“The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion, and the tyranny of the dull mind forever threatens -- but our lives are not as limited as we think they are, all things are possible, laughter is holier than piety, freedom is sweeter than fame, and in the end it's love and love alone that really matters.”

“Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously.”

“The enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind.”

“Don't let yourself be victimized by the age you live in. It's not thetimes that will bring us down, any more than it's society. When youput the blame on society, then you end up turning to society for thesolution. Just like those poor neurotics at the Care Fest. There's atendency today to absolve individuals of moral responsiblity and treatthem as victims of social circumstance. You buy that, you pay withyour soul. It's not men who limit women, it's not straights who limitgays, it's not whites who limit black. what limits people is lack ofcharacter. What limites people is that they don't have the fuckingnerve or imagination to star in their own movie, let alone direct it.Yuck....It's a wonderful time to be alive. As long as one has enoughdynamite. --pg. 116-117”

“There is no such thing as a weird human being, It's just that some people require more understanding than others.”

“The most important thing is love," said Leigh-Cheri. "I know that now. There's no point in saving the world if it means losing the moon."Leigh-Cheri sent that message to Bernard through his attorney. The message continued, "I'm not quite 20, but, thanks to you, I've learned something that many women these days never learn: Prince Charming really is a toad. And the Beautiful Princess has halitosis. The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and the vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. Loving makes love. Loving makes itself. We waste time looking for the perfect lover instead of creating the perfect love. Wouldn't that be the way to make love stay?"The next day, Bernard's attorney delivered to her this reply: Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.Leigh-Cheri went out in the blackberries and wept. "I'll follow him to the ends of the earth," she sobbed.Yes, darling. But the earth doesn't have any ends. Columbus fixed that.”

“The protagonist, Amanda, discusses her sex relationship with her husband, John Paul --As long as it's done with honesty and grace, John Paul doesn't mind if I go to bed with other men. Or with other girls, as is sometimes my fancy. What has marriage got to do with it? Marriage is not a synonym for monogamy any more than monogamy is a synonym for ideal love. To live lightly on the earth, lovers and families must be more flexible and relaxed. The ritual of sex releases its magic inside or outside the marital bond. I approach that ritual with as much humility as possible and perform it whenever it seems appropriate. As for John Paul and me, a strange spurt of semen is not going to wash our love away.”