“On an incredibly simplistic level, you can think of depression as occurring when your cortex thinks an abstract thought and manages to convince the rest of the brain that this is as real as a physical stressor.”

“The body thinks it’s real. That’s the problem of modern physics. How to convince our minds that they’re not our own.”

“I think one of the highest compliments you can give a person is that when you are talking to him, you are not thinking about the fact that you are talking to him. That is, your thoughts and words all exist on a single, engaged level. You are being yourself because you aren't bothering to think about who you should be. It is like when you talk in a dream.”

“You can never have too much coffee”, I saidHe turned and smiled at me. “You think so, but the rest of us get a little OD’ed on your level of caffeine.”

“No, and if it’s not your brain thinking cold, cold thoughts, which you can dress in any kind of mood, then it’s nothing. It has to be a cold, cold thought. I mean cold, or cool at least. Your brain. That’s all there is.”

“I was a hardworking junkie. Heroin doesn’t affect your brain. It doesn’t touch your thinking. It’s purely physical.”