--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... they are structures that we build…" description: "\"... they are structures that we build every time we engage in a thought that's just a little bit higher than a thought we had a moment before, or an ac..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bf/ken-wilber-1886_activity_they-are-structures-that-we-build-every_579799.jpg" --- # ... they are structures that we build every time we engage… ![“... they are structures that we build every time we engage in a thought that's just a little bit higher than a thought we had a moment before, or an activity that's just a little bit more noble than the activity we engaged in a moment before.” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bf/ken-wilber-1886_activity_they-are-structures-that-we-build-every_579799.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bf/ken-wilber-1886_activity_they-are-structures-that-we-build-every_579799.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bf/ken-wilber-1886_activity_they-are-structures-that-we-build-every_579799.jpg) > “... they are structures that we build every time we engage in a thought that's just a little bit higher than a thought we had a moment before, or an activity that's just a little bit more noble than the activity we engaged in a moment before.” [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. Each new thought or action builds slightly beyond the previous, creating a ladder of higher understanding and nobility. **In simple terms:** Higher thoughts build on earlier ones. Key Takeaway Seek slightly higher ideas each time. Themes growth development consciousness integral evolution Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative brainstorming - ethical decision making - skill advancement Key Concepts Integral theory hierarchical development self‑transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify the next higher thought in daily life? - What small noble action can you take today? A Different Perspective Higher steps may feel abstract and hard to apply practically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Engage Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engage-thought-4113560/) [Engaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaged/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-thought-4575278/) [Little bit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-bit/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Structures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structures/) [Structures Build](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structures-build-1823409/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We are the prisoners of ideas. They catch us up for moments into their heaven, and so fully engage us, that we take no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-the-prisoners-of-ideas-they-catch-us-up-for-moments-into-their/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The volumes, the surfaces, the lines-in one word, the structures that build a tectonic construction-do not represent the whole picture: there is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-argand/the-volumes-the-surfaces-the-lines-in-one-word-the-structures-that/) [Emile Argand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-argand/) > [Sometimes it takes us a long time to build up songs, and we really work the structures over and over and build in lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/sometimes-it-takes-us-a-long-time-to-build-up-songs-and-we-really/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Higher thought forms trump lower ones. In the presence of a high frequency of human consciousness, all lower thought forms ultimately drop of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/higher-thought-forms-trump-lower-ones-in-the-presence-of-a-high/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“It must be clear to those who look below the surface of things that far-reaching changes in our fundamental ideas and attitudes are setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hon-j-c-smuts/it-must-be-clear-to-those-who-look-below-the-surface-of-things-that/) [Hon J.C. Smuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hon-j-c-smuts/) > [Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/christmas-is-not-in-tinsel-and-lights-and-outward-show-the-secret/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [We cannot rise higher than our thought of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-cannot-rise-higher-than-our-thought-of-ourselves/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [It is impossible for men engaged in low and groveling pursuits to have noble and generous sentiments. A man's thought must always follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/it-is-impossible-for-men-engaged-in-low-and-groveling-pursuits-to/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [We're more into sort of fluid structures that are simultaneously the most efficient, the most beautiful, and the most engineered. You know what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-booth/we-re-more-into-sort-of-fluid-structures-that-are-simultaneously-the/) [Sean Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-booth/) > [I like really sparse electronics, lush arrangements, and interesting chord structures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-klinghoffer/i-like-really-sparse-electronics-lush-arrangements-and-interesting/) [Josh Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-klinghoffer/) > [I don't believe in traditional company structures because the best ideas do not always come from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-in-traditional-company-structures-because-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Synchrotron light has revolutionized the field of protein crystallography. It has made it possible to look at much larger structures with much smaller crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-petsko/synchrotron-light-has-revolutionized-the-field-of-protein/) [Gregory Petsko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-petsko/) > [Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/) [Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/) > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## 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. 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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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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