“It is a full-time job to cope with alien elements from both interpersonal sources and societal influences.”

“To the extent that we retain the critical attitudes and destructive elements we have incorporated into our own personalities, we remain undifferentiated from our parents throughout our lifetime.”

“They implicitly trust that their thoughts, beliefs, and feelings are their own, and fail to recognize that they may be channeling someone elses thoughts and feelings.”

“In order for people to live their own lives and fulfill their destiny, they must differentiate themselves from destructive environmental influences.”

“Differentiation is a universal struggle that all human beings face if they wish to fully develop themselves as individuals.”

“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”

“The point, I decided, wasn't to have the autobiography or even the memories. The point was who I became when I wrote.”

“The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. You place your entire identity on the line, not just an isolated part. This may sound daunting, but act...”

“I wash off the night in the water, my scrapes and aches numbed by the sea. My bones have become boughs, all scarred knees and gnarled kuckles. None of us are the same person we once were, since the...”

“A person archives self-realization by engaging in deliberate contemplative acts that serve to unify of all aspects of the self. To deny part of the self, a person risks spiritual decay.”

“And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

“Logically, you should go to school, get good grades, go to college, get a good degree, go into the workplace, then work hard and be happy. The only problem is that happiness isn't logical.”

“You are the cause of your suffering. That means that you alone have the power to change it.”