Diane Ackerman Quotes

Don't you think it's something strange that you rarely look at yourself in the mirror, except to do things like stand and ponder? I mean, in Shakespeare's day, it was thought that the mirror would reveal something, that it is trying to tell you something - not just to tidy your hair, but something more.

One of the things that I've come to understand is that as I talk a lot about Picard, what I find is that I'm talking about myself.

Don't be fooled by your own wisdom

You have to self-reflect. If you forget who you actually are, then what's the use of even looking in the mirror.

Who teach the mind its proper face to scan, And hold the faithful mirror up to man.

Look in the mirror. The face that pins you with its double gaze reveals a chastening secret.

Many a time I have wanted to stop talking and find out what I really believed.

It sounds so cheesy, but there's something very powerful about looking in the mirror and asking yourself a question. Because I think it's really hard to lie.

I am an actor and this is holding the mirror up to nature, as it were.

I think it's healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself, and challenge yourself; it's important to do that.

Self knowledge begins with the neighbor, the mirror, and just the same with true self-love; that goes from the mirror to the matter.

The poem is itself a mirror.

How can anyone see straight when he does not see himself and the darkness he unconsciously carries with him into all his dealings?

A book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us.

Know thyself, for through thyself only thou canst know God.

If you want to know what you look like, look into a mirror. If you want to know how you think, you should write

This precept descended from Heaven: know thyself.

Self-awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions.

Through my own observations. I am convinced that an absolutely honest and direct inquiry into oneself will lead to understanding.

...you find your genius by looking in the mirror of your life. Your visible image shows your inner truth, so when you're estimating others, what you see is what you get. It therefore becomes critically important to see generously, or you will get only what you see; to see sharply, so that you discern the mix of traits rather than a generalized lump; and to see deeply into dark shadows, or else you will be deceived.

Everyone is a mirror image of yourself-your own thinking coming back to you.

Self-inquiry is the process and the goal also. 'I am' is the goal and the final reality. To hold to it with effort is self-inquiry. When spontaneous and natural it is realization.

I have known men who could see through the motivations of others with the skill of a clairvoyant; only to prove blind to their own mistakes. I have been one of those men.

To know one’s own state is not a simple matter. One cannot look directly at one’s own face with one’s own eyes, for example. One has no choice but to look at one’s reflection in the mirror. Through experience, we come to believe that the image is correct, but that is all.

If a man really knew himself he would utterly despise the ignorant notions others might form on a subject in which he had such matchless opportunities for observation.