--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a thought,\" I said with a grin…" description: "\"“It's a thought,\" I said with a grin. \"That's exactly what it is, Dan - a thought - no more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not In t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/dan-millman-1475_body_it-s-a-thought-i-said-with-a-grin-that-s_2266310.jpg" --- # It's a thought," I said with a grin. "That's exactly what… ![“It's a thought," I said with a grin. "That's exactly what it is, Dan - a thought - no more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not In the body; the body is In Consciousness. And you Are that Consciousness - no the phantom mind that troubles you so. You are the body, but you are…” quote by Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/dan-millman-1475_body_it-s-a-thought-i-said-with-a-grin-that-s_2266310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/dan-millman-1475_body_it-s-a-thought-i-said-with-a-grin-that-s_2266310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/dan-millman-1475_body_it-s-a-thought-i-said-with-a-grin-that-s_2266310.jpg) > ““It's a thought," I said with a grin. "That's exactly what it is, Dan - a thought - no more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not In the body; the body is In Consciousness. And you Are that Consciousness - no the phantom mind that troubles you so. You are the body, but you are everything else, too. That is what your visions revealed to you. Only the mind resists change. When you relax mindless into the body, you are happy and content and free, sensing no separation. Immortality is Already yours, but not in the same way you imagined or hope for. You have been immortal since before you were born and will be long after the body dissolves. The body is in Consciousness; never born; never dies; only changes. The mind - your ego, personal beliefs, history, and identity - is all that ends at death. And who needs it?" Socrates leaned back into his chair. "I'm not sure all of that sank in." "Of course not." He laughed. "Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.”” [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consciousness transcends the body; the ego mind creates separation, while true freedom arises from recognizing the body as consciousness and letting go of mental constructs. **In simple terms:** Freedom comes from seeing self as consciousness, not ego. Key Takeaway Release ego identification to experience freedom. Themes consciousness ego freedom identity Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - self‑inquiry - stress relief Key Concepts philosophy spirituality mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does “body is consciousness” mean to you? - How can you practice letting go of ego? A Different Perspective The abstract language may be difficult for practical application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-consciousness-1115538/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-body-1027858/) [Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free/) [Free At Last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-at-last/) [Happy and content](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-and-content/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-ego-1121207/) [Personal beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-beliefs/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [Consciousness is not in the body; the body is in consciousness. And you are that consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/consciousness-is-not-in-the-body-the-body-is-in-consciousness-and-you/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [It's not about the body; you are consciousness. That's what you are. Your consciousness is already out of your body. You don't need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/it-s-not-about-the-body-you-are-consciousness-that-s-what-you-are/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) > [Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/words-mean-little-unless-you-realize-the-truth-of-it-yourself-and/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > ['Who am I?' The answer is 'I am God'. The body comes and goes, but the Atma is permanent. The body has birth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/who-am-i-the-answer-is-i-am-god-the-body-comes-and-goes-but-the-atma/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [There is something fundamentally fascinating about the mechanics, I guess, of the human body and where consciousness and mind exist, and what you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/there-is-something-fundamentally-fascinating-about-the-mechanics-i/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [When we meditate and we are able to stop thought, we get a sense of being beyond the body. Our consciousness expands and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-we-meditate-and-we-are-able-to-stop-thought-we-get-a-sense-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At the very center of our being is rhythmic movement, a cyclic expansion and contraction that is both in our body and outside it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/at-the-very-center-of-our-being-is-rhythmic-movement-a-cyclic/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/yoga-an-ancient-but-perfect-science-deals-with-the-evolution-of-2/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [“Ignorance is in each cell of our body and our consciousness. It's like a drop of ink diffused in a glass of water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/ignorance-is-in-each-cell-of-our-body-and-our-consciousness-it-s-like/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“I vow to ingest only items that preserve well-being, peace, and joy in my body and my consciousness... Practicing a diet is the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/i-vow-to-ingest-only-items-that-preserve-well-being-peace-and-joy-in/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [Awareness of the inner body is consciousness remembering its origin and returning to the Source.