--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How does life become totally painful By…" description: "\"How does life become totally painful By total retreat. Total noninspection becomes total pain.But existence is basically composed of a very few truths ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/l-ron-hubbard-881_artificiality_how-does-life-become-totally-painful-by_1199743.jpg" --- # How does life become totally painful By total retreat… ![“How does life become totally painful By total retreat. Total noninspection becomes total pain.But existence is basically composed of a very few truths onto which have hung a great many artificialities and which man has adorned with enormous numbers of lies. And man is prisoner of his own shadows…” quote by L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/l-ron-hubbard-881_artificiality_how-does-life-become-totally-painful-by_1199743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/l-ron-hubbard-881_artificiality_how-does-life-become-totally-painful-by_1199743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/l-ron-hubbard-881_artificiality_how-does-life-become-totally-painful-by_1199743.jpg) > “How does life become totally painful By total retreat. Total noninspection becomes total pain.But existence is basically composed of a very few truths onto which have hung a great many artificialities and which man has adorned with enormous numbers of lies. And man is prisoner of his own shadows. Now one of the things you can do with man is to get him to look up and find out that he can look through the shadows and look at the shadows and find out what they are.” [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding introspection leads to suffering; confronting inner truths reveals reality beyond falsehoods. **In simple terms:** Ignoring inner life causes pain; confronting it reveals truth. Key Takeaway Face your inner shadows. Themes psychology philosophy self-awareness truth Mood introspective thoughtful Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - meditation - creative writing - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts introspection existentialism illusion self-deception Questions to Reflect On - What shadows are you avoiding? - How can confronting pain transform you? A Different Perspective Self‑examination can be distressing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artificiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificiality/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [I wonder if any of them can tell from just looking at me that all I am is the sum total of my pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-wonder-if-any-of-them-can-tell-from-just-looking-at-me-that-all-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [The first few months of my life of every year are in total retreat. I don't see anybody except my husband and my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-first-few-months-of-my-life-of-every-year-are-in-total-retreat-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“To be with her is to feel a pain, like a frozen knife in my chest. An awful pain, but the funny thing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/to-be-with-her-is-to-feel-a-pain-like-a-frozen-knife-in-my-chest-an/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If there is pain in my photographs, it relates to the pain in my own existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-peter-witkin/if-there-is-pain-in-my-photographs-it-relates-to-the-pain-in-my-own/) [Joel-Peter Witkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-peter-witkin/) > [Of what significance is one's existence, one is basically unaware. What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/of-what-significance-is-one-s-existence-one-is-basically-unaware-what/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Human existence basically is──a never to be completed imperfect tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/human-existence-basically-is-a-never-to-be-completed-imperfect-tense/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are hidden contradictions in the minds of people who "love Nature" while deploring the "artificialities" with which "Man has spoiled Nature.'" The obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/there-are-hidden-contradictions-in-the-minds-of-people-who-love/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liezi/some-people-think-they-can-find-satisfaction-in-good-food-fine/) Liezi > [“But the more shrewdly and earnestly we study the histories of men, the less ready shall we be to make use of the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-the-more-shrewdly-and-earnestly-we-study-the-histories-of-men-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [All that the world most needs today, is combined in the most seductive manner in his art, — the three great stimulants of exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-that-the-world-most-needs-today-is-combined-in-the-most-seductive/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It's too much show business and too much prompting, too much artificiality, and not really debates. They're rehearsed appearances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/it-s-too-much-show-business-and-too-much-prompting-too-much/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [If I were of the trade, I should naturalize art as much as they "artialize" nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-of-the-trade-i-should-naturalize-art-as-much-as-they/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“He said he didn’t think Lenore should go to the G.O.D. "Nobody ever finds anybody in a place like that," he said, "People don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-said-he-didn-t-think-lenore-should-go-to-the-g-o-d-nobody-ever/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The default digital world tone is one of hyperactive friendliness, artificial empathy, emoji-based validation, dopamine-rich feedback loops, toxic positivity, and veiled cruelty. They assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sov8840/the-default-digital-world-tone-is-one-of-hyperactive-friendliness/) Sov8840 > [Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus' feet and surrender ourselves to His meekness. Then we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/artificiality-is-one-curse-that-will-drop-away-the-moment-we-kneel-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by L. Ron Hubbard > [Oh yes! The one man in the world who never believes he's mad is the madman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/oh-yes-the-one-man-in-the-world-who-never-believes-he-s-mad-is-the/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [The African tribesman, with his complete contempt for truth and his emphasis on brutality and savagery for others but not for himself, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-african-tribesman-with-his-complete-contempt-for-truth-and-his/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [See what you see, not what someone tells you that you see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/see-what-you-see-not-what-someone-tells-you-that-you-see/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Now it's of peculiar interest to an Arab country that there is a company and a certain set of bankers who also finance