“How attraction works, making one's body almost painfully alive and one's thoughts concentrated, also painfully. And the truth of these powerful attractions - they have their own morality and nothing else matters.”

“. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.”

“One is not likely to learn much about human beings, by way of psychoanalysis or otherwise, if one adheres unwaveringly to a theory, no matter how persuasive or sophisticated the latter and no matter how attractive the illusion of definitive or final truth may be.”

“I’m clinging to one last thought: pain is the harbinger of hope. You have to be alive to feel pain. If you are alive, then you have purpose. If you have purpose, then you have hope.”

“Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths. What people need is beautiful, comforting stories that make them feel as if their lives have some meaning. Which is where religion comes from.”

“There is nothing more attractive than confidence, once she sees her own beauty, everyone else will.”