--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: . . . there is a foundational core of…" description: "\"“. . . there is a foundational core of what we might as well call identity that remains hidden from scrutiny’s grip and somehow utterly caught up in Go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-laird-32438_thoughts-and-feeling_there-is-a-foundational-core-of-what-we_2008346.jpg" --- # . . . there is a foundational core of what we might as… ![“. . . there is a foundational core of what we might as well call identity that remains hidden from scrutiny’s grip and somehow utterly caught up in God, “in whom we live and move and have our being,” in whom our very self is immersed. Precisely because our deepest identity, grounding the…” quote by Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-laird-32438_thoughts-and-feeling_there-is-a-foundational-core-of-what-we_2008346.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-laird-32438_thoughts-and-feeling_there-is-a-foundational-core-of-what-we_2008346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-laird-32438_thoughts-and-feeling_there-is-a-foundational-core-of-what-we_2008346.jpg) > ““. . . there is a foundational core of what we might as well call identity that remains hidden from scrutiny’s grip and somehow utterly caught up in God, “in whom we live and move and have our being,” in whom our very self is immersed. Precisely because our deepest identity, grounding the personality, is hidden with Christ in God and beyond the grasp of comprehension, the experience of this ground-identity that is one with God will register in our perception, if indeed it does register, as an experience of no particular thing, a great, flowing abyss, a depthless depth. To those who know only the discursive mind, this may seem a death-dealing terror or spinning vertigo. But for those whose thinking mind has expanded into heart-mind, it is an encounter brimming over with the flow of vast, open emptiness that is the ground of all. This “no thing,” this “emptiness” is not an absence but a superabundance . . . the so-called psychological self, our personality (not what Paul is talking about as hidden with Christ in God) is a cognitive construct pasted up out of thoughts and feelings. A rather elaborate job has been done of it, and it is singularly useful. But our deepest identity, in which thoughts and feelings appear like patterns of weather on Mount Zion (Psalm 125), remains forever immersed in 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. It describes a deep, hidden identity unified with God, experienced as boundless emptiness, beyond intellectual grasp but felt in the heart‑mind. **In simple terms:** A profound, divine identity feels like endless emptiness. Key Takeaway Seek unity with the divine. Themes spirituality identity theology emptiness Mood reverent introspective Type mystical theological When to use this quote - prayer - meditation - contemplative practice - existential reflection Key Concepts mysticism transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How does one experience this “ground‑identity”? - Can emptiness be both nothing and abundance? A Different Perspective The concept may be inaccessible to those rooted in rational thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deepest Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-identity-1269311/) [God Cognitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-cognitive-3572688/) [Identity God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-god-1201553/) [Identity Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-thoughts-3572687/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychological Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological-self-2291888/) [Thoughts and feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-feelings/) ## Related quotes > [public self is a conditioned construct of the inner psychological self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/public-self-is-a-conditioned-construct-of-the-inner-psychological-self/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [When you meet another human being, you meet the physical self, then you meet the psychological self that's behind it, which is their mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-meet-another-human-being-you-meet-the-physical-self-then-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Eriugena and other Celtic teachers speak of Christ as our memory, as the one who leads us to our deepest identity, as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philip-newell/eriugena-and-other-celtic-teachers-speak-of-christ-as-our-memory-as/) [John Philip Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philip-newell/) > [Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/sin-is-the-despairing-refusal-to-find-your-deepest-identity-in-your-2/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“In the ancient Indian Upanishads, the answer to the question “Who am I?” is “Tat tvam asi.” This succinct Sanskrit sentence means literally: “Thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/in-the-ancient-indian-upanishads-the-answer-to-the-question-who-am-i/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [“Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/sin-is-the-despairing-refusal-to-find-your-deepest-identity-in-your/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Here is the truth: God made us with our eyes open in his “likeness,” which is our true identity. But Satan and people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/here-is-the-truth-god-made-us-with-our-eyes-open-in-his-likeness/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“What we need to be rescued from is not our physical nature, our metaphysical finitude, but our personal estrangement from God. Indeed, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-need-to-be-rescued-from-is-not-our-physical-nature-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I found my identity in Christ. When everything else around me was falling down I found my identity in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-allen/i-found-my-identity-in-christ-when-everything-else-around-me-was/) [Grayson Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-allen/) > [I would say you've got to find your identity in God - in God alone - because everything else is a false sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-would-say-you-ve-got-to-find-your-identity-in-god-in-god-alone/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-vocation-is-not-simply-to-be-but-to-work-together-with-god-in-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is the normal state of the human heart to try to build its identity around something besides God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-is-the-normal-state-of-the-human-heart-to-try-to-build-its/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“And the Word that had most recently come from the mouth of God was, “This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-bolz-weber/and-the-word-that-had-most-recently-come-from-the-mouth-of-god-was/) [Nadia Bolz-Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-bolz-weber/) > [“We give God a name. We then equate God with the name we have given him, and in doing so we make ourselves, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-finley/we-give-god-a-name-we-then-equate-god-with-the-name-we-have-given-him/) [James Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-finley/) > [Don't hide ur identity,you are God's creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casper-mabotja/don-t-hide-ur-identity-you-are-god-s-creation/) [Casper Mabotja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casper-mabotja/) ## 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/) > [“The key is to move from being a victim of thoughts (the commenting, chattering mind) to being their witness (the heart’s stillness) . