--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I went on to discover that in its deepest…" description: "\"I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for anything known, but rather, the desire for somethi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg" --- # I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will… ![“I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for anything known, but rather, the desire for something unknown, animate desire for something that lies beyond ourselves, a longing for something we know is missing in us...” quote by Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg) > “I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for anything known, but rather, the desire for something unknown, animate desire for something that lies beyond ourselves, a longing for something we know is missing in us...” [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The will is driven more by a yearning for the unknown than by a desire for familiar things, reflecting a deep inner longing for what we sense is missing. **In simple terms:** We seek what we don’t yet know, not just what we already want. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and pursue the unknown. Themes spirituality longing self‑discovery Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - spiritual practice - career change - relationship development Key Concepts existential desire inner void transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What unknown are you avoiding? - How can you turn fear of the unknown into motivation? A Different Perspective The unknown can be frightening, leading to paralysis or avoidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ## Related quotes > [“Humans, in short, desire something both unknown to them and inaccessible to the strategies of acquisition that desire sets in motion. We are creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/humans-in-short-desire-something-both-unknown-to-them-and/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [They do not desire anything more than everything they have known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/they-do-not-desire-anything-more-than-everything-they-have-known/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I think Rhaenyra is primarily motivated by a deep desire to be known and seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-d-arcy/i-think-rhaenyra-is-primarily-motivated-by-a-deep-desire-to-be-known/) [Emma D'Arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-d-arcy/) > [I never had any desire to become a well-known actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-miller/i-never-had-any-desire-to-become-a-well-known-actress/) [Rebecca Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-miller/) > [“He could never get used to her, she was fresh every time, she was a casketful of secrets. Any moment now she would open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/he-could-never-get-used-to-her-she-was-fresh-every-time-she-was-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Is there anything better than to be longing for something, when you know it is within reach?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/is-there-anything-better-than-to-be-longing-for-something-when-you/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [My mind is full of secrets I'm too afraid to tell. My body's full of longing for you to know me well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-nova/my-mind-is-full-of-secrets-i-m-too-afraid-to-tell-my-body-s-full-of/) [Heather Nova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-nova/) > [“But even if I know what governs their trajectory, if I know the rules of the movement of things and how things are organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/but-even-if-i-know-what-governs-their-trajectory-if-i-know-the-rules/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [The world is not made of countries and outsiders. We are all just humans, and most of us fools and all of us longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-world-is-not-made-of-countries-and-outsiders-we-are-all-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Many people want guidance from God, but they don’t want to lay aside other things in order to hear His voice. But David narrowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/many-people-want-guidance-from-god-but-they-don-t-want-to-lay-aside/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I'm one of these guys who always feel like the outsider, you know? I'm always longing to be part of something, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-m-one-of-these-guys-who-always-feel-like-the-outsider-you-know-i-m/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [In all forms of magick, the imagination or image-making faculty is the most important factor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grant/in-all-forms-of-magick-the-imagination-or-image-making-faculty-is-the/) Kenneth Grant > [But the saddest difference between them was that Zazetsky, as Luria said, 'fought to regain his lost faculties with the indomitable tenacity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/but-the-saddest-difference-between-them-was-that-zazetsky-as-luria/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) Frank H. T. Rhodes > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) ## More by Bernadette Roberts > [When one is perfectly still-mind and body, silent and alone-there is no personality to speak of, thus personality is one's unique way of expression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/when-one-is-perfectly-still-mind-and-body-silent-and-alone-there-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The truest communication with God is absolute, total silence; there is not a single word in existence that can convey this communication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-truest-communication-with-god-is-absolute-total-silence-there-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [This search for perfection - which is a search for divinity - is nothing more than the failure to accept our existence the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/this-search-for-perfection-which-is-a-search-for-divinity-is-nothing/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [This journey then, is nothing more, yet nothing less than a period of acclimating to a new way of seeing, a time of transition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/this-journey-then-is-nothing-more-yet-nothing-less-than-a-period-of/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [It is one step, and a giant one, to see clearly and participate in the love that flows between the persons of the Trinity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/it-is-one-step-and-a-giant-one-to-see-clearly-and-participate-in-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [It is far more than the discovery of life without a self. The immediate, inevitable result is an emergence into a new dimension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/it-is-far-more-than-the-discovery-of-life-without-a-self-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The assumption that the egoless condition, or union of self and God, is man's final goal and ultimate destiny is a great mistake. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-assumption-that-the-egoless-condition-or-union-of-self-and-god-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [But coming home that day, walking downhill with a panorama of valley and hills before me, I turned my gaze inward, and what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/but-coming-home-that-day-walking-downhill-with-a-panorama-of-valley/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The onset of this second movement is characterized by the falling away of self and coming upon "that" which remains when it is gone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-onset-of-this-second-movement-is-characterized-by-the-falling/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [Spiritual life is like a moving sidewalk. Whether you go with it or spend your whole life running against it, you're still going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/spiritual-life-is-like-a-moving-sidewalk-whether-you-go-with-it-or/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [...a point is reached where the self is so completely aligned with the still-point that it can no longer be moved, even in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/a-point-is-reached-where-the-self-is-so-completely-aligned-with-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [When there is no longer a cyclone, there is no longer an eye. So the storms, crises and sufferings of life are a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/when-there-is-no-longer-a-cyclone-there-is-no-longer-an-eye-so-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [In some ways, all our experiences of God are beyond belief, because all conceptual beliefs pale when compared to the experiential reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/in-some-ways-all-our-experiences-of-god-are-beyond-belief-because-all/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [Only God is love, and for this love to be fully realized self must step aside. And not only do we not need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/only-god-is-love-and-for-this-love-to-be-fully-realized-self-must/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > […at this point the self has obviously outworn its function; it is no longer needed or useful, and life can go on without it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/at-this-point-the-self-has-obviously-outworn-its-function-it-is-no/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) [Explore all 19 Bernadette Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [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/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for anything known, but rather, the desire for something unknown, animate desire for something that lies beyond ourselves, a longing for something we know is missing in us...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bernadette Roberts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepest-sense-the-will-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepest-sense-the-will-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/bernadette-roberts-28785_desire_i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepes_2160418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for…” — Bernadette Roberts", "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": "Bernadette Roberts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I went on to discover that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepest-sense-the-will-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepest-sense-the-will-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```