---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I focus more on the spiritual or psychic…"
description: "\"I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.\" — Mary Gaitskill"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg"
---

#  I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.

![“I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.” quote by Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg)

> “I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.”

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Prioritizing spiritual or psychic development over material concerns can enrich inner life and perspective.

**In simple terms:** Value inner growth over material gain.

Key Takeaway

Focus on spiritual development.

Themes

spirituality inner growth values

Mood

contemplative calm

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- meditation
- creative work
- stress management
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

psychology philosophy mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What spiritual practices deepen your insight?
- How do you balance inner growth with external duties?

A Different Perspective

Spiritual focus may neglect practical responsibilities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/)

## Related quotes

> [When people hear that I have a chronic illness, they'll say things like "Focus on you." Well, my spiritual and emotional fulfillment is based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-duffy/when-people-hear-that-i-have-a-chronic-illness-they-ll-say-things/)

[Karen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-duffy/)

> [Although I am a committed Catholic priest, and nowhere hide that fact, my focus is very much a spiritual journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/although-i-am-a-committed-catholic-priest-and-nowhere-hide-that-fact/)

[Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/)

> [I focus on spiritual wealth now, and I'm busier, more enthusiastic, and more joyful than I have ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-templeton/i-focus-on-spiritual-wealth-now-and-i-m-busier-more-enthusiastic-and/)

[John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-templeton/)

> [“Most people in America, when they are exposed to the Christian faith, are not being transformed. They take one step into the door, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kinnaman/most-people-in-america-when-they-are-exposed-to-the-christian-faith/)

[David Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kinnaman/)

> [“the focus of spiritual formation is the formation of our spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/the-focus-of-spiritual-formation-is-the-formation-of-our-spirit/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [You can focus on me or on any spiritual teacher. Spiritual teachers who have left the body, who are no longer on earth can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-focus-on-me-or-on-any-spiritual-teacher-spiritual-teachers/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Priests focus on the spiritual. As a lay person I could show people how to be good Catholics in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-sanchez/priests-focus-on-the-spiritual-as-a-lay-person-i-could-show-people/)

[Bo Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-sanchez/)

> [“ Many of us are slaves to our minds. Our own mind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham-rinpoche/many-of-us-are-slaves-to-our-minds-our-own-mind-is-our-worst-enemy-we/)

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

> [All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. Oddly, this dimension is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/all-the-classical-meditation-traditions-in-one-way-or-another-stress/)

[Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/)

> [An advanced way to meditate, of course, is to focus on your teacher. If you have a spiritual teacher and you focus on them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/an-advanced-way-to-meditate-of-course-is-to-focus-on-your-teacher-if/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [ “The worldly \[spiritual\] science is methodic (kramic) in nature; one progresses “step by step”; one has to ascent one step at a time. Whereas… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-worldly-spiritual-science-is-methodic-kramic-in-nature-one/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/)

[M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/)

> [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/)

[Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/)

> [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

## More by Mary Gaitskill

> [“I carry love wrapped in pain. That is my treasure and soon it will be yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-carry-love-wrapped-in-pain-that-is-my-treasure-and-soon-it-will-be/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [“God famously doesn't afflict Job because of anything Job has done, but because he wants to prove a point to Satan. Twenty years later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/god-famously-doesn-t-afflict-job-because-of-anything-job-has-done-but/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-you-re-writing-a-story-you-re-creating-something-of-an/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/partly-i-m-worried-that-no-one-is-saying-anything-because-they-are/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [ “...loading your brain with subliminal messages… How loathsome to turn a sadistic murder into entertainment \[in the newspaper\] -- and yet how hard not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/loading-your-brain-with-subliminal-messages-how-loathsome-to-turn-a/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [ “The place Joanne is building inside \[herself\] has rooms for all of this. Not just rooms. Beautiful ones. For Karl and Jerry and Karen… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-place-joanne-is-building-inside-herself-has-rooms-for-all-of-this/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [“Valiantly, he tried to bring his soul to life in the small thing through which it had to live, and it was crushed, again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/valiantly-he-tried-to-bring-his-soul-to-life-in-the-small-thing/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [The best definition I've heard is that guilt is about what you've done, shame is about who you are. If something's out of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-best-definition-i-ve-heard-is-that-guilt-is-about-what-you-ve/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [When my first book came out, it was very disorienting. My health went south. I didn't know how to relate to people. I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-my-first-book-came-out-it-was-very-disorienting-my-health-went/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [When he held her that way, she felt so happy that it disturbed her. After he left, it would take her hours to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-he-held-her-that-way-she-felt-so-happy-that-it-disturbed-her/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [“But life can give a lot. If you can’t see inside the heart no matter how you look, then why not look? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/but-life-can-give-a-lot-if-you-can-t-see-inside-the-heart-no-matter/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [Sexuality is a place where people are very vulnerable and can be experiencing and embodying very raw forces that they don't really understand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/sexuality-is-a-place-where-people-are-very-vulnerable-and-can-be/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [“When boys get angry with each other, they just fight it out and it's all over. But girls are dirty. They pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-boys-get-angry-with-each-other-they-just-fight-it-out-and-it-s/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [I think, life is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-life-is-miserable/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

> [There isn't going to be anyone to tell you what to do most of the time. It has to be your own decision and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/there-isn-t-going-to-be-anyone-to-tell-you-what-to-do-most-of-the/)

[Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

[Explore all 87 Mary Gaitskill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/)

## More Focus quotes

> [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/)

[Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/)

> [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/)

[Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/)

> [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/)

[Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/)

> [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/)

[Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/)

> [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/)

[Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/)

> [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/)

[Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/)

[Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/)

> [Too many times we flitter our energy into too many goals and in the process don't achieve much. Focus is very important in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishali-kasture/too-many-times-we-flitter-our-energy-into-too-many-goals-and-in-the/)

[Vaishali Kasture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishali-kasture/)

> [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/)

[Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/)

> [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/)

[Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/)

> [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [All I'm focused on is playing my game. Everything else will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/all-i-m-focused-on-is-playing-my-game-everything-else-will-take-care/)

[Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/)

> [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/)

[Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/)

[Browse all 11,734 Focus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mary Gaitskill"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Focus"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/mary-gaitskill-7551_focus_i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic_600198.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.” — Mary Gaitskill",
                "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": "Mary Gaitskill",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I focus more on the spiritual...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
