George Leonard Herter Quotes

What was once impossible now summons us to dismantle the walls between ourselves and our sisters and brothers, to dissolve the distinctions between flesh and spirit, to transcend the present limits of time and matter, to find, at last, not wealth or power but the ecstasy (so long forgotten) of commonplace, unconditional being. For the atom's soul is nothing but energy. Spirit blazes in the dullest of clay. The life of every woman or man-the heart of it-is pure and holy joy. ~ George Leonard

Preventing the new generation from changing in any deep way is what most societies require of their educators. ~ George Leonard

Running, close companion to death, summons us to the most vivid acts of life. Our ancestors (we have forgotten) ran for food and for love, love and lust. For us, a prime symbol of sexuality is the automobile. For the ancients it was the chase, the foot race. Satyr and nymph, maiden and god, hot pursuit. The mythic hunters, Diana and Atalanta, available only to the males, men or gods, who could outrun them; death to all others. ~ George Leonard

Mastery is a journey, and that the master must have the courage to risk failure. ~ George Leonard

What a miracle it is, this gift of time! Little marks on paper, the children of consciousness, sent down to us through the years. ~ George Leonard

It's fitting, then, that we begin this exploration of ourselves and of the world with music, and more specifically with a musical quality called vibrato. This pulsation that wells up within the sounded note can lead us to what is most spontaneous and creative in human life, and possibly even to deeper mysteries
to powers of knowing and doing which we have lost or given away during the epoch of civilization, and which perhaps we may now regain. ~ George Leonard

Practice is the path of mastery. ~ George Leonard

Everything was God, holy; as God is total, so the driftwood branch was holy. This must be the stuff religion is made of. ~ George Leonard

In terms of the game theory, we might say the universe is so constituted as to maximize play. The best games are not those in which all goes smoothly and steadily toward a certain conclusion, but those in which the outcome is always in doubt. Similarly, the geometry of life is designed to keep us at the point of maximum tension between certainty and uncertainty, order and chaos. Every important call is a close one. We survive and evolve by the skin of our teeth. We really wouldn't want it any other way. ~ George Leonard

Real people are places to me as much as persons: I want to see them, as I want to see the places I am fond of, in all weathers and at all times of the year. ~ Leonard Alfred George Strong

What we call "mastery" can be defined as that mysterious process through which what is at first difficult or even impossible becomes easy and pleasurable through diligent, patient, long-term practice. ~ George Leonard

I broke down while at Oxford, was rejected by a record number of medical tribunals during the War, and finally got permission to leave Oxford and do civilian work till the War ended. ~ Leonard Alfred George Strong

you cannot move to a higher level untill you accept fully where you are at ~ Leonard George

The ultimate creative capacity of the brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite. ~ George Leonard

How do you best move toward mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself. ~ George Leonard

Intentionality fuels the master's journey. Every master is a master of vision. ~ George Leonard

For the master, surrender means there are no experts. There are only learners. ~ George Leonard

You can see examples of this, such as where [George W.] Bush lied to the public, and as a result 72 percent of America was in favor of the Iraqi invasion. Yet now the truth has presented itself and they are trying to save face by appealing to the public's national-istic persona, talking about winning and honor and everything as a reason to continue that illegal immoral occupation. ~ Leonard Peltier

Keep practicing, even when you seem to be getting nowhere. ~ George Leonard

At the heart of ech of us,whatever the imperfections..exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm....which connect us to the universe. ~ George Leonard

Competition is the spice of sports; but if you make spice the whole meal you'll be sick. ~ George Leonard

Our preoccupation with goals, results, and the quick fix has separated us from our own experiences. ~ George Leonard

Education is ... doing anything that changes you. ~ George Leonard

Of what is the body made? It is made of emptiness and rhythm. At the ultimate heart of the body, at the heart of the world, there is no solidity. Once again, there is only the dance. ~ George Leonard

If you intend to take the journey of mastery, the best thing you can do is to arrange for first-rate instruction. ~ George Leonard

How to begin the journey? You need only to take the first step. When? There is always now. ~ George Leonard

The best way to describe your total creative capacity is to say that for all practical purposes it is infinite. ~ George Leonard

Country people give me more than writers, and country places than towns. ~ Leonard Alfred George Strong

Scholar George Myerson has recently written a study of happiness. After 250 pages tracking moments of joy throughout history, he concludes that humans are happiest hanging with friends, gathered around tables with good food and conversation and laughter. If you can get that table out of doors, so the sun can kiss the skin - if as you dine together you can also provide help for others - then, according to Myerson, you've won the lottery of life.[36] ~ Leonard Sweet

Mastery is the art of setting your foot on the path. ~ George Leonard

Not to dream more boldly may turn out to be, in view of present realities, simply irresponsible. ~ George Leonard

Only the schools' inefficiency can account for creativity surviving after age 25. ~ George Leonard

At the root of all power and motion, at the burning center of existence itself, there is music and rhythm. ~ George Leonard

The simplest single-celled organism oscillates to a number of different frequencies, at the atomic, molecular, sub-cellular, and cellular levels. Microscopic movies of these organisms are striking for the ceaseless, rhythmic pulsation that is revealed. In an organism as complex as a human being, the frequencies of oscillation and the interactions between those frequencies are multitudinous. ~ George Leonard

Relaxation is essential for the full expression of power. ~ George Leonard

History tells us more than we want to know about what is wrong with man, and we can hardly turn a page in the daily press without learning the specific time, place, and name of evil. But perhaps the most pervasive evil of all rarely appears in the news. This evil, the waste of human potential, is particularly painful to recognize for it strikes our parents and children, our friends and brothers, ourselves. ~ George Leonard

In the hearts of witches, love and hate lie close together and often tumble over each other. ~ George MacDonald

Never speak of defeat before battle. ~ George R R Martin

Ser Arys was pleasant company abed, but wit and he were strangers. (Arianne Martell) ~ George R R Martin

On every continent and in every epoch the peoples who have excelled in creating wealth have been the victims of some of society's greatest brutalities. ~ George Gilder

I can't ever remember sitting around and saying, 'gosh let's hurry up and get these debates going, that'll win it for me.' Nope. ~ George H. W. Bush

And if his youth was obvious, the Glorious Cause was to a large degree a young man's cause. The commander in chief of the army, George Washington, was himself only forty-three. John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress, was thirty-nine, John Adams, forty, Thomas Jefferson, thirty-two, younger even than the young Rhode Island general. In such times many were being cast in roles seemingly beyond their experience or capacities, and Washington had quickly judged Nathanael Greene to be "an object of confidence. ~ David McCullough

I think its so good for boxing when a new guy or new blood as we call it, makes a big statement. ~ George Foreman

If free trade can really turn all these Third World countries into thriving economies full of entrepreneurs and investors, who's gonna clean the fuckin' toilets around here? ~ George Carlin

The whole competition thing disturbs me. Not that I wasn't a part of it when I first started. ~ George Murray

We all understand the economics of the Super Bowl - 10 or 12 minutes of the ball in motion will be stretched into three and a half hours or more of money-making commercials. ~ George Vecsey