--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... he had always wondered why the…" description: "\"“... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in dreamas were so much more intense than anything one could experience in waking reality—why t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg" --- # ... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in… ![“... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in dreamas were so much more intense than anything one could experience in waking reality—why the horror was so total and the ecstacy so complete—and what was that extra quality which could never be recaptured afterward; the quality of what he…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg) > ““... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in dreamas were so much more intense than anything one could experience in waking reality—why the horror was so total and the ecstacy so complete—and what was that extra quality which could never be recaptured afterward; the quality of what he felt when he walked down a path through tangled green leaves in a dream, in an air full of expectation, of causeless, utter rapture—and when he awakened he could not explain it, it had just been a path through some woods.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams feel more intense than waking life; they reveal deeper desires and emotions unattainable in reality. **In simple terms:** Dreams are intensely vivid, revealing hidden desires. Key Takeaway Explore what dreams reveal about you. Themes dreams intensity desire reality emotion Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - sleep analysis - creative writing - therapy - goal setting Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do your dreams stir? - How to translate dream insights? A Different Perspective Dreams may be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) ## Related quotes > [“The young photographer glanced at Roark's face--and thought of something that had puzzled him for a long time: he had always wondered why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-young-photographer-glanced-at-roark-s-face-and-thought-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“In the cab going downtown, Doug believed he now understood the sensations felt by a person slowly sinking into the grasp of an octopus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/in-the-cab-going-downtown-doug-believed-he-now-understood-the/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [I was oppressed with the sensations I then felt; I sunk under the weight of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-was-oppressed-with-the-sensations-i-then-felt-i-sunk-under-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“She day-dreams just as I do. She is addicted to her solitude just as I am. She loves watching the rain-drops fall slowly on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/she-day-dreams-just-as-i-do-she-is-addicted-to-her-solitude-just-as-i/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“Stirton's work, he says, is now all about investigation. 'You literally are trying to find out what's happening and, finally, manoeuvre yourself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/stirton-s-work-he-says-is-now-all-about-investigation-you-literally/) [Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/) > [I knew that this was something that was going to be an intense experience, just from the way I typically approach my work. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/i-knew-that-this-was-something-that-was-going-to-be-an-intense/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-novel-is-above-all-an-intense-experience-of-prolonged-intimacy/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Working on a campaign and running for president should be a visceral, emotional, passionate, and intense experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-mccain/working-on-a-campaign-and-running-for-president-should-be-a-visceral/) [Meghan McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-mccain/) > [However intense my experience, I am conscious of the presence and criticism of a part of me, which, as it were, is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/however-intense-my-experience-i-am-conscious-of-the-presence-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Drama school is a pretty intense experience, and I think it changes who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tennant/drama-school-is-a-pretty-intense-experience-and-i-think-it-changes/) [David Tennant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tennant/) > [My first real experience of acting was 'Peaky Blinders.' That was the most intense experience. In those situations you learn so quickly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-cole/my-first-real-experience-of-acting-was-peaky-blinders-that-was-the/) [Finn Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-cole/) > [The thing is that when you make a film, it is such an intense experience. It's like being married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/the-thing-is-that-when-you-make-a-film-it-is-such-an-intense/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [It's very interesting, I had an extremely intense experience with my dad in 2002, when he was an old man and very ill and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-very-interesting-i-had-an-extremely-intense-experience-with-my/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [There's something about being in front of a live audience that's fun. It's a really interesting, very electric, very alive, and intense experience, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/there-s-something-about-being-in-front-of-a-live-audience-that-s-fun/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [For me, I'd rather have an intense experience than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/for-me-i-d-rather-have-an-intense-experience-than-not/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in dreamas were so much more intense than anything one could experience in waking reality—why the horror was so total and the ecstacy so complete—and what was that extra quality which could never be recaptured afterward; the quality of what he felt when he walked down a path through tangled green leaves in a dream, in an air full of expectation, of causeless, utter rapture—and when he awakened he could not explain it, it had just been a path through some woods.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensations-one-felt-in-dreamas-were-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensations-one-felt-in-dreamas-were-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/ayn-rand-59_dreams_he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensation_2571914.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... he had always wondered why the sensations one felt in dreamas were so much more intense than anything…” — Ayn Rand", "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": "Ayn Rand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... he had always wondered why...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensations-one-felt-in-dreamas-were-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-had-always-wondered-why-the-sensations-one-felt-in-dreamas-were-so/#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 } } ] } ```