Way of the Peaceful Warrior Versions of Reality Quotes

We entered a giant greenhouse. The air was warm and humid, contrasting with the cool morning air outside. Soc pointed to the tropical foliage that towered over us. "As a child, all this would appear before your eyes and ears and touch as if for the first time. But now you've learned names and categories for everything: "That's good, that's bad, that's a table, that's a chair, that's a car, a house, a flower, dog, cat, chicken, man, woman, sunset, ocean, star." You've become bored with things because they only exist as names to you. The dry concepts of the mind obscure your direct perception." (6.26)

Socrates waved his arm in a sweeping gesture, taking in the palms high above our heads that nearly touched the Plexiglas canopy of the geodesic dome. "You now see everything through a veil of associations about things, projected over a direct, simple awareness. You've "seen it all before": it's like watching a movie for the twentieth time. You see only memories of things, so you become bored, trapped in your mind. This is why you have to "lose your mind" before you can come to your senses." (6.27)

"There are no well-defined edges of reality, Dan. The earth isn't solid. It is made of molecules and atoms, tiny universes filled with space. It is a place of mystery, light, and magic, if you only open your eyes." (6.129)