--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As soon as I began to study my…" description: "\"“As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my own experience, I found that there were different ways of perceiving and that the different w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/marion-milner-18189_different-ways_as-soon-as-i-began-to-study-my-perceptio_2170121.jpg" --- # As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my… ![“As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my own experience, I found that there were different ways of perceiving and that the different ways provided me with different facts. There was a narrow focus which meant seeing life as if from blinkers and with the centre of awareness in my…” quote by Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/marion-milner-18189_different-ways_as-soon-as-i-began-to-study-my-perceptio_2170121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/marion-milner-18189_different-ways_as-soon-as-i-began-to-study-my-perceptio_2170121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/marion-milner-18189_different-ways_as-soon-as-i-began-to-study-my-perceptio_2170121.jpg) > ““As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my own experience, I found that there were different ways of perceiving and that the different ways provided me with different facts. There was a narrow focus which meant seeing life as if from blinkers and with the centre of awareness in my head; and there was a wide focus which meant knowing with the whole of my body, a way of looking which quite altered my perception of whatever I saw. And I found that the narrow focus way was the way of reason. If one was in the habit of arguing about life it was very difficult not to approach sensation with the same concentrated attention and so shut out its width and depth and height. But it was the wide focus way that made me happy.”” [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrow focus limits perception to rational analysis, while wide focus embraces holistic, embodied awareness, leading to happiness. **In simple terms:** Broad awareness brings joy. Key Takeaway Cultivate a wide, embodied focus. Themes perception mindfulness happiness Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation practice - creative work - stress reduction Key Concepts holistic awareness embodied cognition Questions to Reflect On - How can you expand your focus daily? - What benefits arise from body‑mind integration? A Different Perspective Rational focus can miss emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concentrated Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrated-attention-1894374/) [Different ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Narrow Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrow-focus-1043566/) [Perceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceiving/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Study Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-perception-1487875/) [Ways Perceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-perceiving-541739/) ## Related quotes > [You can expand your reality by developing new ways of perceiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynn-bullock/you-can-expand-your-reality-by-developing-new-ways-of-perceiving/) [Wynn Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynn-bullock/) > [There are as many forms of memory as there are ways of perceiving, and every one of them is worth mining for inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-are-as-many-forms-of-memory-as-there-are-ways-of-perceiving-and/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [What you see is real - but only on the particular level to which you've developed your sense of seeing. You can expand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynn-bullock/what-you-see-is-real-but-only-on-the-particular-level-to-which-you-ve/) [Wynn Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynn-bullock/) > [“Not only did I find that trying to describe my experience enhanced the quality of it, but also this effort to describe had made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/not-only-did-i-find-that-trying-to-describe-my-experience-enhanced/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Only in the 20th century, artists started taking the study of perception in a more humane way. They were thinking about the eye as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-muniz/only-in-the-20th-century-artists-started-taking-the-study-of/) [Vik Muniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-muniz/) > [Concentrated attention is the collection of units of power on a chosen point of intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur-ray/concentrated-attention-is-the-collection-of-units-of-power-on-a/) [James Arthur Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur-ray/) > [When you want a thing deeply, earnestly and intensely, this feeling of desire reinforces your will and arouses in you the determination to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/when-you-want-a-thing-deeply-earnestly-and-intensely-this-feeling-of-2/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [The key thing is, even if you only have a couple of hours a month, those two hours shoulder-to-shoulder, next to one student, concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-key-thing-is-even-if-you-only-have-a-couple-of-hours-a-month/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Talent is the capacity to direct concentrated attention upon the subject: "the gift of seeing what others have not seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/talent-is-the-capacity-to-direct-concentrated-attention-upon-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“After curiosity, this quality of concentrated attention is what creative individuals mention most often as having set them apart in college from their peers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/after-curiosity-this-quality-of-concentrated-attention-is-what/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [“Yet we see, on the contrary, that many acts are most successfully carried out when they are not the objects of particularly concentrated attention,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/yet-we-see-on-the-contrary-that-many-acts-are-most-successfully/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“I was stringing beads of different sizes in symmetrical groups—two large beads, three small ones, and so on. I had made many mistakes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-was-stringing-beads-of-different-sizes-in-symmetrical-groups-two/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The definition of prayer is paying careful and concentrated attention to something other than your own constructions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-definition-of-prayer-is-paying-careful-and-concentrated-attention/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“Narrow the focus, take the ascent one step at a time, and it's amazing what odds a man can beat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-schafer/narrow-the-focus-take-the-ascent-one-step-at-a-time-and-it-s-amazing/) [Courtney Schafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-schafer/) > [“As you narrow your focus you will broaden your opportunities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/as-you-narrow-your-focus-you-will-broaden-your-opportunities/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) ## More by Marion Milner > [Sometimes I find that in my happy moments I could not believe that I had ever been miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/sometimes-i-find-that-in-my-happy-moments-i-could-not-believe-that-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“By continual watching and expression I must learn to observe my thought and maintain a vigilance, not against “wrong” thoughts, but against refusal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/by-continual-watching-and-expression-i-must-learn-to-observe-my/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Happiness not only needs no justification, but it is also the only final test of whether what I am doing is right for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/happiness-not-only-needs-no-justification-but-it-is-also-the-only/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Love is not getting, but giving. It is sacrifice. And sacrifice is glorious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/love-is-not-getting-but-giving-it-is-sacrifice-and-sacrifice-is/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Blind thinking… could make me pretend I was being true to myself when really I was only being true to an infantile fear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/blind-thinking-could-make-me-pretend-i-was-being-true-to-myself-when/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [until you have, once at least, faced everything you know - the whole universe - with utter giving in, and let all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/until-you-have-once-at-least-faced-everything-you-know-the-whole/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary in one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/perhaps-if-one-really-knew-when-one-was-happy-one-would-know-the/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Let no one think it is an easy way because it is concerned with moments of happiness rather than with stern duty or high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/let-no-one-think-it-is-an-easy-way-because-it-is-concerned-with/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [It's weak and despicable to go on wanting things and not trying to get them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/it-s-weak-and-despicable-to-go-on-wanting-things-and-not-trying-to/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“If emotion and fatigue lowered the potency of thought, what raised it? I began to reconsider my moments of delight in terms of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/if-emotion-and-fatigue-lowered-the-potency-of-thought-what-raised-it/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“I had just begun to ponder over the fact that all the things which I had found to be sources of happiness seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-had-just-begun-to-ponder-over-the-fact-that-all-the-things-which-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“It struck me as odd that it had taken me so long to reach a feeling of sureness that there was something in me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/it-struck-me-as-odd-that-it-had-taken-me-so-long-to-reach-a-feeling/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Here then was a deadlock. I wanted to get the most out of life, but the more I tried to grasp, the more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/here-then-was-a-deadlock-i-wanted-to-get-the-most-out-of-life-but-the/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“I had been continually exhorted to define my purpose in life, but I was now beginning to doubt whether life might not be too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-had-been-continually-exhorted-to-define-my-purpose-in-life-but-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl: not cut off, missing things, like being sent to bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-want-to-feel-myself-part-of-things-of-the-great-drift-and-swirl-not/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) [Explore all 35 Marion Milner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) ## More Different ways quotes > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Some shows just go away - and that's fine. They serve their purpose and their entertainment value, but there are shows that touch people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/some-shows-just-go-away-and-that-s-fine-they-serve-their-purpose-and/) [Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [There are many different ways the public can respond to actors - they can see you on TV and feel they know you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/there-are-many-different-ways-the-public-can-respond-to-actors-they/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [It is great to see Bollywood celebrities contributing to so many different trends in so many different ways. I think this is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-dutta/it-is-great-to-see-bollywood-celebrities-contributing-to-so-many/) [Lara Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-dutta/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [Skating is a sport that I found a lot of interest in from a very, very young age. Ultimately, I think that being on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-chen/skating-is-a-sport-that-i-found-a-lot-of-interest-in-from-a-very-very/) [Nathan Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-chen/) > [I was going to say 'my friend Stuart', but I suppose he's not a friend any more. I seem to have lost a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-was-going-to-say-my-friend-stuart-but-i-suppose-he-s-not-a-friend/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [I'll reshoot a corridor 13 different ways, and you'll never recognise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-ll-reshoot-a-corridor-13-different-ways-and-you-ll-never-recognise/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [She waited for you in a thousand different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-waited-for-you-in-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“5 Tips for Mirroring Others 1. Body language. When they smile, you smile. When they lean back in their chair, you lean back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/5-tips-for-mirroring-others-1-body-language-when-they-smile-you-smile/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Movies have been doing so much of the same thing - in slightly different ways - for so long that few of the possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/movies-have-been-doing-so-much-of-the-same-thing-in-slightly/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [With acting, it's like you form chemistry with different people in different ways, so it's really added even more fun to work, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-blackburn/with-acting-it-s-like-you-form-chemistry-with-different-people-in/) [Tyler Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-blackburn/) [Browse all 2,175 Different ways quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my own experience, I found that there were different ways of perceiving and that the different ways provided me with different facts. 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