--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the…" description: "\"“Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives, otherwise it's wrong.”\" — Soren Kierkegaard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg" --- # Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in… ![“Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives, otherwise it's wrong.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg) > ““Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives, otherwise it's wrong.”” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoughts shape one's existence; without proper mental foundations, life feels misguided. **In simple terms:** Mind influences life. Key Takeaway Cultivate thoughtful inner life. Themes existence thought identity Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily reflection - decision making - creative work - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism selfhood Questions to Reflect On - What mental habits support your values? - How do you align thoughts with actions? A Different Perspective Thoughts alone may not guarantee correct actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lives Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-wrong-3111752/) [Man Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-thoughts-498926/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritually/) [Spiritually Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritually-man-3111750/) [Thoughts Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-building-3111751/) ## Related quotes > [A man after God's own heart is... a man who yearns to please God, a man who desires to grow spiritually, a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-george/a-man-after-god-s-own-heart-is-a-man-who-yearns-to-please-god-a-man/) [Jim George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-george/) > [To be alive spiritually man must have union with God and must be conscious of it. Apart from this union his religious life will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-be-alive-spiritually-man-must-have-union-with-god-and-must-be/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“The Words You Think “Your thoughts lay the foundation for your life’s experience. Are you utilizing your thoughts for your highest good or are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/the-words-you-think-your-thoughts-lay-the-foundation-for-your-life-s/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [The soul is a temple; and God is silently building it by night and by day. Precious thoughts are building it; disinterested love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-soul-is-a-temple-and-god-is-silently-building-it-by-night-and-by/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Books represent the accumulated workings of the human mind, the endless treasures of man's thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/books-represent-the-accumulated-workings-of-the-human-mind-the/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“There’s nothing of so infinite vexation As man’s own thoughts. John Webster, The White Devil”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-galbraith/there-s-nothing-of-so-infinite-vexation-as-man-s-own-thoughts-john/) [Robert Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-galbraith/) > [No man's thoughts are new, but the style of their expression is the never-failing novelty which cheers and refreshes men. If we were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-man-s-thoughts-are-new-but-the-style-of-their-expression-is-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The most immutable barrier in nature is between one man's thoughts and another's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-most-immutable-barrier-in-nature-is-between-one-man-s-thoughts/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [A man is never alone, not only because he is with himself and his own thoughts, but because he is with the Devil, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/a-man-is-never-alone-not-only-because-he-is-with-himself-and-his-own/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“A man's thoughts dye his soul, attributed to Marcus Aurelius”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/a-man-s-thoughts-dye-his-soul-attributed-to-marcus-aurelius/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Gratitude unifies the mind of man with the intelligence of substance, so that man's thoughts are received by the formless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/gratitude-unifies-the-mind-of-man-with-the-intelligence-of-substance/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [“A drunk man's words were a sobber man's thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/a-drunk-man-s-words-were-a-sobber-man-s-thoughts/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [“So many times a man's thoughts will waver, That it turns him back from honored paths, As false sight turns a beast, when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/so-many-times-a-man-s-thoughts-will-waver-that-it-turns-him-back-from/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [God is necessary, and therefore must exist...But I know that he does not and cannot exist...Don't you understand that a man with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-is-necessary-and-therefore-must-exist-but-i-know-that-he-does-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk. It is as when a conflagration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beware-when-the-great-god-lets-loose-a-thinker-on-this-planet-then-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Religion quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-religion-has-mandated-killing-others-as-a-requirement-for-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) [Browse all 58,737 Religion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives, otherwise it's wrong.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the-building-in-which-he-lives/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Religion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the-building-in-which-he-lives/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/soren-kierkegaard-578_religion_spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the_1943593.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives, otherwise it's wrong.” — Soren Kierkegaard", "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": "Soren Kierkegaard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the-building-in-which-he-lives/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/spiritually-a-man-s-thoughts-must-be-the-building-in-which-he-lives/#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 } } ] } ```