--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If one's conscious life is too rigid, too…" description: "\"If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then the surface may crack at times, and we are unprepared for the strange emotions or sensations..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png" --- # If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then… ![“If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then the surface may crack at times, and we are unprepared for the strange emotions or sensations we experience.” quote by Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png) > “If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then the surface may crack at times, and we are unprepared for the strange emotions or sensations we experience.” [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A strictly controlled inner life can fracture under unexpected emotions, leaving one unprepared for strange feelings. **In simple terms:** Rigid minds crack under surprise emotions. Key Takeaway Cultivate flexibility in inner life. Themes flexibility emotional awareness growth Mood introspective cautious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - stressful events - creative work - relationship conflict - personal loss Key Concepts psychology mindfulness neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to unexpected feelings? - What practices can you develop to stay adaptable? A Different Perspective Too much rigidity can cause emotional breakdowns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Cracks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cracks/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotions Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions-sensations-2786658/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Rigid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-rigid-2784772/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Rigid Regimented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rigid-regimented-4426820/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-emotions-3717394/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unprepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprepared/) ## Related quotes > [“Fear, anxiety, arousal, and pain; all are emotions and sensations. They are neither right, nor are they wrong; good nor bad. They are simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sex/fear-anxiety-arousal-and-pain-all-are-emotions-and-sensations-they/) [Nikki Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sex/) > [“In the vast void, her kiss tells me I’m not alone. She touches her tongue to mine, and a groan slips out. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/in-the-vast-void-her-kiss-tells-me-i-m-not-alone-she-touches-her/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) > [Stories can be a jumping-off point to access the emotions and the sensations in the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/stories-can-be-a-jumping-off-point-to-access-the-emotions-and-the/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Stress appears in your life because you have a rigid view of 'This is the way the world should be,' and the Universe pays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikumar-rao/stress-appears-in-your-life-because-you-have-a-rigid-view-of-this-is/) [Srikumar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srikumar-rao/) > [Creative living, or the life of a creator, seems like a leap into the unknown only because "normal life" is rigid and traumatized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/creative-living-or-the-life-of-a-creator-seems-like-a-leap-into-the/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [I attribute my whole success in life to a rigid observance of the fundamental rule - Never have yourself tattooed with any woman's name,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/i-attribute-my-whole-success-in-life-to-a-rigid-observance-of-the/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [Flexibility, openness and softness are consorting with life. When you are rigid and you know the answer and don't listen to other people's point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/flexibility-openness-and-softness-are-consorting-with-life-when-you/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [We must protect the minority writers because they are the research workers of literature. They keep it alive. It has been fashionable of late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-must-protect-the-minority-writers-because-they-are-the-research/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I love the abstract, delicate, profound, vague, voluptuously wordless sensation of living ecstatically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-love-the-abstract-delicate-profound-vague-voluptuously-wordless/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [We don't have a language for the senses. Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-have-a-language-for-the-senses-feelings-are-images/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [You always have to prepare for the obstacles that are going to come. Consequently, when they do come, it doesn't affect you mentally near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/you-always-have-to-prepare-for-the-obstacles-that-are-going-to-come/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Those who are unprepared to demonstrate tolerance cannot expect or even demand tolerance for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kasper/those-who-are-unprepared-to-demonstrate-tolerance-cannot-expect-or/) [Walter Kasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kasper/) > [Sunday morning, before we go to hear the Word of God preached...let us not rush into God’s presence careless, reckless, and unprepared, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/sunday-morning-before-we-go-to-hear-the-word-of-god-preached-let-us/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [I don't think people ever were free of fear of death, but clinging to life and being so unprepared for it is a modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-butler/i-don-t-think-people-ever-were-free-of-fear-of-death-but-clinging-to/) [Katy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-butler/) ## More by Anais Nin > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“…For love it is never the same. What goes on inside is never the same just like this music which changes every instant. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/for-love-it-is-never-the-same-what-goes-on-inside-is-never-the-same/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I have so strong a sense of creation, of tomorrow, that I cannot get drunk, knowing I will be less alive, less well, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-have-so-strong-a-sense-of-creation-of-tomorrow-that-i-cannot-get/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [We don't have a language for the senses. Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-have-a-language-for-the-senses-feelings-are-images/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-personal-if-it-is-deep-enough-becomes-universal-mythical-symbolic/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Introspection is a devouring monster. You have to feed it with much material, much experience, many people, many places, many loves, many creations, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-is-a-devouring-monster-you-have-to-feed-it-with-much/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I don't mind working, holding my ground intellectually, artistically; but as a woman, oh, God, as a woman I want to be dominated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-don-t-mind-working-holding-my-ground-intellectually-artistically/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Laughter and tears are not separate experiences, with intervals of rest: they rush out together and it is like walking with a sword between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/laughter-and-tears-are-not-separate-experiences-with-intervals-of/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I write emotional algebra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-write-emotional-algebra/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. Most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-role-of-the-writer-is-not-to-say-what-we-can-all-say-but-what-we/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I say quotations are literary. They are good only when dealing with ideas, not with experience. Experience should be pure, unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-say-quotations-are-literary-they-are-good-only-when-dealing-with/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) [Explore all 715 Anais Nin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More Conscious quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [If you are not conscious of all of the different parts of yourself, the part of yourself that is the strongest will win out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/if-you-are-not-conscious-of-all-of-the-different-parts-of-yourself/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I don't think my paintings are self-conscious but you feel the consciousness of them. Without them being self-conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-think-my-paintings-are-self-conscious-but-you-feel-the/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) [Browse all 3,716 Conscious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then the surface may crack at times, and we are unprepared for the strange emotions or sensations we experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anais Nin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too-regimented-then-the-surface/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too-regimented-then-the-surface/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/anais-nin-288_conscious_if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too_525577.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If one's conscious life is too rigid, too regimented, then the surface may crack at times, and we are…” — Anais Nin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anais Nin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If one's conscious life is too...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too-regimented-then-the-surface/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/if-one-s-conscious-life-is-too-rigid-too-regimented-then-the-surface/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```