--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I shut my eyes in order to see." description: "\"I shut my eyes in order to see.\" — Paul Gauguin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png" --- # I shut my eyes in order to see. ![“I shut my eyes in order to see.” quote by Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png) > “I shut my eyes in order to see.” [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Closing eyes can heighten inner vision, allowing imagination to reveal truths not seen externally **In simple terms:** Seeing with the mind requires inner focus Key Takeaway Practice inner visualization regularly Themes art perception mindfulness Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - creative brainstorming - visual arts Key Concepts Phenomenology inner sight Questions to Reflect On - How does inner sight affect your creative decisions? - What practices enhance inner visualization? A Different Perspective Inner vision may be influenced by personal bias ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Eyes Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-order-3838362/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut/) [Shut Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [“Shut your eyes in order to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/shut-your-eyes-in-order-to-see/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [I close my eyes in order to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/i-close-my-eyes-in-order-to-see/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-palmer/keep-your-mouth-shut-and-your-eyes-open/) [Samuel Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-palmer/) > [“I don't answer. I shut my eyes and hold my breath and hope whoever it is will think I'm not here and go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-don-t-answer-i-shut-my-eyes-and-hold-my-breath-and-hope-whoever-it/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [It is sure to be dark if you shut your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/it-is-sure-to-be-dark-if-you-shut-your-eyes/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [“To shut you eyes is to guess nothing of blindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/to-shut-you-eyes-is-to-guess-nothing-of-blindness/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [Do not shut your eyes to all that God is doing for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-shut-your-eyes-to-all-that-god-is-doing-for-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My eyes make pictures when they are shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/my-eyes-make-pictures-when-they-are-shut/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I think all of the directors I've worked with are mostly curious about the time I had on 'Eyes Wide Shut.' They really just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinessa-shaw/i-think-all-of-the-directors-i-ve-worked-with-are-mostly-curious/) [Vinessa Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinessa-shaw/) > [“Sometimes she became overwhelmed with the beauty of life and then she could do nothing but shut her eyes and pretend she was already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-foley/sometimes-she-became-overwhelmed-with-the-beauty-of-life-and-then-she/) [Kay Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-foley/) > [“I couldn't make any judgment on the Summa, except to say this: I read it for about twenty minutes every night before I go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-couldn-t-make-any-judgment-on-the-summa-except-to-say-this-i-read/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [The trouble is you can shut your eyes but you can’t shut your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-trouble-is-you-can-shut-your-eyes-but-you-can-t-shut-your-mind/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“I shut my eyes tightly, willing myself to go back to sleep. I want to go back to my dream, back to Caleb. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/i-shut-my-eyes-tightly-willing-myself-to-go-back-to-sleep-i-want-to/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [“She had seen Daniel here earlier. He had come onto the ward, sat beside her bed. As soon as she saw him coming she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwards/she-had-seen-daniel-here-earlier-he-had-come-onto-the-ward-sat-beside/) [Mark Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwards/) > [“I shut my eyes tight, trying to savor the moment. I knew I would wish for that moment back every day of my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-shut-my-eyes-tight-trying-to-savor-the-moment-i-knew-i-would-wish/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) ## More by Paul Gauguin > [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [It is well for young men to have a model, but let them draw the curtain over it while they are painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/it-is-well-for-young-men-to-have-a-model-but-let-them-draw-the/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Today one can dare anything, and, furthermore, nobody is surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/today-one-can-dare-anything-and-furthermore-nobody-is-surprised/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [It was so simple to paint things as I saw them; to put without special calculation a red close to a blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/it-was-so-simple-to-paint-things-as-i-saw-them-to-put-without-special/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Out in the sun, some painters are lined up. The first is copying nature, the second is copying the first, the third is copying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/out-in-the-sun-some-painters-are-lined-up-the-first-is-copying-nature/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [However depressed I may be I am not in the habit of giving up a project without having tried everything, even the 'impossible', to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/however-depressed-i-may-be-i-am-not-in-the-habit-of-giving-up-a/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Lacking many of the essential implements, it irritated me to be reduced to impotence in the face of artistic projects to which I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/lacking-many-of-the-essential-implements-it-irritated-me-to-be/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Life has no meaning unless one lives it with a will, at least to the limit of one's will. Virtue, good, evil are nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/life-has-no-meaning-unless-one-lives-it-with-a-will-at-least-to-the/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [When the physical organism breaks up, the soul survives. It then takes on another body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/when-the-physical-organism-breaks-up-the-soul-survives-it-then-takes/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Proficiency in art is a contract with your self and the empowerment of your self. Not all of us demand or even desire proficiency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/proficiency-in-art-is-a-contract-with-your-self-and-the-empowerment/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Sometimes people accuse me of being incomprehensible only because they look for an explicative side to my pictures which is not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/sometimes-people-accuse-me-of-being-incomprehensible-only-because/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [“Do what you like, so long as it is intelligent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/do-what-you-like-so-long-as-it-is-intelligent/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [One's state of mind is three-quarters of what counts, so it has to be carefully nurtured if you want to do something great and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/one-s-state-of-mind-is-three-quarters-of-what-counts-so-it-has-to-be/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [The public wants to understand and learn in a single day, a single minute, what the artist has spent years learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/the-public-wants-to-understand-and-learn-in-a-single-day-a-single/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Stay firmly in your path and dare; be wild two hours a day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/stay-firmly-in-your-path-and-dare-be-wild-two-hours-a-day/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) [Explore all 154 Paul Gauguin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) ## More Eyes quotes > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [When I was a teen, I would draw a really, really long line around my eyes with eyeliner, like Lola Flores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia/when-i-was-a-teen-i-would-draw-a-really-really-long-line-around-my/) [Rosalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [It's similar to basketball: when you go to different gyms and win or lose, you learn something new. So when kids get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-iguodala/it-s-similar-to-basketball-when-you-go-to-different-gyms-and-win-or/) [Andre Iguodala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-iguodala/) > [When I see things through my eyes, I don't want to ever just be really negative towards someone's performance. There are many ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/when-i-see-things-through-my-eyes-i-don-t-want-to-ever-just-be-really/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [My only trick to having wing liner sharp enough to cut is be careful and take your time! I have hooded eyes, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-charles/my-only-trick-to-having-wing-liner-sharp-enough-to-cut-is-be-careful/) [James Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-charles/) > [“I fell in love with your eyes first because I looked into their depths and saw the other half of my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-lilley/i-fell-in-love-with-your-eyes-first-because-i-looked-into-their/) [R.K. Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-lilley/) > [I think, reading about yourself through somebody else's eyes, you're always going to have your own story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/i-think-reading-about-yourself-through-somebody-else-s-eyes-you-re/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [Evertime I close my eyes it doesnt matter where, I always see you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/evertime-i-close-my-eyes-it-doesnt-matter-where-i-always-see-you/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience/) > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [It's not your mistake if you cant read the eyes which cheats you. But it's really your mistake if you cant read the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-mbululo/it-s-not-your-mistake-if-you-cant-read-the-eyes-which-cheats-you-but/) [Ally Mbululo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-mbululo/) > [Kiss me with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/kiss-me-with-your-eyes/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) [Browse all 3,942 Eyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I shut my eyes in order to see.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Gauguin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eyes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/083/paul-gauguin-2667_eyes_i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see-1285692_1285692.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I shut my eyes in order to see.” — Paul Gauguin", "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": "Paul Gauguin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I shut my eyes in order...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/i-shut-my-eyes-in-order-to-see/#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 } } ] } ```