--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the past is unreal and the future…" description: "\"Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.\" — Byron Katie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png" --- # Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all… ![“Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.” quote by Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png) > “Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.” [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It asserts that both past and future lack concrete reality, rendering our mental preoccupations ultimately empty. **In simple terms:** Past and future are illusory; thoughts lack substance. Key Takeaway Our mental focus is on non‑existent constructs. Themes impermanence mindfulness existentialism nihilism temporal perception Mood contemplative detached thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - meditative reflection - cognitive therapy - philosophical debate - creative writing Key Concepts time reality thought presence Practical Applications - mind‑body awareness training - existential counseling Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing the unreality of time affect anxiety? - What practices help anchor thoughts in present experience? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-unreal-448233/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-unreal-448234/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreal/) [Unreal Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreal-future-448232/) [Unreal Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreal-thoughts-448231/) ## Related quotes > [Don't you find it rather heavy, to have everything really in front of you – all the people who are going to matter, whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-you-find-it-rather-heavy-to-have-everything-really-in-front-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The second this interminable wait ended, it would all start to fall away into the past, to become unreal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/the-second-this-interminable-wait-ended-it-would-all-start-to-fall/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [The only thing you fear is the unreality that you yourself have invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/the-only-thing-you-fear-is-the-unreality-that-you-yourself-have/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Most of my last 30 years have been like that. Results and manifestations of things I'd dreamed of as a young kid and wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/most-of-my-last-30-years-have-been-like-that-results-and/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [Getting to play with Kobe was awesome and just seeing Shaq, anytime, is unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-nance-jr/getting-to-play-with-kobe-was-awesome-and-just-seeing-shaq-anytime-is/) [Larry Nance, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-nance-jr/) > [We can't believe what we believe to be untrue, and we can't love what we believe to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/we-can-t-believe-what-we-believe-to-be-untrue-and-we-can-t-love-what/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The real does not die, the unreal never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/the-real-does-not-die-the-unreal-never-lived/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-abstract-unreal-freedom-of-the-liberal-intellect-was-really/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [ \[Composers\] Mark \[Shaiman\] and Scott \[Wittman\] are unreal ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hilty/composers-mark-shaiman-and-scott-wittman-are-unreal/) [Megan Hilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hilty/) > [Since things neither exist nor do not exist, are neither real nor unreal, are utterly beyond adopting and rejecting - one might as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-things-neither-exist-nor-do-not-exist-are-neither-real-nor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Any great and inspiring leader or organization that ever existed set out to do something completely unrealistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/any-great-and-inspiring-leader-or-organization-that-ever-existed-set/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [the wide discrepancy between reason and feeling may be unreal; it is not improbable that intellect is a high form of feeling - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/the-wide-discrepancy-between-reason-and-feeling-may-be-unreal-it-is/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [We take that which is unreal to be real and that which is real to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/we-take-that-which-is-unreal-to-be-real-and-that-which-is-real-to-be/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More by Byron Katie > [The moment it begins to question itself, the mind becomes so clear that it starts working with itself rather than with the body's identification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/the-moment-it-begins-to-question-itself-the-mind-becomes-so-clear/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [People don't need sudden revelations. They get what they need when they need it, thought by thought by thought. It's a constant thing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/people-don-t-need-sudden-revelations-they-get-what-they-need-when/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Your parents are your projection-nothing more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/your-parents-are-your-projection-nothing-more/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [When a thought hurts, that’s the signal that it isn’t true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-a-thought-hurts-that-s-the-signal-that-it-isn-t-true/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [I used to sleep on the floor next to the bed, because I believed that I didn't even deserve a bed to sleep in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-used-to-sleep-on-the-floor-next-to-the-bed-because-i-believed-that/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [You can never make yourself believe that you're loveable, however hard you try, because when the chips are down what you really believe rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/you-can-never-make-yourself-believe-that-you-re-loveable-however-hard/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“Your story is your identity, and you’d do almost anything to prove that it’s true. Inquiry into self is the only thing that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/your-story-is-your-identity-and-you-d-do-almost-anything-to-prove/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [It's not what happens in life that bothers us. It's what we're believing about it that bothers us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/it-s-not-what-happens-in-life-that-bothers-us-it-s-what-we-re/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Love asks for nothing. Only personalities want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/love-asks-for-nothing-only-personalities-want-something/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [I love what I think, and I'm never tempted to believe it. Thoughts are like the wind or the leaves on the trees or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-love-what-i-think-and-i-m-never-tempted-to-believe-it-thoughts-are/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Reality doesn't wait for your opinion, vote, or permission, sweetheart. It just keeps being what it is and doing what it does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/reality-doesn-t-wait-for-your-opinion-vote-or-permission-sweetheart/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [As long as we believe our thoughts, there will always be war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/as-long-as-we-believe-our-thoughts-there-will-always-be-war/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“Reality doesn’t wait for our agreement or approval. It is what it is. You can count on it. Gary:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/reality-doesn-t-wait-for-our-agreement-or-approval-it-is-what-it-is/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [You can't drop concepts. You can only shine a little flashlight on them as you do inquiry, an you see that what you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/you-can-t-drop-concepts-you-can-only-shine-a-little-flashlight-on/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [You either believe what you think or you question it. There’s no other choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/you-either-believe-what-you-think-or-you-question-it-there-s-no-other/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) [Explore all 480 Byron Katie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Byron Katie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/byron-katie-553_future_since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future_38370.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.” — Byron Katie", "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": "Byron Katie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Since the past is unreal and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/#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 } } ] } ```