The Lost Symbol

“Great minds are always feared by lesser minds.”

“Google' is not a synonym for 'research'.”

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books.”

“The only difference between you and God is that you have forgotten you are divine.”

“Open your minds, my friends. We all fear what we do not understand.”

“Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.”

“The power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought.”

“Wide acceptance of an idea is not proof of its validity.”

“Knowledge grows exponentially. The more we know, the greater our ability to learn, and the faster we expand our knowledge base.”

“Professor Langdon,' called a young man with curly hair in the back row, 'if Masonry is not a secret society, not a corporation, and not a religion, then what is it?''Well, if you were to ask a Mason, he would offer the following definition: Masonry is a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.''Sounds to me like a euphemism for "freaky cult." ''Freaky, you say?''Hell yes!' the kid said, standing up. 'I heard what they do inside those secret buildings! Weird candlelight rituals with coffins, and nooses, and drinking wine out of skulls. Now that's freaky!'Langdon scanned the class. 'Does that sound freaky to anyone else?''Yes!' they all chimed in.Langdon feigned a sad sigh. 'Too bad. If that's too freaky for you, then I know you'll never want to join my cult.'Silence settled over the room. The student from the Women's Center looked uneasy. 'You're in a cult?'Langdon nodded and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. 'Don't tell anyone, but on the pagan day of the sun god Ra, I kneel at the foot of an ancient instrument of torture and consume ritualistic symbols of blood and flesh.'The class looked horrified.Langdon shrugged. 'And if any of you care to join me, come to the Harvard chapel on Sunday, kneel beneath the crucifix, and take Holy Communion.'The classroom remained silent.Langdon winked. 'Open your minds, my friends. We all fear what we do not understand.”

“Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.”

“Imagine how different a world might be if more leaders took time to ponder the finality of death before racing off to war.”

“Time is a river...and books are boats. Many volumes start down that stream, only to be wrecked and lost beyond recall in its sands. Only a few, a very few, endure the testings of time and live to bless the ages following.”

“The more man learned, the more he realized he did not know.”

“Truth has power. And if we all gravitate toward similar ideas, maybe we do so because those ideas are true...written deep within us. And when we hear the truth, even if we don't understand it, we feel that truth resonate within us...vibrating with our unconscious wisdom. Perhaps the truth is not learned by us, but rather, the truth is re-called...re-membered...-re-cognized...as that which is already inside us.”

“Darkness feeds on apathy.”

“Don't tell anyone, but on the pagan day of the sun god Ra, I kneel at the foot of an ancient instrument of torture and consume ritualistic symbols of blood and flesh. ...And if any of you care to join me, come to the Harvard chapel on Sunday, kneel beneath the crucifix, and take Holy Communion.”

“We all fear what we do not understand.”

“Sometimes a legend that endures for centuries... endures for a reason.”

“Angels and demons were identical--interchangeable archetypes--all a matter of polarity. The guardian angel who conquered your enemy in battle was perceived by your enemy as a demon destroyer.”

“the strange ideas we derive today will one day be our celebrated truths”

“He thought about science, about faith, about man. he thought about how every culture, in every country, in every time, had always shared one thing. We all had the Creator. We used different names, different faces, and different prayers, but God was the universal constant for man. God was the symbol we all shared...the symbol of all the mysteries of life that we could not understand. The ancients had praised God as a symbol of our limitless human potential, but that ancient symbol had been lost over time. Until now.”

“Even brilliant scientists Google themselves.”

“Sometimes a change of perspective is all it takes to see the light.”

“Don't show it and don't panic. Do like the ducks; on the surface stay calm, and below it paddle lile hell”

“TRUTH.""Maybe there is a universal truth embedded in everyone's soul. Maybe we all have the same story hiding inside, like a shared constant in our DNA. Maybe this collective TRUTH is responsible for the similarity in all of our stories."‎"Truth has power. And if we all gravitate toward similar ideas, mabe we do so because those ideas are true...written deep within us. And when we hear the truth, even if we don't understand it, we feel that truth resonate within us...vibrating with our unconscious wisdom.Perhaps the truth is not learned by us, but rather, the truth is re-called...re-membered...re-cognized...as that which is already inside us.”

“The act of tattooing one's skin was a tranformative declaration of power, an announcment to the world: I am in control of my own flesh.”

“Throughout history, every period of enlightenment has been accompanied by darkness, pushing in opposition. Such are laws of nature and balance.”

“Open your minds, my friends. We all fear what we don't understand.”