As we take, in fact, a general view of the wonderful stream of our consciousness, what strikes us first is this different pace of its parts. Like a bird's life, it seems to be made of an alternation of flights and perchings.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Consciousness moves in an alternating rhythm of focus and rest.
- In plain terms
- Your mind moves between busy times and quiet times.
- What can you take from it?
- Expect your mind to alternate between focus and rest.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does your mind move?
- Do you rest enough?
Another view
It oversimplifies the complex flow of thought.
More from William James
Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits...A 'river' or a 'stream' are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talki…
Permalink to quote #20 As the brain-changes are continuous, so do all these consciousnesses melt into each other like dissolving views. Properly they are but one protracted conscious…
Permalink to quote #22 The total possible consciousness may be split into parts which co-exist but mutually ignore each other.
Permalink to quote #19
Related quotes
We probed into the nature of space and time, and of the universal, both with regard to external nature and with regard to mind. But then, we went on to conside…
David BohmDavid Bohm quote #5 The unconscious is the larger circle which includes within itself the smaller circle of the conscious; everything conscious has its preliminary step in the unc…
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud quote #11 Maybe the unconscious is overrated... What if your unconscious is full of false consciousness or bad faith? What if it's more like a trash compactor than a dre…
John LeonardJohn Leonard quote #11