and very pleasant, it was very pleasant. I said to myself, There, men have made a break, like this, and then they say, Now, dead. And dead the best part of it is that they treat them as they would treat something unconsciousyet the body is still conscious.
1963 03 06, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So here we come to the great problem of the way which is being followed, the eternal way, as Sri Aurobindo explains it in Savitri. Of course, one can conceive that what was objectified first was something which had an inclination for objectivisation. the first thing to recognise, which seems consistent with the principle of evolution, is that the objectivisation is progressive, it is not total for all eternity. (Silence) It is very difficult to tell, because we cannot get out of our habit of conceiving that there is a definite quantity unfolding indefinitely and that there can only be a beginning if there is a definite quantity. We always have, at least in our way of speaking, the idea of a moment (laughing) when the Lord decides to objectify Himself. Like this, the explanation becomes easy: He objectifies Himself gradually, progressively, and this results in a progressive evolution. But that is only a manner of speaking; because there is no beginning, there is no end, and yet there is a progression. The sense of succession, the sense of evolution, the sense of progress only exists with the manifestation. It is only when one speaks of the earth that one can give an explanation that is both very rational and in accord with the facts, because the earth has a beginning, not in its soul but in its material reality.
It is also likely that a material universe has a beginning.
1963 05 15, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As an experience, this is absolutely certain, in the sense that, first of all, when one comes into contact with eternal Love, the supreme Love, one immediately hashow to put it?a perception, a sensationit is not an understanding, it is something very concrete: even the most illumined material consciousness, however much it has been moulded and prepared, is incapable of manifesting That. the first thing one feels is this kind of incapacity. Then comes an experience: something which manifests a form ofone cannot call it exactly cruelty, because it is not cruelty as we know it but within the totality of circumstances, a vibration appears and, with a certain intensity, refuses love as it is manifested here. It is precisely this: something in the material world which refuses the manifestation of love as it exists at present. I am not speaking of the ordinary world, I am speaking of the present consciousness at its highest. It is an experience, I am speaking of something that has happened. So the part of the consciousness which has been struck by this opposition makes a direct appeal to the origin of Love, with an intensity which it would not have without the experience of this refusal. Limits are broken and a flood pours down which could not have manifested before; and something is expressed which was not expressed before.
When one sees this, there is obviously a similar experience from the point of view of what we call life and death. It is this kind of constant brooding or presence of Death and the possibility of death, as it is said in Savitri: we have a constant companion throughout the journey from cradle to grave; we are constantly accompanied by this threat or presence of Death. Well, along with this, in the cells, there is a call for a Power of Eternity, with an intensity which would not be there except for this constant threat. Then one understands, one begins to feel quite concretely that all these things are only ways of intensifying the manifestation, of making it progress, of making it more perfect. And if the means are crude, it is because the manifestation itself is very crude. And as it becomes more perfect and fit to manifest that which is eternally progressive, the very crude means will give way to subtler ones and the world will progress without any need for such brutal oppositions. This is simply because the world is still in its infancy and human consciousness is still entirely in its infancy.
1969 12 23, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
the first thing needed is to become conscious of the Divine Will, and in order to do that one must no longer have any desires or personal will.
The best way to achieve this is to direct ones whole aspiration towards the Divine Perfection, to give oneself to it without reserve and to rely on That alone for all satisfaction.
1f.lovecraft - At the Mountains of Madness, #Lovecraft - Poems, #unset, #Zen
it figuredbeing indeed among the first things built in the city. Its
carvings, if preserved, could not but be highly significant. Moreover,
--
was totally unstrung, and the first thing I remember of the rest of the
journey was hearing him light-headedly chant an hysterical formula in
1f.lovecraft - The Horror in the Burying-Ground, #Lovecraft - Poems, #unset, #Zen
oaths from the Sprague house, and the first thing anybody knew Sophie
was running over to old Dr. Pratts at top speed.
1f.lovecraft - The Shadow over Innsmouth, #Lovecraft - Poems, #unset, #Zen
lit out the first thing in the morning. The talk went on most all
night.
--
had half expected there would be. Instead, the first thing which caught
my eye was a small rowboat pulling in toward the abandoned wharves and
1f.lovecraft - The Tomb, #Lovecraft - Poems, #unset, #Zen
environmental influences, was the first thing to succumb to the change;
and my suddenly acquired archaism of diction was soon remarked upon.
1.jr - On the Night of Creation I was awake, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
English version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva Original Language Persian/Farsi & Turkish On the Night of Creation I was awake, Busy at work while everyone slept. I was there to see the first wink and hear the first tale told. I was the first one caught in the hair of the Great Imposter. Whirling around the still-point of ecstasy I spun like the wheel of heaven. How can I describe this to you? You were born later. I was a companion of that Ancient Lover; Like a bowl with a broken rim I endured his tyranny. Why shouldn't I be as lustrous as the King's cup? I have lived in the room of treasures. Why shouldn't this bubble become the sea? I am the secret that lies at its bottom... Shhhh... no more words Hear only the voice within. Remember, the first thing He said was: "We are beyond words." [2509.jpg] -- from A Garden Beyond Paradise: Love Poems of Rumi, by Jonathan Star / Shahram Shiva <
1.poe - Eureka - A Prose Poem, #Poe - Poems, #unset, #Zen
My general proposition, then, is this: -In the Original Unity of the first thing lies the Secondary Cause of All Things, with the Germ of their Inevitable Annihilation.
In illustration of this idea, I propose to take such a survey of the Universe that the mind may be able really to receive and to perceive an individual impression.
20.01 - Charyapada - Old Bengali Mystic Poems, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
the first thing to do, pursue and kill the pawns.37
Then lift the Bishop and kill the five;38
2.02 - Habit 2 Begin with the End in Mind, #The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, #Stephen Covey, #unset
I later visited another hotel in the same chain, and the first thing I did when I checked in was to ask to see their mission statement, which they promptly gave me. At this hotel, I came to understand the motto "Uncompromising personalized service" a little more.
For a three-day period, I watched every conceivable situation where service was called for. I always found that service was delivered in a very impressive, excellent way. But it was always also very personalized. For instance, in the swimming area I asked the attendant where the drinking fountain was. He walked me to it.
2.02 - On Letters, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
The ideal relation between man and woman in this Yoga you cannot at present understand. You have, first, to make yourself fit for it. Your own ideas of married life and Shastra etc., are dangerous and if you follow these ideas there is every chance of your fall from the Yoga. All of them are mental constructions. the first thing in a case where both man and woman are aspirants is to help each other in Sadhana. They must exchange their forces and help each other to rise into the Higher Consciousness.
Secondly, there is the question of love. What most people call 'love' is a superficial thing and mostly bound up with the vital craving of lust. That has to be completely rejected.
2.03 - Karmayogin A Commentary on the Isha Upanishad, #Isha Upanishad, #unset, #Zen
This is the first thing the Karmayogin has to realise and until he
has set his mind on the realisation, Karmayoga is impossible.
2.03 - On Medicine, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Sri Aurobindo: You can ask what kind of Shanti she is feeling. Is it a mental quiet or does the peace descend from above? It is the first thing that comes in this Yoga. But there are various kinds of peace. There is a peace which descends with wideness. Ask her if she feels that she is living in that peace and wideness.
If she does not, what she has to do is to go on deepening the peace. She must experience the peace more and more till it becomes constant and remains even while she is not sitting in meditation. All her work must proceed from that peace. If she can succeed in this she will be able to know how the thought comes into the mind and from where. She will also be able to see the movement in her vital being. She must slowly feel something in her that is detached from all these things.
--
Sri Aurobindo: the first thing one sees when one has broken the barrier is the vital-physical body. It is around the physical body and with the physical it forms as it were the 'nervous envelope'. The force of a disease has to break through it to reach the body except for the attacks on the most material parts.
You can then feel the disease coming and also feel in the nervous envelope the part of the body which it is going to, or intending to, attack because what is in the nervous envelope has a material counterpart in the body. Thus it is the vital-physical which is first attacked and then the force takes the form of a disease in the system.
2.07 - BANKIM CHANDRA, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"Some may say about the devotees: 'Day and night these people speak about God. They are crazy; they have lost their heads. But how clever we are! How we enjoy pleasure-money, honour, the senses!' The crow, too thinks he is a clever bird; but the first thing he does when he wakes up in the early morning is to fill his stomach with nothing but others' filth. Haven't you noticed how he struts about? Very clever indeed!"
There was dead silence.
2.07 - I Also Try to Tell My Tale, #The Castle of Crossed Destinies, #Italo Calvino, #Fiction
So I have succeeded in coming to a conclusion, I can consider myself satisfied. But will I not have been too pontifical? I reread. Shall I tear it all up? Let us see. the first thing to be said is that the Saint George-Saint Jerome story is not one with a before and an after: we are in the center of a room with figures who present themselves to our view all together. The character in question either succeeds in being warrior and sage in everything he does and thinks, or he will be no one, and the same beast is at once dragon-enemy in the daily massacre of the city and lion-guard in the space of thoughts: and he does not allow himself to be confronted except in the two forms together.
Thus I have set everything to rights. On the page, at least. Inside me, all remains as before.