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/awareness-of-the-inner-body-is-consciousness-remembering-its-origin/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The body is a sensing instrument of consciousness. Without the body and mind, the trees could not see themselves. Usually we think that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-body-is-a-sensing-instrument-of-consciousness-without-the-body/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [We have a mind, but we are the consciousness within the body and mind. I'm in my body but I am the eternal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/we-have-a-mind-but-we-are-the-consciousness-within-the-body-and-mind/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [I am convinced that an important stage of human thought will have been reached when the physiological and the psychological, the objective and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-pavlov/i-am-convinced-that-an-important-stage-of-human-thought-will-have/) [Ivan Pavlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-pavlov/) > [“We assume that our consciousness lies inside our body, but what if our body actually lies inside our consciousness? What if the body is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camillo-loken/we-assume-that-our-consciousness-lies-inside-our-body-but-what-if-our/) [Camillo Loken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camillo-loken/) ## More by Dan Millman > [...when you resist what happens, your mind begins to race; the same thoughts that impinge upon you are actually created by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/when-you-resist-what-happens-your-mind-begins-to-race-the-same/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Life is not suffering; it's just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it, until you let go of your mind's attachments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/life-is-not-suffering-it-s-just-that-you-will-suffer-it-rather-than/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/coming-to-appreciate-your-worth-can-in-some-cases-dramatically/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Inward spiritual practices such as meditation, breathing techniques and self-analysis generate insights and enhance abilities, but none are so useful as learning to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/inward-spiritual-practices-such-as-meditation-breathing-techniques/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [We are both burdened and blessed by the great responsibility of the will - the power of choice. Our future is determined, in large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/we-are-both-burdened-and-blessed-by-the-great-responsibility-of-the/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Stay present. You'll always have time to worry later on if you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/stay-present-you-ll-always-have-time-to-worry-later-on-if-you-want-to/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [While some of us act without thinking, too many of us think without acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/while-some-of-us-act-without-thinking-too-many-of-us-think-without/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Do you have the courage for it? Do you have the love? If you have enough of one, you will develop the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/do-you-have-the-courage-for-it-do-you-have-the-love-if-you-have/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [As a peaceful warrior, I would choose when, where and how I would behave. With that commitment, I began to live the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/as-a-peaceful-warrior-i-would-choose-when-where-and-how-i-would/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Life is constantly supporting us and giving us gifts. It's a matter of opening ourselves to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/life-is-constantly-supporting-us-and-giving-us-gifts-it-s-a-matter-of/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, to find that enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/we-must-pass-through-solitude-and-difficulty-isolation-and-silence-to/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/words-mean-little-unless-you-realize-the-truth-of-it-yourself-and/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“There is no need to search . . . achievement leads nowhere . . . makes no difference at all. Just be happy now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/there-is-no-need-to-search-achievement-leads-nowhere-makes-no/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [I had lost my mind and fallen into my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/i-had-lost-my-mind-and-fallen-into-my-heart/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/ships-are-safe-in-harbor-but-that-s-not-what-ships-are-for-so-set/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) [Explore all 231 Dan Millman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's a thought,\" I said with a grin. \"That's exactly what it is, Dan - a thought - no more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not In the body; the body is In Consciousness. And you Are that Consciousness - no the phantom mind that troubles you so. You are the body, but you are everything else, too. That is what your visions revealed to you. Only the mind resists change. When you relax mindless into the body, you are happy and content and free, sensing no separation. Immortality is Already yours, but not in the same way you imagined or hope for. You have been immortal since before you were born and will be long after the body dissolves. The body is in Consciousness; never born; never dies; only changes. The mind - your ego, personal beliefs, history, and identity - is all that ends at death. And who needs it?\" Socrates leaned back into his chair. \"I'm not sure all of that sank in.\" \"Of course not.\" He laughed. \"Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. 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