--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We’re not human beings having a spiritual…" description: "\"“We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spirits having a human experience.”\" — Santa Montefiore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg" --- # We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but… ![“We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spirits having a human experience.” quote by Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg) > ““We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spirits having a human experience.”” [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that our human lives are a temporary vessel for deeper spiritual existence, not the other way around. **In simple terms:** Spirits live through us, not us through spirits. Key Takeaway Recognize the deeper purpose beyond material life. Themes spirituality identity existence Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal growth - mindfulness practice - counseling - creative writing Key Concepts dualism transcendence human experience Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing yourself as a spirit change your daily choices? - What responsibilities arise from this perspective? A Different Perspective It may overlook the tangible aspects of human needs and social responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-experience/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Every time I see the bumper sticker that says “We think we’re humans having spiritual experiences, but we’re really spirits having human experiences,” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/every-time-i-see-the-bumper-sticker-that-says-we-think-we-re-humans/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [At the end of the day we're all spirits having a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/at-the-end-of-the-day-we-re-all-spirits-having-a-physical-experience/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“know that I’m not a human being having a spiritual experience. I’m a spiritual being having a human experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/know-that-i-m-not-a-human-being-having-a-spiritual-experience-i-m-a/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [They are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense of both the pains and pleasures of life, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/they-are-surely-to-be-esteemed-the-bravest-spirits-who-having-the/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [At the end of the day we're all spirits having a physical experience. That really comes from my relationship with Islam because it just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/at-the-end-of-the-day-we-re-all-spirits-having-a-physical-experience-2/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spiritual/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-we-are/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [I am not a human being having a spiritual experience. I am a spiritual being having a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-aziz/i-am-not-a-human-being-having-a-spiritual-experience-i-am-a-spiritual/) Julie Aziz > [We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience and Infinite love is the only truth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-we-are-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Finally, if you still are growing, you reach the highest archetype, the archetype of the spirit. This is the time when you finally realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/finally-if-you-still-are-growing-you-reach-the-highest-archetype-the/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-are-not-a-human-being-in-search-of-a-spiritual-experience-you-are/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [We were not human beings going through spiritual experiences; we were spiritual beings going through human experiences, in order to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/we-were-not-human-beings-going-through-spiritual-experiences-we-were/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Teilhard de Chardin - French geologist, Jesuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-jeffs/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-we-are-3/) Angela Jeffs > [We are not human beings in search of a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings emersed in a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-human-beings-in-search-of-a-spiritual-experience-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why would I want to believe this? I am a human being having a spiritual experience. When I could Choose to Live this; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-d-longoria-jr/why-would-i-want-to-believe-this-i-am-a-human-being-having-a/) [Raymond D. Longoria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-d-longoria-jr/) ## More by Santa Montefiore > [“find the experience of diving into a new world the most exhilarating of sensations,” he said. “I agree. Each book is like a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/find-the-experience-of-diving-into-a-new-world-the-most-exhilarating/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“She was an original ... She was an eccentric. She'd come alive like a fire, telling funny stories and entertaining everyone, then she'd suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/she-was-an-original-she-was-an-eccentric-she-d-come-alive-like-a-fire/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“There was nothing like losing something to make one value its worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/there-was-nothing-like-losing-something-to-make-one-value-its-worth/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“You bite the bullet and get on with it. One can't expect to be happy all the time ... You expect to be happy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/you-bite-the-bullet-and-get-on-with-it-one-can-t-expect-to-be-happy/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“shadows, no death, and the man who had once lusted for blood had vanished. Bobby looked across at him and smiled. ‘Sure feels good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/shadows-no-death-and-the-man-who-had-once-lusted-for-blood-had/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“Loving isn't about selecting only the good parts. It's about taking the whole and loving the lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/loving-isn-t-about-selecting-only-the-good-parts-it-s-about-taking/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“I like things to be clearly defined. Trouble brews when the lines are blurred. When people don't know where they stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/i-like-things-to-be-clearly-defined-trouble-brews-when-the-lines-are/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“She was one of those shallow people who rewrote their own history and believed in the absolute truth of their own version.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/she-was-one-of-those-shallow-people-who-rewrote-their-own-history-and/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) > [“I expect you to get up in the morning, the rest is a surprise!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/i-expect-you-to-get-up-in-the-morning-the-rest-is-a-surprise/) [Santa Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) [Explore all 10 Santa Montefiore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/) ## More Human experience quotes > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [“Naval officers were not mother's sort; very few people were her sort in those days, and that was her trouble - a very authentic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/naval-officers-were-not-mother-s-sort-very-few-people-were-her-sort/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“There is no one way of seeing. Nor is there a right way of seeing. Yet simply to accept the notion that both the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-lasalle/there-is-no-one-way-of-seeing-nor-is-there-a-right-way-of-seeing-yet/) [Mick LaSalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-lasalle/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [There is no normal. I've never met a normal person. The concept is flawed. It implies that there is only one way people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/there-is-no-normal-i-ve-never-met-a-normal-person-the-concept-is/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“know that I’m not a human being having a spiritual experience. I’m a spiritual being having a human experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/know-that-i-m-not-a-human-being-having-a-spiritual-experience-i-m-a/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [I think it's something to do with the nurturing side of the psyche; tying up a sunflower or whatever and helping it grow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-think-it-s-something-to-do-with-the-nurturing-side-of-the-psyche/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The whole idea of the pursuit of goods and possessions has completely corrupted the human experience, along with religion, which I think limits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/the-whole-idea-of-the-pursuit-of-goods-and-possessions-has-completely/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [As the young spend less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically and this reduces the richness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/as-the-young-spend-less-of-their-lives-in-natural-surroundings-their/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [“Lightly, caressingly, Marie Antoinette picked up the crown as a gift. She was still too young to know that life never gives anything for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lightly-caressingly-marie-antoinette-picked-up-the-crown-as-a-gift/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Intimacy with Wright had seemed necessary; an essential human experience she didn’t think she’d get anywhere else, at least not on her terms. Ryker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalie-stanton/intimacy-with-wright-had-seemed-necessary-an-essential-human/) Rosalie Stanton > [But anyway, it's obvious through human experience that extended families and tribes are terribly important. We can do without an extended family as human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/but-anyway-it-s-obvious-through-human-experience-that-extended/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I feel we have the opportunity of being part of a new and emerging category for human co-experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/i-feel-we-have-the-opportunity-of-being-part-of-a-new-and-emerging/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) [Browse all 799 Human experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spirits having a human experience.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Santa Montefiore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spirits/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human experience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spirits/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/santa-montefiore-38858_human-experience_we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritua_1526903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spirits having a human experience.” — Santa Montefiore", "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": "Santa Montefiore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-montefiore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We’re not human beings having a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spirits/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-montefiore/we-re-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spirits/#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 } } ] } ```