--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where am I when I'm not in reality or in…" description: "\"Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination?\" — Andrei Tarkovsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg" --- # Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination? ![“Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination?” quote by Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg) > “Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination?” [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker questions existence beyond tangible reality and imagination, suggesting a liminal space of consciousness. **In simple terms:** Questioning existence beyond reality. Key Takeaway Explore inner awareness. Themes existence consciousness reality imagination philosophy Mood pensive intriguing Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - psychotherapy - philosophical debate Key Concepts metaphysics ontological inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What does 'not in reality' feel like? - How does imagination shape perception? A Different Perspective The line blurs reality and imagination, making concrete conclusions difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [My imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-imagination/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-imagination-1443457/) ## Related quotes > [Mostly, I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/mostly-i-straddle-reality-and-the-imagination-my-reality-needs/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/there-are-many-ways-to-be-free-one-of-them-is-to-transcend-reality-by/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Things seemed to go back and forth between reality and imagination--except that it was all reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/things-seemed-to-go-back-and-forth-between-reality-and-imagination/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) > [Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/like-all-novelists-i-m-interested-in-the-filters-between-reality-and/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [“Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist; on an insignificant basis of reality the imagination spins, weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/everything-can-happen-everything-is-possible-and-probable-time-and-2/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“Chance encounters, the desire to watch, a visit from an unexpected stranger -- all of these things fall within a realm of normalcy. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-kiker/chance-encounters-the-desire-to-watch-a-visit-from-an-unexpected/) [K. Kiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-kiker/) > [In my past, I was an innocent little kid not knowing what was going on in reality. I had an imagination of my own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/in-my-past-i-was-an-innocent-little-kid-not-knowing-what-was-going-on/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [The way you separate reality from imagination is by the number of bandages you have to use...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/the-way-you-separate-reality-from-imagination-is-by-the-number-of/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Imagination has to do with one's awareness of the reality of other people as well as of one's own reality. Imagination is a bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-has-to-do-with-one-s-awareness-of-the-reality-of-other/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Some things worked far better in imagination than reality. In imagination, she was intrepid and resourceful; in reality she wished she were home, wrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/some-things-worked-far-better-in-imagination-than-reality-in/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [Embrace reality by imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/embrace-reality-by-imagination/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist; on a significant bases of reality, the imagination spins, weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/everything-can-happen-everything-is-possible-and-probable-time-and/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [The most marvelous experience of life is to transform life according to reality, not imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-most-marvelous-experience-of-life-is-to-transform-life-according/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Andrei Tarkovsky > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I think in fact that unless there is an organic link between the subjective impressions of the author and his objective representation of reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-think-in-fact-that-unless-there-is-an-organic-link-between-the/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-the-meaning-of-all-human-activity-lies-in-the-artistic/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [If we succeed with something, that is only because others are in need of what e have produced. And the more success we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/if-we-succeed-with-something-that-is-only-because-others-are-in-need/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“I believe in one thing: the human spirit is immortal and indestructible. In the beyond there could be anything, it is of no importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-believe-in-one-thing-the-human-spirit-is-immortal-and/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [It is perfectly possible to be a professional director or a professional writer and not to be an artist: merely a sort of executor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/it-is-perfectly-possible-to-be-a-professional-director-or-a/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Some sort of pressure must exist; the artist exists because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/some-sort-of-pressure-must-exist-the-artist-exists-because-the-world/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I know only one thing. when i sleep, i know no fear, no, trouble no bliss. blessing on him who invented sleep. the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-know-only-one-thing-when-i-sleep-i-know-no-fear-no-trouble-no-bliss/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [It is a mistake to talk about the artist looking for his subject. In fact, the subject grows within him like a fruit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/it-is-a-mistake-to-talk-about-the-artist-looking-for-his-subject-in/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“The image in cinema is based on the ability to present as an observation one's own perception of an object”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/the-image-in-cinema-is-based-on-the-ability-to-present-as-an/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Man is born unto the trouble as the sparks fly upwards.' In other words suffering is germane to our existence; indeed, how without it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/man-is-born-unto-the-trouble-as-the-sparks-fly-upwards-in-other-words/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Why do people go to the cinema? What takes them into a darkened room where, for two hours, they watch the play of shadows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/why-do-people-go-to-the-cinema-what-takes-them-into-a-darkened-room/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Objectivity can only be the author's and therefore subjective, even if he is editing a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/objectivity-can-only-be-the-author-s-and-therefore-subjective-even-if/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“Perhaps cinema is the most personal art, the most intimate. In cinema only the author's intimate truth will be convincing enough for the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-cinema-is-the-most-personal-art-the-most-intimate-in-cinema/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/weakness-is-a-great-thing-and-strength-is-nothing-when-a-man-is-just/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) [Explore all 120 Andrei Tarkovsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrei Tarkovsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in-my-imagination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in-my-imagination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_imagination_where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in_2559575.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where am I when I'm not in reality or in my imagination?” — Andrei Tarkovsky", "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": "Andrei Tarkovsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Where am I when I'm not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in-my-imagination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/where-am-i-when-i-m-not-in-reality-or-in-my-imagination/#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 } } ] } ```