Closed Mind Quotes

Apparently there's nothing more dangerous than a religious criminal. ~ James Cook

Nothing is as certain as a closed mind ~ Lord Dunsany

His words and ensuing actions - fleeing instead of fighting - had indeed put a bit of doubt in the kindly elf's not-so-closed mind. ~ R.A. Salvatore

As people gain more authority, they often develop a lack of patience in listening to those under them. A deaf ear is the first indication of a closed mind. ~ John C. Maxwell

But the ultimate truth is that they aren't dead, those people. The writers of books do not truly die; their characters, even the ones who throw themselves in front of trains or are killed in battle, come back to life over and over again. Books are the means to immortality: Plato lives forever, as do Dickens, and Dr. Seuss, Soames Forsyte, Jo March, Scrooge, Anna Karenina, and Vronsky. Over and over again Heathcliff wanders the moors searching for his Cathy. Over and over again Ahab fights the whale. Through them all we experience other times, other places, other lives. We manage to become much more than our own selves. The only dead are those who grow sere and shriveled within, unable to step outside their own lives and into those of others. Ignorance is death. A closed mind is catafalque. ~ Anna Quindlen

As the witness testified before my Subcommittee on Immigration, that barriers magnify the ability of every Border Patrol agent to be more effective. And so if you make up your mind, you can build substantial mileage barriers. It will increase the ability of our officers to perform, and the most important thing is, it sends a message to the world, the border is closed. ~ Jeff Sessions

There is no greater ignorance than a man with a closed mind ~ Lou Silluzio

You'll find that more doors open if you approach them with an open heart rather than a closed mind. ~ Rasheed Ogunlaru

Openness and honesty rather than a closed mind inspire trust in others. ~ Mohit

Small thoughts fit easily into a closed mind, but big thoughts require an open one. ~ Roy H. Williams

Once you've decided that something's absolutely true, you've closed your mind on it, and a closed mind doesn't go anywhere. Question everything. That's what education's all about. ~ David Eddings

Being open-minded dramatically reduces one's chances of getting a permanent tattoo. ~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana

And he goes through life, his mouth open, and his mind closed. ~ William Shakespeare

I'm not sure what is worse, a closed mind or a closed book. ~ Anthony Liccione

Biblical social scientists have an advantage because they know truths about human nature. Those who dismiss the Bible and create surveys that don't measure crucial factors are the ones who have closed minds. Sometimes the Bible gives us clear answers and sometimes it doesn't, but it always helps us to ask the right questions. ~ Marvin Olasky

In the spiritual search doubt is beneficial, a closed mind is not. Doubt used wisely assists enlightenment; a closed mind assists ignorance. ~ Ian Gardner

The smallest world on earth is that which is created by a closed mind. ~ Michael Bassey Johnson

Clearly, an open mind is a necessity when dealing with randomness. Popper believed that any idea of Utopia is necessarily closed owing to the fact that it chokes its own refutations. The simple notion of a good model for society that cannot be left open for falsification is totalitarian. I learned from Popper, in addition to the difference between an open and a closed society, that between an open and a closed mind. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. ~ Shunryu Suzuki

We live in a big world, and it is important for us to be aware of culture other than our own. Learn something new, whether you think you're interested in it or not. That's the opposite of having a closed mind or a closed door. ~ Donald Trump

This is what people who have never wanted to die don't understand: the worst thing for those of us who do is feeling like we have to live when we don't want to. That we have to be when we don't want to, exist where we don't want to. What we want is nothingness, numbness, because that has to be better than the life of quiet desperation we're living. Mara's hand is in my hair as I lean my head back against the cracked leather seat, eyes closed, mind ruminating. The others…they weren't missing what I'm missing, is the thing. They didn't exist because they had no other choice. They didn't see the world through a lens in which every scene contains a door marked exit, a door I'm forever unable to open. They lived because they wanted to. Until the end, when something, or someone, made them stop wanting. And I need to find out what. ~ Michelle Hodkin

A Mrs. Hipp said vehemently that I had insulted her by implying that she, along with other white members of the committee, had come to the meeting with a closed mind. I tried to make it clear that my statement applied only to those people whose public pronouncements were antiNegro, and not to the committee as a whole, but to no avail. They continued to look at me as though I were the cause of the stalemate. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Open ears are better than a closed mind. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

