---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We meditate alone but live our lives with…"
description: "\"We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a gap is inevitable. If our path is to lead to less suffering, nd much of our suffering is with..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg"
---

#  We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a…

![“We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a gap is inevitable. If our path is to lead to less suffering, nd much of our suffering is with other people, then perhaps we need to reexamine our sole commitment to these individual practices... As our individual pracitce deepens, it may…” quote by Greg Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg)

> “We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a gap is inevitable. If our path is to lead to less suffering, nd much of our suffering is with other people, then perhaps we need to reexamine our sole commitment to these individual practices... As our individual pracitce deepens, it may yiled true ease. But whether we practice meditation in seclusion or independently alongside other meditators at a meditation group or retreat, individual meditation approaches the confusion and pain of our relational lives only indirectly.”

Greg Kramer

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Individual meditation fosters inner peace, but relational suffering persists; communal practice may indirectly address relational pain.

**In simple terms:** Meditation aids personal peace, yet relational pain remains.

Key Takeaway

Integrate personal and communal practice.

Themes

meditation solitude community relational pain spiritual growth

Mood

reflective peaceful thoughtful

Type

Approach:1 Commitment:0 Confusion:0 Ease:0 Gaps:0 Groups:0 Ifs:0 Individual:1 Inevitable:0 May:0 Meditation:1 Needs:0 Our lives:0 Pain:0 Path:0 People:0 Practice:0 Retreat:0 Seclusion:0 Sole:0 Solitude:0 Suffering:0 Individual Meditation:0 Meditation Seclusion:0 Alongside Meditators:0 Meditation Group:0 Retreat Individual:0

When to use this quote

- personal retreat
- group meditation
- relationship counseling
- mindfulness training

Key Concepts

psychology Buddhism

Questions to Reflect On

- How does shared practice affect personal growth?
- Can meditation resolve relational conflict?

A Different Perspective

Group settings may dilute personal insight.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Seclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seclusion/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/)

## Related quotes

> [As you are now you are just a liquid phenomenon, changing every moment, nothing stable. Really you cannot claim any "I" -- you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/as-you-are-now-you-are-just-a-liquid-phenomenon-changing-every-moment/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [I suffered no pain, my hunger had taken the edge off; instead I felt pleasantly empty, untouched by everything around me and happy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/i-suffered-no-pain-my-hunger-had-taken-the-edge-off-instead-i-felt/)

[Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/)

> [Nor has he lived in vain, who from his cradle to his grave has passed his life in seclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/nor-has-he-lived-in-vain-who-from-his-cradle-to-his-grave-has-passed/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Go into seclusion and rest your mind on the silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-mittra/go-into-seclusion-and-rest-your-mind-on-the-silence/)

[Dharma Mittra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharma-mittra/)

> [“Loneliness clarifies. Here silence stands Like heat. Here leaves unnoticed thicken, Hidden weeds flower, neglected waters quicken, Luminously-peopled air ascends; And past the poppies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/loneliness-clarifies-here-silence-stands-like-heat-here-leaves/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Few are there that will leave the secure seclusion of the scholar's life, the peaceful walks of literature and learning, to stand out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/few-are-there-that-will-leave-the-secure-seclusion-of-the-scholar-s/)

[Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/)

> [Mr. Tulkinghorn, sitting in the twilight by the open window, enjoys his wine. As if it whispered to him of its fifty years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-tulkinghorn-sitting-in-the-twilight-by-the-open-window-enjoys-his/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“In total seclusion, enlightening, I found the origin of my being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/in-total-seclusion-enlightening-i-found-the-origin-of-my-being/)

sir kristian goldmund aumann

> [As for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/as-for-solitude-i-cannot-understand-how-certain-people-seek-to-lay/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“People who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/people-who-smile-while-they-are-alone-used-to-be-called-insane-until/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [“To express open creativity, you first need to create your own space of seclusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/to-express-open-creativity-you-first-need-to-create-your-own-space-of/)

[Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/)

> [“He’s only ever wanted solace. To thrive in the crevices of existence, slip into the dark cracks of life and avoid the noise. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-abbott/he-s-only-ever-wanted-solace-to-thrive-in-the-crevices-of-existence/)

[Daniel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-abbott/)

> [What can my enemies do to me? My paradise is in my heart, it is with me wherever I go. To imprison me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-can-my-enemies-do-to-me-my-paradise-is-in-my-heart-it-is-with-me/)

[Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/)

> [“Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-james/seclusion-wasn-t-good-for-anyone-it-made-you-forget-how-to-protect/)

[Heather James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-james/)

## More by Greg Kramer

> [Knowing is a veneer out minds create and lay over the landscape like a painter's drop cloth set upon a forest floor. Its uniformity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kramer/knowing-is-a-veneer-out-minds-create-and-lay-over-the-landscape-like/)

Greg Kramer

Explore all 2 Greg Kramer quotes

## More Approach quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/)

[Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/)

> [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/)

[Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/)

[Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/)

> [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/)

[Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/)

> [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/)

[Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/)

> [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/)

[Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/)

> [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

> [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/)

[Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/)

> [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/)

[Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/)

> [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/)

[Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/)

[Browse all 3,949 Approach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a gap is inevitable. If our path is to lead to less suffering, nd much of our suffering is with other people, then perhaps we need to reexamine our sole commitment to these individual practices... As our individual pracitce deepens, it may yiled true ease. But whether we practice meditation in seclusion or independently alongside other meditators at a meditation group or retreat, individual meditation approaches the confusion and pain of our relational lives only indirectly.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Greg Kramer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kramer/we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-with-other-people-a-gap-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Approach"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kramer/we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-with-other-people-a-gap-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/greg-kramer-105534_approach_we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-wit_2212387.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We meditate alone but live our lives with other people; a gap is inevitable. If our path is to lead to less…” — Greg Kramer",
                "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": "Greg Kramer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-kramer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We meditate alone but live our...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kramer/we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-with-other-people-a-gap-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kramer/we-meditate-alone-but-live-our-lives-with-other-people-a-gap-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
