Yoko Ono

I don't think about the future. I don't think about the past. I just think of what comes into my head at the time. So that might be about the past, that might be about the future. Or, the present.

Distance doesn't exist, in fact, and neither does time. Vibrations from love or music can be felt everywhere, at all times.

Please know that being 80 is not a scary thing. When you're 80, your life is much freer.

I think energy is the most important thing that we can give to people as performers. Anything else is a little bit pretentious. But energy is not.

My beauty secret is... nothing! I don't drink too much water. I don't eat very well. Sometimes I cheat and grab some chocolate. The best thing is to eat what you want, but not very much.

Art for me is like breathing.

The nice thing about the gallery shows is that without having to pay any money you can just go and see it.

Sound as medium has an incredible elasticity. So, of course, it is tempting for artists of other fields to try something with sounds. Why not? We are living in the age when there is no limit in gathering all forms of art and music to mix it together if you so desire.

When Orientals are attacked, they don't hit back.

Chemically speaking or biologically, we research things, but we don't know half of them. We only know our half of it - symbolically - and we don't know ourselves more than half.

The computer is my favourite invention. I feel lucky to be part of the global village. I don't mean to brag, but I'm so fast with technology. People think it all seems too much, but we'll get used to it. I'm sure it all seemed too much when we were learning to walk.

Society tells you that when you're old you have to retire. You have to defy that.

I don't think you should always stay calm in a tense situation, because you might not ever confront the problem. Maybe it's better to actually let yourself be tense - and find a solution.

When I got pregnant, I had to concentrate on being pregnant for a whole nine months, even though I knew it was ruining my career at the time.

In the '60s we fought for peace, when the Vietnam war was on. We were against the cops and against the politicians, and there was a lot of waving banners and all that. And I think in a way, just as they were enjoying that machoism of war, we were enjoying the machismo of being anti-war, you know?

Words are power. And a book is full of words. Be careful what power you get from it. But know that you do.

I was born into a very important family in Japan. My grandfather was a descendant of the Emperor, and we were very wealthy.

All my concerts had no sounds in them; they were completely silent. People had to make up their own music in their minds!

The war industry people are very together; they know exactly what they want; they don't even have to talk to each other. The peace industry people are just intellectuals who are very critical of each other... Unless the peace industry is powerful, we're always going to have war. It is as simple as that.

I get very nervous before I get on the stage, but once I'm on the stage, I'm just, you know, me. Nothing hurts me.