--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never before had I believed or suspected…" description: "\"“Never before had I believed or suspected that I had a soul but just then I knew I had. I knew also that my soul was friendly, was my senior in years a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/flann-o-brien-6916_spirituality_never-before-had-i-believed-or-suspected_1120930.png" --- # Never before had I believed or suspected that I had a soul… ![“Never before had I believed or suspected that I had a soul but just then I knew I had. I knew also that my soul was friendly, was my senior in years and was solely concerned for my own welfare. For convenience I called him Joe. I felt a little reassured to know that I was not altogether alone. Joe…” quote by Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/flann-o-brien-6916_spirituality_never-before-had-i-believed-or-suspected_1120930.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/flann-o-brien-6916_spirituality_never-before-had-i-believed-or-suspected_1120930.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/flann-o-brien-6916_spirituality_never-before-had-i-believed-or-suspected_1120930.png) > ““Never before had I believed or suspected that I had a soul but just then I knew I had. I knew also that my soul was friendly, was my senior in years and was solely concerned for my own welfare. For convenience I called him Joe. I felt a little reassured to know that I was not altogether alone. Joe was helping me.”” [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator discovers a comforting inner voice he names Joe, representing a supportive inner self. **In simple terms:** He finds a friendly inner guide. Key Takeaway Listen to your inner wisdom. Themes self‑discovery inner voice comfort solitude Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - loneliness - creative writing - personal growth - mental health Key Concepts Psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does your inner voice tell you? - How can you distinguish intuition from imagination? A Different Perspective Reliance on an imagined guide may avoid confronting reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [“Who had uttered these words? They had not frightened me. They were clearly audible to me yet I knew the did not ring out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/who-had-uttered-these-words-they-had-not-frightened-me-they-were/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“Oh! To live alone, always alone, in the midst of the crowd that surrounds me, without a word of love ever coming to gladden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herculine-barbin/oh-to-live-alone-always-alone-in-the-midst-of-the-crowd-that/) Herculine Barbin > [“I suspected my soul, being mischievous, might slip away while I was dreaming and fail to return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-suspected-my-soul-being-mischievous-might-slip-away-while-i-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [What is the soul? What color is it? I suspected my soul, being mischievous, might slip away while I was dreaming and fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/what-is-the-soul-what-color-is-it-i-suspected-my-soul-being/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Or take this girl, for example. At a meeting just outside Paris, a fifteen-year-old girl came up to me and said that she'd been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-kieslowski/or-take-this-girl-for-example-at-a-meeting-just-outside-paris-a/) [Krzysztof Kieślowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-kieslowski/) > [“If you only knew how much my soul aches when I’m not with you,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gulla/if-you-only-knew-how-much-my-soul-aches-when-i-m-not-with-you/) [Nicole Gulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gulla/) > [“Somehow, my soul knew your soul before we ever had the chance to meet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/somehow-my-soul-knew-your-soul-before-we-ever-had-the-chance-to-meet/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [“He spoke with complicity, familiarly, as though he knew me; as though his soul and mine had been waiting for each other since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mar-a-due-as/he-spoke-with-complicity-familiarly-as-though-he-knew-me-as-though/) [María Dueñas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mar-a-due-as/) > [“She, also silent, her sweet face resting on her upturned palm, sat facing me, and as her eyes looked into mine I knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-also-silent-her-sweet-face-resting-on-her-upturned-palm-sat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wasn't quite as certain that I knew her soul. When it came right down to it, I wasn't sure she knew me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-wasn-t-quite-as-certain-that-i-knew-her-soul-when-it-came-right/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“loved seeing him this way.  I loved being the one who could make him smile like that, and most important, I knew I loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bernel/loved-seeing-him-this-way-i-loved-being-the-one-who-could-make-him/) [Jenna Bernel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bernel/) > [I was a pop freak. I love music. Of course, I knew soul because I grew up in it. Writing it and everything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-hayes/i-was-a-pop-freak-i-love-music-of-course-i-knew-soul-because-i-grew/) [Isaac Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-hayes/) > [What did it avail to pray when he knew his soul lusted after its own destruction?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/what-did-it-avail-to-pray-when-he-knew-his-soul-lusted-after-its-own/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Once I got done with my career, I knew in my soul that I don't have any negative thoughts about myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diamond-dallas-page/once-i-got-done-with-my-career-i-knew-in-my-soul-that-i-don-t-have/) [Diamond Dallas Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diamond-dallas-page/) > [I knew in my soul that girls like me needed to be represented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-bidot/i-knew-in-my-soul-that-girls-like-me-needed-to-be-represented/) [Denise Bidot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-bidot/) ## More by Flann O'Brien > [“I discovered that everything you do is in response to a request or a suggestion made to you by some other party either inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/i-discovered-that-everything-you-do-is-in-response-to-a-request-or-a/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Rome wasn't built in A.D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/rome-wasn-t-built-in-a-d/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Moderation, we find, is an extremely difficult thing to get in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/moderation-we-find-is-an-extremely-difficult-thing-to-get-in-this/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Strange enlightenments are vouchsafed to those who seek the higher places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/strange-enlightenments-are-vouchsafed-to-those-who-seek-the-higher/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“I am your soul and all your souls. When I am gone you are dead. Past humanity is not only implicit in each new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/i-am-your-soul-and-all-your-souls-when-i-am-gone-you-are-dead-past/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Do you know what I am going to tell you, he said with his wry mouth, a pint of plain is your only man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/do-you-know-what-i-am-going-to-tell-you-he-said-with-his-wry-mouth-a/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [A wise old owl once lived in a wood, the more he heard the less he said, the less he said the more he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/a-wise-old-owl-once-lived-in-a-wood-the-more-he-heard-the-less-he/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“In Boston he met a pretty lady, fat and forty, but beautiful with the bloom of cash and collateral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/in-boston-he-met-a-pretty-lady-fat-and-forty-but-beautiful-with-the/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“Here I had a strange idea not unworthy of de Selby. Why was Joe so disturbed at the suggestion that he had a body?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/here-i-had-a-strange-idea-not-unworthy-of-de-selby-why-was-joe-so/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [Your talk," I said, "is surely the handiwork of wisdom because not one word of it do I understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/your-talk-i-said-is-surely-the-handiwork-of-wisdom-because-not-one/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“Thoughts which have no chance of succeeding do not take the trouble to come into your head at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/thoughts-which-have-no-chance-of-succeeding-do-not-take-the-trouble/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [When money's tight and is hard to get And your horse has also ran, When all you have is a heap of debt A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/when-money-s-tight-and-is-hard-to-get-and-your-horse-has-also-ran/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [still loved but deprived of grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/still-loved-but-deprived-of-grace/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [A woman doesn't care if she hasn't a stomach, provided she looks as if she hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/a-woman-doesn-t-care-if-she-hasn-t-a-stomach-provided-she-looks-as-if/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“With these words there came the rending scream of a shattered stirk and an angry troubling of the branches as the poor madman percolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/with-these-words-there-came-the-rending-scream-of-a-shattered-stirk/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) [Explore all 93 Flann O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) ## More Spirituality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As I do not seem able much to heal, then maybe I can simply be a responsible witness to the miracle of the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/as-i-do-not-seem-able-much-to-heal-then-maybe-i-can-simply-be-a/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [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/) > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. PSA116:07 Return unto thy rest, O my soul;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lord-preserveth-the-simple-i-was-brought-low-and-he-helped-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/) [Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Your mind has the intellect to lift the world, your heart has the wisdom to better the world, and your soul has the genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/your-mind-has-the-intellect-to-lift-the-world-your-heart-has-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 19,952 Spirituality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Never before had I believed or suspected that I had a soul but just then I knew I had. 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