This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.
Cicero, fully Marcus Tullius Cicero, anglicized as Tully NULL
Wisdom is the only thing which can relieve us from the sway of the passions and the fear of danger, and which can teach us to bear the injuries of fortune itself with moderation, and which shows us all the ways which lead to tranquillity.
Danger | Fear | Fortune | Moderation | Teach | Tranquility | Wisdom |
Max Lerner, fully Maxwell "Max" Alan Lerner, aka Mikhail Lerner
The way to prevent war is to bend every energy toward preventing it, not to proceed by the dubious indirection of preparing for it.
There is a burden of care in getting riches, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account at last to be given up concerning them.
Care | Fear | Guilt | Riches | Sorrow | Temptation | Temptation |
Prayer is essentially about making the heart strong so that fear cannot penetrate there.
“Fear of God”... never means to the Jews that they ought to be afraid of God, but that, trembling, they ought to be aware of his incomprehensibility... Only through the fear of God does man enter so deep into the love of God that he cannot again be cast out of it.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
A good society makes it possible for each person to develop the skills necessary to experience flow in socially productive activities. At the same time, it guards against anyone’s exploiting the psychic energy of another person for his or her own advantage. There is a constant watch for oppressors and parasites. According to this perspective, freedom does not apply to doing, but to being.
Energy | Experience | Freedom | Good | Society | Time | Society |
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
Evolution is the result of competition between organisms for the energy required for survival... If there is any meaning to the past, it is to be found in the increase in the complexity of material structures and information over time
Competition | Energy | Evolution | Meaning | Past | Survival | Time |
Michael Toms and Justine Willis Toms
As you are able to give energy to your passion, purpose will emerge. Clarity of purpose comes from honoring what gives your life meaning. Work has become devoid of meaning because people are asked to follow instructions rather than their creativity. True work is an expression of following our inner voice, heeding the spiritual call, and living your passion.
Creativity | Energy | Life | Life | Meaning | Passion | People | Purpose | Purpose | Will | Work | Following |
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
We generally prefer our illusions to reality, even though the illusions may lead to tragic consequences... How much of our psychic energy is channeled away by those who drain our lives to enrich theirs.
Consequences | Energy | Reality |
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
Purpose, resolution and harmony unify life and give it meaning by transforming it into a seamless flow experience. Whoever achieves this state will never really lack anything else. A person whose consciousness is so ordered need not fear unexpected events, or even death. Every living moment will make sense, and most of it will be enjoyable.
Consciousness | Death | Events | Experience | Fear | Harmony | Life | Life | Meaning | Need | Purpose | Purpose | Resolution | Sense | Will |
Death is not the enemy; living in constant fear of it is.
Mitch Albom, fully Mitchell David "Mitch" Albom
What do people most fear about death? Being forgotten.
Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon I
There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
There are two opposite tendencies in evolution: changes that lead toward harmony (i.e., the ability to obtain energy through cooperation, and through the utilization of unused or wasted energy); and those that lead toward entropy (or ways of obtaining energy for one’s purposes through exploiting other organisms, thereby causing conflict and disorder.)
Ability | Cooperation | Energy | Evolution | Harmony |
Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on the disciplined adult intelligence.
Creativity | Enemy | Energy | Intelligence | Order | Sense | Child |
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
Memories, thoughts and feelings are all shaped by how we use it. And it is an energy under our control, to do with as we please; hence, attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience.
Attention | Control | Energy | Experience | Feelings | Important |