--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we do not know ourselves in the waking…" description: "\"“If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?”\" — Cormac McCarthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg" --- # If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what… ![“If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg) > ““If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑knowledge in waking life is essential; without it, dreams lack meaning or insight. **In simple terms:** Know yourself awake, or dreams are empty. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness daily. Themes philosophy consciousness dreams Mood introspective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - meditation - journaling - therapy Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness identity Questions to Reflect On - What does your waking self reveal about your dreams? A Different Perspective Dreams may reflect unknown aspects of self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ## Related quotes > [Don't ever deny yourself a chance at your dreams. We're all meant for great things, but not everyone believes that can happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/don-t-ever-deny-yourself-a-chance-at-your-dreams-we-re-all-meant-for/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [“The waking have one world in common; sleepers have each a private world of his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-waking-have-one-world-in-common-sleepers-have-each-a-private/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Yet it is the narrative that is the life of the dream while the events themselves are often interchangeable. The events of the waking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/yet-it-is-the-narrative-that-is-the-life-of-the-dream-while-the/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [What he could bear in the waking world he could not by night and he sat awake for fear the dream would return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/what-he-could-bear-in-the-waking-world-he-could-not-by-night-and-he/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [My only nightmare is waking up in a world were you're not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/my-only-nightmare-is-waking-up-in-a-world-were-you-re-not-mine/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“Of the name and abode of this man but little is written, for they were of the waking world only; yet it is said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/of-the-name-and-abode-of-this-man-but-little-is-written-for-they-were/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Bad dreams are rehearsals for the struggle to survive; they exist to prepare us in the waking world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-aalto/bad-dreams-are-rehearsals-for-the-struggle-to-survive-they-exist-to/) [A.J. Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-aalto/) > [“All the world seemed suddenly dream, for in what waking world would a prince deceive his own people for the benefit of a slave?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-haimowitz/all-the-world-seemed-suddenly-dream-for-in-what-waking-world-would-a/) [Rachel Haimowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-haimowitz/) > [“I'm afraid of waking up to a world where you see and I am not what you saw”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-nuri/i-m-afraid-of-waking-up-to-a-world-where-you-see-and-i-am-not-what/) Ali Nuri > [“dreams are madness, my dear. It's things that happen in the waking world, while one is asleep, that one would be glad to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/dreams-are-madness-my-dear-it-s-things-that-happen-in-the-waking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The Bible’s was an unlikely, movie-set world alongside our world. Light-shot and translucent in the pallid Sunday-school watercolors on the walls, stormy and opaque…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-bible-s-was-an-unlikely-movie-set-world-alongside-our-world-light/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Don't you think a dream would feel shy if it were seen walking about in the waking world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-3/don-t-you-think-a-dream-would-feel-shy-if-it-were-seen-walking-about/) [C S Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-3/) > [A dream is the key that unlocks the mysteries of the waking world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/a-dream-is-the-key-that-unlocks-the-mysteries-of-the-waking-world/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) > [How often do we use other people as screens upon which to project our obsessions? Our discontents, dreams, desires, and fears? Well, I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-morrow/how-often-do-we-use-other-people-as-screens-upon-which-to-project-our/) Bradford Morrow > [The song "Sing for the Submarine" presents my dream world, which is way different from my waking world. It's set in the future and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/the-song-sing-for-the-submarine-presents-my-dream-world-which-is-way/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Dream quotes > [“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/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“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/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“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 have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [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/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-waking-world-what-chance-in-dreams/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-waking-world-what-chance-in-dreams/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/cormac-mccarthy-181_dream_if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-wakin_641952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?” — Cormac McCarthy", "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": "Cormac McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we do not know ourselves...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-waking-world-what-chance-in-dreams/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-waking-world-what-chance-in-dreams/#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 } } ] } ```