A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. read more

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.

To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.

To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can read more

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, read more

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

Consciousness . . . is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very
existence is made known.

Consciousness . . . is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very
existence is made known.

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and read more

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.

Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating read more

Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous immensity.

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, read more

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.