The Germ Of An Idea Doesn't Make

For Original Ideas To Come About, You Have To Let Them Percolate Under The Level Of Consciousness In A Place Where We Have No Way To Make Them Obey Our Own Desires Or Our Own Direction. Their Random Combinations Are Driven By Forces We Don't Know About.

But It Is Impossible To Enjoy A Tennis Game, A Book, Or A Conversation Unless Attention Is Fully Concentrated On The Activity.

A Person Can Make Himself Happy, Or Miserable, Regardless Of What Is Actually Happening 'outside,' Just By Changing The Contents Of Consciousness.

A Joyful Life Is An Individual Creation That Cannot Be Copied From A Recipe.

Why Is It That, Despite Having Achieved Previously Undreamed-of Miracles Of Progress, We Seem More Helpless In Facing Life Than Our Less Privileged Ancestors Were? The Answer Seems Clear: While Humankind Collectively Has Increased Its Material Powers A Thousandfold, It Has Not Advanced Very Far In Terms Of Improving The Content Of Experience.