I am 100 percent in favor of the intelligent use of drugs, and 1,000 percent against the thoughtless use of them, whether caffeine or LSD. And drugs are not central to my life.
Timothy LearyRead
What do you think deja vu is for?". Face it, you even want to talk to that girl in the elevator. But what if that girl in the elevator (and the balding man who walks past your cubicle at work) are thinking the same thing? Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes taking chances in interactions with strangers, suggesting that every encounter is significant.
Timothy Leary's quote highlights the importance of engaging with others, particularly strangers, as each person has a valuable contribution to make in our lives. It suggests that coincidences are not truly random, but rather meaningful events that can lead to new connections and insights if we are open to them. Our instincts can guide us in these interactions, encouraging us to break social norms and extend ourselves to learn and grow from the experiences that arise from unexpected conversations.
Themes
Deja VuConversationStrangersConnectionsTrustInstincts
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a motivational speech about networking and social interactions.
More from Timothy Leary
All quotes →Think for yourself and question authority.
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There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I forget the third.
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My advice to myself and to everyone else, particularly young people, is to turn on, tune in and drop out. By drop out, I mean to detach yourself from involvement in secular, external social games. But the dropping out has to occur internally before it can occur externally. I'm not telling kids just to quit school; I'm not telling people to quit their jobs. That is an inevitable development of the process of turning on and tuning in.
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The danger of psychedelic drugs, the danger of mind-opening, the danger of consciousness expansion, the danger of inner discovery is a danger to the establishment.
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