21.01 - The Mother The Nature of Her Work, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 06, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
As I said, she spent the first part of her life .in France. But why France? There is a meaning in the choice. We know now the meaning, the fundamental meaning of her life, her mission and her work. She came to bring a new light. She wanted a new world, not the old world with its old nature and old culture, but a new world, a new human race. She brought with her the new light that is to re-create, re-shape man and the world. What was the relation between the new man and France? For the new light to come and manifest, you have first to receive it in your mind, that is to say you must see and recognise that it is a new light and ask for it. And mind is the first or the topmost receptacle in man. You may remember here the opening line of Dhammapadacontaining the epitome of Buddha's teaching: "Manopubbangama dhamma"- mind is the foremost of all human functions. Mind surpasses all, embraces all. Now, the light as it comes down and enters you, the first thing it touches is your head, that is, your mind: you see it, you are conscious of it. France represents today just this mind of humanity at its best, the flowering of its culture and civilisation. She was born there so that the highest mind of the human race may receive that light through her. She passed her life there in the company of the elite, the most cultured people of the time, scientists, artists, poets, all of the highest and most refined status. She was there so that through her contact and association she could bring into them the new light. With this end in view she started a society, rather a group, and the name given to it was "Le cosmique".Cosmic means the whole world; in other words, what she was doing, what she was giving, was for the whole world, for all men, for East and West, for everybody. Also it means a cosmic or world-embracing consciousness. She was creating a new type of the mental world, through the highest mental development, to reach a still wider mind - beyond the individual egoistic mind. As I have said, the mind, the head, being the highest part in man, it is easy for man to receive the new light through his head first of all. You may remember here, in this connection, Sri Aurobindo's poem "The Golden Light": how it comes from above and first enters into the head, the brain. It illumines your thoughts, develops your understanding, widens it, deepens it and sharpens it. But understanding is not sufficient, you must love it, then only you begin to possess it. So the golden light enters your heart. Then it proceeds farther down towards a more concrete and active expression, it enters into the vital region as we call it. Lastly the golden light enters your feet, that is, possesses your physical limbs, it becomes concrete materially and present, as though solidified, in your very body: it builds the body beautiful.
The Mother thus brings the golden light into the head of humanity, the top rung of his consciousness, and that work of initiation, diksha,into the Life Divine she started in France. From France she went to Japan for the next stage of her work. In Japan she came to the Far East. She spent five years, five long years in that country. Japan is the land of the Zen system of meditation, that is to say, a special way of entering into an inner consciousness, not a rational mental consciousness but a gaze inward into an occult and more sensitive region. The Japanese as a nation represent indeed a very sensitive vitality, an artistic vitality that seeks order and beauty in life, in the mode of living. For the golden light to manifest and have its play in the physical world and possess its body as it were, a vitality of this kind is necessary to acquire it and hold it. The Japanese wrestlers are well-known for their vital strength, self-controlled strength; usually they possess, almost all of them, you must have noticed, in pictures at least, a big tummy, and it is, they believe, the store-house of vital strength. This does not mean that r advise you to develop a big paunch, on the contrary. However, even in physical activities, more than the mere physical strength, the vital strength is necessary. Yes, the Japanese have a vital, strong, controlled, ordered, sensitive. You may remember one or two Prayers of the Mother in her Prires et
2.13 - On Psychology, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Sri Aurobindo: the first thing one has to do is to know the nature of the being, and then he must turn to something higher than the mind for the attainment of the Truth. The mind can give some knowledge about it, but it cannot give the complete knowledge nor can it effect the transformation.
Disciple: You said just now that man has the animal nature in him for the most part. The European philosophers make an exaggerated statement of the same truth. They say the vital is at the root of everything in humanity, and they seem to idolise it.
2.1.3 - Wrong Movements of the Vital, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
I have no idea why he wants to change [his work]. If he wants to make himself some day fit for the spiritual life, the first thing to be avoided is vital restlessness. To do the work one has to do with a quiet mind, making an offering of it to the Divine and trying to get rid of egoism and vital desire, is the best way to prepare oneself.
***
2.1.4 - The Lower Vital Being, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Meanwhile the first thing you must do is to throw out this perilous stuff of despondency and its accompaniments and recover a quiet and clear balance. A quiet mind and a quiet vital are the first conditions for success in sadhana.
***
2.14 - The Origin and Remedy of Falsehood, Error, Wrong and Evil, #The Life Divine, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
embodied soul through whose action cosmic Nature is seeking to fulfil itself, the living ground of a vast debate between a darkness of Ignorance out of which it emerges here and a light of Knowledge which is growing upwards towards an unforeseen culmination. The Forces which seek to move him, and among them the Forces of good and evil, present themselves as powers of universal Nature; but they seem to belong not only to the physical universe, but to planes of Life and Mind beyond it. the first thing that we have to note of importance to the problem preoccupying us is that these Forces in their action seem often to surpass the measures of human relativity; they are in their larger action superhuman, divine, titanic or demoniac, but they may create their formations in him in large or in little, in his greatness or his smallness, they may seize and drive him at moments or for periods, they may influence his impulses or his acts or possess his whole nature. If that possession happens, he may himself be pushed to an excess of the normal humanity of good or evil; especially the evil takes forms which shock the sense of human measure, exceed the bounds of human personality, approach the gigantic, the inordinate, the immeasurable. It may then be questioned whether it is not a mistake to deny absoluteness to evil; for as there is a drive, an aspiration, a yearning in man towards an absolute truth, good, beauty, so these movements
- as also the transcending intensities attainable by pain and suffering - seem to indicate the attempt at self-realisation of an absolute evil. But the immeasurable is not a sign of absoluteness: for the absolute is not in itself a thing of magnitude; it is beyond measure, not in the sole sense of vastness, but in the freedom of its essential being; it can manifest itself in the infinitesimal as well as in the infinite. It is true that as we pass from the mental to the spiritual, - and that is a passage towards the absolute, - a subtle wideness and an increasing intensity of light, of power, of peace, of ecstasy mark our passing out of our limitations: but this is at first only a sign of freedom, of height, of universality, not yet of an inward absoluteness of self-existence which is the essence of the matter. To this absoluteness pain and evil cannot attain, they are bound to limitation and they are
2.2.01 - The Outer Being and the Inner Being, #Letters On Yoga I, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
is the first thing to be done in order to have a secure basis in the
Yoga, to establish thoroughly this separateness. It comes most
2.2.01 - Work and Yoga, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It is not possible to get peace of mind if you indulge in vital ego and the turbulent play of the vital mind, revolt, demand and impatience. Abhiman, revolt, violent insistence on the satisfaction of claims and wishes are foreign to the spirit of the Yoga, they can only bring disturbance and trouble. If you want peace of mind and true sadhana, the first thing you have to do is to cease regarding all these things as justified or justifiable or insisting on them. You must recognise that in allowing all this to rise in you, it is you yourself who have created your own trouble and you must resolutely separate yourself from these things and clear them out of you. Till you are firm in doing that, nothing can be done,till then no spiritual progress or achievement is possible.
***
2.2.02 - Becoming Conscious in Work, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
A constant aspiration for that [to be constantly governed by the Divine] is the first thingnext a sort of stillness within and a drawing back from the outward action into the stillness and a sort of listening expectancy, not for a sound but for the spiritual feeling or direction of the consciousness that comes through the psychic.
***
2.2.03 - The Divine Force in Work, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The vital is the means of effectuation on the physical plane, so its action and energy are necessary for all workwithout it, if the mind only drives without the cooperation and instrumentation of the vital, there is hard and disagreeable labour and effort with results which are usually not at all of the best kind. The ideal state for work is when there is a natural concentration of the consciousness in the special energy, supported by an easeful rest and quiescence of the consciousness as a whole. Distraction of the mind by other activities disturbs this balance of ease and concentrated energy,fatigue also disturbs or destroys it. the first thing therefore that has to be done is to bring back the supporting restfulness and this is ordinarily done by cessation of work and repose. In the experience you had that was replaced by a restfulness that came from above in answer to your station of prayer and an energy that also came from above. It is the same principle as in sadhana the reason why we want people to make the consciousness quiet so that the higher peace may come in and on the basis of that peace a new Force from above.
It is not effort that brought the inspiration. Inspiration comes from above in answer to a state of concentration which is itself a call to it. Effort on the contrary fatigues the consciousness and therefore is not favourable to the best work; the only thing is that sometimesby no means alwayseffort culminates in a pull for the inspiration which brings some answer, but it is not usually so good and effective an inspiration as that which comes when there is the easy and intense concentration of the energy in its work. Effort and expenditure of energy are not necessarily the same thing; the best expenditure of energy is that which flows easily without effort at allwhen the Inspiration or Force (any Force) works of itself and the mind and vital and even body are glowing instruments and the Force flows out in an intense and happy workingan almost labourless labour.
2.21 - The Order of the Worlds, #The Life Divine, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It is possible to suppose that these higher planes and worlds have been created subsequently to the manifestation of the material cosmos, to aid the evolution or in some sense as a result of it. This is a notion which the physical mind, starting in all its ideas from the material universe as the one thing which it knows, has analysed and can deal with in a beginning of mastery, might easily tend to accept, if obliged to admit a supraphysical existence; it could then keep the material, the Inconscience, as the starting-point and support of all being, as it is undoubtedly the starting-point for us of the evolutionary movement of which the material world is the scene. Our mind could still keep matter and material force as the first existence, - so accepted and cherished by it because it is the first thing that it knows, the one thing that is always securely present and knowable, - and maintain the spiritual and the supraphysical in a dependence upon the assured foundation in Matter.4 But how then were these (the material principle) is spoken of as the foundation of all the worlds or the seven worlds are described as the seven planes of Earth. other worlds created, by what force, by what instrumentality?