A closed mind is a dying mind. ~ Edna Ferber

Don't go through life with a closed mind. Allow innovations and creativity to flow. We should always challenge ourselves to excel in more ways than one. Be open to ideas or suggestions on how to improve. And, the chances of reaching your goals will increase enormously. ~ Amaka Imani Nkosazana

Christianity is, I believe, about expanded life, heightened consciousness and achieving a new humanity. It is not about closed minds, supernatural interventions, a fallen creation, guilt, original sin or divine rescue. ~ John Shelby Spong

Ignorance is death. A closed mind is a catafalque. ~ Anna Quindlen

Despite the fact that a predicted 350,000 persons in the US will die of cancer this year, the cancer bureaucracy keeps a closed mind ... the basic issue is not the efficacy of Laetrile, but the infringement of freedom in what amounts to a life and death question. ~ Phil Crane

Don't accuse anyone with the temerity to question your sad supernatural fantasies of having a 'closed mind' or being 'blind to possibilities'. A closed mind asks no questions, unthinkingly accepting that which it wants to believe. The blindness is all yours.[17 ~ Charlie Brooker

Ego is this this higher conscious concept that we have of ourselves and we feel that we must live by it with a closed mind. We can be Self Aware of this concept or purely just blinded. I think the answer to this problem is being Self Aware and changing our current perception for the better. ~ Matthew Donnelly

Mara's hand is in my hair as I lean my head back against the cracked leather seat, eyes closed, mind ruminating. ~ Michelle Hodkin

Nothing is more closed than a closed mind that thinks it's open and nothing is more manipulated than a manipulated mind that thinks it's free. ~ David Icke

It came to me ... that I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world at that moment, that what I was feeling at that moment justified all I had been through, because all I had been through was my being there. I was experiencing ... a new self-acceptance, a sense that I had to be this mind and this body, its vices and its virtues, and that I had no other chance or choice. ~ John Fowles

The mind is like a turbulent ocean and the waves are the thoughts ~ Me

After Father had served the chicken and mashed potatoes and peas and Mother had passed the hot rolls, Beezus decidedthe time had come to tell Aunt Beatrice about being Sacajawea. "Do you know what I did last week?" she began. "I want some jelly," said Ramona "You mean, 'Please pass the jelly,' "corrected Mother while Beezus waited patiently. 'No, what did you do last week?" asked Aunt Beatrice. "Well, last week I-" Beezus began again. " like purple jelly better then red jelly," said Ramona. ' Ramona , stop interrupting your sister," said Father. "Well, Ido like purple jelly better then red jelly," insisted Ramona."Never mind," said Mother. "Go no, Beezus." Last week-" said Beezus, looking at her aunt, who smiled as if she understood."Excuse me, Beezus," Mother cut in. "Ramona, we do not put jelly on our mashed potatoes." "I like jelly on my mashed potatoes."Ramona stirred potato and jelly aroud with her fork. "Ramona you heard what your mother said." Father looked stern. "If I can ut butter on my mashed potateos, why can't I put jelly? I put butter and jelly on toast," said Ramona. Father couldn't help laughing. "That's a hard question to answer." "But Mother-" Beezus began."I like jelly on my mashed potateos," interrupted Ramona, looking sulky. ~ Beverly Cleary

Time has no mind of its own ~ Nilesh Rathod

[ ... ] Deep within, her female organs began to contract and release. She felt the path of his seed and now in her mind she could see a golden trail. How was this even possible? Dear God, how was any of this even possible?
Now she could see the chrysalis of her genetic material, a bright burning light at the end of a tunnel. The imagery made her smile then laugh. She could see his sperm, like lightning [ ... ] If his DNA wanted to make a child, why wouldn't it move at an accelerated rate?
She felt the moment when her egg received his sperm and their child began all the fantastic portentous crazy cell replications. [ ... ] ~ Caris Roane

The personal things should be left out of platforms at conventions. You can argue yourself blue in the face, and you're not going to change each other's minds. It's a waste of your time and my time. ~ Barbara Bush

East of my grandmother's house the sun rises out of the plain. Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon remembered earth, I believe. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience, to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder about it, to dwell upon it. He ought to imagine that he touches it with his hands at every season and listens to the sounds that are made upon it. He ought to imagine the creatures there and all the faintest motions of the wind. He ought to recollect the glare of noon and all the colors of the dawn and dusk. ~ N. Scott Momaday

