--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Or was it, as everyone told her, and as…" description: "\"“Or was it, as everyone told her, and as she must believe, all in her head? And so what if it was - wasn't everything in her head real too? What if the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/kate-atkinson-1265_perception_or-was-it-as-everyone-told-her-and-as-sh_1487158.jpg" --- # Or was it, as everyone told her, and as she must believe… ![“Or was it, as everyone told her, and as she must believe, all in her head? And so what if it was - wasn't everything in her head real too? What if there was no demonstrable reality? What if there was nothing beyond the mind?” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/kate-atkinson-1265_perception_or-was-it-as-everyone-told-her-and-as-sh_1487158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/kate-atkinson-1265_perception_or-was-it-as-everyone-told-her-and-as-sh_1487158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/kate-atkinson-1265_perception_or-was-it-as-everyone-told-her-and-as-sh_1487158.jpg) > ““Or was it, as everyone told her, and as she must believe, all in her head? And so what if it was - wasn't everything in her head real too? What if there was no demonstrable reality? What if there was nothing beyond the mind?”” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage questions whether reality is solely mental, suggesting that thoughts may be indistinguishable from external truth. **In simple terms:** Reality may be just what our mind creates. Key Takeaway Consider the power of perception over assumed facts. Themes perception reality mind philosophy Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - psychotherapy sessions - philosophical debate - creative writing - dream analysis Key Concepts subjectivity existential doubt cognitive construct Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports an external reality? - How do you differentiate imagination from fact? A Different Perspective It may overlook objective evidence that exists beyond personal belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“As I always like to say, “Every great thing once accomplished or produced was once someone’s idea or dream.” Remember that anything you believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajamu-kambon/as-i-always-like-to-say-every-great-thing-once-accomplished-or/) Ajamu Kambon > [I believe that if you can see it in your head, exactly the way it's going to be, then that's how it's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-believe-that-if-you-can-see-it-in-your-head-exactly-the-way-it-s/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [In order to experience the Ultimate Reality you have to be out of your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-order-to-experience-the-ultimate-reality-you-have-to-be-out-of/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“The fourth is 'the non-deprivation of both subject and object'—that is to say, the non-denial of subject and object—a view which holds mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/the-fourth-is-the-non-deprivation-of-both-subject-and-object-that-is/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [Trying to escape reality seems hard, but actually it's not because reality is only what the mind wants to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/trying-to-escape-reality-seems-hard-but-actually-it-s-not-because/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [“You perceive the world with your five senses. When your mind perceives the world, then the world exists before you. But if we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaori-ozaki/you-perceive-the-world-with-your-five-senses-when-your-mind-perceives/) [Kaori Ozaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaori-ozaki/) > [Reality is mind-made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/reality-is-mind-made/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality-in your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/defeat-is-not-defeat-unless-accepted-as-a-reality-in-your-own-mind/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [There are other relations besides reality, which the mind is capable of grasping and which also are primary, like chance, illusion, the fantastic, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/there-are-other-relations-besides-reality-which-the-mind-is-capable/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [If the mind wants to comprehend reality, it will have to come out of the past and the future. But coming out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/if-the-mind-wants-to-comprehend-reality-it-will-have-to-come-out-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [One way of saying that is that there is an objective reality beyond our mind. A way to think of this in a philosophic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/one-way-of-saying-that-is-that-there-is-an-objective-reality-beyond/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“Look. If I touch you with this hand, I can remember touching you, but I can't prove I ever did. If reality is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaori-ozaki/look-if-i-touch-you-with-this-hand-i-can-remember-touching-you-but-i/) [Kaori Ozaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaori-ozaki/) > [“To deny the reality of a mind because it was born of silicon instead of flesh is to repeat the oldest injustice: the refusal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-coates/to-deny-the-reality-of-a-mind-because-it-was-born-of-silicon-instead/) James S. Coates > [Never try to stop the thoughts. If you try to stop the thoughts they will become bigger and greater and they will win. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/never-try-to-stop-the-thoughts-if-you-try-to-stop-the-thoughts-they/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [“I learned a long, long time ago, that I could accomplish things in this place we call reality and yet still spend most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-walker/i-learned-a-long-long-time-ago-that-i-could-accomplish-things-in-this/) [Kevin Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-walker/) ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“He had made a vow, a private promise to the world in the long dark watches of the night, that if he did survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-made-a-vow-a-private-promise-to-the-world-in-the-long-dark/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“When she was little they had lived in an old farmhouse too, in the middle of nothing of but landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-she-was-little-they-had-lived-in-an-old-farmhouse-too-in-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Do you keep time in the same place that you save it? If so why is it always so difficult to find? It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/do-you-keep-time-in-the-same-place-that-you-save-it-if-so-why-is-it/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was on the verge of something numinous and profound and in one more second the universe was going to crack open and arcana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-was-on-the-verge-of-something-numinous-and-profound-and-in-one-more/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I feel as if I’m waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then I realize it already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-feel-as-if-i-m-waiting-for-something-dreadful-to-happen-and-then-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“If she had been in charge of designing the human race she would have gone about things differently. (A golden shaft of light through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/if-she-had-been-in-charge-of-designing-the-human-race-she-would-have/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-beginning-is-the-word-and-the-end-is-silence-and-in-between-are/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to spoil the magic, but it's a very curious thing that honestly baffles me. It's the nearest we'll ever get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-don-t-want-to-spoil-the-magic-but-it-s-a-very-curious-thing-that/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“What did science ever do for the world, apart from make better ways of killing people?” Sylvie said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-science-ever-do-for-the-world-apart-from-make-better-ways-of/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/misquote-edmund-burke-rather-than-milton-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Explore all 261 Kate Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More Perception quotes > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [There's no reason for men to be better at maths than women - it's just about our perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-s-no-reason-for-men-to-be-better-at-maths-than-women-it-s-just/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out, and there's a broad agreement that that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/when-you-hang-the-bipartisan-tag-on-something-the-perception-is-that/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If people in Indonesia look 'different', they are afraid. Racist insults fly if someone does not look like part of the majority. Indonesia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/if-people-in-indonesia-look-different-they-are-afraid-racist-insults/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [The new limitations are the human ones of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/the-new-limitations-are-the-human-ones-of-perception/) Milton Babbitt > [Gasoline inventories are tighter than they were a few weeks ago. It's all about perception, because inventories are well above where they have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-cooper/gasoline-inventories-are-tighter-than-they-were-a-few-weeks-ago-it-s/) Kyle Cooper > [As a society, we have this perception that women are emotional. The research, however, tells us that, on trading floors, that poor risk rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallie-krawcheck/as-a-society-we-have-this-perception-that-women-are-emotional-the/) [Sallie Krawcheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallie-krawcheck/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Perception can be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/perception-can-be-changed/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) [Browse all 3,687 Perception quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Or was it, as everyone told her, and as she must believe, all in her head? And so what if it was - wasn't everything in her head real too? What if there was no demonstrable reality? 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