"Fascinated by the glitter of gain, man gazes at the Medusa-like face of greed and stands petrified."
(Manly P. Hall)

"In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors."
(William Blake)

“I am here because I am here and not somewhere else…  I have found no serious reason for wanting to be elsewhere, though I might like to be elsewhere at times.  The fact remains that elsewhere is not where I am, or where I am likely to be…  The point is that it does not much matter where you are, as long as you can be at peace about it and live your life.  The place certainly will not live my life for me, I have found that out.  I have to live it for myself.”
(Thomas Merton)

"I realised either I was crazy or the world was crazy; and I picked on the world.
And of course I was right."
(Jack Kerouac)

"Why did I allow myself to be bored ever in the past and to compensate for it got high or drunk or rages or all the tricks people have because they want anything but serene understanding of just what there is, which is after all so much."
(Jack Kerouac)

"The mission of the contemplative in this world of massive conflict and collective unreason is to seek the true way of unity and peace, without succumbing to the illusion of withdrawing into a realm of abstraction from which unpleasant realities are simply excluded by the force of will.  In facing the world with a totally different viewpoint, the contemplative maintains alive in the world the presence of a spiritual and intelligent consciousness which is the root of true peace and true unity…"
(Thomas Merton)