The mind's capacity is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. Seeing forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or state is all your mind. ~ Bodhidharma

Don't let form become more important than the substance of your heart and mind. Don't let commerce determine what you do exclusively. ~ Avery Brooks

All the children seem to be coming out quite intelligent, thank goodness. It would have been such a bore to be the mother of morons, and it's an absolute toss-up, isn't it? If one could only invent them, like characters in books, it would be much more satisfactory to a well-regulated mind. ~ Dorothy L. Sayers

If we keep a goal firmly in mind, we will know when we have reached it. This gives us a sense of accomplishment and the challenge of establishing fresh, new goals - always keeping the long-range objective in mind. If we can state our goals clearly, we will gain a purpose and meaning in all our actions. ~ Ezra Taft Benson

Both John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela use the same three-word phrase which in my mind says it all, which is, 'Freedom is Indivisible,' you can't slice it up, otherwise it ceases to be freedom. You can dislike Charlie Hedbo ... But the fact that you dislike them has nothing to do with their right to speak. ~ Salman Rushdie

Even if the mind were not, its laws would be! ~ Albert Camus

I took the liberty of designing your pennant," said Rhy, resting his elbows on the gallery's marble banister. "I hope you don't mind."
Kell cringed. "Do I even want to know what's on it?"
Rhy tugged the folded piece of fabric from his pocket, and handed it over. The cloth was red, and when he unfolded it, he saw the image of a rose in black and white. The rose had been mirrored, folded along the center axis and reflected, so the design was actually two flowers, surrounded by a coil of thorns.
"How subtle," said Kell tonelessly.
"You could at least pretend to be grateful."
"And you couldn't have picked something a little more ... I don't know ... imposing? A serpent? A great beast? A bird of prey?"
"A bloody handprint?" retorted Rhy. "Oh, what about a glowing black eye?"
Kell glowered.
"You're right," continued Rhy, "I should have just drawn a frowning face. But then everyone would know it's you. I thought this was rather fitting. ~ Victoria Schwab

Weeping ... betraying a sense of loss so huge and irreparable that the mind balks at taking its measure. ~ Jon Krakauer

A teacher can kindle your mind and let you memorize information, but true education is often self-education. ~ Debasish Mridha

When I let my mind wander back that far, what I see is how hard we tried to be our best for one another. In ~ George Hodgman

I never will have peace of mind. I'm not constructed that way. Some things in life can be horrible. ~ Julie Christie

Now, music almost feels naked in my mind. ~ Sean Lennon

You walked a mile in the rain to drink hot water?"
"To be with you," she said. "You're better than pie."
And I turned under the umbrella and embraced her with my free arm and pressed my mouth against hers and held her hard against me and smelled her perfume and closed my eyes and kissed her for a long time in the still rain, and even after ~ Robert B. Parker

Let me know when you're ready to talk." She stopped and glanced at them both over her shoulder. "Maybe then I'd be ready to discuss your sexual twists and my own little abnormal desires. You never know what we all might learn that we haven't already."
With that, she turned and moved back into the house, closing the door behind her and disappearing out of sight. And Cam found his back slammed against the side of Ian's Hummer, his brother in his face.
Lust and irritation flared in his brother's eyes. "You better start talking," he grated. "Because you know what she just did?"
"She just dared us, Cam. And I don't know about you, but the thought of 'abnormal desires' dancing through her mind is going to drive me fucking crazy. Now, fix it. ~ Lora Leigh

Girl, you are the epitome of spoiled. I can smell it in your expensive perfume, in the quality of your ridiculous clothing, in the bracelet wrapped 'round that delicate wrist." He closed the gap between us and all the air sucked from the room. "You won't last out here. You'll stay blind to the environment that surrounds you. You'll live in your clean, perfect bubble and return to your posh life come six months. You are ... you. I know your kind. I've seen it all before. You will never wake up. Not really," he explained away before backing up and leaving me to my room once again. ~ Fisher Amelie

It is not your mouth that sings. It is your mind and heart that sing. ~ Debasish Mridha

Your treasure - your perfection - is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the busy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart. The kundalini shakti - the supreme energy of the divine - will take you there. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

But perhaps more than his body was the change in his mind, or in the way he was--was becoming. I am not the same, he thought. I see, I hear differently. ~ Gary Paulsen

As a writer I've learned certain lessons. One of them is to be careful about how you put a view, and to bear in mind how easily and readily you'll be misinterpreted. ~ Alexander McCall Smith

