William James and Dr. Richard Bucke -- awesome. As always, hope you enjoy!

Our normal waking consciousness...is but one of several types of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different.

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense -- dancing.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are impossible.

We and God have business with each other, and in opening ourselves to God's influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled.

William James (1842-1910)

When I was a youngster...I used to collect insects. Central to this endeavor was the killing jar. You take an empty mayonnaise jar, put lethal carbon tetrachloride on cotton balls, and place them in the bottom of the jar. You then drop the insect -- moth, butterfly, whatnot -- into the jar, and it quickly dies, but without being outwardly disfigured. You then mount it, study it, display it.

Academic religion is the killing jar of Spirit.

Ken Wilber

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