It might be the Life and Mind developing out of the Inconscient which have at the same time developed these other worlds or planes in the subliminal consciousness of the living beings who appear in it. To the subliminal being in life and after death, - for it is the inner being that survives the death of the body, - these worlds might be real because sensible to its wider range of consciousness; it would move in them with that sense of reality, derivative perhaps but convincing, and it would send up its experience of them as belief and imagination to the surface being. This is a possible account, if we accept Consciousness as the real creative Power or agent and all things as formations of consciousness; but it would not give to the supraphysical planes of being the unsubstantiality or less palpable reality which the physical mind would like to attach to them; they would have the same reality in themselves as the physical world or plane of physical experience has in its own order.
2.3.01 - Aspiration and Surrender to the Mother, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
You can write to her briefly - telling her that the life of sansar is in its nature a field of unrest - to go through it in the right way one has to offer one's life and actions to the Divine and pray for the peace of the Divine within. When the mind becomes quiet, one can feel the Divine Mother supporting the life and put everything into her hands - these are the first things to do, if she wants to have peace.
16 April 1933
2.3.01 - Concentration and Meditation, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Then as to concentration. Ordinarily the consciousness is spread out everywhere, dispersed, running in this or that direction, after this subject and that object in multitude. When anything has to be done of a sustained nature, the first thing one does is to draw back all this dispersed consciousness and concentrate. It is then, if one looks closely, found to be concentrated in one place and on one occupation, subject or object - as when you are composing a poem or a botanist is studying a flower.
The place is usually somewhere in the brain, if it is the thought, in the heart if it is the feeling in which one is concentrated. The Yogic concentration is simply an extension and intensification of the same thing. It may be on an object as when one does tratak on a shining point - then one has to concentrate so that one sees only that point and has no other thought but that. It may be on an idea or a word or a name, the idea of the Divine, the word OM, the name Krishna, or a combination of idea and word or idea and name. But, farther, in Yoga one also concentrates in a particular place. There is the famous rule of concentrating between the eyebrows - the centre of the inner mind, of occult vision, of the will is there. What you do is to think firmly from there on whatever you make the object of your concentration or else try to see the image of it from there. If you succeed in this, then after a time you feel that your whole consciousness is centred there in that place - of course for the time being. After doing it for some time and often, it becomes easy and normal.
2.3.04 - The Mother's Force, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
These are the two difficulties, one of the vital dissatisfaction and restlessness, the other of the inertia of the physical consciousness which are the chief obstacles to the sadhana. the first thing to do is to keep detached from them, not to identify yourself mentally with these movements - even if you cannot reject them - next to call on the Mother's force quietly but steadily for it to descend and make the obstacles disappear.
31 January 1934
2.3.05 - Sadhana through Work for the Mother, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
I must warn you that by withdrawing into a one-sided subjective existence within and by pushing away from you all touch with physical realities, you are running into a wrong path and imperilling your sadhana. What happens to sadhaks who do this is that they make a mental Formation and put it in place of the true embodied Mother here, and then under its inspiration they begin to lose touch with her and disobey her and follow the false suggestions of their mental Formation. the first thing it does is
Sadhana through Work for the Mother
2.3.08 - The Mother's Help in Difficulties, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It was not possible to prevent the accident. When the danger comes, a call to the Mother is the first thing to be done, that makes the general protection at once effective. X was in too externalised a state to do that and he did the very opposite thing to what should have been done - trying to get away in front of the car instead of behind it. But the true cause was something more internal - one of those choices made by the inner being
(not necessarily known to the conscious mind) which bring these
2.3.1 - Ego and Its Forms, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
If your writings show ego and desire, and they certainly do, it is because they are there without your perceiving it and express themselves without your intending it. What the surface mind thinks and intends is one thing and what is behind the thoughts and actions is another thing. A mans surface mind shapes its own idea of oneself and ones nature in an entire self-ignorance. the first thing one has to do to get rid of this ignorance is to draw back from the surface mind and get into contact with the psychic which does not allow such delusions and shows one clearly the truth about ones movements.
***
2.3.3 - Anger and Violence, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
That [inner detachment] is the right thing that must happen always when anger or anything else rises. The psychic reply must become habitual pointing out that anger is neither right nor helpful and then the being must draw back from these outward things and take its stand in its inner self, detach from all these things and people. It is this detachment that is the first thing that must be gained by the sadhakhe must cease to live in these outward things and live in his inner being. The more that is done the more there is a release and peacefulness. Afterwards when one is secure in this inner being, the right thing to do, the right way to deal with men and things will begin to come.
***
2.4.02.08 - Contact with the Divine, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Quietude and surrender are the first things to be established.
In that must come the full contact. By that contact, if well established, will come a steady progressive sadhana, not the old
2.4.02 - Bhakti, Devotion, Worship, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Quietude and surrender are the first things to be established. In that must come the full contact. By that contact, if well established, will come a steady progressive sadhana, not the old confused sadhana.
***
2.4.1 - Human Relations and the Spiritual Life, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Affection, love, tenderness are in their nature psychic,the vital has them because the psychic is trying to express itself through the vital. It is through the emotional being that the psychic most easily expresses, for it stands just behind it in the heart centre. But it wants these things to be pure. Not that it rejects the outward expression through the vital and the physical, but as the psychic being is the form of the soul, it naturally feels the attraction of soul to soul, the nearness of soul to soul the union of soul with soul are the things that are to it most abiding and concrete. Mind, vital, body are means of expression and very precious means of expression, but the inner life is for the soul the first thing, the deepest reality, and these have to be subordinated to it and conditioned by it, its expression, its instruments and channel. I do not think that in my emphasis on the inner things, on the psychic and spiritual, I am saying anything new, strange or unintelligible. These things have always been stressed from the beginning and the more the human being is evolved, the more they take on importance. I do not see how Yoga can be possible without this premier stress on the inner life, on the soul and the spirit. The emphasis on the mastery of the vital, its subordination and subjection to the spiritual and the psychic is also nothing new, strange or exorbitant. It has been insisted on always for any kind of spiritual life; even the Yogas which seek most to use the vital, like certain forms of Vaishnavism, yet insist on the purification and the total offering of it to the Divine and the relations with the Divine are an inner realisation, the soul offering itself through the emotional being. The soul or psychic being is not something unheard of or incomprehensible.
***
30.07 - The Poet and the Yogi, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Let us pin our attention on the first thing first: whether the poet is at all a Yogi or a Sadhaka and, if so, in what sense. It is not quite uncommon that in the creation of almost every poet we observe more or less the indication of something beyond the grasp of the senses, something divine and infinite. The aspiration of every poet flies to an immaculate realm of Beauty and Truth, to a world beyond. Milton, Wordsworth and Dante need no introduction in this field, for they are undoubtedly spiritual. They seriously resorted to spirituality. But it is strange enough how Shakespeare, whose creation is replete with nature's scenes and the experiences of man's day-to-day life, says:
With thoughts above the reaches of our souls,
3.01 - THE BIRTH OF THOUGHT, #The Phenomenon of Man, #Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #Christianity
and one goes on heating it, the first thing that follows without
change of temperature is a tumultuous expansion of freed and
3.01 - The Soul World, #Theosophy, #Alice Bailey, #Occultism
One of the first things that a man must do in order to make his way about the soul world
p. 101
3.06 - The Sage, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So then the first thing is to be perfectly happy when someone or some circumstance puts you in the conscious presence of a fault in yourself which you did not know. Instead of lamenting, you must rejoice and in this joy must find the strength to get rid of the thing which should not be.
21 March 1958
3.1.1 - The Transformation of the Physical, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Here as elsewhere, quiet is the first thing needed, to keep the consciousness quiet, not allow it to get agitated and in turmoil. Then in the quiet to call for the Force to clear up all this obscurity and change it.
***
3.1.3 - Difficulties of the Physical Being, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(1) the first thing is to reject the idea of helplessness, of impossibility of a successful reaction. The central will must assert itself, not violently in a constant struggle, for that brings reaction, fatigue and inertia, but with a quiet pressure and insistence.
(2) The mind must learn (even the physical external mind) never to say yes to the suggestions and impulsions of the old movement or admit any justification for them however plausible or seemingly true. However violently they return and insist, they must feel that they will never get any essential assent or sanction. You have almost reached that point, but it must be made more entire.