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/the-key-is-to-move-from-being-a-victim-of-thoughts-the-commenting/) [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. By this I mean, whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/but-as-important-as-time-set-aside-specifically-for-prayer-is/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [Dying is all about letting go and letting be, as is the awareness of God. People who have traveled far along the contemplative path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/dying-is-all-about-letting-go-and-letting-be-as-is-the-awareness-of/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [Books that talk about 'contemplation' often seem to have been written on Jupiter. This one is a sterling exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/books-that-talk-about-contemplation-often-seem-to-have-been-written/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“Union with God is not something we acquire by a technique but the grounding truth of our lives that engenders the very search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-laird/union-with-god-is-not-something-we-acquire-by-a-technique-but-the/) [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) > [“This watchfulness also applies to our tendency to add thought upon thought upon thought. 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 Thoughts and feelings quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [“Yes, read about jobs and your hours and wages. Yes, you must strike, you must have better lives. But you must read also about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-poole/yes-read-about-jobs-and-your-hours-and-wages-yes-you-must-strike-you/) [Ernest Poole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-poole/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [The immense value of becoming acquainted with a foreign language is that we are thereby led into a new world of tradition and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/the-immense-value-of-becoming-acquainted-with-a-foreign-language-is/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [Empathy is experiencing others feelings and thoughts while remaining objective. It also requires that you are able to communicate to someone your understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/empathy-is-experiencing-others-feelings-and-thoughts-while-remaining/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/this-topic-of-judging-others-could-actually-be-taught-in-a-two-word/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [That was the worst part about losing someone-finding a place to store all the thoughts and feelings you'd otherwise share with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kass-morgan/that-was-the-worst-part-about-losing-someone-finding-a-place-to-store/) [Kass Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kass-morgan/) > [“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/) > [“A human being,’ said Einstein, ‘is part of the whole, which we call the Universe; a part limited in time and space. He experiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-parke/a-human-being-said-einstein-is-part-of-the-whole-which-we-call-the/) [Simon Parke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-parke/) > [“Loving-kindness is the experience of having a friendly and loving relationship toward ourselves as well as all others. The experience of sending loving-kindness toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/loving-kindness-is-the-experience-of-having-a-friendly-and-loving/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [When we stop fighting with ourselves, we aren't creating anymore conflict in our mind. Then our mind can for the first time relax and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/when-we-stop-fighting-with-ourselves-we-aren-t-creating-anymore/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Listening to learn isn't about giving advice--at least not until asked--but about trying to understand exactly what someone means,how it is that someone looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-debold/listening-to-learn-isn-t-about-giving-advice-at-least-not-until-asked/) [Elizabeth Debold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-debold/) > [Our mental and emotional diets determine our overall energy levels, health, and well-being to a far greater extent than most people realize. Every thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-martin/our-mental-and-emotional-diets-determine-our-overall-energy-levels/) [Howard Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-martin/) > [You are not happy because you are well. You are well because you are happy. You are not depressed because trouble has come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmet-fox/you-are-not-happy-because-you-are-well-you-are-well-because-you-are/) [Emmet Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmet-fox/) > [My music must be an artistic reproduction of human speech in all its finest shades. That is, the sounds of human speech, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/my-music-must-be-an-artistic-reproduction-of-human-speech-in-all-its/) [Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/) [Browse all 448 Thoughts and feelings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-feelings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“. . . there is a foundational core of what we might as well call identity that remains hidden from scrutiny’s grip and somehow utterly caught up in God, “in whom we live and move and have our being,” in whom our very self is immersed. Precisely because our deepest identity, grounding the personality, is hidden with Christ in God and beyond the grasp of comprehension, the experience of this ground-identity that is one with God will register in our perception, if indeed it does register, as an experience of no particular thing, a great, flowing abyss, a depthless depth. To those who know only the discursive mind, this may seem a death-dealing terror or spinning vertigo. But for those whose thinking mind has expanded into heart-mind, it is an encounter brimming over with the flow of vast, open emptiness that is the ground of all. This “no thing,” this “emptiness” is not an absence but a superabundance . . . the so-called psychological self, our personality (not what Paul is talking about as hidden with Christ in God) is a cognitive construct pasted up out of thoughts and feelings. A rather elaborate job has been done of it, and it is singularly useful. 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