Perhaps many of the perplexing problems of the new music could be put into a new light if we were to reintroduce the ancient idea of music being a reflection of nature.

If we look at music history closely, it is not difficult to isolate certain elements of great potency which were to nourish the art of music for decades, if not centuries.

Although technical discussions are interesting to composers, I suspect that the truly magical and spiritual powers of music arise from deeper levels of our psyche.

The rhythms of nature - the sounds of wind and water, the sounds of birds and insects - must inevitably find their analogues in music.

Perhaps two million years ago the creatures of a planet in some remote galaxy faced a musical crisis similar to that which we earthly composers face today.

The retrospective glance is a relatively easy gesture for us to make.

The advent of electronically synthesized sound after World War II has unquestionably had enormous influence on music in general.

Perhaps of all the most basic elements of music, rhythm most directly affects our central nervous system.

I believe that music surpasses even language in its power to mirror the innermost recesses of the human soul

Music might be defined as a system of proportions in the service of a spiritual impulse

I am certain that most composers today would consider today's music to be rich, not to say confusing, in its enormous diversity of styles, technical procedures, and systems of esthetics.

Bullshit makes the flowers grow and that is beautiful

It's all about inner silence! Everything else would just take you there!

Mel exhaled. "Why are you forcing me into the voice-of-reason role? You know that never works out for us.

For my brothers it was easy to think about the future. They can be anything they want. But for me it was hard and for that reason I wanted to become educated and empower myself with knowledge.

I can, with one eye squinted, take it all as a blessing.

Maximum individuality within maximum community

I have a guest house because I don't want people in my home.

If singing was a color, it would've been the color of that chocolate.

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life-happiness, freedom and peace of mind-are always attained by giving them to someone else.

There is a tendency in our planning to confuse the unfamiliar with the improbable.