Literary genres and techniques tend to take form in one's mind somewhat the way computer templates provide form for different computer tasks.
You need to tune your instrument, which is your body and your mind, and your soul.
What you learn about yourself is that you continue to see that you're selfish. It's so easy, in our Laodicean culture with all the different things that grab our minds that aren't of eternal value, to let those tentacles wrap themselves around your heart. That's one of the reasons why we love going overseas. It helps us to break free of those things. We've been on all of these trips, but it's easy to slide back into the selfishness of life. That's what we find out about ourselves.
I love to live things, so I wanted to immerse myself and get into the mindset - and sandals - of my forefathers.
There remain times when one can only endure. One lives on, one doesn't die, and the only thing that one can do, is to fill one's mind and time as far as possible with the concerns of other people. It doesn't bring immediate peace, but it brings the dawn nearer.
Mujib [Rahman] talks at random, depending on his mood and the disorders of his sick mind.
I think any actor in their right mind is afraid of getting pigeonholed.
In my mind, I always think of myself as an underdog type.
When someone has to do work for me, I lose my mind. I can't help it, I'm a bit of a control freak. I've always wanted something that would depict slow-moving paintings, stunning artwork that also incorporates movement. It was hard letting someone else create that vision for me, but I love it.
When I read the script [of Good Kill], it read like a science fiction film. And Andrew [writer/director Andrew Niccol] is known for sci-fi. But when I spoke to him, he said this picture was 100% factual, which blew my mind. I realized then how little I knew about the drone program. And I felt that, if I knew so little about it, there must be others who should be educated about what's going on.
We all have our essential nature. If you're good with numbers, you don't even know you're good with numbers because that's how your mind works.
Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.
It really is true that you are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind, and you can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.
Those who like tranquility and dislike clamor tend to avoid people to seek quietude. They do not know that when one wishes there were no one around, that is egotism; and when the mind is attached to quietude, that is the root of disturbance. How can they reach the state where others and oneself are seen as one, where disturbance and quietude are both forgotten.
Unexpected hardship refines people; if you can accept it, both mind and body will benefit. If you cannot accept it, on the other hand, both mind and body will be harmed.
There is no greater fortune than having few concerns, no greater misfortune than having many worries. Only those who have suffered over their concerns know the blessing of having few concerns. Only those who have calmed their minds know the misfortune of having many worries.
The eyes and ears, seeing and hearing, are external plunderers; emotions, desires, and opinions are internal plunderers. But if the inner mind is awake and alert, sitting aloof in the middle of it all, then these plunderers change and become members of the household.
When you are constantly hearing offensive words and always have some irritating matter in mind, only then do you have a whetstone for character development. If you hear only what pleases you, and deal only with what thrills you, then you are burying your life in deadly poison.
A poison can hardly be called safe if for some reason specific to me it's ineffective against, say, my body. But the power of story on the human mind is such that anecdote is often more persuasive than numbers. That's why news stories often concretize the impact of a change in government policy by following the story of one person.
My own disposition is to trust the reader. Of course, there's a line between trusting the reader and expecting her to read your mind. That's where a friend or an editor comes in. A great editor will tell you straight when you've drifted into the latter territory.
I hope before I am getting too old and when my mind is still functioning, I can tell some better stories.
To be in the mind and to be known are the same thing: in this domain esse est percipi.
There are hours when I must force the novel out of my mind and be interested in the children.
Homophobia is manufactured in high schools, so its probably useful to keep in mind that it really does bother people.
The problem is, when you're making an animated movie, the studio has an illusion in their minds - and it's really not true - that because it's a drawing, it can be changed at any time.