--
As to what has happened in your sadhana, it is that you have allowed yourself to fall into a groove of the physical mind and of the external vital nature and got fixed in a persistent or constantly recurrent repetition of the ideas and feelings which they present to youfeelings of settled disappointment and discouragement and pessimism about yourself and your spiritual future, and ideasor, if you will allow me to call them so, notionswhich come to the support of these feelings and sustain them. The result of this is to shut you up against the contact and spiritual influence and help you were once feeling or beginning to feel from us. It also shuts you up against your own deeper self and sterilises your personal effort. An accident of this kind is common enough in the path of spiritual effort, and the first thing to be done to get rid of its effects is to throw away resolutely the persistent ideas and feelings which keep you in the groove. I do not know whether you can return to the former condition, for it is seldom that one can go back to a point in the past; but it is always possible for you to go forward, recovering the force for propulsion of what you then gained and have certainly still within you assimilated in your inner being. If you want to carry on some part of the Yoga by your active efforts and aspiration, there is no reason why you should not find back that capacity; but the first effort to be made is to reject persistently, fully and tenaciouslynot for two or three days, but always, so long as they insist or return these disabling thoughts and feelings which hamstring all hope and faith in you, not to accept them, not to justify them, not to give them by your acquiescence the right to go on harping on the same note always of discouragement, incapacity and failure. The ideas by which you justify them are, I repeat, notions only of the physical mind, not true thingse.g. the notion that you cannot understand a given idea (intellectually accepting or not accepting is another matter); for it is perfectly certain that your thinking intelligence is quite trained enough to understand anything that is put before it. It is only the physical mind that is limited even in the most intelligent and opens up pits of stupidity or at least larger or smaller spaces of blank non-understanding in the face of unaccustomed ideas or a new line of possible experience or anything else either alien to the minds habits or unwelcome to something in the vital parts. I suppose we have all had experience of this incapable element in our nature, and if one fixes oneself in it, it can make even things that would ordinarily be easy for us seem difficult things and things difficult seem impossible. But why should a mind trained to think allow this poorer part of itself to dominate it? So with the other notions. There is nothing anyone else can do in the way of Yoga that you cannot do if you have the fixed will to do it; some things may take a longer time because of past training, habits, mental associations but there is nothing impossible, too difficult, no inherently insuperable obstacle.
***
3.18 - Of Clairvoyance and the Body of Light, #Liber ABA, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
harmonizing takes place, you should begin by a careful differentiation. the first thing to do, therefore, is to get the body outside your
129
3.2.01 - The Newness of the Integral Yoga, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The central sincerity is the first thing and sufficient for an aspiration to be entertaineda total sincerity is needed for the aspiration to be fulfilled.
***
3.2.4 - Sex, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
When the psychic puts its influence on the vital, the first thing you must be careful to avoid is any least mixture of a wrong vital movement with the psychic movement. Lust is the perversion or degradation which prevents love from establishing its reign; so when there is the movement of psychic love in the heart, lust or vital desire is the one thing that must not be allowed to come injust as when strength comes down from above, personal ambition and pride have to be kept far away from it; for any mixture of the perversion will corrupt the psychic or spiritual action and prevent a true fulfilment.
***
--
The sex-impulse is the chief difficulty in your way and, if that were got rid of, it would make the ground clear for the sadhana in you to take a much fuller course. If it persists, it is because some part of your being still clings to it and your mind and will have remained divided and found some kind of half-justification for the continuance. the first thing is for the mind and also the higher vital to withdraw their consent altogether; if that is done, it becomes only a mechanical return from outside on the physical and finally only an active memory which will disappear when it is able to find no welcome in any part of the nature.
***
--
It is all nervous. If you did not get depressed and despondent and create a weakness by the depression, the discharges would do no harm. All get them except those who indulge and so get out the sex-fluid or those who have a strong Yogic or other control over their sleep. That control has to be got, but the first thing is to get rid of this reaction of despondency and weakness which is quite unnecessary.
***
--
As for the secretiveness you spoke of, it is one main reason of your going astray for it has made you shut yourself up in your own wrong movement. If you have got yourself into an imprisoning circle, the first thing you have to do is to get out of itsecretiveness must be renounced altogether.
***
33.05 - Muraripukur - II, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The evening before our arrest, it was already getting dark and we were thinking of retiring for the night, when some voices came to our ears in a rather peculiar way, and lanterns were seen moving about in the dark. "Who are you? What do you do here?" the voices said. We did our best to give evasive replies. "Very well, then, we come again tomorrow morning and will know more about it." With these words, the strangers seemed to make their exit. Were these warning voices? In spite of our dull wits, we could understand at least this much that things were now getting rather serious and that we must take our precautions. the first thing we decided upon was that we should leave the place before daybreak and disperse. Upen told us later that he had wanted us to disperse immediately and make no further delay. But that was obviously not to be, for it was destined that we should pass through the experience of jail. Nevertheless, we did start doing something at once; that was to remove all traces, by burning or hiding away or whatever other means, of anyhting that might raise a suspicion against us. The very first thing that came to our heads was this. There were two or three rifles in the house where Sri Aurobindo lived. They were in the custody of. Abinash (Abinash Bhattacharya) who lived with him and looked after Sri Aurobindo's affairs. Those rifles must be removed at once, they could on no account be left there. Had the police found them on Sri Aurobindo's premises, it might have been more difficult to secure his release. The rifles were brought back, they were packed in two boxes bound with iron hoops, together with the few revolvers we had and all the materials for the making of bombs, and hidden away underground. Next, getting hold of all our papers that might contain names and addresses and plans, we set fire to them. This went on far into the night. We could not
We went to bed after doing away with all we could, in the hope that we might run away by daybreak. But the running away did not materialise. In the early hours of the morning, - it was not yet light, - we were awakened by an eerie sort of noise. We sat up in bed. But what was all this going on? Shadowy forms were moving about the place, there was a clatter and a creaking of boots. Suddenly out of the dark silence, a conversation arose:
33.15 - My Athletics, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
the first thing to note is this. All those who take part in physical exercise are, no doubt, already familiar, or they have to get familiar, with the truth that relaxation is not merely an end-product of exercise, it has a place in. exercise itself. Let me explain.
In all physical-culture activities and in every exercise, one has to pay particular attention to one thing, for success depends on it to a large extent. Normally, we are inclined to work up all our muscles and nerves at the same time, even when only a certain limited number actually come into play. This means tension. And if the tension is excessive, it leads to what we call stiffness or rigidity. Instead of that, what we should do is to give as much relaxation as possible to the other parts of the body and work up only such of the muscles as are actually called into play and for the time are needed for the work. These too should remain passive, that is to say, relaxed, till the very moment they are called into play. You have heard that story about the watch. One day it suddenly became conscious about itself and discovered that it had been working constantly without a break or pause for rest for twenty-four hours a day. So it complained to the owner, "My dear sir, all of you work no doubt but you take rest as well: if you work the whole day, you get the whole night for sleep. But I have to go on working throughout the day and night without a wink of sleep." And the owner replied, "But don't you see, you go on ticking and between the two ticks you take a good rest." This is a very fine analogy. When, for instance, we take part in a race, that is exactly what takes place. It is not at all necessary to tense both the legs at the same time. All that is needed is to use with all their strength the muscles of the leg that is to strike the ground, but only for the duration of contact; they could be held relaxed until the next stroke. The other leg should in the meantime remain relaxed, and alert - I say alert, not active - till its turn arrives. This applies to all the other parts of the body. We might recall in this connection the two types of heart-beat, the systole and the diastole, the movement of contraction and that of expansion, with an interval or pause in between.
33.18 - I Bow to the Mother, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Now to come back to a personal experience. the first thing I heard and came to know about the Mother was that she was a great spiritual person. I did not know then that she might have other gifts; these were revealed to me gradually. First I came to know that she was a very fine painter; and afterwards that she was an equally gifted musician. But there were other surprises in store. For instance, she had an intellectual side no less richly endowed, that is to say, she had read and studied enormously, had been engaged in intellectual pursuits even as the learned do. I was still more surprised to find that while in France she had already studied and translated a good number of Indian texts, like the Gita, the Upanishads, the Yoga-sutras, the Bhakti-sutras of Narada. I mention all this merely to tell you that the Mother's capacity of making her mind a complete blank was as extraordinary as her enormous mental acquisitions. This was something unique. In the early days, when she had just taken charge of our spiritual life, she told me one day in private, perhaps seeing that I might have a pride in being an intellectual, "At one time I used to take an interest in philosophy and other intellectual pursuits. All that is now gone below the surface, but I can bring it up again at will." So, I need not have any fears on that score! It was as if the Mother was trying to apologise for her deficiencies in scholarship. This was how she taught me the meaning of humility, what we call Divine Humility.
As I was saying, this capacity for an entire rejection of the past has been one of the powers of her spiritual consciousness and realisation. It is not an easy thing for a human being to wash himself clean of all his past acquisitions, be it intellectual knowledge or the habits of the vital, not to speak of the body's needs, and step forth in his nude purity. And yet this is the first and most important step in the spiritual discipline. The Mother has given us a living example of this. That is why she decided to shed all her past, forget all about it and begin anew the a-b-c of her training and initiation with Sri Aurobindo. And it was in fact at the hands of Sri Aurobindo that she received as a token and outward symbol her first lessons in Bengali and Sanskrit, beginning with the alphabet.
3.3.1 - Illness and Health, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
If you have fear or apprehension of illness in your vital, that is the first thing to be thrown away, as it helps the illnesses to come in.
***
--
Whatever is wrong in the system can easily be set right but the first thing necessary is that you should dismiss this fear which hampers the action of the Force and opposes the cure. It is also necessary that you should now abstain finally not only from alcohol and wine, but from sex and smoking. Healthy conditions of living are necessary to help the Force to undo what has been done in the past and restore the full strength and normality of the body.
Fix in yourself the calm and courage of the sadhak. Fear nothing, open yourself, reject the weaknesses that remain then the progress that had begun here will complete itself and the body also become an abiding place of the true consciousness and force.
3-5 Full Circle, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
When a complex mechanism has complexly deteriorated and broken down, the first thing the repair engineer needs to see is the blueprint of the system when it was new, and working correctly. For, as Abraham Lincoln said of the damaged social system whose controller he was trying to restore, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it." A breakdown can be made only relative to the condition of "normality." Figure IV-5 gives us this "base line" for Lower Industrial civilization, formulated deductively. Relative to this "blue print" of the normal Lower Industrial system, we can now map the structure of the "normal," "correctly" (cybernetically) working university.
