--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we’re nothing more than our thoughts…" description: "\"“If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/r-scott-bakker-4344_movements_if-we-re-nothing-more-than-our-thoughts_1103207.png" --- # If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and… ![“If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.” quote by R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/r-scott-bakker-4344_movements_if-we-re-nothing-more-than-our-thoughts_1103207.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/r-scott-bakker-4344_movements_if-we-re-nothing-more-than-our-thoughts_1103207.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/r-scott-bakker-4344_movements_if-we-re-nothing-more-than-our-thoughts_1103207.png) > ““If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.”” [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our identity is shaped by the thoughts and passions that drive us, making us the agents of our own movement. **In simple terms:** We are defined by what we think and feel. Key Takeaway Recognize and guide your inner motivations. Themes identity philosophy self‑knowledge Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - spiritual practice Key Concepts soul agency consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How do you align your passions with purposeful action? - What thoughts shape your sense of self? A Different Perspective Thoughts and passions can be fleeting and hard to control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movements/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [There is no human being who having both passions and thoughts does not think in consequences of his passions--does not find images rising in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-is-no-human-being-who-having-both-passions-and-thoughts-does/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“True, he had dreamy visions of possibilities: there is no human being who having both passions and thoughts does not think in consequence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/true-he-had-dreamy-visions-of-possibilities-there-is-no-human-being/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [All thoughts, all passions, all delights, Whatever stirs this mortal frame, Are all but ministers of Love, And feed his sacred flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/all-thoughts-all-passions-all-delights-whatever-stirs-this-mortal-2/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The mind of a man that loves God does not fight against things or thoughts about them, but against the passions that are connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-mind-of-a-man-that-loves-god-does-not-fight-against-things-or/) [Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/) > [“ All thoughts, all passions, all delights Whatever stirs this mortal frame All are but ministers of Love And feed His sacred flame." Educated Jatt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/all-thoughts-all-passions-all-delights-whatever-stirs-this-mortal/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Saint Thomas Aquinas says, wisely, that the only way to drive out a bad passion is by a stronger good passion. The same is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/saint-thomas-aquinas-says-wisely-that-the-only-way-to-drive-out-a-bad/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Most new movements start this way: hundreds or thousands of individuals and groups, working in different fields and different locations, start thinking about change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/most-new-movements-start-this-way-hundreds-or-thousands-of/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [Obviously, Fred Astaire was a legend. I've tried to copy some of his movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-moir/obviously-fred-astaire-was-a-legend-i-ve-tried-to-copy-some-of-his/) [Scott Moir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-moir/) > [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Indeed, all things move, all things run, all things are rapidly changing. A profile is never motionless before our eyes, but it constantly appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-balla/indeed-all-things-move-all-things-run-all-things-are-rapidly-changing/) Giacomo Balla > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by R. Scott Bakker > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [I tell you, guilt dwells nowhere but in the eyes of the accuser. This men know even as they deny it, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-tell-you-guilt-dwells-nowhere-but-in-the-eyes-of-the-accuser-this/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“When a man possesses the innocence of a child, we call him a fool. When a child possesses the cunning of a man, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/when-a-man-possesses-the-innocence-of-a-child-we-call-him-a-fool-when/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor ... ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-am-a-warrior-of-ages-anasurimbor-ages-i-have-dipped-my-nimil-in-a/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“The vulgar think the God by analogy to man and so worship Him in the form of the Gods. The learned think the God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/the-vulgar-think-the-god-by-analogy-to-man-and-so-worship-him-in-the/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [There was such a difference, he thought, between the beauty that illuminated, and the beauty that was illuminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/there-was-such-a-difference-he-thought-between-the-beauty-that/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Complexity begets ambiguity, which yields in all ways to prejudice and avarice. Complication does not so much defeat Men as arm them with fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/complexity-begets-ambiguity-which-yields-in-all-ways-to-prejudice-and/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Sorweel: „Then how can we hope to resist him?“ Harweel: „With our swords and our shields. And when those fail us, with spit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/sorweel-then-how-can-we-hope-to-resist-him-harweel-with-our-swords/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“He struck his own fire, listened to the night wind roar through the trees. Sometimes, when he could see it, he stared at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/he-struck-his-own-fire-listened-to-the-night-wind-roar-through-the/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“That hope is little more than the premonition of regret. This is the first lesson of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/that-hope-is-little-more-than-the-premonition-of-regret-this-is-the/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“For all things there is a toll. We pay in breaths, and our purse is soon empty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/for-all-things-there-is-a-toll-we-pay-in-breaths-and-our-purse-is/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [I wanted a literate, socially intricate, and cosmopolitan world - something I could have fun destroying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-wanted-a-literate-socially-intricate-and-cosmopolitan-world/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Only madmen and historians, he said, believe their lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/only-madmen-and-historians-he-said-believe-their-lies/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Sleep, when deep enough, is indistinguishable from vigilance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/sleep-when-deep-enough-is-indistinguishable-from-vigilance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) [Explore all 110 R. Scott Bakker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) ## More Movements quotes > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Indeed, all things move, all things run, all things are rapidly changing. A profile is never motionless before our eyes, but it constantly appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-balla/indeed-all-things-move-all-things-run-all-things-are-rapidly-changing/) Giacomo Balla > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) > [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Obviously, Fred Astaire was a legend. I've tried to copy some of his movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-moir/obviously-fred-astaire-was-a-legend-i-ve-tried-to-copy-some-of-his/) [Scott Moir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-moir/) > [Most new movements start this way: hundreds or thousands of individuals and groups, working in different fields and different locations, start thinking about change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/most-new-movements-start-this-way-hundreds-or-thousands-of/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They're moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-watch-any-good-player-they-re-using-different-parts-of-their/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Labour grew out of popular movements of mutualism and self-help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-kendall/labour-grew-out-of-popular-movements-of-mutualism-and-self-help/) [Liz Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-kendall/) > [“For a nation to be truly transformed, there must be movements, civil societies, NGOs that are spread all across the land to educate people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/for-a-nation-to-be-truly-transformed-there-must-be-movements-civil/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Burdened no more is soul for whom life flows through dance like breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shah-asad-rizvi/burdened-no-more-is-soul-for-whom-life-flows-through-dance-like-breath/) [Shah Asad Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shah-asad-rizvi/) > [“Dance as the narration of a magical story; that recites on lips, illuminates imaginations and embraces the most sacred depths of souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shah-asad-rizvi/dance-as-the-narration-of-a-magical-story-that-recites-on-lips/) [Shah Asad Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shah-asad-rizvi/) > [You cannot have politics without building mass-movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-prashad/you-cannot-have-politics-without-building-mass-movements/) [Vijay Prashad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-prashad/) [Browse all 223 Movements quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movements/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we’re nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "R. 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