--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mysterious path goes inward. It is in…" description: "\"The mysterious path goes inward. It is in us, and not anywhere else, where the eternity of the worlds, the past and the future are found.\" — Novalis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/novalis-1989_eternity_the-mysterious-path-goes-inward-it-is-in_1512528.jpg" --- # The mysterious path goes inward. It is in us, and not… ![“The mysterious path goes inward. It is in us, and not anywhere else, where the eternity of the worlds, the past and the future are found.” quote by Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/novalis-1989_eternity_the-mysterious-path-goes-inward-it-is-in_1512528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/novalis-1989_eternity_the-mysterious-path-goes-inward-it-is-in_1512528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/novalis-1989_eternity_the-mysterious-path-goes-inward-it-is-in_1512528.jpg) > “The mysterious path goes inward. It is in us, and not anywhere else, where the eternity of the worlds, the past and the future are found.” [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The inner journey reveals timeless truths beyond external places. **In simple terms:** The eternity of worlds lives inside us. Key Takeaway Seek inner wisdom. Themes spirituality philosophy inner journey Mood contemplative inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts metaphysics timelessness Questions to Reflect On - Where do you find your inner eternity? - How does looking inward affect your actions? A Different Perspective Inner focus can ignore external responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past And The Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-the-future/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“We dream of travels throughout the universe: is not the universe within us? We do not know the depths of our spirit. The mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/we-dream-of-travels-throughout-the-universe-is-not-the-universe/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“This mysterious path is described in the holy books, but it cannot be found simply by the study of sacred texts. It is found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-sant-sevi-ji-maharaj/this-mysterious-path-is-described-in-the-holy-books-but-it-cannot-be/) Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj > [Imagination places the future world for us either above or below or in reincarnation. We dream of travels throughout the universe: is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/imagination-places-the-future-world-for-us-either-above-or-below-or/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [The normal present connects the past and the future through limitation. Contiguity results, crystallization by means of solidification. There also exists, however, a spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/the-normal-present-connects-the-past-and-the-future-through/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Try and travel with the eyes of the spirit wide open, and not too much factual information. To tune in, without reverence, idly --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/try-and-travel-with-the-eyes-of-the-spirit-wide-open-and-not-too-much/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Pure physical sensation, social status, sexual attraction, and feeling like a winner are generally superficial, which is why people hunger for them repeatedly.The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/pure-physical-sensation-social-status-sexual-attraction-and-feeling/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“The past and the future are not a collection of instants shared by all space, but a collection of events that correspond to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/the-past-and-the-future-are-not-a-collection-of-instants-shared-by/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [“The past and the future were starlight, seemingly so close, but forever out of reach. Eli felt that starlight, the infinity of knowing nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-rice/the-past-and-the-future-were-starlight-seemingly-so-close-but-forever/) [Daniel J. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-rice/) > [“JENNET. Twilight, double, treble, in and out! If I try to find my way I bark my brain On shadows sharp as rocks where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/jennet-twilight-double-treble-in-and-out-if-i-try-to-find-my-way-i/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“How time seemed to blur and slow and even stop, how the past and the future vanished until there was nothing but the instant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/how-time-seemed-to-blur-and-slow-and-even-stop-how-the-past-and-the/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Inhale the present, exhale the past and the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/inhale-the-present-exhale-the-past-and-the-future/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The past and the future were just blinders we wore so that infinity wouldn’t drive us mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/the-past-and-the-future-were-just-blinders-we-wore-so-that-infinity/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) ## More by Novalis > [To get to know a truth properly, one must polemicize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/to-get-to-know-a-truth-properly-one-must-polemicize-it/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Character is a wish for a perfect education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/character-is-a-wish-for-a-perfect-education/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“Whoever sees life other than as a self-destroying illusion is himself still preoccupied with life. Life must not be a novel that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/whoever-sees-life-other-than-as-a-self-destroying-illusion-is-himself/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“Inspiration without intellect is useless and dangerous; and the poet will be able to perform few wonders, when he is astonished by wonders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/inspiration-without-intellect-is-useless-and-dangerous-and-the-poet/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [It is not merely the multiplicity of tints, the gladness of tone, or the balminess of the air which delight in the spring; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/it-is-not-merely-the-multiplicity-of-tints-the-gladness-of-tone-or/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“The world must be romanticized. Only in that way will one rediscover its original senses. Romanticization is nothing less than a qualitative raising of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/the-world-must-be-romanticized-only-in-that-way-will-one-rediscover/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Nature is an aeolian harp, a musical instrument whose tones are the re-echo of higher strings within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/nature-is-an-aeolian-harp-a-musical-instrument-whose-tones-are-the-re/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Our bodies are molded rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/our-bodies-are-molded-rivers/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Where are we really going? Always home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/where-are-we-really-going-always-home/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Darwin remarks that we are less dazzled by the light at waking, if we have been dreaming of visible objects. Happy are those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/darwin-remarks-that-we-are-less-dazzled-by-the-light-at-waking-if-we/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [We are near waking when we dream we are dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/we-are-near-waking-when-we-dream-we-are-dreaming/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Man has his being in truth--if he sacrifices truth he sacrifices himself. Whoever betrays truth betrays himself. It is not a question of lying--but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/man-has-his-being-in-truth-if-he-sacrifices-truth-he-sacrifices/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Every beloved object is the center point of a paradise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/every-beloved-object-is-the-center-point-of-a-paradise/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [In a work of art, chaos must shimmer through the veil of order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/in-a-work-of-art-chaos-must-shimmer-through-the-veil-of-order/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Many things are too delicate to be thought; many more, to be spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/many-things-are-too-delicate-to-be-thought-many-more-to-be-spoken/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) [Explore all 167 Novalis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The mysterious path goes inward. 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