--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The desire to live in our imagination is…" description: "\"The desire to live in our imagination is driven by this suspicion that we're disembodied sensibilities cobbled into our bodies. That idea has infused m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/richard-powers-8111_beginning_the-desire-to-live-in-our-imagination-is_922098.jpg" --- # The desire to live in our imagination is driven by this… ![“The desire to live in our imagination is driven by this suspicion that we're disembodied sensibilities cobbled into our bodies. That idea has infused most of human thought since the very beginning.” quote by Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/richard-powers-8111_beginning_the-desire-to-live-in-our-imagination-is_922098.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/richard-powers-8111_beginning_the-desire-to-live-in-our-imagination-is_922098.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/richard-powers-8111_beginning_the-desire-to-live-in-our-imagination-is_922098.jpg) > “The desire to live in our imagination is driven by this suspicion that we're disembodied sensibilities cobbled into our bodies. That idea has infused most of human thought since the very beginning.” [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human consciousness feels detached from the body, leading to a belief that we are merely observers of our own lives. **In simple terms:** We feel separate from our bodies and thoughts. Key Takeaway Recognize the mind‑body connection. Themes identity consciousness philosophy human nature Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - therapy - mindfulness practice - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts embodiment subjectivity existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does feeling disembodied affect daily decisions? - Can grounding practices reduce this sense of separation? A Different Perspective The view may overlook the integrated nature of perception and emotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-to-live/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-thought/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [“Freud says that imagination is driven by primal and potentially savage desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gilboy/freud-says-that-imagination-is-driven-by-primal-and-potentially/) [Peter Gilboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gilboy/) > [Imagination is what has driven human progress since very early times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hambly/imagination-is-what-has-driven-human-progress-since-very-early-times/) [Barbara Hambly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hambly/) > [My journalist sensibilities have guided me toward the types of projects I've gone for, even though the projects have been fairly diverse. It always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/my-journalist-sensibilities-have-guided-me-toward-the-types-of/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [Personally, my interest in social history ends around 1959, by which time I was an adolescent. I've always attributed this to my particular sensibilities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/personally-my-interest-in-social-history-ends-around-1959-by-which/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [“All the romantic nonsense about depression somehow making one into a creature of unique sensibilities is easy to agree with when I feel good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/all-the-romantic-nonsense-about-depression-somehow-making-one-into-a/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [I think that most people have deeply creative sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-think-that-most-people-have-deeply-creative-sensibilities/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [I'm a modern girl with old-fashioned sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annaleigh-ashford/i-m-a-modern-girl-with-old-fashioned-sensibilities/) [Annaleigh Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annaleigh-ashford/) > [The cure for tender sensibilities is to make more of our objects and less of our selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-cure-for-tender-sensibilities-is-to-make-more-of-our-objects-and/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [“A good dose of fantasy is exercise for your sensibilities; it keeps your avatar strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-good-dose-of-fantasy-is-exercise-for-your-sensibilities-it-keeps/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Sensitiveness is closely allied to egotism; and excessive sensibility is only another name for morbid self-consciousness. The cure for tender sensibilities is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/sensitiveness-is-closely-allied-to-egotism-and-excessive-sensibility/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [I grew up on hip-hop and crate-digging and those sensibilities are deeply ingrained in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dukes/i-grew-up-on-hip-hop-and-crate-digging-and-those-sensibilities-are/) [Frank Dukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dukes/) > [You're not hurt, are you?" "Only my delicate sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-clement-moore/you-re-not-hurt-are-you-only-my-delicate-sensibilities/) [Rosemary Clement-Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-clement-moore/) > [I think the sensibilities of having grown up in Upstate New York and the concerns, the fears, the hopes of the people there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-muir/i-think-the-sensibilities-of-having-grown-up-in-upstate-new-york-and/) [David Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-muir/) > [We have a society in which one of the greatest things you can do is a platform to see victim status, and one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-hume/we-have-a-society-in-which-one-of-the-greatest-things-you-can-do-is-a/) [Brit Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-hume/) > [I think I am a product of my mother's sensibilities and my mother's values. There has been lots of battling and lots of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/i-think-i-am-a-product-of-my-mother-s-sensibilities-and-my-mother-s/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) ## More by Richard Powers > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“It seemed to me that half of life’s problems would be solved if one of us had a vagina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/it-seemed-to-me-that-half-of-life-s-problems-would-be-solved-if-one/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Information may travel at light speed, but meaning spreads at the speed of dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/information-may-travel-at-light-speed-but-meaning-spreads-at-the/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/science-is-not-about-control-it-is-about-cultivating-a-perpetual/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [What we can do should never by itself determine what we choose to do, yet this is the way technology tends to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/what-we-can-do-should-never-by-itself-determine-what-we-choose-to-do/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I really like science because it seems to be that place where you get the big picture, everything connects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-really-like-science-because-it-seems-to-be-that-place-where-you-get/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/for-me-university-was-just-awful-because-it-was-closing-one-door/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [We will live with racism for ever. But senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/we-will-live-with-racism-for-ever-but-senses-of-self-senses-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Reading is the last act of secular prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/reading-is-the-last-act-of-secular-prayer/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Time passes, as the novelist says. The single most useful trick of fiction for our repair and refreshment: the defeat of time. A century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/time-passes-as-the-novelist-says-the-single-most-useful-trick-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [A book is still atemporal. It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/a-book-is-still-atemporal-it-is-you-in-silence-hearing-voices-in-your/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [My dream has always been to suspend myself in space when I write, and lying horizontal in bed is the closest to doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/my-dream-has-always-been-to-suspend-myself-in-space-when-i-write-and/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Je ne fais aucun mal en restant ici. I do no harm by remaining here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/je-ne-fais-aucun-mal-en-restant-ici-i-do-no-harm-by-remaining-here/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [The use of music is to remind us how short a time we have a body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-use-of-music-is-to-remind-us-how-short-a-time-we-have-a-body/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Explore all 84 Richard Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) Manae Poet Of Carisis > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) Jacklyn H Lucas [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The desire to live in our imagination is driven by this suspicion that we're disembodied sensibilities cobbled into our bodies. 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