--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We imagine always when we speak that it…" description: "\"“We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening.”\" — Marcel Proust" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg" --- # We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears… ![“We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg) > ““We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening.”” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often assume our thoughts are private, but they are shaped by external dialogue **In simple terms:** Our minds are influenced by what we hear and speak Key Takeaway Recognize how conversation shapes your thinking Themes perception language self‑awareness Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - writing - therapy - public speaking - self‑reflection Key Concepts cognitive bias inner dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate your own thoughts from external influence? - Can you identify moments when speech changed your perspective? A Different Perspective Self‑awareness can be limited by echo chambers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ears Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears-mind-561772/) [Imagine Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-speak-4331112/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Mind Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-listening-2651005/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Speak Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-ears-717944/) [Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking/) ## Related quotes > [“We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening. The truth which one puts into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it-is-our-own-ears-our-own-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Anywhere there is life, there are eyes. And things, too, speak to those who have ears to hear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/anywhere-there-is-life-there-are-eyes-and-things-too-speak-to-those/) [Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/) > [“What are all the thoughts rattling in your mind when you're not listening to the answers to questions you ask?" -Jo, Boom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sinn-nachtrieb/what-are-all-the-thoughts-rattling-in-your-mind-when-you-re-not/) [Peter Sinn Nachtrieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sinn-nachtrieb/) > [“if you’re paying attention, if your eyes and your ears and your mind are open, as they should be open. You can know and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/if-you-re-paying-attention-if-your-eyes-and-your-ears-and-your-mind/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [Make your will one! Don't listen with your ears, listen with your mind. No, don't listen with your mind, but listen with your spirit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/make-your-will-one-don-t-listen-with-your-ears-listen-with-your-mind/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [I think you can really gauge my state of mind by listening to my albums.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/i-think-you-can-really-gauge-my-state-of-mind-by-listening-to-my/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [Calm the chaos in your mind by listening to the sound of your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ces-peta/calm-the-chaos-in-your-mind-by-listening-to-the-sound-of-your-soul/) [Ces Peta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ces-peta/) > [“Open your eyes, ears, mind, and consciousness for the truth is right in your face. You can see it but only if you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-ortiz/open-your-eyes-ears-mind-and-consciousness-for-the-truth-is-right-in/) [Kenneth G. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-ortiz/) > [You have a unique body and mind, with a particular history and conditioning. No one can offer you a formula for navigating all situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/you-have-a-unique-body-and-mind-with-a-particular-history-and/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [“Your eyes, ears and mind are imperfect in front of magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/your-eyes-ears-and-mind-are-imperfect-in-front-of-magic/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“You come back and you do it right now," Morgead bellowed in her ears and in her mind. "Right now! Do you hear me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/you-come-back-and-you-do-it-right-now-morgead-bellowed-in-her-ears/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [Unify your attention. Do not listen with your ears, but with your mind. Do not listen with your mind but with your essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/unify-your-attention-do-not-listen-with-your-ears-but-with-your-mind/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [ What \[Tulio Serafin\] said that impressed me was: "When one wants to find a gesture, when you want to find how to act on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/what-tulio-serafin-said-that-impressed-me-was-when-one-wants-to-find/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [The best way to deal with excessive thinking is to just listen to it, to listen to the mind. Listening is much more effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-amaro/the-best-way-to-deal-with-excessive-thinking-is-to-just-listen-to-it/) [Ajahn Amaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-amaro/) > [Listening stops with the ears, the mind stops with recognition, but spirit is empty and waits on all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/listening-stops-with-the-ears-the-mind-stops-with-recognition-but/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Listening quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [I listen to heavy metal thanks to my son. When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The only problem is the heart is quiet. It takes a very special kind of person to hear what the heart says. Most can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-palmieri/the-only-problem-is-the-heart-is-quiet-it-takes-a-very-special-kind/) [Suzanne Palmieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-palmieri/) > [“Listening isn't just about being quiet. It's about listening to what is said, what is unsaid, and what is meant with your eyes, ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drishti-bablani-wordions/listening-isn-t-just-about-being-quiet-it-s-about-listening-to-what/) [Drishti Bablani, Wordions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drishti-bablani-wordions/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [It's something he used to say when he was happy. It could be a very, very simple day. We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [ He \[ the son\]'s grown up listening to all types of music, and the natural form of rebellion is to find the one genre… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-knowles/he-the-son-s-grown-up-listening-to-all-types-of-music-and-the-natural/) [Solange Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-knowles/) > [“Listening is an essential part of praying. Answers from the Lord come quietly—ever so quietly. In fact, few hear his answers audibly with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-burke-peterson/listening-is-an-essential-part-of-praying-answers-from-the-lord-come/) [H. Burke Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-burke-peterson/) > [Getting older doesn't help you in the fact that you might have covered some of this ground before. So you're listening to a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-brooks/getting-older-doesn-t-help-you-in-the-fact-that-you-might-have/) [Garth Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-brooks/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 6,237 Listening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it-is-our-own-ears-our-own-mind-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Listening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it-is-our-own-ears-our-own-mind-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/marcel-proust-114_listening_we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it_2932623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We imagine always when we speak that it is our own ears, our own mind, that are listening.” — Marcel Proust", "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": "Marcel Proust", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We imagine always when we speak...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it-is-our-own-ears-our-own-mind-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-imagine-always-when-we-speak-that-it-is-our-own-ears-our-own-mind-2/#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 } } ] } ```