The structure of the university's widespread current breakdown, actively engineered by social technologists who have misconstrued human kind's genetico-psycho-social structure, can then be understood much better. It is, of course, widely sensed without the benefit of maps. Sensing, however, is what the patient does. Curing is quite another thing: it begins with understanding of "where we are, and whither we are tending;" from there it sets its course.
The following map represents an ideal which administrations and trustees of top colleges in Britain, the United States and the U.S.S.R. have striven to approximate. When a complex mechanism has complexly deteriorated and broken down, the first thing the repair engineer needs to see is the blueprint of the system when it was new, and working correctly. For, as Abraham Lincoln said of the damaged social system whose controller he was trying to restore, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it." A breakdown can be made only relative to the condition of "normality." Figure IV-5 gives us this "base line" for Lower Industrial civilization, formulated deductively. Relative to this "blue print" of the normal Lower Industrial system, we can now map the structure of the "normal," "correctly" (cybernetically) working university.
The structure of the university's widespread current breakdown, actively engineered by social technologists who have misconstrued human kind's genetico-psycho-social structure, can then be understood much better. It is, of course, widely sensed without the benefit of maps. Sensing, however, is what the patient does. Curing is quite another thing: it begins with understanding of "where we are, and whither we are tending;" from there it sets its course.
37.07 - Ushasti Chakrayana (Chhandogya Upanishad), #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 08, #unset, #Zen
In this manner Ushasti gave the teaching about the Triple Principle, the Trinity represented by Life, Mind and Body; Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svar, that is, Earth, Sky and Heaven. He gave an indication of these three levels of manifested being, the triple world of this universe, spoke of the divinity that presides over this Triplicity. First of all comes the God of Life. This is the deity that is invoked at the outset, has to be so invoked in every act, in all ceremonial function, even in the effort at an inner perfection. He is the Creator, all that is manifested has Him for its driving power, sarvam ejati nihsrtam. Creation begins with a vibration of this Life - Force. the first thing necessary is to infuse Life into things. When we worship a divine image, we begin the rites with an invocation to this Life-force to enter the image; what was just an idol is awakened to life by the infusion of this Force. Life and Life-Force, this comes first. Next comes consciousness, knowledge, light, that is, the Sun-God, Aditya, and ordinarily, mind is His field. But by itself force is not enough, knowledge is not enough; this force and this light have to be embodied and given a form, they have to take physical shape with matter as the basis; they have to become an integral part of this earth of matter. Force and Light and Being are the three cosmic Principles, and. they have three Deities presiding over them. In establishing them in their unity in his awakened being man finds his entire and all round fulfilment.
You may notice here one thing. Many of these Rishis in the Upanishads are found sometimes using a threat that if anything or anyone deviated from the truth or the accepted norm, "the head would fall off". It seems to mean this. If one commits an error or there is a fault in the course of one's spiritual effort and if one continues on the wrong path without acknowledging the error or shortcoming, then it implies a movement, a gesture against the Truth and the Right, and this default carries in itself the possibility of a derangement of the head. The actual physical calamity befell an ancient seeker, Shakalya; we already know that story. In this age we do not perhaps come across an actual physical instance of such a mishap; but we are certainly familiar with something analogous, a derangement of the brain instead of the physical falling off of the head. As the Mother has said, the spiritual force is a kind of fire, to play with this fire without an inner devotion and sincerity invites dangers of this sort.
3.7.1.09 - Karma and Freedom, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
But still there is here something which we may call a relative freedom. It does not really belong to our outward mind and will or that shadow of myself which I have put forth in my mental ego; for these things are instruments and they work in the roads of the successions of Karma. But they still feel a power constantly coming forth and either assenting to or intervening in the action of the nature, and that power they attribute to themselves. They are aware of a relative freedom in their disposition of action and of at least a potential absolute freedom behind it, and mixing these two things confusedly together mind, will and ego cry out in unison I am free. But this freedom and power are influences from the soul. To use a familiar metaphysical language, they type the assent and will of the Purusha without which the Prakriti cannot move on her way. The first and the greater part of this soul-influence is in the form of an assent to Nature, an acquiescence; and for good reason. For I start with the action of the universal Energy which the Spirit has set in motion and as I rise from the ignorance towards knowledge, the first thing demanded from me is to gather experience of its law and of my relations to the law and partly therefore to acquiesce, to allow myself to be moved, to see and to come to know the nature of the motions, to suffer and obey the law, to understand and know Karma.
This obedience is forcibly imposed on the lower ignorant creation. But thinking man who experiences increasingly from generation to generation and from life to life the nature of things and develops reflective knowledge and the sense of his soul in Nature, delivers in her a power of initiating will. He is not bound to her set actualities; he can refuse assent, and the thing in Nature to which it is refused goes on indeed for a time and produces its results by impetus of Karma, but as it runs, it loses power and falls into impotence and desuetude. He can do more, he can comm and a new action and orientation of his nature. The assent was a manifestation of the power of the soul as giver of the sanction, anumant, but this is a power of the soul as active lord of the nature, vara. Then Nature still insists more or less on her old habitual way by reason of her past impetus or the right of previous sanctions and may even, in proportion as she is unaccustomed to control, resist and call in hostile powers, our own creations, the children of our past willings; then is there a battle in the house of our being between the lord and his spouse or between old and new nature and a defeat of the soul or its victory. And this is certainly a freedom, but only a relative freedom, and even the greatest mental self-mastery a relative and precarious thing at the best. This liberty when we look down at it from a higher station, is not well distinguishable from a lightened bondage.
3.7.2.03 - Mind Nature and Law of Karma, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This character of mans being prevents us from resting satisfied with the vitalistic law of Karma: the lines of the vital energy are interfered with and uplifted and altered for man by the intervention of the awakened mental energy of the spirit that emerges in the material universe and creates here on earth the form of man for its habitation, his complex nature to be its expressive power, the gamut of its music, and the action of his thought, perception, will, emotions the notation of its harmonies. The apparent inconscience of physical Nature, the beautiful and terrible, kindly and cruel conscious but amoral Life Force that is the first thing we see before us, are not the whole self-expression of the universal Being here and therefore not the whole of Nature. Man comes into it to express and realise a higher law of Nature and therefore a higher system of the lines of Karma. The mental energy divides itself and runs in many directions, has an ascending scale of the levels of its action, a great variety and combination of its dynamic aims and purposes. There are many strands of its weaving and it follows each along its own line and combines manifoldly the threads of one with the threads of another. There is in it an energy of thought that puts itself out for a return and a constant increase of knowledge, an energy of will that casts itself forth for a return and increase of conscious mastery, fulfilment of the being, execution of will in action, an energy of conscious aesthesis that feels out for a return and an increase of the creation and enjoyment of beauty, an energy of emotion that demands in its action a return and a constant increase of the enjoyment and satisfaction of the emotional power of the being. All these energies act in a way for themselves and yet depend upon and are inextricably accompanied and mingled with each other. At the same time mind has descended into matter and has to act in and through this world of the vital and physical energy and to consent to and make something of the lines of the vital and physical Karma.
Man, then, since he is a mental being, a means of the evolution of the mental self-expression of the spirit, cannot confine the rule of his action and nature to an obedience to the vital and physical law and an intelligent utilisation of it for the greater, more ordered, more perfect enjoyment of his vital and physical existence, perpetuation, reproduction, possession, enjoyment, expansion. There is a higher law of mental being and nature of which he is bound to become aware and to seek to impose it on his life and his action. At first he is very predominantly governed by the life needs and the movement of the life energies, and it is in applying his mental energy to them and to the world around him that he makes the earliest development of his powers of knowledge and will and trains the crude impulses that lead him into the path of his emotional, aesthetic and moral evolution. But always there is a certain obscure element that takes pleasure in the action of the mental energies for their own sake and it is this, however imperfect at first in self-consciousness and intelligence, that represents the characteristic intention of Nature in him and makes his mental and eventually his spiritual evolution inevitable. The insistence of the external world around him and the need of utilising its opportunities and of meeting its siege and dangers causes his mind to be much obsessed by life and external action and the utility of thought and will and perception for his dealings with the physical and life forces, and to this preoccupation the finer more disinterested action and subtler cast of motive of the mind nature demanding its own inner development, seeking for knowledge, mastery, beauty, a purer emotional delight for their own sake, and the pursuits which are characteristic of this higher energy of the mental nature, appear almost as by-products and at any rate things secondary that can always be postponed and made subordinate to the needs and demands of the mentalised vital and physical being. But the finer and more developed mind in humanity has always turned towards an opposite self-seeing, inclined to regard this as the most characteristic and valuable element of our being and been ready to sacrifice much and sometimes all to its calls or its imperative mandate. Then life itself would be in reality for man only a field of action for the evolution, the opportunity of new experience, the condition of difficult effort and mastery of the mental and spiritual being. What then will be the lines of this mental energy and how will they affect and be affected by the lines of the vital and physical Karma?
