Guilt and defensiveness are bricks in a wall against which we all flounder; they serve none of our futures.

I think the main thing that has to end is men‘s defensiveness.

True sincerity reveals a powerful form of clarity and discernment that is necessary in order to perceive yourself honestly without flinching or being held captive by your conditioned mind’s judgments and defensiveness.

To get greater than 100% return on a growth step, give up defensiveness. Defensiveness stifles performance, and destroys relationships.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse predict an ailing marriage: Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling and Contempt. The worst of these is contempt.

There is a certain degree of satisfaction in having the courage to admit one’s errors.

Why should you want to give up a child‘s wise not-understanding in exchange for defensiveness and scorn, since not-understanding is, after all, a way of being alone, whereas defensiveness and scorn are a participation in precisely what, by these means, you want to separate yourself from.

My defensiveness in life really helps me as a driver.

guilt politics … I regard as conveniently paralyzing, ripe for backlash defensiveness, counterproductive, and boring.

Physical life is characterized by defensiveness, whereas spiritual life is just the opposite.

Be honest, Look for areas where you can admit error and say so. Apologize for your mistakes. It will help disarm your opponents and reduce defensiveness.

There is a certain degree of satisfaction in having the courage to admit one’s errors. It not only clears up the air of guilt and defensiveness, but often helps solve the problem created by the error

You need your ego to survive in the three-dimensional world, but you need only that part of the ego which processes information. The rest – pride, arrogance, defensiveness, fear – is worse than useless. The rest of the ego separates you from wisdom, joy, and God.

The student‘s job is to stay open-minded, to quell the knee-jerk defensiveness we all possess in the face of suggestions for improvement, and to maintain patience when faced with a process that is often slow, confusing, and frustrating.

Guilt is not a response to anger; it is a response to one’s own actions or lack of action.

When people hear needs, it provokes compassion.

I would advise you against defensiveness on priciple. it precludes the best eventualities along with the worst. At the most basic level it expresses a lack of faith.