Favorite Quotations ~  Norman Cousins Humor and Healing

"Hope, purpose and determination are not merely mental states. They have electrochemical connections that affect the immune system." ~ Norman Cousins

Visit 365 Watercolors

It is no longer correct to regard higher education solely as a privilege. It is a basic right in today's world.

A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas—a place where history comes to life.

A book is like a piece of rope; it takes on meaning only in connection with the things it holds together.

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

Death is not the enemy; living in constant fear of it is.

Don’t defy the diagnosis; try to defy the verdict.

Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.

If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality.

Is it possible that love, faith, laughter, confidence, and the will to live have therapeutic value?

Laughter may or may not activate the endorphins or enhance respiration, as some medical researchers contend. What seems clear, however, is that laughter is an antidote to apprehension and panic.

Life is an adventure in forgiveness.

It makes little difference how many university courses or degrees a person may own. If he cannot use words to move an idea from one point to another, his education is incomplete.

It is not necessary to go off on a tour of great cathedrals in order to find deity. Look within. You have to sit to do it.

A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas—a place where history comes to life.

History is a vast early warning system.

In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility.

It is well known that panic, despair, depression, hate, rage, exasperation, frustration all produce negative biochemical changes in the body.