4.11 - The Perfection of Equality, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This equal poise in action is especially necessary for the Sadhaka of the integral Yoga. First, he must acquire that equal assent and understanding which will respond to the law of the divine action without trying to impose on it a partial will and the violent claim of a personal aspiration. A wise impersonality, a quiescent equality, a universality which sees all things as the manifestations of the Divine, the one Existence, is not angry, troubled, impatient with the way of things or on the other hand excited, over-eager and precipitate, but sees that the law must be obeyed and the pace of time respected, observes and understands with sympathy the actuality of things and beings, but looks also behind the present appearance to their inner significances and forward to the unrolling of their divine possibilities, is the first thing demanded of those who would do works as the perfect instruments of the Divine. But this impersonal acquiescence is only the basis. Man is the instrument of an evolution which wears at first the mask of a struggle, but grows more and more into its truer and deeper sense of a constant wise adjustment and must take on in a rising scale the deepest truth and significance -- now only underlying the adjustment and struggle -- of a universal harmony. The perfected human soul must always be an instrument for the hastening of the ways of this evolution. For that a divine power acting with the royalty of the divine will in it must be in whatever degree present in the nature. But to be accomplished and permanent, steadfast in action, truly divine, it has to proceed on the basis of a spiritual equality, a calm, impersonal and equal self-identification with all beings, an understanding of all energies. The Divine acts with a mighty power in the myriad workings of the universe, but with the supporting light and force of an imperturbable oneness, freedom and peace. That must be the type of the perfected soul's divine works. And equality is the condition of the being which makes possible this changed spirit in the action.
But even a human perfection cannot dispense with equality as one of its chief elements and even its essential atmosphere. The aim of a human perfection must include, if it is to deserve the name, two things, self-mastery and a mastery of the surroundings; it must seek for them in the greatest degree of these powers which is at all attainable by our human nature. Man's urge of self-perfection is to be, in the ancient language, svarat and samrat, self-ruler and king. But to be self-ruler is not possible for him if he is subject to the attack of the lower nature, to the turbulence of grief and joy, to the violent touches of pleasure and pain, to the tumult of his emotions and passions, to the bondage of his personal likings and dislikings, to the strong chains of desire and attachment, to the narrowness of a personal and emotionally preferential judgment and opinion, to all the hundred touches of his egoism and its pursuing stamp on his thought, feeling and action. All these things are the slavery to the lower self which the greater "I" in man must put under his feet if he is to be king of his own nature. To surmount them is the condition of self-rule; but of that surmounting again equality is the condition and the essence of the movement. To be quite free from all these things, -- if possible, or at least to be master of and superior to them, -- is equality. Farther, one who is not self-ruler, cannot be master of his surroundings. The knowledge, the will, the harmony which is necessary for this outward mastery, can come only as a crown of the inward conquest. It belongs to the self-possessing soul and mind which follows with a disinterested equality the Truth, the Right, the universal Largeness to which alone this mastery is possible, -- following always the great ideal they present to our imperfection, while it understands and makes a full allowance too for all that seems to conflict with them and stand in the way of their manifestation. This rule is true even on the levels of our actual human mentality, where we can only get a limited perfection. But the ideal of Yoga takes up this aim of Swarajya and Samrajya and puts it on the larger spiritual basis. There it gets its full power, opens to the diviner degrees of the spirit; for it is by oneness with the Infinite, by a spiritual power acting upon finite things, that some highest integral perfection of our being and nature finds its own native foundation.
4.11 - THE WELCOME, #Thus Spoke Zarathustra, #Friedrich Nietzsche, #Philosophy
And this is the first thing I offer you: security. The
second thing, however, is my little finger. And once
4.2.2 - Steps towards Overcoming Difficulties, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It is always their [the lower forces] endeavour to rise up and get the sanction of the mind and higher vitalor if they cannot do that, to cover them up so that the lower nature may act in its ordinary way without being pressed by the higher consciousness to change. the first thing necessary for the sadhak is not to give any consent of his mind or higher vital and to keep them from being covered. If that can be done, then it becomes possible to push the lower forces out of the lower vital and body and not allow them to return. It is the Mothers Force which you feel for all the higher forces are hers.
***
4.2.3 - Vigilance, Resolution, Will and the Divine Help, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The way in which the pains went shows you how to deal with the whole nature,for it is the same with the mental and vital as with the physical causes of ill-ease and disturbance. To remain quiet within, to hold on to the faith and experience that to be quiet and open and let the Force work is the one way. Naturally, to be wholly conscious is not possible yet, but to feel it, to open, to let it work, to observe its result, that is the first thing. It is the beginning of consciousness and the way to complete consciousness.
***
4.2.4.05 - Agni, #Letters On Yoga III, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Agni in the form of an aspiration full of concentrated calm and surrender is certainly the first thing to be lighted in the heart.
It [a feeling of warmth in the heart] comes sometimes from the approach of Agni fire, sometimes from that of love or Ananda, sometimes simply from a touch of the Force.
4.2.5.05 - The Psychic and the Supermind, #Letters On Yoga III, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
You were quite right in what you wrote about the supermind - people here do indeed use the "big word" much too freely as if it were something quite within everybody's grasp. the first thing to be done is the psychic change and until that has progressed sufficiently, supermind is a far-off thing and people need not think of it at all. You have certainly progressed, but the change of the outer nature is always a slow movement, so that need not distress you.
To merge the consciousness in the Divine and to keep the psychic being controlling and changing all the nature and keeping it turned to the Divine till the whole being can live in the Divine is the transformation we seek. There is farther the supramentalisation, but this only carries the transformation to its own highest and largest possibilities - it does not alter its essential nature.
4.3.3 - Dealing with Hostile Attacks, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Yes, the difficulty is always that something in the nature gives a hold to the attack. It either still indulges it and likes it or even, if wanting to be free, is too accustomed to receive and respond to the old feelings, thoughts, suggestions and does not yet know how not to respond. the first thing is for the mental being to stand back, refuse to accept, say This is no longer mine. Then, even if the vital feeling responds to the attack, one part of the nature can be free and observe and discourage it. The next thing is for this free part to impose the same will of detachment on the vital so that after a time this also when the attack comes feels that it is something foreign, not its own,as if a stranger had come into the room and was trying to impose his ideas or his will on the inmates. After that it becomes more easy to get rid of it altogether. Of course, there is the Mothers Force working, but this kind of assent from the mind and vital makes the result quick and easyotherwise it takes time and more labour and struggle.
***
--
One sees the negative side only during the attack, because the first thing the attack or obstruction does is to try to cloud the minds intelligence. If it cannot do that, it is difficult for it to prevail altogether for the time being. For if the mind remains alert and clings to the truth, then the attack can only upheave the vital and, though this may be painful enough, yet the right attitude of the mind acts as a corrective and makes it easier to recover the balance and the true condition of the vital comes back more quickly. If the vital keeps its balance, then the attack touches the physical consciousness only with its suggestions and is much more superficial or even it can do no more than create a temporary restlessness, uneasiness or ill-health in the body the rest of the consciousness remaining unaffected. It is therefore very important to accustom oneself to keep the right mental attitude even in the midst of an attack, however strong it is. To keep faith is the best help for that the faith that the Divine is there always and I shall pass to Him through whatever trials. That helps to look at other things also in the true light.
By tamasic ego is meant the ego of weakness, self-depreciation, despondency, unbelief. The rajasic ego is puffed up with pride and self-esteem or stubbornly asserts itself at every step or else wherever it can; the tamasic ego on the contrary is always feeling, I am weak, I am miserable, I have no capacity, I am not loved or chosen by the Divine, I am so bad and incapablewhat can the Divine do for me? or else, I am specially chosen out for misfortune and suffering, all are preferred to me, all are progressing, I only am left behind, all abandons me, I have nothing before me but flight, death or disaster etc., etc., or something or all of these things mixed together. Sometimes the rajasic and tamasic ahankar mix together and subtly support each other. In both cases it is the I that is making a row about itself and clouding the true vision. The true spiritual or psychic vision is this, Whatever I may be, my soul is a child of the Divine and must reach the Divine sooner or later. I am imperfect but seek after the perfection of the Divine in me and that not I but the Divine Grace will bring about; if I keep to that, the Divine Grace itself will do all. The I has to take its proper place here as a small portion and instrument of the Divine, something that is nothing without the Divine but with the Grace can be everything that the Divine wishes it to be.
4.4.1.02 - A Double Movement in the Sadhana, #Letters On Yoga III, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Usually the first thing that descends from the higher consciousness is its deep and entire peace - the second is the Light, here
the white light of the Mother. When the higher consciousness
4.4.5.01 - Descent and Experiences of the Inner Being, #Letters On Yoga III, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
the head into the whole body and the first thing it brings is a
descent of peace. One result of this descent is that one feels an
5.4.02 - Occult Powers or Siddhis, #Letters On Yoga I, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Of course the first thing is to believe, aspire and, with the true urge within, make the endeavour.
It is not possible to put any credence in the stories about this
5 - The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairytales, #The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, #Carl Jung, #Psychology
43 8 the first thing that seems to me worthy of note is that the
three-legged horse which is assigned to the princess as her mount
7.10 - Order, #Words Of Long Ago, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In the parlour of an old farmhouse there was an antique grandfa ther clock which for more than a hundred and fifty years had never ceased ticking faithfully. Every morning at daybreak when the farmer came down, the first thing he would do was to visit the clock to be sure that it was right. Now it happened one morning that as he went into the parlour as usual, the clock began to speak:
For more than a century and a half, it said, I have been working without a stop and keeping perfect time. Now I am tired; dont I deserve to take a rest and stop ticking?
7 - Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
that the first thing to do is to serve yourself.
