--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we awaken, we cannot account for the…" description: "\"When we awaken, we cannot account for the time spent. We simply don't remember. About the only evidence we have of experiences while we were asleep is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/henry-reed-18428_awaken_when-we-awaken-we-cannot-account-for-the_533311.jpg" --- # When we awaken, we cannot account for the time spent. We… ![“When we awaken, we cannot account for the time spent. We simply don't remember. About the only evidence we have of experiences while we were asleep is when we happen to remember a dream.” quote by Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/henry-reed-18428_awaken_when-we-awaken-we-cannot-account-for-the_533311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/henry-reed-18428_awaken_when-we-awaken-we-cannot-account-for-the_533311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/henry-reed-18428_awaken_when-we-awaken-we-cannot-account-for-the_533311.jpg) > “When we awaken, we cannot account for the time spent. We simply don't remember. About the only evidence we have of experiences while we were asleep is when we happen to remember a dream.” [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awakening to the fact that time spent sleeping is largely forgotten, and only dreams provide any recollection of that period. **In simple terms:** We rarely remember sleep; dreams are the only clues. Key Takeaway Value the fleeting insights dreams offer. Themes memory time perception consciousness dreams Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - sleep studies - creative brainstorming - psychotherapy - mindfulness practice Key Concepts Philosophy of mind subjective experience epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What can we learn from the fragments we recall? - How does forgetting affect our sense of self? A Different Perspective Dreams are unreliable and often vague. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep Happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep-happen-4475294/) [Awaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awaken/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Experiences Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences-asleep-4475292/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-dream-250387/) [Remember Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-evidence-4475293/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-spent/) ## Related quotes > [Remember to dream big, think long-term, underachieve on a daily basis, and take baby steps. That is the key to long-term success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/remember-to-dream-big-think-long-term-underachieve-on-a-daily-basis/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Remember to always dream. More importantly, work hard to make those dreams come true and never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/remember-to-always-dream-more-importantly-work-hard-to-make-those/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [Forget that I remember And dream that I forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/forget-that-i-remember-and-dream-that-i-forget/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [What you want is possible. Remember -- if you can dream it, you can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-want-is-possible-remember-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-do-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In fact, he could remember nothing about the dream except that there was something about a bird, and even that vague detail was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-harmon/in-fact-he-could-remember-nothing-about-the-dream-except-that-there/) [Brian Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-harmon/) > [“And I’d stand there trying to see it, the way you try to remember a dream, where you squint and it’s right there on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-i-d-stand-there-trying-to-see-it-the-way-you-try-to-remember-a/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I can never remember my dreams," said the shadow of the Marquess quietly. "You must have had rich, tasty ones then. 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All I remember is waking up and feeling that there had been a change while I was sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-don-t-remember-any-dream-all-i-remember-is-waking-up-and-feeling/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [Do you still remember The dream you once had ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayumi-hamasaki/do-you-still-remember-the-dream-you-once-had/) [Ayumi Hamasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayumi-hamasaki/) > [“. . . and I want you all to remember--that you must not dream yourselves back to the times before the war, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-malthe-bruun/and-i-want-you-all-to-remember-that-you-must-not-dream-yourselves-2/) [Kim Malthe-Bruun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-malthe-bruun/) > [My sole focus as far back as I can remember was all about my dream to become a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/my-sole-focus-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember-was-all-about-my-dream-to/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [“I know who I am, I remember who I was, I dream of who I will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-drake/i-know-who-i-am-i-remember-who-i-was-i-dream-of-who-i-will-be/) [Marie Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-drake/) > [“...and I want you all to remember- that you must not dream yourselves back to the times before the war, but the dream for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/and-i-want-you-all-to-remember-that-you-must-not-dream-yourselves/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Since I can remember, it had been my dream to be a Hollywood star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/since-i-can-remember-it-had-been-my-dream-to-be-a-hollywood-star/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [Remember dream and work to live your dreams. Dance to free your minds and be who you are!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-dream-and-work-to-live-your-dreams-dance-to-free-your-minds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Henry Reed > [When we fall asleep, we withdraw our awareness from its hypnotic fascination with physical sensation, thereby enabling us to listen with our now awakening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/when-we-fall-asleep-we-withdraw-our-awareness-from-its-hypnotic/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900. It introduced the notion that there existed certain predictable and identifiable processes by which dreams were formed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/freud-published-the-interpretation-of-dreams-in-1900-it-introduced/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Dream study impacts culture. We are put in touch with the inner poet who dreams. We hear our inner, subjective response to the outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dream-study-impacts-culture-we-are-put-in-touch-with-the-inner-poet/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [All human beings are interconnected, one with all other elements in creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/all-human-beings-are-interconnected-one-with-all-other-elements-in/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers: They call it 'easing the Spring.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/the-early-bees-are-assaulting-and-fumbling-the-flowers-they-call-it/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [We can slide it Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this Easing the spring. 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It used to be that if you told a dream in public, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/people-are-learning-to-feel-more-comfortable-hearing-one-another-s/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [It is easier to learn to interpret dreams if you have a reason to use them for something constructive. You apply your dream insights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/it-is-easier-to-learn-to-interpret-dreams-if-you-have-a-reason-to-use/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [As we get older we do not get any younger. Seasons return, and today I am fifty-five, And this time last year I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/as-we-get-older-we-do-not-get-any-younger-seasons-return-and-today-i/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Because there is a larger awareness that transcends time and space, an awareness is available after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/because-there-is-a-larger-awareness-that-transcends-time-and-space-an/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [“Dreams have always expanded our understanding of reality by challenging our boundaries of the real, the possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dreams-have-always-expanded-our-understanding-of-reality-by/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Dreams seem to have a will of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dreams-seem-to-have-a-will-of-their-own/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [There is something very basic to the sense of listening. 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By going within and putting our attention on the silent presence in our heart - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/how-do-we-awaken-to-this-true-self-by-going-within-and-putting-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken, the innermost of Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-all-the-self-was-conquered-and-dead-when-all-passions-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“If you take society’s definition of knowing oneself, you will become lost in the many translations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/if-you-take-society-s-definition-of-knowing-oneself-you-will-become/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [“Everything is simplicity there is nothing to do. There is no place to go. There is no thing to become. 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