--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I learned through my body and soul that…" description: "\"I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png" --- # I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary… ![“I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depths of despair in order to learn not to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png) > “I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depths of despair in order to learn not to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it.” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Through bodily and spiritual experiences, the speaker learns to accept sin, desire, and despair, loving the world as it is. **In simple terms:** Experiencing desire and despair teaches acceptance of the world. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfections, love reality. Themes acceptance desire spirituality Mood philosophical reflective Type poetic When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - mental health Key Concepts philosophy psychology Practical Applications - cultivate acceptance and gratitude Questions to Reflect On - How does acceptance affect your goals? - What role does desire play in growth? A Different Perspective Acceptance may hinder striving for improvement; balance needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Glad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glad/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Learn Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-love/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Nausea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nausea/) [Necessary Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-sin-238181/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Needed Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed-lust-1476196/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sin Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-needed-1476197/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary for me to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that-it-was-necessary-for-me-to/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“I have experienced on my body and on my soul that I needed sin very much, I needed lust, the desire for possessions, vanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-experienced-on-my-body-and-on-my-soul-that-i-needed-sin-very/) [hermann hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin-2/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [But Jesus, who in this Vision informed me of all that is necessary for me, answered and said: It was necessary that there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-of-norwich/but-jesus-who-in-this-vision-informed-me-of-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Julian of Norwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-of-norwich/) > [It is the same with everything else, with food, with pleasures, with sleep; with everything there is a limit to what is necessary. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff/it-is-the-same-with-everything-else-with-food-with-pleasures-with/) [G. I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-say-yes-to-the-sunlight-and-pure-fantasies-so-you-have-to-say-yes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-had-to-experience-so-much-stupidity-so-many-vices-so-much-3/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“You were too lazy to learn to dance until it was almost too late, and in the same way you were too lazy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-were-too-lazy-to-learn-to-dance-until-it-was-almost-too-late-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“(Sartre) (The world is full without me, as in Nausea; the world plays at living behind a glass partition; the world is in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/sartre-the-world-is-full-without-me-as-in-nausea-the-world-plays-at/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I have done no passably decent job in this world which did not at first seem to me useless - absurdly useless, useless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/i-have-done-no-passably-decent-job-in-this-world-which-did-not-at/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [“know very well that I don’t want to do anything: to do something is to create existence—and there’s quite enough existence as it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/know-very-well-that-i-don-t-want-to-do-anything-to-do-something-is-to/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [There is a very fine line between love and nausea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-earl-jones/there-is-a-very-fine-line-between-love-and-nausea/) [James Earl Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-earl-jones/) > [“Finally, nausea at my own ballooning sense of self wore me down and I slept. (17)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-mootoo/finally-nausea-at-my-own-ballooning-sense-of-self-wore-me-down-and-i/) [Shani Mootoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-mootoo/) > [Nausea is an unsolved problem of medicine and marijuana is the finest anti-nausea medication known to science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/nausea-is-an-unsolved-problem-of-medicine-and-marijuana-is-the-finest/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depths of despair in order to learn not to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hermann Hesse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that-it-was-necessary-to-sin-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that-it-was-necessary-to-sin-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/hermann-hesse-130_body_i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that_128089.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive…” — Hermann Hesse", "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": "Hermann Hesse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I learned through my body and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that-it-was-necessary-to-sin-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-learned-through-my-body-and-soul-that-it-was-necessary-to-sin-that/#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 } } ] } ```