--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are neither this way nor that; we are…" description: "\"We are neither this way nor that; we are a body which is in the midst of change and evaporating. We are timeless, thousands of years old, and involved..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/arnold-mindell-32688_body_we-are-neither-this-way-nor-that-we-are_1614244.jpg" --- # We are neither this way nor that; we are a body which is… ![“We are neither this way nor that; we are a body which is in the midst of change and evaporating. We are timeless, thousands of years old, and involved with processes which go beyond our present identity. This gives us an eternal feeling, but one which is realizable right here in the moment.” quote by Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/arnold-mindell-32688_body_we-are-neither-this-way-nor-that-we-are_1614244.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/arnold-mindell-32688_body_we-are-neither-this-way-nor-that-we-are_1614244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/arnold-mindell-32688_body_we-are-neither-this-way-nor-that-we-are_1614244.jpg) > “We are neither this way nor that; we are a body which is in the midst of change and evaporating. We are timeless, thousands of years old, and involved with processes which go beyond our present identity. This gives us an eternal feeling, but one which is realizable right here in the moment.” [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We exist in constant flux, simultaneously timeless and transient, feeling eternity in each present moment. **In simple terms:** We are always changing, feeling timeless now. Key Takeaway Embrace the present as part of an endless flow. Themes change timelessness presence identity process Mood reflective calm inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - therapy - creative work - life transitions - daily mindfulness Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can you notice change without losing your sense of self? - What practices help you feel present in the flow? A Different Perspective The concept of timelessness may seem abstract and hard to experience directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) ## Related quotes > [If I am allowed to give a metaphorical allusion to the future state of the blessed, I should imagine it by the orange-grove in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/if-i-am-allowed-to-give-a-metaphorical-allusion-to-the-future-state/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [All that remains is the mad desire for present identity through a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/all-that-remains-is-the-mad-desire-for-present-identity-through-a/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [“Yet God does exist in the idea of good, which watches over the birth of every being and leaves in the soul embodied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/yet-god-does-exist-in-the-idea-of-good-which-watches-over-the-birth/) [José Martí](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Society demands that we present an identity that can be comfortably catalogued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-demands-that-we-present-an-identity-that-can-be-comfortably-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is an eternal feeling, and it is nothing wrong if you are in love with someone. I'm always in love, whether it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/love-is-an-eternal-feeling-and-it-is-nothing-wrong-if-you-are-in-love/) [Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/) > [Be alert and present and see that your identity is not from your past story; who you truly are is the alert presence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/be-alert-and-present-and-see-that-your-identity-is-not-from-your-past/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Aren’t you at all curious about your past?” Rhys asked. “No, my present is who I am. Your identity is whoever you choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-perren/aren-t-you-at-all-curious-about-your-past-rhys-asked-no-my-present-is/) Jeffrey Perren > [“I'm starting to think paradise isn't eternal contentment. It's more like there's something eternal about feeling contented. There's no such thing as eternal life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-m-starting-to-think-paradise-isn-t-eternal-contentment-it-s-more/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [The great gift of a spiritual path is coming to trust that you can find a way to true refuge. You realize that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/the-great-gift-of-a-spiritual-path-is-coming-to-trust-that-you-can/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Rama for you should mean the Path He trod, the ideal He held aloft, and the Ordinance He laid down. They are eternal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/rama-for-you-should-mean-the-path-he-trod-the-ideal-he-held-aloft-and/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [So, to meditate is to purge the mind of its self-centered activity. And if you have come this far in meditation, you will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/so-to-meditate-is-to-purge-the-mind-of-its-self-centered-activity-and/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Here is the world of imagination, hopes, and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic and make-believe are reborn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/here-is-the-world-of-imagination-hopes-and-dreams-in-this-timeless/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I have tried, in all the ways I can, to make timeless music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-have-tried-in-all-the-ways-i-can-to-make-timeless-music/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Good music is timeless, whether it's a country song, rock, or R&B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-degarmo/good-music-is-timeless-whether-it-s-a-country-song-rock-or-r-b/) [Diana DeGarmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-degarmo/) ## More by Arnold Mindell > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [We must be able to identify all the parts in a system and allow them to speak. All the parts in a group, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/we-must-be-able-to-identify-all-the-parts-in-a-system-and-allow-them/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [People have a need to feel their pain. Very often pain is the beginning of a great deal of awareness. As an energy center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/people-have-a-need-to-feel-their-pain-very-often-pain-is-the/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [“You are born in a human form, and you find joy in it. 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Dreams are maps of the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/all-i-know-for-sure-is-that-dreams-are-the-pictures-of-states-wanting/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Harmony is a wonderful thing, but not nearly as powerful as awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/harmony-is-a-wonderful-thing-but-not-nearly-as-powerful-as-awareness/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Everyone is a Taoist at heart. Everyone would like to follow nature, but we don't have enough tools yet to put the philosophy into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/everyone-is-a-taoist-at-heart-everyone-would-like-to-follow-nature/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if we flow with the black bile of melancholia and endure the terrible darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/darkness-whether-in-mood-or-in-night-is-natural-so-if-we-flow-with/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [The larger goal of Deep Democracy is not me changing you and you changing me. But we learning how to relate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/the-larger-goal-of-deep-democracy-is-not-me-changing-you-and-you/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Leadership is a group project, and all of us are necessary to fill it. Wise leaders will realize this and encourage their groups to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/leadership-is-a-group-project-and-all-of-us-are-necessary-to-fill-it/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [The various levels of problems and issues are interwoven, so that solving any one of them without simultaneously addressing the others rarely works for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/the-various-levels-of-problems-and-issues-are-interwoven-so-that/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) [Explore all 15 Arnold Mindell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [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 > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [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/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. 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