You will make a remarkable discovery as you proceed
Apology, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Now do you really imagine that I could have survived all these years, if I had led a public life, supposing that like a good man I had always maintained the right and had made justice, as I ought, the first thing? No indeed, men of Athens, neither I nor any other man. But I have been always the same in all my actions, public as well as private, and never have I yielded any base compliance to those who are slanderously termed my disciples, or to any other. Not that I have any regular disciples. But if any one likes to come and hear me while I am pursuing my mission, whether he be young or old, he is not excluded. Nor do I converse only with those who pay; but any one, whether he be rich or poor, may ask and answer me and listen to my words; and whether he turns out to be a bad man or a good one, neither result can be justly imputed to me; for I never taught or professed to teach him anything. And if any one says that he has ever learned or heard anything from me in private which all the world has not heard, let me tell you that he is lying.
But I shall be asked, Why do people delight in continually conversing with you? I have told you already, Athenians, the whole truth about this matter: they like to hear the cross-examination of the pretenders to wisdom; there is amusement in it. Now this duty of cross-examining other men has been imposed upon me by God; and has been signified to me by oracles, visions, and in every way in which the will of divine power was ever intimated to any one. This is true, O Athenians, or, if not true, would be soon refuted. If I am or have been corrupting the youth, those of them who are now grown up and have become sensible that I gave them bad advice in the days of their youth should come forward as accusers, and take their revenge; or if they do not like to come themselves, some of their relatives, fathers, brothers, or other kinsmen, should say what evil their families have suffered at my hands. Now is their time. Many of them I see in the court. There is Crito, who is of the same age and of the same deme with myself, and there is Critobulus his son, whom I also see. Then again there is Lysanias of Sphettus, who is the father of Aeschineshe is present; and also there is Antiphon of Cephisus, who is the father of Epigenes; and there are the brothers of several who have associated with me. There is Nicostratus the son of Theosdotides, and the brother of Theodotus (now Theodotus himself is dead, and therefore he, at any rate, will not seek to stop him); and there is Paralus the son of Demodocus, who had a brother Theages; and Adeimantus the son of Ariston, whose brother Plato is present; and Aeantodorus, who is the brother of Apollodorus, whom I also see. I might mention a great many others, some of whom Meletus should have produced as witnesses in the course of his speech; and let him still produce them, if he has forgottenI will make way for him. And let him say, if he has any testimony of the sort which he can produce. Nay, Athenians, the very opposite is the truth. For all these are ready to witness on behalf of the corrupter, of the injurer of their kindred, as Meletus and Anytus call me; not the corrupted youth onlythere might have been a motive for thatbut their uncorrupted elder relatives. Why should they too support me with their testimony? Why, indeed, except for the sake of truth and justice, and because they know that I am speaking the truth, and that Meletus is a liar.
Book of Imaginary Beings (text), #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
swaying a long bushy tail. It was the first thing in Perelandra which seemed to show any fear of man. Yet it was
not fear. When he called to it it came nearer. It put its
BOOK VIII. - Some account of the Socratic and Platonic philosophy, and a refutation of the doctrine of Apuleius that the demons should be worshipped as mediators between gods and men, #City of God, #Saint Augustine of Hippo, #Christianity
The same Apuleius, when speaking concerning the manners of demons, said that they are agitated with the same perturbations of mind as men; that they are provoked by injuries, propitiated by services and by gifts, rejoice in honours, are delighted with a variety of sacred rites, and are annoyed if any of them be neglected. Among other things, he also says that on them depend the divinations of augurs, soothsayers, and prophets, and the revelations of dreams; and that from them also are the miracles of the magicians. But, when giving a brief definition of them, he says, "Demons are of an animal nature, passive in soul, rational in mind, aerial in body, eternal in time." "Of which five things, the three first are common to them and us, the fourth peculiar to themselves, and the fifth common to them with the gods."[308] But I see that they have in common with the gods two of the first things, which they have in common with us. For he says that the gods also are animals; and when he is assigning to every order of beings its own element, he places us among the other[Pg 330] terrestrial animals which live and feel upon the earth. Wherefore, if the demons are animals as to genus, this is common to them, not only with men, but also with the gods and with beasts; if they are rational as to their mind, this is common to them with the gods and with men; if they are eternal in time, this is common to them with the gods only; if they are passive as to their soul, this is common to them with men only; if they are aerial in body, in this they are alone. Therefore it is no great thing for them to be of an animal nature, for so also are the beasts; in being rational as to mind, they are not above ourselves, for so are we also; and as to their being eternal as to time, what is the advantage of that if they are not blessed? for better is temporal happiness than eternal misery. Again, as to their being passive in soul, how are they in this respect above us, since we also are so, but would not have been so had we not been miserable? Also, as to their being aerial in body, how much value is to be set on that, since a soul of any kind whatsoever is to be set above every body? and therefore religious worship, which ought to be rendered from the soul, is by no means due to that thing which is inferior to the soul. Moreover, if he had, among those things which he says belong to demons, enumerated virtue, wisdom, happiness, and affirmed that they have those things in common with the gods, and, like them, eternally, he would assuredly have attri buted to them something greatly to be desired, and much to be prized. And even in that case it would not have been our duty to worship them like God on account of these things, but rather to worship Him from whom we know they had received them. But how much less are they really worthy of divine honour,those aerial animals who are only rational that they may be capable of misery, passive that they may be actually miserable, and eternal that it may be impossible for them to end their misery!
17. Whether it is proper that men should worship those spirits from whose vices it is necessary that they be freed.
BS 1 - Introduction to the Idea of God, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Jung believed that the dream could contain more information than was yet articulated. I think artists do the same thing. People go to museums and look at paintingsrenaissance paintings or modern paintingsand they dont exactly know why they are there. I was in this room in New York that was full of renaissance artgreat painters, the greatest painters. I thought that, maybe, that room was worth a billion dollars, or something outrageous, because there was like 20 paintings in there, priceless. the first thing is, why are those painting worth so much? Why is there a museum, in the biggest city in the world, devoted to them? Why do people from all over the world come and look at them? What the hell are those people doing? One of them was of the Assumption of Marya beautifully painted, absolutely glowing work of art. There were like 20 people standing in front of it, and looking at it. What are those people up to? They dont know. Why did they make a pilgrimage to New York to come and look at that painting? Its not like they know. Why is it worth so much? I know theres a status element to it, but that begs the question: why do those items become such high-status items? What is it about them thats so absolutely remarkable? Were strange creatures.
Where does the information thats in the dream come from? It has to come from somewhere. You could think of it as a revelation, because its like it springs out of the void, and its new knowledge. You didnt produce it; it just appears. Im scientifically minded, and Im quite a rational person. I like to have an explanation of things thats rational and empirical, before I look for any other kind of explanation. I dont want to say that everything that's associated with divinity can be reduced, in some manner, to biology, an evolutionary history, or anything like that. But, insofar as its possible to do that reduction, Im going to do that. Im going to leave the other phenomena floating in the air, because they cant be pinned down. In that category, I would put the category of mystical or religious experience, which we dont understand, at all.
--
Ill give you a couple of Marduks interesting features. He has eyes all the way around his head. Hes elected by all the other gods to be king God. Thats the first thing. Thats quite cool. They elect him because theyre facing a terrible threatsort of like a flood and a monster combined. Marduk basically says that, if they elect him top God, hell go out and stop the flood monster, and they wont all get wiped out. Its a serious threat. Its chaos itself making its comeback. All the gods agree, and Marduk is the new manifestation. Hes got eyes all the way around his head, and he speaks magic words. When he fights, he fights this deity called Tiamat. We need to know that, because the word Tiamat is associated with the word 'tehom.' Tehom is the chaos that God makes order out of at the beginning of time in Genesis, so its linked very tightly to this story. Marduk, with his eyes and his capacity to speak magic words, goes out and confronts Tiamat, whos like this watery sea dragon. Its a classic Saint George story: go out and wreak havoc on the dragon. He cuts her into pieces, and he makes the world out of her pieces. Thats the world that human beings live in.
The Mesopotamian emperor acted out Marduk. He was allowed to be emperor insofar as he was a good Marduk. That meant that he had eyes all the way around his head, and he could speak magic; he could speak properly. We are starting to understand, at that point, the essence of leadership. Because whats leadership? Its the capacity to see what the hells in front of your face, and maybe in every direction, and maybe the capacity to use your language properly to transform chaos into order. God only knows how long it took the Mesopotamians to figure that out. The best they could do was dramatize it, but its staggeringly brilliant. Its by no means obvious, and this chaos is a very strange thing. This is a chaos that God wrestled with at the beginning of time.
--
Lets take a look at the structure of the book itself. the first thing about the Bible is that its a comedy, and a comedy has a happy ending. Thats a strange thing, because the Greek God stories were almost always tragic. The Bible is a comedy. It has a happy ending. Everyone lives, and theres a heaven. What you think about that is a completely different issue. Im just telling you the structure of the story. Its something like, there was paradise at the beginning of time, and then some cataclysms occurred, and people fell into history. History is limitation, mortality, suffering, and self-consciousness. But theres a mode of beingor potentially the establishment of a state that will transcend that, and thats what time is aiming at. Thats the idea of the story.