Often when we hear people speak about meditation, we hear about wisdom, we hear about knowledge. But what, actually, is the effect, what's the use, of wisdom or knowledge? Understanding. When you understand mind, you're not at its mercy. When you don't understand, you're lost in the midst of it. ~ Stephen Levine

Books represent the accumulated workings of the human mind, the endless treasures of man's thoughts. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

If there were a way of putting an end to himself by some purely mental act he would put an end to himself at once, without further ado. His mind is full of stories of people who bring about their end - who methodically pay bills, write goodbye notes, burn old love letters, label keys, and then, once everything is in order, don their Sunday best and swallow down pills they have hoarded for the occasion and settle themselves on their neatly made beds and compose features for oblivion. Heroes all of them, unsung, unlauded. I am resolved not to be of any trouble. ~ J.M. Coetzee

None of them seemed to mind sliding around in the faeces and choking in the smoke. They were determined not to miss the opportunity of watching a foreigner make a fool of himself. ~ Tahir Shah

Gerdi didn't really understand.Cammy liked being quiet.She liked bingo.She wouldn't mind living in a cozy little hole,like a rabbit. ~ Jodi Lynn Anderson

When we practice paying attention, moving with ease of body and mind, and being efficient, our body becomes very capable and strong, and the mind is able to be calm and travel further inward, where we have direct access to your unique creativity, intuition, and feelings of connectivity. ~ Tara Stiles

We need to perceive ourselves as the special race.
If not, beasts will perceive themselves as the chosen. ~ Toba Beta

The editor sat in his sanctum, his countenance furrowed with care, His mind at the bottom of business, his feet at the top of a chair, His chair-arm an elbow supporting, his right hand upholding his head, His eyes on his dusty old table, with different documents spread. ~ Will Carleton

Quinn would have closed the bar down if needed. There was nothing in this world that was more important to him than his family. He would always come when any of them, even Avalon, who barely ever came home, needed him. He would stand up for them, whether they were right or wrong. He would pick them up if they fell and he would always be proud of them - no matter how small their accomplishments. He was, and always would be, their elder brother, father figure, friend, or whatever role they needed him to be. ~ Alex Morgan

I can't imagine a genuinely intelligent boy getting much out of college, even out of a good college, save it be a cynical habit of mind. ~ H.L. Mencken

Our Father and our God, purge my heart and mind with the truth of Your Word. Find the unfruitful parts and eliminate them from my life. Prune my attitudes and my actions, Lord, until they are healthy and wholly in service to You. Give me the heart of my Savior Jesus Christ, through whom I pray. Amen. ~ Billy Graham

When I fight off a disease bent on my cellular destruction, when I marvelously distribute energy and collect waste with astonishing alacrity even in my most seemingly fatigued moments, when I slip on ice and gyrate crazily but do not fall, when I unconsciously counter-steer my way into a sharp bicycle turn, taking advantage of physics I do not understand using a technique I am not even aware of using, when I somehow catch the dropped oranges before I know I've dropped them, when my wounds heal in my ignorance, I realize how much bigger I am than I think I am. And how much more important, nine times out of ten, those lower-level processes are to my overall well-being than the higher-level ones that tend to be the ones getting me bent out of shape or making me feel disappointed or proud. ~ Brian Christian

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE:

Ailith: A-lith ("noble war"; "ascending, rising")
Andriana: An-dree-ana, or Dree, for "Dri" ("warrior")
Asher: Ash-er ("happy one")
Azarel: Ah-zah-rell ("helper")
Bellona: Bell-oh-na ("warlike")
Chaza'el: Chazah-ell ("one who sees")
Kapriel: Kah-pree-ell (variant of "warrior")
Keallach: Key-lock ("battle")
Killian: Kill-ee-un ("little warrior"--though he's not so little in my novel!)
Raniero: Rah-near-oh ("wise warrior")
Ronan: Row-nun ("little seal"; I know. Not as cool, right? But he was named Duncan at first draft and I had to change it due to publisher request, and "Ronan" sounded like a medieval, cool warrior name to me. I overlooked the real translation in favor of the man he became in my story. And that guy, to my mind, is more like a warrior, with the spray of the sea upon his face as he takes on the storm--which is like a seal!)
Tressa: Tre-sah ("late summer")
Vidar: Vee-dar ("forest warrior") ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren