--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a poor reverie which invites a nap…" description: "\"It is a poor reverie which invites a nap. One must even wonder whether, in this \"failing asleep\", the subconscious itself does not undergo a decline in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/gaston-bachelard-2318_decline_it-is-a-poor-reverie-which-invites-a-nap_2099707.png" --- # It is a poor reverie which invites a nap. One must even… ![“It is a poor reverie which invites a nap. One must even wonder whether, in this "failing asleep", the subconscious itself does not undergo a decline in being.” quote by Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/gaston-bachelard-2318_decline_it-is-a-poor-reverie-which-invites-a-nap_2099707.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/gaston-bachelard-2318_decline_it-is-a-poor-reverie-which-invites-a-nap_2099707.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/gaston-bachelard-2318_decline_it-is-a-poor-reverie-which-invites-a-nap_2099707.png) > “It is a poor reverie which invites a nap. One must even wonder whether, in this "failing asleep", the subconscious itself does not undergo a decline in being.” [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that idle daydreaming can lead to mental stagnation, and that even subconscious activity may deteriorate when we allow ourselves to drift without purpose. **In simple terms:** Idle daydreaming can cause mental decline. Key Takeaway Engage in purposeful thought. Themes mindfulness creativity consciousness Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - problem solving - meditation - creative brainstorming Key Concepts Phenomenology psychology attention Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish productive imagination from idle reverie? - What habits keep your subconscious active? A Different Perspective Even purposeful thought can become unproductive without direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Reverie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverie/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Subconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subconscious/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-the-image-by-dreaming-images-as/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“Childhood is a human water, a water which comes out of the shadows. This childhood in the mists and glimmers, this life in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/childhood-is-a-human-water-a-water-which-comes-out-of-the-shadows/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [It is quite evident that a barrier must be cleared in order to escape the psychologists and enter into a realm which is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/it-is-quite-evident-that-a-barrier-must-be-cleared-in-order-to-escape/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Reverie is commonly classified among the phenomena of psychic detente. It is lived out in a relaxed time which has no linking force. Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/reverie-is-commonly-classified-among-the-phenomena-of-psychic-detente/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The psychology of the alchemist is that of reveries trying to constitute themselves in experiments on the exterior world. A double vocabulary must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-psychology-of-the-alchemist-is-that-of-reveries-trying-to/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [How is it possible not to feel that there is communication between our solitude as a dreamer and the solitudes of childhood? And it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/how-is-it-possible-not-to-feel-that-there-is-communication-between/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In contrast to a dream a reverie cannot be recounted. To be communicated, it must be written, written with emotion and taste, being relived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-contrast-to-a-dream-a-reverie-cannot-be-recounted-to-be/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Cosmic reveries separate us from project reveries. They situate us in a world and not in a society. The cosmic reverie possesses a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/cosmic-reveries-separate-us-from-project-reveries-they-situate-us-in/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [All the senses awaken and fall into harmony in poetic reverie. 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It is rather the gift of an hour which knows the plenitude of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/reverie-is-not-a-mind-vacuum-it-is-rather-the-gift-of-an-hour-which/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If there is any realm where distinction is especially difficult, it is the realm of childhood memories, the realm of beloved images harbored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-there-is-any-realm-where-distinction-is-especially-difficult-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In living off all the reflecting light furnished by poets, the I which dreams the reverie reveals itself not as poet but as poetizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-living-off-all-the-reflecting-light-furnished-by-poets-the-i-which/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## More by Gaston Bachelard > [Dreaming by the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/dreaming-by-the-river-i-dedicated-my-imagination-to-water-to-clear/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If we did not have a feminine being within us, how would we rest ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-we-did-not-have-a-feminine-being-within-us-how-would-we-rest/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. 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In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/ideas-are-refined-and-multiplied-in-the-commerce-of-minds-in-their/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The poetic image is a sudden salience on the surface of the psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-poetic-image-is-a-sudden-salience-on-the-surface-of-the-psyche/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. 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