--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At first it seems as if begoing follows…" description: "\"At first it seems as if begoing follows becoming. But look even closer and you will see that there are only flashes of lightning illuminating the empty..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/adyashanti-1169_becoming_at-first-it-seems-as-if-begoing-follows_686154.png" --- # At first it seems as if begoing follows becoming. But look… ![“At first it seems as if begoing follows becoming. But look even closer and you will see that there are only flashes of lightning illuminating the empty sky.” quote by Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/adyashanti-1169_becoming_at-first-it-seems-as-if-begoing-follows_686154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/adyashanti-1169_becoming_at-first-it-seems-as-if-begoing-follows_686154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/adyashanti-1169_becoming_at-first-it-seems-as-if-begoing-follows_686154.png) > “At first it seems as if begoing follows becoming. But look even closer and you will see that there are only flashes of lightning illuminating the empty sky.” [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Points out that apparent progress may be illusory; true insight reveals only brief flashes amidst emptiness. **In simple terms:** Progress can be fleeting and deceptive. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding beyond surface changes. Themes spirituality perception illusion Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - creative work - problem solving - learning Key Concepts mindfulness philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What constitutes genuine progress? - How do you differentiate flash from lasting insight? A Different Perspective May cause discouragement if taken literally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Flash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flash/) [Flashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flashes/) [Flashes Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flashes-lightning-494757/) [Illuminating Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illuminating-sky-5419792/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Lightning Illuminating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning-illuminating-5419793/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) ## Related quotes > [To see him act is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/to-see-him-act-is-like-reading-shakespeare-by-flashes-of-lightning/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I ignored the flashes of lightning all around me. They either had your number on them or they didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ignored-the-flashes-of-lightning-all-around-me-they-either-had-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...they're here for a moment and then gone. At best they have "liftoff" power, or, to use a different analogy, they are like periodic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/they-re-here-for-a-moment-and-then-gone-at-best-they-have-liftoff/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Mozart makes us care about people in flashes of lightning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/mozart-makes-us-care-about-people-in-flashes-of-lightning/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [“Bright, dreadful flashes of lightning rent the darkness and Kali's reply was drowned by a peal of thunder which shook heaven and the wilderness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/bright-dreadful-flashes-of-lightning-rent-the-darkness-and-kali-s/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [I'm a very creative person, and you know when I hooked up with Benny Boom, I said I want it to be a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swizz-beatz/i-m-a-very-creative-person-and-you-know-when-i-hooked-up-with-benny/) [Swizz Beatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swizz-beatz/) > [You get too excited over big flashes, Tunstall. Mages rely on that to make you think they have more power than you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/you-get-too-excited-over-big-flashes-tunstall-mages-rely-on-that-to/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [Knowledge does not come to us in details, but in flashes of light from heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/knowledge-does-not-come-to-us-in-details-but-in-flashes-of-light-from/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I mean, my father was killed when I was six. And I only have tiny, tiny flashes of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-scott-thomas/i-mean-my-father-was-killed-when-i-was-six-and-i-only-have-tiny-tiny/) [Kristin Scott Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-scott-thomas/) > [Oh, we're very careful, Marilla. And it's so interesting. Two flashes means, "Are you there?" Three means "yes" and four "no." Five means, "Come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-we-re-very-careful-marilla-and-it-s-so-interesting-two-flashes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-lighting-flashes-so-fast-you/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [I'm very simple. I'm not for the flashes, I'm not for glitz and glamour, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-garnett/i-m-very-simple-i-m-not-for-the-flashes-i-m-not-for-glitz-and-glamour/) [Kevin Garnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-garnett/) > [One hears but one does not seek; one takes -- one does not ask who gives; a thought flashes up like lightning, it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-hears-but-one-does-not-seek-one-takes-one-does-not-ask-who-gives/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Loud o'er my head though awful thunders roll, And vivid lightnings flash from pole to pole, Yet 'tis Thy voice, my God, that bids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/loud-o-er-my-head-though-awful-thunders-roll-and-vivid-lightnings/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) ## More by Adyashanti > [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [When you rest deeply in the Unknown without trying to escape, your experience becomes very vast. As the experience of the Unknown deepens, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-you-rest-deeply-in-the-unknown-without-trying-to-escape-your/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Embrace suffering, and you transform your relationship with what causes you to suffer, as well as your relationship with suffering itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/embrace-suffering-and-you-transform-your-relationship-with-what/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [What is really important you can't understand with your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/what-is-really-important-you-can-t-understand-with-your-mind/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [What would happen if you were to allow everything to be exactly as it is? If you gave up the need for control, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/what-would-happen-if-you-were-to-allow-everything-to-be-exactly-as-it/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Inherent in the impulse to be free, is insecurity. The impulse to be free comes from outside of the mind, and because of this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/inherent-in-the-impulse-to-be-free-is-insecurity-the-impulse-to-be/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [You can't lose what you serve. That's the secret. What you serve, you can't lose. What you don't serve and what you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/you-can-t-lose-what-you-serve-that-s-the-secret-what-you-serve-you/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [It is not the pursuit of greater and greater states of happiness and bliss that leads to enlightenment, but the yearning for Reality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/it-is-not-the-pursuit-of-greater-and-greater-states-of-happiness-and/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Suffering is how Life tells you that you are resisting or misperceiving what is real and true. It is the way Life suggests that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/suffering-is-how-life-tells-you-that-you-are-resisting-or/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Real meditation is not about mastering a technique; it's about letting go of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/real-meditation-is-not-about-mastering-a-technique-it-s-about-letting/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [When emptiness is still, that is eternity. When it moves, that is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-emptiness-is-still-that-is-eternity-when-it-moves-that-is-love/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [You are an incredible mystery that you will never figure out. To be this mystery consciously is the greatest joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/you-are-an-incredible-mystery-that-you-will-never-figure-out-to-be/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Life sustains itself. Let go of the ego and life takes care of itself through you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/life-sustains-itself-let-go-of-the-ego-and-life-takes-care-of-itself/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [One doesn't stay in a state of nirvana by hiding from difficulties. You stay in nirvana by lavishing nirvana on everyone you meet, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/one-doesn-t-stay-in-a-state-of-nirvana-by-hiding-from-difficulties/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) [Explore all 279 Adyashanti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At first it seems as if begoing follows becoming. 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