--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can be more or less conscious when you…" description: "\"We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of focus on a subject that is flowing in our stream of consciousness.\" — Antonio Damasio" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png" --- # We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of… ![“We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of focus on a subject that is flowing in our stream of consciousness.” quote by Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png) > “We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of focus on a subject that is flowing in our stream of consciousness.” [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consciousness varies with the depth of focus on a flowing subject. **In simple terms:** Focus changes awareness levels. Key Takeaway Practice deep, mindful focus. Themes consciousness attention flow state Mood curious analytical Type scientific advice When to use this quote - studying - creative work - meditation Key Concepts Neuroscience psychology of focus Questions to Reflect On - When do you lose focus? - How can you balance depth and breadth? A Different Perspective Excessive focus may cause tunnel vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Grades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grades/) [Grades Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grades-focus-3972111/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Stream Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stream-consciousness-327261/) [Stream of consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stream-of-consciousness/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) ## Related quotes > [Consciousness... does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as 'chain' or 'train' do not describe it fitly as it presents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/consciousness-does-not-appear-to-itself-chopped-up-in-bits-such-words/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [When I edit the poems - and I do edit, which some people don't mean when they use the term "stream of consciousness" -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-zucker/when-i-edit-the-poems-and-i-do-edit-which-some-people-don-t-mean-when/) [Rachel Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-zucker/) > [My thoughts went round and round and it occurred to me that if I ever wrote a novel it would be of the 'stream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/my-thoughts-went-round-and-round-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-if-i-ever/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [I knew I had to get my grades so that I could focus on football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-abraham/i-knew-i-had-to-get-my-grades-so-that-i-could-focus-on-football/) [Tammy Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-abraham/) > [I work a lot with sounds based on stream of consciousness. I like the way it sounds, then I turn it into something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-van-etten/i-work-a-lot-with-sounds-based-on-stream-of-consciousness-i-like-the/) [Sharon Van Etten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-van-etten/) > [“Our minds are truly the one place where no one else can follow us. Even if we try, if we constantly express every thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-h-aceves/our-minds-are-truly-the-one-place-where-no-one-else-can-follow-us/) [Aaron H. Aceves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-h-aceves/) > [I basically just write stream of consciousness to a certain extent. I let the song kind of go where it wants to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/i-basically-just-write-stream-of-consciousness-to-a-certain-extent-i/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [When I write, I usually follow my most inner voice, sometimes called stream of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidija-dimkovska/when-i-write-i-usually-follow-my-most-inner-voice-sometimes-called/) [Lidija Dimkovska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidija-dimkovska/) > [“Within your mind, there are hardly any lines at all. All its contents flow into each other, sensations becoming thoughts, feelings, desires, actions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/within-your-mind-there-are-hardly-any-lines-at-all-all-its-contents/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [When people use that stream of consciousness, it's kind of just a term they use for anything that looks slightly different on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/when-people-use-that-stream-of-consciousness-it-s-kind-of-just-a-term/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [For the most part I write very stream of consciousness. I basically need to be recording an entire writing session because it's almost like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/for-the-most-part-i-write-very-stream-of-consciousness-i-basically/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“When you’re a cork in someone else’s stream of consciousness, all you can do is spin and bob in the eddies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/when-you-re-a-cork-in-someone-else-s-stream-of-consciousness-all-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Be like a tree standing planted by a dead river bed, until you transform into the confidence of your own stream of consciousness flowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/be-like-a-tree-standing-planted-by-a-dead-river-bed-until-you/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“Our brain continuously processes inputs and generates outputs while our stream of consciousness is more like an after-the-fact commentary29.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erman-misirlisoy/our-brain-continuously-processes-inputs-and-generates-outputs-while/) [Erman Misirlisoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erman-misirlisoy/) > [Life is a continual flow of events, streaming in from the universal stream of consciousness in such a way that it exactly matches our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/life-is-a-continual-flow-of-events-streaming-in-from-the-universal/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Antonio Damasio > [We are not thinking machines that feel; rather, we are feeling machines that think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-are-not-thinking-machines-that-feel-rather-we-are-feeling-machines/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Consciousness begins when brains acquire the power, the simple power I must add, of telling a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/consciousness-begins-when-brains-acquire-the-power-the-simple-power-i/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [I got interested in the emotions after studying patients who had lost the ability to emote and feel under certain circumstances. Many of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/i-got-interested-in-the-emotions-after-studying-patients-who-had-lost/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Rather than being a luxury, emotions are a very intelligent way of driving an organism toward certain outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/rather-than-being-a-luxury-emotions-are-a-very-intelligent-way-of/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Of necessity, the autobiographical self is not just about one individual but about all the others that an individual interacts with. Of necessity, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/of-necessity-the-autobiographical-self-is-not-just-about-one/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [A mind is so closely shaped by the body and destined to serve it that only one mind could possibly arise in it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-mind-is-so-closely-shaped-by-the-body-and-destined-to-serve-it-that/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [When you deal with something like compassion for physical pain, which we know is very, very old in evolution - we can find evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/when-you-deal-with-something-like-compassion-for-physical-pain-which/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [You can be highly concentrated on a person, on a problem, and be so good at excluding all other material that that becomes not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/you-can-be-highly-concentrated-on-a-person-on-a-problem-and-be-so/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [ We may express them \[emotions\] physically slightly differently, and it's of course graded depending on the circumstance, but the essence of the process is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-may-express-them-emotions-physically-slightly-differently-and-it-s/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [The autobiographical self is built on the basis of past memories and memories of the plans that we have made; it's the lived past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/the-autobiographical-self-is-built-on-the-basis-of-past-memories-and/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [It's very interesting to think about the distinction with mind, which I just made in very general terms, but it can be made more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/it-s-very-interesting-to-think-about-the-distinction-with-mind-which/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [ What happens \[in a coma\] is that you lose the grounding of the self, you no longer have access to any feeling of your… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/what-happens-in-a-coma-is-that-you-lose-the-grounding-of-the-self-you/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [All of that is constantly operating when you not only learn, but when you recall. But as you recall in a different light, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/all-of-that-is-constantly-operating-when-you-not-only-learn-but-when/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) [Explore all 74 Antonio Damasio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) ## 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": "We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of focus on a subject that is flowing in our stream of consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonio Damasio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-you-create-grades-of-focus-on-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-you-create-grades-of-focus-on-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/antonio-damasio-9144_conscious_we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-yo_2877819.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can be more or less conscious when you create grades of focus on a subject that is flowing in our stream…” — Antonio Damasio", "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": "Antonio Damasio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can be more or less...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-you-create-grades-of-focus-on-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-can-be-more-or-less-conscious-when-you-create-grades-of-focus-on-a/#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 } } ] } ```