Bowen Dwelle

“One day, about 3:30 in the afternoon, I was walking along the sidewalk opposite the beach at Copacabana past a bar. I suddenly got this treMENdous, strong feeling: "That's just what I want; that'll fit just right. I'd just love to have a drink right now!"

I started to walk into the bar, and I suddenly thought to myself, "Wait a minute! It's the middle of the afternoon. There's nobody here. There's no social reason to drink. Why do you have such a terribly strong feeling that you have to have a drink?" — and I got scared.

I never drank again, since then. I suppose I really wasn't in any danger, because I found it very easy to stop. But that strong feeling that I didn't understand frightened me. You see, I get such fun out of thinking that I don't want destroy this most pleasant machine that makes life such a big kick.”
― Richard P. Feynman, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character

“Subliminal perception – perception that occurs without conscious awareness – is not an anomaly but the norm.”
― John N. Gray, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals

“If we have to translate it, wu-wei is probably best rendered as something like "effortless action" or spontaneous action.”
― Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity

“nearly all our daily doings go on without conscious awareness; our deepest motivations are shut away from conscious scrutiny; nearly all of our mental life takes place unknown to us; the most creative acts in the life of the mind come to pass unawares. Very little that is of consequence in our lives requires consciousness. Much that is vitally important comes about only in its absence.”
― John N. Gray, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals