--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the wind had ceased, and there…" description: "\"“Even the wind had ceased, and there seemed to be nothing in the world but the darkness and himself. In that gigantic blackness, in that unseen quietud..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/james-stephens-11194_darkness_even-the-wind-had-ceased-and-there-seeme_162568.jpg" --- # Even the wind had ceased, and there seemed to be nothing… ![“Even the wind had ceased, and there seemed to be nothing in the world but the darkness and himself. In that gigantic blackness, in that unseen quietude and vacancy, the mind could cease to be personal to itself. It could be overwhelmed and merged in space, so that consciousness would be…” quote by James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/james-stephens-11194_darkness_even-the-wind-had-ceased-and-there-seeme_162568.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/james-stephens-11194_darkness_even-the-wind-had-ceased-and-there-seeme_162568.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/james-stephens-11194_darkness_even-the-wind-had-ceased-and-there-seeme_162568.jpg) > ““Even the wind had ceased, and there seemed to be nothing in the world but the darkness and himself. In that gigantic blackness, in that unseen quietude and vacancy, the mind could cease to be personal to itself. It could be overwhelmed and merged in space, so that consciousness would be transferred or dissipated, and one might sleep standing; for the mind fears loneliness more than all else, and will escape to the moon rather than be driven inwards on its own being.”” [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A meditation on existential isolation, where the mind seeks escape from loneliness by merging with the cosmos, preferring external vastness over inner solitude. **In simple terms:** The mind fears being alone and prefers to merge with something larger. Key Takeaway Seek connection and meaning beyond self-imposed isolation. Themes loneliness existence cosmos Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - meditation - philosophical writing - personal reflection Key Concepts mind solitude transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does the mind fear most? - How can one find meaning without escaping? A Different Perspective May romanticize escapism over confronting inner issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [If the mind could cease measuring itself against the hero, the perfect, the glorious and all that, it would be what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/if-the-mind-could-cease-measuring-itself-against-the-hero-the-perfect/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [As the fish doesn't know water, people are ignorant of space. Consciousness is concerned only with changing and varying details; it ignores constants-especially constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-the-fish-doesn-t-know-water-people-are-ignorant-of-space/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Consciousness-one level is understanding where we are in space. Consciousness two is where we understand our position in society: who's top dog, who's underdog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/consciousness-one-level-is-understanding-where-we-are-in-space/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Our perception of space alters the space. It is consciousness that finds meanings in all spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarthang-tulku/our-perception-of-space-alters-the-space-it-is-consciousness-that/) [Tarthang Tulku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarthang-tulku/) > [A person is not earth, not water, Not fire, not wind, not space, Not consciousness, and not all of them. What person is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/a-person-is-not-earth-not-water-not-fire-not-wind-not-space-not/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [When you are aware of space, you are not really aware of anything, except awareness itself - the inner space of consciousness. Through you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-aware-of-space-you-are-not-really-aware-of-anything/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [There is no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space except that our consciousness moves along it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-difference-between-time-and-any-of-the-three-dimensions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Meditation is really letting go of all the thought processes or 'mind traffic' that gets in the way of just whatever is between you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudie-styler/meditation-is-really-letting-go-of-all-the-thought-processes-or-mind/) [Trudie Styler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudie-styler/) > [All incarnations are lived at once, and yet there does seem to be a linear sense of time when you're in the vortex of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/all-incarnations-are-lived-at-once-and-yet-there-does-seem-to-be-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [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/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More by James Stephens > [A Leprecaun without a pot of gold is like a rose without perfume, a bird without a wing, or an inside without an outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/a-leprecaun-without-a-pot-of-gold-is-like-a-rose-without-perfume-a/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/originality-does-not-consist-in-saying-what-no-one-has-ever-said/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [The duty of a lyrical poet is not to express or explain, it is to intensify life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/the-duty-of-a-lyrical-poet-is-not-to-express-or-explain-it-is-to/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [A man and a woman may become quite intimate in a quarter of an hour. Almost certainly will they endeavour to explain themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/a-man-and-a-woman-may-become-quite-intimate-in-a-quarter-of-an-hour/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [“The toxin generates the anti-toxin. The end lies concealed in the beginning. All bodies grow around a skeleton. Life is a petticoat about death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/the-toxin-generates-the-anti-toxin-the-end-lies-concealed-in-the/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/a-sword-a-spade-and-a-thought-should-never-be-allowed-to-rust/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [“But outside of the North of Ireland there is no religious question, and in the North it is fundamentally more political than religious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/but-outside-of-the-north-of-ireland-there-is-no-religious-question/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [I hear a sudden cry of pain! There is a rabbit in a snare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/i-hear-a-sudden-cry-of-pain-there-is-a-rabbit-in-a-snare/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Tell me your past, my beloved, for a man is his past, and is to be known by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/tell-me-your-past-my-beloved-for-a-man-is-his-past-and-is-to-be-known/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/finality-is-death-perfection-is-finality-nothing-is-perfect-there-are/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Life runs to death as its goal, and we should go towards that next stage of experience either carelessly as to what must be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/life-runs-to-death-as-its-goal-and-we-should-go-towards-that-next/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Women and birds are able to see without turning their heads, and that is indeed a necessary provision for they are both surrounded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/women-and-birds-are-able-to-see-without-turning-their-heads-and-that/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [Men come of age at sixty, women at fifteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/men-come-of-age-at-sixty-women-at-fifteen/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [“Curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/curiosity-will-conquer-fear-more-than-bravery-will/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [A secret is a weapon and a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/a-secret-is-a-weapon-and-a-friend/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) [Explore all 61 James Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [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/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even the wind had ceased, and there seemed to be nothing in the world but the darkness and himself. In that gigantic blackness, in that unseen quietude and vacancy, the mind could cease to be personal to itself. 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