--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The key is to move from being a victim of…" description: "\"“The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the commenting, chattering mind) to being their witness (the heart’s stillness) . . . What we have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/martin-laird-32438_fear_the-key-is-to-move-from-being-a-victim-o_919890.jpg" --- # The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the… ![“The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the commenting, chattering mind) to being their witness (the heart’s stillness) . . . What we have observed of fear can be observed of practically any struggle with afflictive thoughts and feelings. We must move from being a victim of these…” quote by Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/martin-laird-32438_fear_the-key-is-to-move-from-being-a-victim-o_919890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/martin-laird-32438_fear_the-key-is-to-move-from-being-a-victim-o_919890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/martin-laird-32438_fear_the-key-is-to-move-from-being-a-victim-o_919890.jpg) > ““The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the commenting, chattering mind) to being their witness (the heart’s stillness) . . . What we have observed of fear can be observed of practically any struggle with afflictive thoughts and feelings. We must move from being a victim of these thoughts to being their witness. Typically we spend many, many years being their victim. We are imprisoned by the chattering mind. Gradually we learn to distinguish the simple thought or emotion from the chatter and we discover an inner stability that grows into the silence of God.”” [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultivating inner stillness transforms us from being ruled by restless thoughts to observing them with calm awareness, reducing suffering. **In simple terms:** Observe thoughts instead of being controlled by them. Key Takeaway Practice mindful witnessing. Themes mindfulness inner peace self‑awareness Mood calm reflective Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - therapy - stress management - personal growth Key Concepts consciousness psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can you tell when you are observing versus reacting? - What practices help you stay present? A Different Perspective Witnessing alone may not resolve deep trauma without additional support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chattering Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chattering-mind-1415642/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feelings Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-victim-1415640/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thought Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-emotion-930138/) [Thoughts and feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-feelings/) [Thoughts Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-witness-1415641/) [Victim Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim-thoughts-1415639/) ## Related quotes > [Waiting for our parents to love us finally perpetuates feelings of being a victim while letting go of the past, forgiveness and gratitude propagate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waiting-for-our-parents-to-love-us-finally-perpetuates-feelings-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I get rid of the thoughts, and I get in my witness, which is down in my spiritual heart. The witness that witnesses being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/i-get-rid-of-the-thoughts-and-i-get-in-my-witness-which-is-down-in-my/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Faith helps you avoid becoming the victim of your own thoughts and traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/faith-helps-you-avoid-becoming-the-victim-of-your-own-thoughts-and/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [Inner silence is for our race a difficult achievement. There is a chattering part of the mind which continues, until it is corrected, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/inner-silence-is-for-our-race-a-difficult-achievement-there-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How does silence find its way out of that noisy, chattering mind? That endless maze of thought, concept, opinion, belief? How does perfect silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/how-does-silence-find-its-way-out-of-that-noisy-chattering-mind-that/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) > [You are not a helpless victim of your own thoughts, but rather a master of your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/you-are-not-a-helpless-victim-of-your-own-thoughts-but-rather-a-2/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [As soon as you try to eliminate a thought or emotion, you make it stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/as-soon-as-you-try-to-eliminate-a-thought-or-emotion-you-make-it/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“This, in the therapy world, is what we call cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance. Translation? You get so tangled up in one voice, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronen-dancziger/this-in-the-therapy-world-is-what-we-call-cognitive-fusion-and/) [Ronen Dancziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronen-dancziger/) > [And last, we must bear in mind that the relationships between perception, thought, emotion, and behavior are neither automatic nor consistent. In many cases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanne-blank/and-last-we-must-bear-in-mind-that-the-relationships-between/) [Hanne Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanne-blank/) > [“Every beauty and greatness in this world is created by a single thought or emotion inside a man. 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Every thing we see today, made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/every-beauty-and-greatness-in-this-world-is-created-by-a-single/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Essentially, thought and emotion. If you make these two things unimportant, there is room for something to happen. Life is very, very simple and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru-jaggi-vasudevuru/essentially-thought-and-emotion-if-you-make-these-two-things/) [Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudevuru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru-jaggi-vasudevuru/) > [The writer's joy is the thought that can become emotion, the emotion that can wholly become a thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/the-writer-s-joy-is-the-thought-that-can-become-emotion-the-emotion/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) ## More by Martin Laird > [“This is why most people do not stick with a contemplative discipline for very long; we have heard all sorts of talk about contemplation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/this-is-why-most-people-do-not-stick-with-a-contemplative-discipline/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [Wisdom, health, life and love cannot be found in trying to control the wind, but rather in harnessing the wind in the sails of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/wisdom-health-life-and-love-cannot-be-found-in-trying-to-control-the/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“But as important as time set aside specifically for prayer, is learning to sit when you are not sitting. 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We notice, for example, our anger and how it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/this-watchfulness-also-applies-to-our-tendency-to-add-thought-upon/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [God in Christ has taken into Himself the brokenness of the human condition. Hence, human woundedness, brokenness, death itself are transformed from dead ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/god-in-christ-has-taken-into-himself-the-brokenness-of-the-human/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“A helpful image to express this sort of thing is a wheel with spokes centered on a single hub. The hub of the wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/a-helpful-image-to-express-this-sort-of-thing-is-a-wheel-with-spokes/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“Instead we experience reactive commentaries on thoughts and feelings. The ability to meet with stillness all that appears and disappears in awareness will gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/instead-we-experience-reactive-commentaries-on-thoughts-and-feelings/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“The doorway into the silent land is a wound. Silence lays bare this wound. We do not journey far along the spiritual path before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/the-doorway-into-the-silent-land-is-a-wound-silence-lays-bare-this/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“But gradually we learn something very precious under the tutelage of these wounds. We learn a compassion for others that replaces judging, self-loathing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/but-gradually-we-learn-something-very-precious-under-the-tutelage-of/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“The distinction between acquisition and discovery may seem like hairsplitting, but it is important to see that . . . the contemplative discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/the-distinction-between-acquisition-and-discovery-may-seem-like/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) [Explore all 15 Martin Laird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. 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Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the commenting, chattering mind) to being their witness (the heart’s stillness) . . . What we have observed of fear can be observed of practically any struggle with afflictive thoughts and feelings. We must move from being a victim of these thoughts to being their witness. Typically we spend many, many years being their victim. We are imprisoned by the chattering mind. 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