--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Deep in the blood the pull of paradise…" description: "\"“Deep in the blood the pull of paradise. The beyond. It must have all started with the navel. They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap in the ass, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/henry-miller-179_umbilical-cord_deep-in-the-blood-the-pull-of-paradise-t_1594982.jpg" --- # Deep in the blood the pull of paradise. The beyond. It… ![“Deep in the blood the pull of paradise. The beyond. It must have all started with the navel. They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap in the ass, and presto! you're out in the world, adrift. You look at the stars and then you look at your navel. You grow eyes everywhere -in the armpits…” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/henry-miller-179_umbilical-cord_deep-in-the-blood-the-pull-of-paradise-t_1594982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/henry-miller-179_umbilical-cord_deep-in-the-blood-the-pull-of-paradise-t_1594982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/henry-miller-179_umbilical-cord_deep-in-the-blood-the-pull-of-paradise-t_1594982.jpg) > ““Deep in the blood the pull of paradise. The beyond. It must have all started with the navel. They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap in the ass, and presto! you're out in the world, adrift. You look at the stars and then you look at your navel. You grow eyes everywhere -in the armpits, between the lips, in the roots of your hair, on the soles of your feet. What is distant becomes near, what is near becomes distant. Inner-outer, a constant flux, a shedding of skins, a turning inside out.”” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on birth, perception, and the fluidity of reality, using vivid metaphorical language. **In simple terms:** Life feels like a constant shift of perspective. Key Takeaway Embrace change and broaden awareness. Themes existence perception transformation Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts ontological flux sensory expansion Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience inner-outer flux? - What does “shedding of skins” mean to you? A Different Perspective The poetic style may obscure practical meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Look Navel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-navel-6052958/) [Navel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navel/) [Navel Cut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navel-cut-6052961/) [Navel Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navel-grow-6052960/) [Started Navel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-navel-6052959/) [Umbilical cord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/umbilical-cord/) ## Related quotes > [“They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap on the ass, and presto! you're out in the world, adrift, a ship without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-cut-the-umbilical-cord-give-you-a-slap-on-the-ass-and-presto-you/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [All other men, being born of woman, have a navel, by reason of the umbilical vessels inserted into it, which from the placenta carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cumberland/all-other-men-being-born-of-woman-have-a-navel-by-reason-of-the/) [Richard Cumberland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cumberland/) > [If you are going to experience the ecstasy of enlightenment, it is not just going to be a phrase. You've got to work during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-are-going-to-experience-the-ecstasy-of-enlightenment-it-is-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [For all parts of the body that we see fit to expose to the wind and air are found fit to endure it: face,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/for-all-parts-of-the-body-that-we-see-fit-to-expose-to-the-wind-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I speak as your native guide to the mysterious tribe called the English. Dress code is everything. You can be a card-carrying Nazi, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-lette/i-speak-as-your-native-guide-to-the-mysterious-tribe-called-the/) [Kathy Lette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-lette/) > [Television is a triumph of equipment over people,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/television-is-a-triumph-of-equipment-over-people/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/after-a-while-it-occurred-to-me-that-between-the-covers-of-each-of/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [What's it like being opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger? For me? Are you kidding? Maybe if I'm lucky, come up to his navel!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hunt/what-s-it-like-being-opposite-arnold-schwarzenegger-for-me-are-you/) [Linda Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hunt/) > [The third eye is located between the eyebrows and a little above. The heart center is located directly in the center of the chest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-third-eye-is-located-between-the-eyebrows-and-a-little-above-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think that people in the phase between being someone's kid and being someone's parent have always been uniquely narcissistic, but that social media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-think-that-people-in-the-phase-between-being-someone-s-kid-and/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [The navel center will bring the power of all three of the lower chakras into your being, but with safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-navel-center-will-bring-the-power-of-all-three-of-the-lower/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A woman’s magazine quiz: Question: You decide to do the dread deed and just as things are starting to get hot he comes, rolls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/a-woman-s-magazine-quiz-question-you-decide-to-do-the-dread-deed-and/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [The philosophy that I've embraced isn't about sitting under a tree and studying my navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/the-philosophy-that-i-ve-embraced-isn-t-about-sitting-under-a-tree/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. 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The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Navel quotes > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The philosophy that I've embraced isn't about sitting under a tree and studying my navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/the-philosophy-that-i-ve-embraced-isn-t-about-sitting-under-a-tree/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [A woman’s magazine quiz: Question: You decide to do the dread deed and just as things are starting to get hot he comes, rolls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/a-woman-s-magazine-quiz-question-you-decide-to-do-the-dread-deed-and/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [The navel center will bring the power of all three of the lower chakras into your being, but with safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-navel-center-will-bring-the-power-of-all-three-of-the-lower/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think that people in the phase between being someone's kid and being someone's parent have always been uniquely narcissistic, but that social media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-think-that-people-in-the-phase-between-being-someone-s-kid-and/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [The third eye is located between the eyebrows and a little above. The heart center is located directly in the center of the chest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-third-eye-is-located-between-the-eyebrows-and-a-little-above-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [What's it like being opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger? For me? Are you kidding? Maybe if I'm lucky, come up to his navel!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hunt/what-s-it-like-being-opposite-arnold-schwarzenegger-for-me-are-you/) [Linda Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hunt/) > [After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/after-a-while-it-occurred-to-me-that-between-the-covers-of-each-of/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Television is a triumph of equipment over people,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/television-is-a-triumph-of-equipment-over-people/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [I speak as your native guide to the mysterious tribe called the English. Dress code is everything. You can be a card-carrying Nazi, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-lette/i-speak-as-your-native-guide-to-the-mysterious-tribe-called-the/) [Kathy Lette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-lette/) > [For all parts of the body that we see fit to expose to the wind and air are found fit to endure it: face,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/for-all-parts-of-the-body-that-we-see-fit-to-expose-to-the-wind-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If you are going to experience the ecstasy of enlightenment, it is not just going to be a phrase. You've got to work during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-are-going-to-experience-the-ecstasy-of-enlightenment-it-is-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [All other men, being born of woman, have a navel, by reason of the umbilical vessels inserted into it, which from the placenta carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cumberland/all-other-men-being-born-of-woman-have-a-navel-by-reason-of-the/) [Richard Cumberland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cumberland/) > [I wanted to be an artist, even at the age of 15, and people used to laugh at me. It was the late '90s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duffy/i-wanted-to-be-an-artist-even-at-the-age-of-15-and-people-used-to/) [Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duffy/) [Browse all 66 Navel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Deep in the blood the pull of paradise. The beyond. It must have all started with the navel. They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap in the ass, and presto! you're out in the world, adrift. You look at the stars and then you look at your navel. You grow eyes everywhere -in the armpits, between the lips, in the roots of your hair, on the soles of your feet. What is distant becomes near, what is near becomes distant. 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