the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/now-it-s-of-peculiar-interest-to-an-arab-country-that-there-is-a/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [In all the broad Universe there is no other hope for Man than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/in-all-the-broad-universe-there-is-no-other-hope-for-man-than/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Now, get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea. Every time we have investigated the background of a critic of Scientology, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/now-get-this-as-a-technical-fact-not-a-hopeful-idea-every-time-we/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [I know no man who has any monopoly upon the wisdom of this universe. It belongs to those who can use it to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/i-know-no-man-who-has-any-monopoly-upon-the-wisdom-of-this-universe/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [One's attitude toward life makes every possible difference in one's living. You know, you don't have to study a thousand ancient books to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/one-s-attitude-toward-life-makes-every-possible-difference-in-one-s/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/recently-there-came-a-period-when-i-had-little-to-do-this-was-novel/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [God was feeling sardonic the day He created the Universe. So it's rather up to at least one man every few centuries to pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/god-was-feeling-sardonic-the-day-he-created-the-universe-so-it-s/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [The way out is the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-way-out-is-the-way-through/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/you-don-t-get-rich-writing-science-fiction-if-you-want-to-get-rich/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [One of the ways you learn about life is to associate with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/one-of-the-ways-you-learn-about-life-is-to-associate-with-people/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Dianetics is a milestone for man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and the arch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/dianetics-is-a-milestone-for-man-comparable-to-his-discovery-of-fire/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You can remember times when you were a kid, when life looked too doggoned deliciously beautiful to be left alone. So you could feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/you-can-remember-times-when-you-were-a-kid-when-life-looked-too/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) [Explore all 342 L. Ron Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) ## More Artificiality quotes > [Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus' feet and surrender ourselves to His meekness. Then we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/artificiality-is-one-curse-that-will-drop-away-the-moment-we-kneel-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The default digital world tone is one of hyperactive friendliness, artificial empathy, emoji-based validation, dopamine-rich feedback loops, toxic positivity, and veiled cruelty. They assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sov8840/the-default-digital-world-tone-is-one-of-hyperactive-friendliness/) Sov8840 > [“He said he didn’t think Lenore should go to the G.O.D. "Nobody ever finds anybody in a place like that," he said, "People don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-said-he-didn-t-think-lenore-should-go-to-the-g-o-d-nobody-ever/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [If I were of the trade, I should naturalize art as much as they "artialize" nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-of-the-trade-i-should-naturalize-art-as-much-as-they/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [It's too much show business and too much prompting, too much artificiality, and not really debates. They're rehearsed appearances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/it-s-too-much-show-business-and-too-much-prompting-too-much/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [All that the world most needs today, is combined in the most seductive manner in his art, — the three great stimulants of exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-that-the-world-most-needs-today-is-combined-in-the-most-seductive/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“But the more shrewdly and earnestly we study the histories of men, the less ready shall we be to make use of the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-the-more-shrewdly-and-earnestly-we-study-the-histories-of-men-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liezi/some-people-think-they-can-find-satisfaction-in-good-food-fine/) Liezi > [There are hidden contradictions in the minds of people who "love Nature" while deploring the "artificialities" with which "Man has spoiled Nature.'" The obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/there-are-hidden-contradictions-in-the-minds-of-people-who-love/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [For me it is the direct contact of artist to material which is original, and it is the earth and his contact to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/for-me-it-is-the-direct-contact-of-artist-to-material-which-is/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [Hollywood is tied hand and foot to the demands for artificiality of the masses all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-barrymore/hollywood-is-tied-hand-and-foot-to-the-demands-for-artificiality-of/) [Lionel Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-barrymore/) > [Life creeps slowly upward… When some forgotten inventor of the older world smote his rival or enemy with a branch of wood and found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/life-creeps-slowly-upward-when-some-forgotten-inventor-of-the-older/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [New York is hard, cynical, ruthless, even beyond other cities. From their early repression its children emerge sophisticated, both stunted and overdeveloped, perverted, premature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gruening/new-york-is-hard-cynical-ruthless-even-beyond-other-cities-from-their/) Ernest Gruening > [Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/trials-and-tribulations-tend-to-squeeze-the-artificiality-out-of-us/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [In film, there are always things that could conceivably create artificiality in any performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/in-film-there-are-always-things-that-could-conceivably-create/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) [Browse all 43 Artificiality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificiality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How does life become totally painful By total retreat. Total noninspection becomes total pain.But existence is basically composed of a very few truths onto which have hung a great many artificialities and which man has adorned with enormous numbers of lies. And man is prisoner of his own shadows. 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