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1 " We would rather be ruined than changedWe would rather die in our dreadThan climb the cross of the momentAnd let our illusions die. "
― W.H. Auden , The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue
2 " We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and see our illusions die. "
― W.H. Auden
3 " God's revelation... unmasks our illusions about ourselves. It exposes our pride, our individualism, our self-centeredness - in short, our sin. But worship also offers forgiveness, healing, transformation, motivation, and courage to work in the world for God's justice and peace - in short, salvation in its largest sense. "
4 " A person must never live a lie. We free ourselves to live a full life by discovering the courage to face our illusions and live a true life. "
― , Dead Toad Scrolls
5 " Ghosts will forever put in appearances, as they should. Our illusions have muscle and meaning. The past returns at midnight, in the heart of our dreams, and the rains and the willows forever remind us of the sacrifices we’ve offered and those we have yet to make. "
6 " The Buddhist ideal of awakening implies that we can sever our links with our evolutionary past. We can raise ourselves from the sleep in which other animals pass their lives. Our illusions dissolved, we need no longer suffer. This is only another doctrine of salvation, subtler than that of the Christians, but no different from Christianity in its goal of leaving our animal inheritance behind. But the idea that we can rid ourselves of animal illusion is the greatest illusion of all. meditation may give us a fresher view of things but cannot uncover them as they are in themselves. "
― John Gray , Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
7 " It's only when we dare to experience the full anxiety of knowing that life doesn't go on forever that we can experience transcendence and get in touch with the infinite. To use an analogy from gestalt psychology, Non-Being is the necessary ground for the figure of Being to make itself known to us. It's only when we're willing to let go of all of our illusions and admit that we are lost and helpless and terrified that we will be free of ourselves and our false securities and ready for what Kierkegaard calls " the leap of faith." p. 43 "
8 " It is unfair to hold people responsible for our illusions of them. "
