--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great art suspends the reverted eye, the…" description: "\"Great art suspends the reverted eye, the lamented past, the anticipated future: we enter with it into the timeless present; we are with God today, perf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ken-wilber-1886_art_great-art-suspends-the-reverted-eye-the_2619909.jpg" --- # Great art suspends the reverted eye, the lamented past… ![“Great art suspends the reverted eye, the lamented past, the anticipated future: we enter with it into the timeless present; we are with God today, perfect in our manner and mode, open to the riches and the glories of a realm that time forgot, but that great art reminds us of: not by its content…” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ken-wilber-1886_art_great-art-suspends-the-reverted-eye-the_2619909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ken-wilber-1886_art_great-art-suspends-the-reverted-eye-the_2619909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ken-wilber-1886_art_great-art-suspends-the-reverted-eye-the_2619909.jpg) > “Great art suspends the reverted eye, the lamented past, the anticipated future: we enter with it into the timeless present; we are with God today, perfect in our manner and mode, open to the riches and the glories of a realm that time forgot, but that great art reminds us of: not by its content, but by what it does in us: suspends the desire to be elsewhere. And thus it undoes the agitated grasping in the heart of the suffering self, and releases us - maybe for a second, maybe for a minute, maybe for all eternity - releases us from the coil of ourselves.” [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great art suspends temporal concerns, placing us in a timeless present where we experience unity with the divine and a release from self‑attachment. **In simple terms:** Art creates timeless presence. Key Takeaway Seek art that transcends time. Themes spirituality art presence Mood contemplative reverent Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - gallery visits - creative practice Key Concepts transcendence mindfulness divine connection Questions to Reflect On - How does art alter your sense of time? - What experiences have felt timeless? A Different Perspective May be idealistic, ignoring practical life demands. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [God Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-today/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Riches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riches/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) ## Related quotes > [As a work of art, it reminds me of a long conversation between two drunks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/as-a-work-of-art-it-reminds-me-of-a-long-conversation-between-two/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Art reminds us that in fact the world always exceeds our grasp and perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-begbie/art-reminds-us-that-in-fact-the-world-always-exceeds-our-grasp-and/) [Jeremy Begbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-begbie/) > [Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-adler/life-beats-down-and-crushes-the-soul-and-art-reminds-you-that-you-2/) [Stella Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-adler/) > [“Sometimes life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-adler/sometimes-life-beats-down-and-crushes-the-soul-and-art-reminds-you/) [Stella Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-adler/) > [“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one. -- Stella Adler”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheana-ochoa/life-beats-down-and-crushes-the-soul-and-art-reminds-you-that-you/) Sheana Ochoa > [Great art grabs you, against your will, and then suspends your will. You are ushered into a quiet clearing, free of desire, free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/great-art-grabs-you-against-your-will-and-then-suspends-your-will-you/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [One Taste is not some experience you bring about through effort; rather, it is the actual condition of all experience before you do anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/one-taste-is-not-some-experience-you-bring-about-through-effort/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The very desire to seek spiritual enlightenment is in fact nothing but the grasping tendency of the ego itself, and thus the very search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-very-desire-to-seek-spiritual-enlightenment-is-in-fact-nothing/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [We cannot worship the suffering God today and ignore him tomorrow. We cannot eat and drink the body and blood of the passionate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/we-cannot-worship-the-suffering-god-today-and-ignore-him-tomorrow-we/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [“Today isn't a "waiting period" before real life begins. Right now has Christ's name written all over it. Living passionately for God starts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-farver/today-isn-t-a-waiting-period-before-real-life-begins-right-now-has/) Hannah Farver > [The roses under my window make no reference to former roses or better ones; they are what they are; they exist with God today.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-roses-under-my-window-make-no-reference-to-former-roses-or-better/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [While our world is shaking and crumbling, we need to realize that one thing will never change, and that is God. He is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/while-our-world-is-shaking-and-crumbling-we-need-to-realize-that-one/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The greatest miracle that God can do today is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world and make him holy, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-greatest-miracle-that-god-can-do-today-is-to-take-an-unholy-man/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [“True prayers are born of present trials and present needs. Bread for today is bread enough. Bread given for today is the strongest sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-bounds/true-prayers-are-born-of-present-trials-and-present-needs-bread-for/) [E.M. Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-bounds/) > [“You have everything you need today to do what God has for you to do today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-hendrix/you-have-everything-you-need-today-to-do-what-god-has-for-you-to-do/) [Shelley Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-hendrix/) ## More by Ken Wilber > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If Spirit has any meaning, it must be omnipresent, or all-pervading and all-encompassing. There can't be a place where Spirit is not, or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-spirit-has-any-meaning-it-must-be-omnipresent-or-all-pervading-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Evolution occurs in the world of time and space and form, whereas Spirit's primordial nature is finally timeless and Formless, prior to the of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/evolution-occurs-in-the-world-of-time-and-space-and-form-whereas/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The most striking feature of the perennial philosophy/psychology is that it presents being and consciousness as a hierarchy of dimensional levels, moving from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-most-striking-feature-of-the-perennial-philosophy-psychology-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Is this a topic whose time has truly come? The integration of science and religion? Or have I just written a clever book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/is-this-a-topic-whose-time-has-truly-come-the-integration-of-science/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality... does not render the self content, it renders it undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-does-not-render-the-self-content-it-renders-it/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Conscious means "having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; mentally perceptive, awake, mindful." So "conscious business" might mean, engaging in an occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/conscious-means-having-an-awareness-of-one-s-inner-and-outer-worlds/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I believe that evidence shows that there is a real spirit, a real Beach, but it is beneath no pavement whatsoever, for all pavements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/i-believe-that-evidence-shows-that-there-is-a-real-spirit-a-real/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Furthermore, it is not that Spirit is present but you need to be enlightened in order to see it. It is not that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/furthermore-it-is-not-that-spirit-is-present-but-you-need-to-be/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-is-revolutionary-it-does-not-legitimate-the/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Matter begins evolving back to Spirit and, when it's reached, the whole process begins over again for the billionth time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/matter-begins-evolving-back-to-spirit-and-when-it-s-reached-the-whole/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) [Explore all 200 Ken Wilber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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