Quotes by Paul Richards

We are indigenous to magnificent non-ordinary realms...in which we are as powerful and mobile as elephants on an African plain.

All the way around, when we consider the absolute number of defining negative terms or the ratio of negative to positive word use for each gender, women lose out when it comes to positive, defining language. I mean, they really lose out. My search for definitions of chivalry or gallantry that apply specifically to women has so far come up with nothing. Consider the terms honor, steadfastness, and valor. Though not overtly gender-specific, they are male-tilted by broad context and long-established patterns of use. And these words, even though they can be applied to women, don't imply what gallantry and chivalry imply, which is a mixture of kindness, confidence, and power as specifically linked to one gender…

Lastly, of course, I must comment on the feminine version of the word hero, which of course is heroine. This term describes a woman's role in a story but does not specifically refer to character or nobility. Heroine is probably the most frequently used positive word for a woman in common vocabulary, but almost nobody I know would use it to describe a real, ordinary person. By our language's glaring lack of gender-specific terms for female nobility of character, and the ongoing presence of specialized male terms such as gallantry, we can infer that a bias against celebrating the feminine exists in Western culture much as it does in places like New Guinea, even if it takes a less physically brutal form. This language anomaly in no way reflects the actual nature of women as I have experienced them. Many women I know have shown chivalry equal to a man's in harrowing circumstances, including, in Patty's case, a brush with war in the jungles of New Guinea and making life-or-death decisions as a nurse midwife at the bedsides off hundreds of women in labor. The emotional heroism of women, in my opinion, far surpasses that of men, on a daily basis. By emotional heroism I mean the complex choices women often make, setting aside their own needs or supressing strong feelings, in the service of a greater good.

The presence of advanced attention is the only thing that really changes us, and the benefits of receiving it are always extraordinary.

A secret of the masters isn't a secret kept by the masters; it's a secret that nonmasters—everyone but very accomplished adepts—unknowingly conspire to keep from themselves even though the secret is available in broad daylight.

We are trained to fear, resist, and fixate upon external enemies and to see ourselves as our most faithful and loyal friend. This is an inversion—most people never experience an external enemy that even begins to match the power of the opponent within. Although you may not know it, one of the greatest blessings that you can experience is a single moment of your life in which you are not your own worst enemy.

Energy gathers at borders. It appears spontaneously at birth and death, at the beginning of a novel and at the end. It gathers at natural boundaries, such as the new moon and the first day of spring, and at human-made borders such as presidential elections.

The common view of confidence is that it dervives from knowing that you will not fail. But confidence stems from not caring whether you succeed or fail.

The hallmark of power is the capacity in those who weild it to specify a change and then bring it about, by whatever means.

Power is promise and fulfillment.

Most people believe only in degrees of jeopardy and live in degrees of greater and lesser anxiety, but never in true relaxation. The assurance of safety is a vital and wonderful resources that we need to share with one another.