Quotes About Introspection

We are not self-caused little gods.

It may not be coincidental that [you] use phrases like 'self conscious' when you really mean that you are conscious of others being conscious of you.

wisdom is nothing more profound than an ability to follow one's own advice.

there is almost nothing more common than the belief that one is above average in intelligence, wisdom, honesty, etc.

Every experience you have ever had has been shaped by your mind.

One must be able to pay attention closely enough to glimpse what consciousness is like between thoughts—that is, prior to the arising of the next one. Consciousness does not feel like a self. Once one realizes this, the status of thoughts themselves, as transient expressions of consciousness, can be understood.

Many truths about ourselves will be discovered in consciousness directly or not discovered at all.

But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.

But the true discipline is to remain committed, throughout the whole of one's life, to waking up from the dream of the self.

That which is aware of sadness is not sad. That which is aware of fear is not fearful. The moment I am lost in thought, however, I'm as confused as anyone else.

Have you ever traveled, beyond all mere metaphors, to the Mountain of Shame and stayed for a thousand years? I do not recommend it.

Chalmers: It's awfully hard to define consciousness. But I'd start by saying that it's the subjective experience of the mind and the world. It's basically what it feels like, from the first-person point of view, to be thinking and perceiving and judging.

I want to maximize my happiness, but I am generally not moved to do what I believe will make me happier than I now am.

Clearly, one of the great tasks of civilization is to create cultural mechanisms that protect us from the moment-to-moment failures of our ethical intuitions.

the sense of self disappears when closely examined, and this is done through the practice of meditation.

Unless someone is suicidal or otherwise on the brink, deciding how much he should know about himself seems the quintessence of arrogance. What attitude could be more disrespectful of those we care about?

If you're suffering, you're thinking.

I can attest that when one goes into silence and meditates for weeks or months at a time, doing nothing else—not speaking, reading, or writing, just making a moment-to-moment effort to observe the contents of consciousness—one has experiences that are generally unavailable to people who have not undertaken a similar practice.

the truth is that most people are simply too distracted by their thoughts to have the selflessness of consciousness pointed out directly.

While sitting alone in his uncle's study, Ramana suddenly became paralyzed by a fear of death. He lay down on the floor, convinced that he would soon die, but rather than remaining terrified, he decided to locate the self that was about to disappear. He focused on the feeling of "I"—a process he later called "self-inquiry"—and found it to be absent from the field of consciousness.

It is perfectly obvious that I, as the conscious witness of my experience, am not the deep cause of it.

How can we make sense of our lives, and hold people accountable for their choices, given the unconscious origins of our conscious minds?

Placing blame on others is easy. Taking responsibility for yourself is empowering.

I have nothing to prove to anyone. I only play for myself.