--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After a time I found that I could almost…" description: "\"After a time I found that I could almost listen to the silence, which had a dimension all of its own. I started to attend to its strange and beautiful ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/karen-armstrong-1053_alive_after-a-time-i-found-that-i-could-almost_1562040.jpg" --- # After a time I found that I could almost listen to the… ![“After a time I found that I could almost listen to the silence, which had a dimension all of its own. I started to attend to its strange and beautiful texture, which of course, it was impossible to express in words. I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to…” quote by Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/karen-armstrong-1053_alive_after-a-time-i-found-that-i-could-almost_1562040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/karen-armstrong-1053_alive_after-a-time-i-found-that-i-could-almost_1562040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/karen-armstrong-1053_alive_after-a-time-i-found-that-i-could-almost_1562040.jpg) > “After a time I found that I could almost listen to the silence, which had a dimension all of its own. I started to attend to its strange and beautiful texture, which of course, it was impossible to express in words. I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. Without the distraction of constant conversation, the words on the page began to speak directly to my inner self. They were no long expressing ideas that were simply interesting intellectually, but were talking directly to my own yearning and perplexity.” [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence can become a rich, personal space that reveals inner truths beyond ordinary conversation. **In simple terms:** Silence reveals inner truths. Key Takeaway Seek quiet moments to hear your inner voice. Themes mindfulness inner growth reflection Mood calm contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - reading - creative work - solitude Key Concepts psychology spirituality consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does silence change your perception of self? - What practices help you cultivate silence? A Different Perspective Silence may be hard to maintain in noisy environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Compelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compelled/) [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Expressing ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressing-ideas/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-home/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Inner self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-self/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interiors/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Perplexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perplexity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Silence Compelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-compelled-1462158/) [Silence Dimension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-dimension-5861984/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Texture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/texture/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [“I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. 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I'm happiest when working with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-shore/the-techniques-of-different-directors-are-very-different-and-people/) [Howard Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-shore/) > [“At a deep level, all code is about communication: expressing ideas about what you want to achieve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-skeet/at-a-deep-level-all-code-is-about-communication-expressing-ideas/) [Jon Skeet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-skeet/) > [The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/the-biggest-mistake-you-can-make-in-trying-to-talk-convincingly-is-to/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [“It has always been a mystery to me how Adam, Eve, and the serpent were taught the same language. 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Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-j-davies/) > [“I've always tried to make a home for myself, but I have not felt at home in myself. I've worked hard at being the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-ve-always-tried-to-make-a-home-for-myself-but-i-have-not-felt-at/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I've always felt more at home in the UK than in France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-gaultier/i-ve-always-felt-more-at-home-in-the-uk-than-in-france/) [Jean Paul Gaultier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-gaultier/) > [I lived in Hollywood long enough to learn to play tennis and become a star, but I never felt it was my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-goddard/i-lived-in-hollywood-long-enough-to-learn-to-play-tennis-and-become-a/) [Paulette Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-goddard/) ## More by Karen Armstrong > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [A gentleman is not born but crafted. He had to work on himself in the same way as a sculptor shaped a rough stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-gentleman-is-not-born-but-crafted-he-had-to-work-on-himself-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I was a lousy nun. I couldn't do it. I couldn't find God. It wasn't suitable for me. It is suitable for very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-was-a-lousy-nun-i-couldn-t-do-it-i-couldn-t-find-god-it-wasn-t/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/in-the-past-some-of-the-most-influential-jewish-christian-and-muslim/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [The great task of our time is to build a global society, where people can live together in peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/the-great-task-of-our-time-is-to-build-a-global-society-where-people/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [We want to create, never mind the leaders or the bishops or chief rabbis or imams, or Popes. We want to create a grassroots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-want-to-create-never-mind-the-leaders-or-the-bishops-or-chief/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [If we don't manage to implement the Golden Rule globally, so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-we-don-t-manage-to-implement-the-golden-rule-globally-so-that-we/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [After I left the convent, for 15 years I was worn out with religion, I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/after-i-left-the-convent-for-15-years-i-was-worn-out-with-religion-i/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“As we have seen, so many of the things we once took for granted have proved unreliable that we may have to “forget” old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/as-we-have-seen-so-many-of-the-things-we-once-took-for-granted-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet a personal God can become a grave liability. He can be a mere idol carved in our own image, a projection of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/yet-a-personal-god-can-become-a-grave-liability-he-can-be-a-mere-idol/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. 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Huxley (1825–95) have found altruism problematic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/advocates-of-evolutionary-theory-since-thomas-h-huxley-1825-95-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) [Explore all 296 Karen Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After a time I found that I could almost listen to the silence, which had a dimension all of its own. I started to attend to its strange and beautiful texture, which of course, it was impossible to express in words. I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. Without the distraction of constant conversation, the words on the page began to speak directly to my inner self. 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