Its a funny thing that the Bible has a story, because it wasnt written as a class: it was assembled from a whole bunch of different books. The fact that it got assembled into something resembling a story is quite remarkable. The question is, what is that story about? And how did it come up as a story? Is there anything to it? It constituted a dramatic record of self-realization or abstraction. I already mentioned that. The idea of the formulation of the image of God is an abstraction. Thats how were going to handle it, to begin with. I want to saybecause I said I wasnt going to be any more reductionist than necessary that I know the evidence for genuine religious experience is incontrovertible, but its not explicable, and so I dont want to explain it away. I want to just leave it as a fact, and then I want to pull back from that and say, ok, well leave that as a fact and mystery. Were going to look at this from a rational perspective and say that the initial formulation of the idea of God was an attempt to abstract out an ideal, and to consider it as an abstraction outside of its instantiation. Thats good enough. Thats an amazing thing, if its true. But I dont want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Conversations with Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
To reach this, the first thing (and specially for you) is to stop the thoughts at will. One must first separate oneself mentally from the mind (for one is not yet capable of doing it otherwise), must look at it and study it. When that is done it becomes easy to stop the thoughts. This is the first lesson of Yoga. Thus, whilst talking with you at this moment, I have no thoughts. I see what is around me but without thinking (unless I want to do so and call the thought). When I began Yoga I went in search of Lele to ask him to help me. He ordered me to sit beside him and practise this mental separation. At the end of three days I had succeeded and slain the thoughts.
There are other means of arriving at this, like the one of sitting down and opening oneself to the influx from above, so that this working may be accomplished from above without any personal effort. To you I would recommend the first method. Till this first realisation everything is mental. And intuition is only fragmentary, uncertain and intermittent. One must go beyond. Little by little, strong aspiration brings about (sometimes suddenly) the irruption into the consciousness of something new. Sometimes it is a peace, solid like a rock. Sometimes a light, almost physical, which illumines all things, inner and outer. Sometimes a guidance. In any case, ineffable peace is followed by knowledge.
--
Yes. the first thing is to become conscious that they do not come from the mind. Then when the mind is free from them and the emotional being sufficiently free, they rise but don't cloud the mind. They are then located in their proper place and by refusing them the consent and calmly putting them aside they will disappear. Most men cannot get rid of them because they cannot make this separation and are not conscious of this rising.
I feel as before something very deep and grand.
ENNEAD 01.06 - Of Beauty., #Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 01, #Plotinus, #Christianity
Above intelligence, he will meet Him whom we call the nature of the Good, and who causes beauty to radiate around Him; so that, to repeat, the first thing that is met is beauty. If a distinction is to be established55 among the intelligibles, we might say that intelligible beauty is the locus of ideas, and that the Good, which is located above the Beautiful, is its source and principle. If, however, we desire to locate the Good and the Beautiful within one single principle, we might regard this one principle first as Good, and only afterwards, as Beauty.
REFERENCES.
Phaedo, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
The earnestness of Cebes seemed to please Socrates. Here, said he, turning to us, is a man who is always inquiring, and is not so easily convinced by the first thing which he hears.
And certainly, added Simmias, the objection which he is now making does appear to me to have some force. For what can be the meaning of a truly wise man wanting to fly away and lightly leave a master who is better than himself? And I rather imagine that Cebes is referring to you; he thinks that you are too ready to leave us, and too ready to leave the gods whom you acknowledge to be our good masters.
r1912 11 29, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The dispersion of the clouds foreseen yesterday morning as destined to happen today the first thing in the morning, took place suddenly at the time indicated, although the whole sky was dark & heavy till that moment. All yesterday the skies were heavily overcast but there was no rain. This also had been foreseen. The spell of entirely cloudy weather has lasted, allowing for one imperfect break, exactly the time predicted & foreseen some eight or ten days before, viz three days. There will be still flying clouds & temporary spells.
For some days there have been continual proofs of vyapti prakamya. eg the presence of an Austrian warship at Durazzo, the rumour of the Austrian consul being killed, etc. Yesterday there came in the mind the positive idea that Turkey had asked to be included in the Balkan Confederacy; today the same is given (in yesterdays evening paper reaching here this morning), as a strange piece of news from Constantinople and Sofia. This is striking as there was neither data nor probability & the knowledge, of the fact or rumour, came suddenly without previous thinking in that direction. Vyapti & prakamya of precise thought has begun to be frequent & often confirmed by the speech or action of the person or animal in whom it is perceived. Formerly only feeling & general thought used to come. Vyapti and prakamya are now abundant, continuous and almost perfect in arrangement, ie in assignment of its source & nature.
r1912 12 03b, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The vani is being justified in all its immediate predictions, & the script vani has disappeared. The mornings news all go farther in the direction of fulfilment. Shaktiprayoga in detail is still strongly resisted, though it sometimes prevails partially or completely, but not when there is a question of exact time & place or circumstance. Trikaldrishti is hampered by the attempt in the environment at infallibility of the mere intellect. This external intellectual suggestion usually is the first thing that comes & is generally erroneous, although, formerly, being specially guided it was often correct. This applies almost entirely to the question of detail. In the broad idea there is a greater correctness. It is now in the personal environment and not in the karmadeha that the subjective asiddhi acts.
The following programme has been given in script, but it is not yet certain that it is correct.
r1913 12 03b, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
the first thing, as always, is to restore the anandamaya action of the vijnanabuddhi and Brahmabuddhi. This after a long interval is being done. Dispelling & expelling of the intellectual & emotional activity forced again on the system is the indispensable preliminary, and this is often difficult because it entangles itself, by habit or of deliberate purpose, with the legitimate action. Absolute passivity, absolute sraddha in the Master of All, is the means. There is no other means. It is essential that all should be recognised as the being & action of the Ishwara and yet that the two agencies Arya & Anarya should be distinguished.
***
r1914 06 24, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
These examples are being given to show beyond the least doubt that a great Intelligence is guiding the Yoga. The main feature of the moment in the Yoga is the attempt of sollicitude & effort to revive with their usual consequences of dissatisfaction, trouble, complaint & revolt. the first thing done therefore was to make the eye glance back & fall on the previous significant words recorded. Straining & anxiety must cease & Raw Material,the latter explains the difficulties of the process which has led to the shadow of dissatisfaction & sollicitude. The eye then glanced back at all the sortileges recorded & at once reinforced the corresponding activities & judged their state of progress at the present moment. Afterwards it glanced first at the paper Mahratta opposite where it got the first significant word & secondly, into the commentary in verse on the Isha Upanishad where it got the second. The agreement of these two entirely unconnected sources taken at random, seen in the light of previous coincidences shows that these are not coincidences, but the combinations of an Intelligence for which no method is too small to bring about the greatest ends or too great to be used for bringing about the smallest.
Thought
r1914 11 05, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Definite trikaldrishti fulfilled, that the spell of continuous rain for a month would be broken up the first thing in November. Actually broken up from the second.
***
Talks With Sri Aurobindo 1, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
finds an opportunity, the first thing she does is to send some amount here.
There is a rumour in Pondicherry that we have a lot of money stored away
--
with them. They had to hammer and hammer away at the idea that it was unreal. But after all, it is a secondary thing. the first thing to achieve is the divine consciousness and not body transformation.
NIRODBARAN: Sotuda has offered his pranams and informs you that he is stagnating but his body doesn't seem to be doing so.
Talks With Sri Aurobindo 2, #Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
the Japanese are a remarkable people. To them the first thing comes first;
they can wait for the next. Once their scheme is fixed, they can wait for
--
have experiences. He says that the first thing he noticed was that the walls of
the room were vibrant, full of life and no longer made of solid matter. Two
The Library Of Babel 2, #Labyrinths, #Jorge Luis Borges, #Poetry
Others, going about it in the opposite way, thought the first thing to do
was eliminate all worthless books. They would invade the hexagons, show
Verses of Vemana, #is Book, #unset, #Zen
In this filled vessel of the body with which light and darkness agree well, if we forget the sleep of meditation, however great we be we cannot know the first thing.
98
Wikipedia - Mind share -- When a brand is the first thing that comes to mind
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7718685-the-first-thing-and-the-last
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie(1995) - The galactically feared, universally despised Ivan Ooze is released from a hyperlock chamber after six thousands years. The first thing on his agenda - conquer Earth. A plan which involves revenge on his imprisoner, and mentor of the Rangers, Zordon! The Rangers, stripped of their powers, must journ...
Mannequin(1987) - Jonathan Switcher is a young artist. He just doesn't seem to last in any job he does. But when he builds a mannequin, he makes it so perfect, he falls in love with it. It is the first thing he has made that makes him feel like a real artist. The mannequin ends up in the window of a big department st...
https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/The_First_Thing_We_Do...
Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! -- -- J.C.Staff -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Comedy Fantasy -- Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! -- Always bring a gun to a sword fight! -- -- With world domination nearly in their grasp, the Supreme Leaders of the Kisaragi Corporation—an underground criminal group turned evil megacorp—have decided to try their hands at interstellar conquest. A quick dice roll nominates their chief operative, Combat Agent Six, to be the one to explore an alien planet...and the first thing he does when he gets there is change the sacred incantation for a holy ritual to the most embarrassing thing he can think of. -- -- But evil deeds are business as usual for Kisaragi operatives, so if Six wants a promotion and a raise, he'll have to work much harder than that! For starters, he'll have to do something about the other group of villains on the planet, who are calling themselves the "Demon Lord's Army" or whatever. After all, this world doesn't need two evil organizations! -- -- (Source: Yen Press, edited) -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 116,577 7.15
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