I'm not sure this is so much a question, but I would love to read comments responding to these two quotes...

Question

Note: I initially hesitated to include the name of the man (Charles Manson) quoted here, but I figured you all would be curious. Bottom line, I'd like for you all to judge the ideas expressed below, NOT the individual.

1) "The world of madness is a lot bigger than the world of sanity...Sanity is a little box that you walk around in. Sanity is a little world. Insanity is the universe."

2) "The mind is endless. You put me in a dark, solitary cell; and to you, that's the end. To me, it's the beginning. That's the universe in there. There's a world in there. I'm free."

Answer 1

Hmmm...well I don't like the thinker, but the thoughts are interesting. Sanity is perhaps a box, structured, limiting whereas insanity is formless & immense. Definitely there is a universe in a cell if your mind is open, you are free to think & travel anywhere in your mind. I suppose if you were happy with your state, a man in prison could feel more free than a man on the outside who hates himself & is miserable, in another kind of prison: going to a job he hates, living a life he doesn't enjoy. They say we only use 10% of our brain. If we could tap into the other 90% the possibilities would be limitless.

Anyway, Manson may have waxed poetic now & then (I suppose his eloquence is what won him a number of followers) but it's too bad he used his thoughts & actions for evil...

Answer 2

I think they locked him up, not so much for what he did...for he didn't 'kill anybody', they say he told his people, followers to, and they did. And it was a very sadistic murder. But then you look at it and say, well..it is only 'words' and they didn't HAVE to do it, I mean nobody was holding a gun to their heads.

No I think more than anything else they did it because he was incredibly charismatic. And a genius, in his own way. He had been raised in the penal system from the world and the world created Charles Manson.

1. The world of madness is a lot bigger than the world of sanity...Sanity is a little box that you walk around in. Sanity is a little world. Insanity is the Universe.

Well aint' that the truth. We live in a world where women are either stripped of clothing or dressed from head to foot in it, and all for striving for a male. We live in a country where those that are rich are so filthy rich that they could not spend their wealth in a thousand years and yet they need more money. We live in a world where the poor keep getting poorer and we are all pawns of governments that instill in us a proganda against our enemies to encourage us to kill eachother. The improbabilities and sickness of it is manifest and we hide inside our little worlds, trying to pretend it is all normal.

2. The mind is endless. You put me in a dark, solitary cell: and to you that's the end. To me, it's the beginning. The Universe in here. There's a world in there. I'm free.

In the end all that we are is within our mind. Sometimes the world 'out there' is a distraction, a trick to our senses where we become enchanted looking at the pretty colors and lulled into believing that it matters what brand shoes we have or that it is normal to keep buying things to excess that we cannot stop. Inside is where you come to self awareness of your intolerable prejudices and psychological foibles. Inside is where all the great prophets dwelt when they came to transendence and love for all and connectedness to all. The pretty pictures can just be lies. Isn't it a shame that we are not brought up to understand 'philosophy?' It used to be a required subject in a person's education. Now they don't want us to realize we have been reduced to pavlovian response.

Manson's quoted words you post are brilliant, because you have asked NOT to judge it upon WHO said it, but that they have the same weight and merit of brillance of and could have been spoken by a Descarte or Spinoza. They bear the ring of truth.

Answer 3

Wow. I'm not sure how old you are or if you were around during the "manson time", but it was a culture that was attributed to drugs and loose morals. However, many things were then...

Was he insane? Absolutely. He was involved in hideous crimes. But as Charlie has mellowed, detoxed and started to paint, we, as a public, have ben exposed to his cerebral side. Sometimes fascinating. I liken it to if we had been able to capture Adolph Hitler and armed him with some oil paints.

The quotes: classic Manson. But such an insight into the true core of the human psyche. If a positive spin can be put on these, and if you had not prefaced it with the author, most likely people would have thought them to be by a great artist, author, muscian or actor. Perhaps Manson will prove to be all of the above. Broken down for the sane: stretch your limits, be yourself--get to know your own mind and then push it a little.

Thanks for sharing this!!

Answer 4

I think he has a point when he says the mind is endless. Afterall, we are only limited by our imagination and our morals.

I don't necessarily agree that the world of madness is bigger than the world of sanity. The world of madness may be more populated though!

I don't think 'insanity is the universe.' I get what he is intimating, however it seems a lame justification for immoral behaviour. The universe may be chaos, however we are still in control of our own behaviour within our own 'world.'

Answer 5

Well as scary as it sounds I'd have to agree with him. The world is full of more madness at times, than sanity. And he is correct that the mind is endless. Society locked him in a cell, but can't "lock" his mind up. The cell is his universe. Such truth coming from a mind so twisted. Very eerie.

Answer 6

the 1st quote is a lie, no person, least of all a madman could in all probability hold close "the international of something", the universe is previous our comprehension. the 2d quote is likewise a lie, the thoughts isn't countless, it extremely is finite, with a limited scope that leads to dying. human beings, and particular Manson nonetheless qualifies as a individual, comply with captivity to the main suitable of their means, and denial is a style of strategies. he's not unfastened, he's incarcerated, and mendacity to himself out of desperation. finally, faith aside, evil is a factor of reality, and it extremely is defined because of the fact the absence stable. by no skill dabble interior the the occult, it extremely is as risky as madness. we've an side on human beings like Manson, we are sane. Your sanity, like your integrity is a actual possession that some human beings only do not own. Jealousy or malice lead them to attack what they see in others that eludes them. comprehend that and take excitement in the advantages you have, and pity those much less fortunate than your self. yet to not the quantity which you place your self or your sanity in jeopardy.

Answer 7

Second quote is really very true. We are our minds and we can go anywhere, free as we wish.

First quote - I don't know. I have so little experience in madness. I suppose there is something free-ing in being mad, because you don't have to live up to other people's expectations. You can be odd with impunity.

These are great discussino starters. Hope you get a good sampling.

Answer 8

A person who finds the world in their mind to be a better place is not connected to the real world and disassociated from others. Imagination can be a good thing...in moderation. When a person's fantasy becomes their reality, they are no longer concerned for their fellow man. It is only the fantasy they live for.

Answer 9

Deeply philosophical truths

Madness is a matter of perspective

And

If one knows how to delve into the mind he's right there is freedom in solitude

Just because one is crazy (as Manson truly is)doesn't mean they are not insightful or smart

Answer 10

I like those quotes very much. I like the idea of thinking, because sanity is only sane in one person's mind.