Quotes from the Art of Possibility

Quotes from the Art of Possibility-- Completed on Nov. 8th, 2008

1. We do not mean that you can just make anything up and have it magically appear. We mean that you can shift the framework to one whose underlying assumptions allow for the conditions you desire. P. 15
2. You can shift the framework to one whose underlying assumptions allow for the condition you desire. P. 15
3. Virtually everybody, whether living in the lap of luxury or in diminished circumstances, wakes up in the morning with the unseen assumption that life is about the struggle to survive and get ahead in a world of limited resources. P. 19 (Really? I don’t think so… unless it is an assumption so very deeply hidden in my unconsciousness.)
4. In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold. P. 21
5. Michelangelo is often quoted as having said that inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful statue; one need only remove the excess material to reveal the work of art within. P. 26
6. Rule number 6: Don't take yourself so D... serious P. 79
7. Indeed, the capacity to be present to everything that is happening, without resistance, creates possibility. It creates possibility in the same way that, if you are far-sighted, finding your glasses revives your ability to read or remove a splinter from a child’s finger. At last you can see. You can leave behind the struggle to come to terms with what is in front of you, and move on. P. 101
8. “Cosmic laughter,” the laughter that comes from the surprise and delight of seeing the obvious. P. 101
9. Resistance to ice can take you on quite a painful downward slide, whereas traversing ice as through it is a friendly surface will usually deliver you gracefully to the other side. P. 102
10. And if we make a mistake, we can mentally raise our arms and say, “How fascinating” and reroute our attention to the higher purpose at hand. P. 103
11. Closing the exit (escape, denial, and blame) means staying with the feeling, whatever they are. It means letting them run their course, as a storm sweeps overhead showing rain and thunder, only to be followed by clear patches of blue. P. 104
12. Nature makes no judgment. Human do. And while our willingness to distinguish good and evil may be one of our most enhancing attributes, it is important to realize that “good” and “bad” are categories we impose on the world--- they are not of the world itself. P. 105
13. Abstraction that we unwittingly treat as physical reality tend to block us from seeing the way things are, and, therefore reduce our power to accomplish what we say we want. P. 107
14. "Being with the way things are calls for an expansion of ourselves. We start from what is, not from what should be; we encompass contradictions, painful feelings, fear and imaginations and--- without fleeing, blaming or attempting correction..... We learn to soar, like the far-seeing hawk over the whole landscape" P. 111
15. Dare to let go of the edges of ourselves… Participate! P. 121
16. Yet, were we to take a “no” less personally and ourselves less seriously, we might hear something else. P. 126
17. "I am here to cross the swamp, not to fight the alligators." P. 177
18. It is an ongoing choice for all of us- when a lover neglects to call, a colleague lets us down, or someone surpasses us, we can choose to tell the story of the WE or the story of the Other. P. 184
19. ... Did we resolve the issues? Obviously not, but the issues themselves are rarely what they seem, no matter what pains are taken to verify the scoreboard. P. 188

Music

1. Schubert's Die Winterreise P. 31, P. 88
2. Mahler's Ninth Symphony P. 37, P. 44,
3. Mahler's Second Symphony P. 39
4. E-Minor Prelude of Chopin P. 62
5. Mahler's Six Symphony P. 70
6. Bernstein's overture to Candide P. 75
7. Beethoven's String Quartet OP. 95 P. 77
8. Mahler's First Symphony P. 102
9. Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring P. 103
10. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata P. 116
11. Bach's Suite no. 2 in D Minor for cello p. 118
12. Dvořák: Concerto P. 120
13. Beethoven's Ode to Joy P. 131
14. Beethoven "Coriolan" Overture P. 134
15. Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet P. 134
16. Mozart Divertimento in D P. 134
17. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony P. 134
18. Mendelssohn 'Italian' Symphony P. 143
19. Stravinsky's Petrushka, P. 150
20. Mahler Symphony 5 P. 166
21. duet from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro P. 169
22. Mahler Symphony 8 P. 173
23. Dvořák: New World Symphony P. 195

Musician

1. Herbert von Karajan P. 67
2. Bernstein P. 75
3. Igor Stravinsky P. 103
4. Henri Dutilleux P. 124
5. Mister Rostropovich P. 124

Music and artists mentioned in the book