--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is, going against the internal…" description: "\"The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start some sort of cultural revolution.\" — Noah Levine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg" --- # The truth is, going against the internal stream of… ![“The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start some sort of cultural revolution.” quote by Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg) > “The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start some sort of cultural revolution.” [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Challenging personal ignorance is a deeper rebellion than external cultural revolutions. **In simple terms:** Self‑challenge beats outward revolt. Key Takeaway Focus on inner learning. Themes personal growth rebellion ignorance self‑awareness culture Mood introspective motivational Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - Self‑help workshops - mindfulness practice - educational programs - personal journaling Key Concepts psychology of change critical thinking inner revolution Questions to Reflect On - What internal biases do you resist? - How can inner change inspire external change? A Different Perspective External movements can distract from inner work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultural Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-revolution-302349/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-way-1026322/) [Internals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internals/) [Rebellious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellious/) [Rebellious Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellious-trying-2665923/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Rebellious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-rebellious-2665922/) ## Related quotes > [In my own way, I was a rebellious kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/in-my-own-way-i-was-a-rebellious-kid/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [Sometimes it's best to speak from ignorance: that way, you can see the wood without being distracted by the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/sometimes-it-s-best-to-speak-from-ignorance-that-way-you-can-see-the/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“We even, at the worst, reach the state for which Buddhism, in the East presents most ably the case: as in the West, does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/we-even-at-the-worst-reach-the-state-for-which-buddhism-in-the-east/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“The price of ignorance is way more than the price we would have paid to acquire knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-price-of-ignorance-is-way-more-than-the-price-we-would-have-paid/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Moreover, he felt vaguely that what he called his convictions were not only ignorance but were a way of thinking that made the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/moreover-he-felt-vaguely-that-what-he-called-his-convictions-were-not/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Saying we should scrap drones shows an irresponsible and nonsensical ignorance of the way we protect our country. 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This was a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-bush/my-first-trip-to-china-was-in-1975-when-my-father-was-the-bicycling/) [Neil Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-bush/) > [My own family went through its own difficulties in the Cultural Revolution, perhaps in a milder form than many other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/my-own-family-went-through-its-own-difficulties-in-the-cultural/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [“Meanwhile, Mme Mao and her cohorts were renewing their efforts to prevent the country from working. In industry, their slogan was: "To stop production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jung-chang/meanwhile-mme-mao-and-her-cohorts-were-renewing-their-efforts-to/) [Jung Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jung-chang/) > [“The Beats and the Pranksters showed us different ways of opting out of society. They were both the personification of countercultural movements. The Beats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/the-beats-and-the-pranksters-showed-us-different-ways-of-opting-out/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) ## More by Noah Levine > [“A good basic guideline for our speech is to reflect on whether what we are saying is both true and useful. There may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/a-good-basic-guideline-for-our-speech-is-to-reflect-on-whether-what/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Actually a solution & a path to personal freedom. My own life's experience w/ both Dharma practice & punk rock inspired me to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/actually-a-solution-a-path-to-personal-freedom-my-own-life-s/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The greatest satisfaction comes not from chasing pleasure and avoiding pain, but from the radical acceptance of life as it is, without fighting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-greatest-satisfaction-comes-not-from-chasing-pleasure-and/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“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/) > [“Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness, it is a revolutionary stance, from the inside out, for the benefit of all beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/waking-up-is-not-a-selfish-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-a-revolutionary/) [noah levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [Sitting still is a pain in the ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/sitting-still-is-a-pain-in-the-ass/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“An action from a confused and suffering being in the past doesn't represent what that being is forever; it is only an expression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/an-action-from-a-confused-and-suffering-being-in-the-past-doesn-t/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Serving the truth comes down simply to living life from the place of positive intentions. It means doing the right thing even when everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/serving-the-truth-comes-down-simply-to-living-life-from-the-place-of/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Does our lack of forgiveness really punish them, or does it just make our hearts hard and our lives unpleasent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/does-our-lack-of-forgiveness-really-punish-them-or-does-it-just-make/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The Buddha likened humans to the lotus flowers. Out of the deluded mud of human existence, filled with greed, hatred, and delusion, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-buddha-likened-humans-to-the-lotus-flowers-out-of-the-deluded-mud/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [Generosity is revolutionary, counter-instinctual. Our survival instinct is to care only for ourselves and our loved ones. But we can transform our relationship to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/generosity-is-revolutionary-counter-instinctual-our-survival-instinct/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [We come to understand the law of casuality - that is, we see that all beings are experiencing what they're experiencing based on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-come-to-understand-the-law-of-casuality-that-is-we-see-that-all/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [We mistakenly bind ourselves to be content only when life is feeling pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-mistakenly-bind-ourselves-to-be-content-only-when-life-is-feeling/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The most important thing to remember is that we must live in the present, and if in the present moment we are still holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-most-important-thing-to-remember-is-that-we-must-live-in-the/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“We agreed that at least to some extent the whole punk movement is based on the Buddha's 1st noble truth of suffering & the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-agreed-that-at-least-to-some-extent-the-whole-punk-movement-is/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) [Explore all 55 Noah Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) [John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start some sort of cultural revolution.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noah Levine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal-stream-of-ignorance-is-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal-stream-of-ignorance-is-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/noah-levine-12272_ignorance_the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal_2692029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start…” — Noah Levine", "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": "Noah Levine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The truth is, going against the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal-stream-of-ignorance-is-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-truth-is-going-against-the-internal-stream-of-ignorance-is-way/#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 } } ] } ```