Scott Peck > Quotes

“...Mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs...”
― Scott Peck

“...Love is an act of will -- namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love...”
― Scott Peck

“It is my impression that whenever resistance is markedly severe, it is at least as much a spiritual as a psychological problem. The person is unwilling to suffer the slightest dethronement of his or her ego in submission to any higher power, even when that power is merely labeled “life” or “reality.” Something is seriously out of whack at a radical level in such a person’s relationship to the world.”
― Scott Peck

“... Truth or reality is avoided when is painful. We can revise our maps only when we have the discipline to overcome pain...”
― Scott Peck

“Death of the old is birth of the new”
― Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

“...What does a life of total dedication to the truth mean? It means first of all, a life of continuous and never-ending stringent self-examination. We know the world only through our relationship to it. Therefore, to know the world, we must not only examine it, but simultaneously examine the examiner...”
― Scott Peck

“To our children we say, “Don’t talk back to me, I’m your parent.” To our spouse we give the message, “Let’s live and let live. If you criticize me, I’ll be a bitch to live with, and you’ll regret it.” To their families and the world the elderly give the message, “I am old and fragile. If you challenge me I may die or at least you will bear upon your head the responsibility for making my last days on earth miserable.” To our employees we communicate, “If you are bold enough to challenge me at all, you had best do so very circumspectly indeed or else you’ll find yourself looking for another job.”
― Scott Peck

“For when children know they are valued....then they feel valuable.”
― Scott Peck

“O desejo de amar não é amor. O amor se expressa amando. É um ato da vontade — isto é, tanto uma intenção quanto uma ação. A vontade também implica escolha. Nós não temos de amar. Escolhemos amar.”
― Scott Peck

“Je lui dis que deux heures de douleur suivies de six heures de plaisir me paraissaient préférables à l’inverse. Elle fut d’accord et, comme elle avait de la volonté, elle changea.”
― Scott Peck