--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is dead; The future is…" description: "\"The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.\" — Ken Keyes Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png" --- # The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can… ![“The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.” quote by Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png) > “The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.” [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts the dead past, imagined future, and the present as the only place for true happiness. **In simple terms:** Only the present holds real happiness. Key Takeaway Focus on the present moment. Themes mindfulness presence happiness Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - stress reduction - daily decision making - creative work Key Concepts temporal perception existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you anchor yourself in the now? - What habits pull you into past or future thinking? A Different Perspective Neglecting past lessons or future planning can cause imbalance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-moment-1332469/) [Future Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-imaginary-1332468/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-eternal-727617/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Imaginary Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-happiness-1332467/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [All there is in your life is the eternal now moment - and your experience of this moment is created by the programming in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/all-there-is-in-your-life-is-the-eternal-now-moment-and-your/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/virtue-can-procure-only-an-imaginary-happiness-true-felicity-lies/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [The world consists of imaginary people, claiming imaginary virtues and suffering from imaginary happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-world-consists-of-imaginary-people-claiming-imaginary-virtues-and/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that mankind seeks, Happinesses are but his wayside companions. His soul is in the journey and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/happiness-eternal-or-temporal-is-not-the-reward-that-mankind-seeks/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [In default of inexhaustible happiness, eternal suffering would at least give us a destiny. But we do not even have that consolation, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-default-of-inexhaustible-happiness-eternal-suffering-would-at/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In reality, the happiness which is to be found in eternal life and in the love of God starts right away, from the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/in-reality-the-happiness-which-is-to-be-found-in-eternal-life-and-in/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [“Believing happiness to be in the eternal thing is called the enlightened vision (samkit).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/believing-happiness-to-be-in-the-eternal-thing-is-called-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Everyone tries to make his life a work of art. We want love to last and we know that it does not last; even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/everyone-tries-to-make-his-life-a-work-of-art-we-want-love-to-last/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Now that I have made peace with the imperfections, I no longer look around for happiness. I found the eternal happiness that has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcilia-mankoai-mothae/now-that-i-have-made-peace-with-the-imperfections-i-no-longer-look/) [Arcilia Mankoai Mothae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcilia-mankoai-mothae/) > [“We breathe in as existence, and breathe out as life. It is the heartbeat of the eternal moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-gillette/we-breathe-in-as-existence-and-breathe-out-as-life-it-is-the/) [Franklin Gillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-gillette/) > [We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/we-have-only-now-only-this-single-eternal-moment-opening-and/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“All things are in motion, all is in process, nothing abides, nothing will ever change in this eternal moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-things-are-in-motion-all-is-in-process-nothing-abides-nothing/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The destination of life is this eternal moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal-moment/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To refine, to clarify, to intensify that eternal moment in which we alone live there is but a single force the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/to-refine-to-clarify-to-intensify-that-eternal-moment-in-which-we/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [that which is eternal within the moment only becomes shallow if spread out in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-which-is-eternal-within-the-moment-only-becomes-shallow-if/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## More by Ken Keyes Jr > [Everyone and everything around you is your teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/everyone-and-everything-around-you-is-your-teacher/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Watch your own body and mind, and the people and things surrounding you, from the deep, calm place inside of you. When you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/watch-your-own-body-and-mind-and-the-people-and-things-surrounding/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Conscious people always have a choice of whether to try to modify the actions of people around them or to change their response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/conscious-people-always-have-a-choice-of-whether-to-try-to-modify-the/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Everything is a gift of the universe -even joy, anger, jealously, frustration, or separateness. Everything is perfect either for our growth or our enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/everything-is-a-gift-of-the-universe-even-joy-anger-jealously/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Even when we get what we addictively want, our wanting to keep things that way automatically creates a new addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/even-when-we-get-what-we-addictively-want-our-wanting-to-keep-things/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Acceptance doesn't mean that you've resigned yourself to live the rest of your life with a particular person, or in a particular situation. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/acceptance-doesn-t-mean-that-you-ve-resigned-yourself-to-live-the/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world: everyone you meet is your mirror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/a-loving-person-lives-in-a-loving-world-a-hostile-person-lives-in-a/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [The only real problem in your life is how you're using your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-only-real-problem-in-your-life-is-how-you-re-using-your-mind/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [View others as unfolding beings in their journey toward higher consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/view-others-as-unfolding-beings-in-their-journey-toward-higher/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [You should always be aware that your head creates your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/you-should-always-be-aware-that-your-head-creates-your-world/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [All the study and effort toward higher consciousness can be eliminated if we do but one thing; Love it All.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/all-the-study-and-effort-toward-higher-consciousness-can-be/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [By tuning in to your minute-to-minute stream of consciousness, you discover the addictions that make you worried, anxious, resentful, uptight, afraid, angry, bored, etc.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/by-tuning-in-to-your-minute-to-minute-stream-of-consciousness-you/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [The love and peace of higher consciousness flow from just being - and enjoying it all. Anything you do will not be enough unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-love-and-peace-of-higher-consciousness-flow-from-just-being-and/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [Don't fall into the trap that there is only one special person that you are able to love. Instead, try to develop the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/don-t-fall-into-the-trap-that-there-is-only-one-special-person-that/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [I am freeing myself from security, sensation and power addictions that make me try to forcefully control situations in my life and thus destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/i-am-freeing-myself-from-security-sensation-and-power-addictions-that/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) [Explore all 71 Ken Keyes Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) ## More Eternal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-remain-an-eternal-optimist-about-love-i-believe-in-love/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [The time has come for us to understand that the Eternal Feminine is the greatest power in this Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-understand-that-the-eternal-feminine-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-only-way-to-have-eternal-love-is-to-never-let-your-heart-forget/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) [Browse all 3,280 Eternal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Keyes Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/ken-keyes-jr-9594_eternal_the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary_2529819.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.” — Ken Keyes Jr", "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": "Ken Keyes Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The past is dead; The future...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```