The great and rare mystics of the past . . . were, in fact, ahead of their time, and are still ahead of ours. In other words, they most definitely are not figures of the past. They are figures of the future.
Ken WilberRead
I can focus on writing, or I can get lost in wonderfully fun but endless conversations and produce nothing new at all. I count on those people who enjoy my work to understand this.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing creative work over distractions, like engaging conversations that take time away from productivity.
In this quote, Ken Wilber reflects on the struggle between pursuing meaningful creative endeavors and getting sidetracked by enjoyable yet unproductive interactions. He acknowledges that while conversations can be enriching, they can also lead to a lack of tangible results in his writing. Wilber expresses a hope that those who appreciate his work understand the necessity of maintaining focus for the sake of creativity.
Themes
FocusWritingCreativityDistractionProductivity
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on creative writing, this quote could be shared to emphasize the need for writers to minimize distractions.
More from Ken Wilber
All quotes →The understanding of "evolutionary consciousness" is perhaps the most important thing lacking in spiritual practices today. Evolution means growth and development. This means that there are aspects of reality that have not yet arisen in our consciousness. But they will arise if we grow.
Ken WilberRead
Perhaps the best place to begin with an integral approach to business is with.. oneself. In the Big Three of self, culture, and world, integral mastery starts with self. How do body and mind and spirit operate in me? How does that necessarily impact my role in the world of business? And how can I become more conscious of these already operating realities in myself and in others?
Ken WilberRead
As you you deeply into your own awareness, and relax the self-contraction, and dissolve into the empty ground of your own primordial experience, the simply feeling of Being-right now, right here-is it not obvious at once?
Ken WilberRead
So it is a good idea to start simple, I think, and be very careful. There is a spiritual opening in the Kosmos. Let us be careful of how we fill it. The simplest is: Spirit or Emptiness is unqualifiable, but it is not inert and unyielding, for it gives rise to manifestation itself: new forms emerge, and that creativity is ultimate. Emptiness, creativity, holons.
Ken WilberRead
It is flat-out strange that something-that anything-is happening at all. There was nothing then a Big Bang, then here we all are. This is extremely weird.
Ken WilberRead
Similar quotes
There cannot live a more unhappy creature than an ill-natured old man, who is neither capable of receiving pleasures, nor sensible of conferring them on others.
William TempleRead
For a tree to become tall it must grow tough roots among the rocks.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Nothing can be further apart than true humility and servility.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
The beauty of getting older is the surprise of what else you can do to make the world a better place with the wisdom that you've accrued over those years.
Goldie HawnRead
Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.
Ralph KeyesRead
When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead