--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is with our entire past ... that we…" description: "\"It is with our entire past ... that we desire, will and act ... from this survival of the past it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/henri-bergson-7179_circumstances_it-is-with-our-entire-past-that-we-desir_2904299.jpg" --- # It is with our entire past ... that we desire, will and… ![“It is with our entire past ... that we desire, will and act ... from this survival of the past it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. The circumstances may still be the same, but they will act no longer on the same person ... that is why our duration is irreversible.” quote by Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/henri-bergson-7179_circumstances_it-is-with-our-entire-past-that-we-desir_2904299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/henri-bergson-7179_circumstances_it-is-with-our-entire-past-that-we-desir_2904299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faf/henri-bergson-7179_circumstances_it-is-with-our-entire-past-that-we-desir_2904299.jpg) > “It is with our entire past ... that we desire, will and act ... from this survival of the past it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. The circumstances may still be the same, but they will act no longer on the same person ... that is why our duration is irreversible.” [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consciousness cannot repeat the same exact experience because each moment reshapes the self, making time irreversible. **In simple terms:** We cannot relive the same moment exactly. Key Takeaway Accept change and move forward. Themes time consciousness change irrevocability Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - decision making - learning from past Key Concepts philosophy psychology temporal flow Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize personal change over time? - Can you identify moments that felt identical yet differed? A Different Perspective Consciousness may still be influenced by similar patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-state-522670/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Duration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration/) [Duration Irreversible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration-irreversible-4147833/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Follows Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follows-consciousness-4147834/) [Irreversible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreversible/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Twice Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twice-circumstances-4147835/) ## Related quotes > [The glow of satisfaction which follows the consciousness of doing our level best never comes to a human being from any other experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-glow-of-satisfaction-which-follows-the-consciousness-of-doing-our/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Unity consciousness is a state of enlightenment where we pierce the mask of illusion which creates separation and fragmentation. Behind the appearance of separation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/unity-consciousness-is-a-state-of-enlightenment-where-we-pierce-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The experience of not forgetting consciousness alone is the state of devotion which is the relationship of unfading real love, because the real knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-experience-of-not-forgetting-consciousness-alone-is-the-state-of/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“transcendental consciousness. 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Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [“Her mind was still tiptoeing along the boundary of consciousness, in that state of semi-waking that spins threads between dream and real, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/her-mind-was-still-tiptoeing-along-the-boundary-of-consciousness-in/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“• Conscious: “to be aware of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings” • Consciousness: “the state of being conscious.” According to this, each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-emerson-ferrell/conscious-to-be-aware-of-one-s-own-existence-sensations-thoughts/) [L. Emerson Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-emerson-ferrell/) > [“cosmic consciousness. Here, you realize total detachment from the self and realize that you are nothing but consciousness. In this state, you will understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rowland/cosmic-consciousness-here-you-realize-total-detachment-from-the-self/) [Sarah Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rowland/) > [“So I devised a way for you to create anew, and Know, Who You Are in your experience. I did this by providing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/so-i-devised-a-way-for-you-to-create-anew-and-know-who-you-are-in/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [You think, you become that thought. And consciousness, or the state of pure awareness, is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-long/you-think-you-become-that-thought-and-consciousness-or-the-state-of/) [Barry Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-long/) > [It's not about what you do, it's about being. It's about a state of consciousness or state of awareness of being where you're residing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/it-s-not-about-what-you-do-it-s-about-being-it-s-about-a-state-of/) [Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/) > [Enlightenment is the natural state of consciousness, the innocent state of consciousness, that state which is uncontaminated by the movement of thought, uncontaminated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/enlightenment-is-the-natural-state-of-consciousness-the-innocent/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [I theorize that there is a spectrum of consciousness available to human beings. At one end is material consciousness. At the other end is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/i-theorize-that-there-is-a-spectrum-of-consciousness-available-to/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“Primary consciousness is a state of being aware of things in the world – of having mental images in the present.But it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/primary-consciousness-is-a-state-of-being-aware-of-things-in-the/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [Normal consciousness is a state of stupor, in which the sensibility to the wholly real and responsiveness to the stimuli of the spirit are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/normal-consciousness-is-a-state-of-stupor-in-which-the-sensibility-to/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) ## More by Henri Bergson > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Action on the move creates its own route, creates to a very great extent the conditions under which it is to be fulfilled and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/action-on-the-move-creates-its-own-route-creates-to-a-very-great/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Intuition is a method of feeling one's way intellectually into the inner heart of a thing, in order to locate what is unique and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/intuition-is-a-method-of-feeling-one-s-way-intellectually-into-the/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“But, then, I cannot escape the objection that there is no state of mind, however simple, which does not change every moment, since there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/but-then-i-cannot-escape-the-objection-that-there-is-no-state-of-mind/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [In laughter we always find an unavowed intention to humiliate and consequently to correct our neighbour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/in-laughter-we-always-find-an-unavowed-intention-to-humiliate-and/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [In short, intelligence, considered in what seems to be its original feature, is the faculty of manufacturing artificial objects, especially tools to make tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/in-short-intelligence-considered-in-what-seems-to-be-its-original/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [There is no greater joy than that of feeling oneself a creator. The triumph of life is expressed by creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/there-is-no-greater-joy-than-that-of-feeling-oneself-a-creator-the/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [When we make the cerebral state the beginning of an action, and in no sense the condition of a perception, we place the perceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/when-we-make-the-cerebral-state-the-beginning-of-an-action-and-in-no/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [It is of man's essence to create materially and morally, to fabricate things and to fabricate himself. Homo faber is the definition I propose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/it-is-of-man-s-essence-to-create-materially-and-morally-to-fabricate/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [The only cure for vanity is laughter. And the only fault that's laughable is vanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-only-cure-for-vanity-is-laughter-and-the-only-fault-that-s/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Instinct perfected is a faculty of using and even constructing organized instruments; intelligence perfected is the faculty of making and using unorganized instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/instinct-perfected-is-a-faculty-of-using-and-even-constructing/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Intelligence is the faculty of making artificial objects, especially tools to make tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/intelligence-is-the-faculty-of-making-artificial-objects-especially/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [I believe I experience creativity at every moment of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/i-believe-i-experience-creativity-at-every-moment-of-my-life/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“Might not certain vices have the same relation to character that the rigidity of a fixed idea as to intellect? 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Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. 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You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is with our entire past ... that we desire, will and act ... from this survival of the past it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. 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