--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let’s say (since in writing a book one…" description: "\"“Let’s say (since in writing a book one has to say something) that reality or existence is a multidimensional and interwoven system of varying spectra ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e4/alan-wilson-watts-4665_books_let-s-say-since-in-writing-a-book-one-ha_2265292.jpg" --- # Let’s say (since in writing a book one has to say… ![“Let’s say (since in writing a book one has to say something) that reality or existence is a multidimensional and interwoven system of varying spectra of vibrations, and that man’s five senses are attuned only to very small bands of these spectra. That sounds very profound and may mean nothing at…” quote by Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e4/alan-wilson-watts-4665_books_let-s-say-since-in-writing-a-book-one-ha_2265292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e4/alan-wilson-watts-4665_books_let-s-say-since-in-writing-a-book-one-ha_2265292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e4/alan-wilson-watts-4665_books_let-s-say-since-in-writing-a-book-one-ha_2265292.jpg) > ““Let’s say (since in writing a book one has to say something) that reality or existence is a multidimensional and interwoven system of varying spectra of vibrations, and that man’s five senses are attuned only to very small bands of these spectra. That sounds very profound and may mean nothing at all, but in reading it one should attend to the sound of the words rather than their meaning. Then you will get my point.”” [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality is a complex, multi‑spectral tapestry; language often masks meaning, urging attention to sound over sense. **In simple terms:** Words can be felt more than understood. Key Takeaway Listen to the rhythm of ideas. Themes reality perception language Mood contemplative enigmatic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts phenomenology sound symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does listening to words reveal? - Can meaning emerge without literal interpretation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on sound may obscure practical insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Five senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-senses/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) ## Related quotes > [“A novel examines not reality but existence. 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That which she could see and touch was real to her, everything else a mere figment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-cameron/for-eighty-eight-years-the-world-revolved-around-ivy-that-which-she/) Graeme Cameron > [We see the one light, the one unified reality that we see in others, is the same reality that is within ourselves. 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“Perhaps the most meaningful exchange I had on the subject was a completely random discussion with my uncle Martin at my parents’ annual summer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/perhaps-the-most-meaningful-exchange-i-had-on-the-subject-was-a/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [Let's say that, in reality, I'm basically very shy when it comes to men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-summer/let-s-say-that-in-reality-i-m-basically-very-shy-when-it-comes-to-men/) [Donna Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-summer/) ## More by Alan Wilson Watts > [“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. 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Energy itself, as William Blake said, is eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-do-not-dance-to-reach-a-certain-point-on-the-floor-but-simply-to/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“Thought and science are therefore raising problems which their terms of study can never answer, many of which are doubtless problems only for thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/thought-and-science-are-therefore-raising-problems-which-their-terms/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“But this is at the same time a vivid way of saying that your soul, or rather your essential Self, is the whole cosmos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-this-is-at-the-same-time-a-vivid-way-of-saying-that-your-soul-or/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“When you no longer make the distinction between the universe and how you are acting upon it, you are really on your own and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/when-you-no-longer-make-the-distinction-between-the-universe-and-how/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“My death will be the disappearance of a particular pattern in the water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/my-death-will-be-the-disappearance-of-a-particular-pattern-in-the/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“I have always thought that all philosophical debates are ultimately between the partisans of structure and the partisans of "goo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/i-have-always-thought-that-all-philosophical-debates-are-ultimately/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“We are living in a culture entirely hypnotized by the illusion of time, in which the so-called present moment is felt as nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-are-living-in-a-culture-entirely-hypnotized-by-the-illusion-of/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“Where there is to be creative action, it is quite beside the point to discuss what we should or should not do in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/where-there-is-to-be-creative-action-it-is-quite-beside-the-point-to/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) [Explore all 106 Alan Wilson Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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