--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We could decide simply to remain absorbed…" description: "\"We could decide simply to remain absorbed in the mysterious, unformed, free-play of reality. This would be the choice of the mystic who seeks to exting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/stephen-batchelor-5328_abnegation_we-could-decide-simply-to-remain-absorbe_1996365.png" --- # We could decide simply to remain absorbed in the… ![“We could decide simply to remain absorbed in the mysterious, unformed, free-play of reality. This would be the choice of the mystic who seeks to extinguish himself in God or Nirvana—analogous perhaps to the tendency among artists to obliterate themselves with alcohol or opiates. But if we value…” quote by Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/stephen-batchelor-5328_abnegation_we-could-decide-simply-to-remain-absorbe_1996365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/stephen-batchelor-5328_abnegation_we-could-decide-simply-to-remain-absorbe_1996365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/stephen-batchelor-5328_abnegation_we-could-decide-simply-to-remain-absorbe_1996365.png) > “We could decide simply to remain absorbed in the mysterious, unformed, free-play of reality. This would be the choice of the mystic who seeks to extinguish himself in God or Nirvana—analogous perhaps to the tendency among artists to obliterate themselves with alcohol or opiates. But if we value our participation in a shared reality in which it makes sense to make sense, then such self-abnegation would deny a central element of our humanity: the need to speak and act, to share our experience with others.” [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing to stay in pure mystery denies our human need to communicate and act within shared reality. **In simple terms:** Mystery alone is insufficient for humanity. Key Takeaway Balance contemplation with participation. Themes mysticism humanity communication Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative work - therapy - community building Key Concepts existentialism psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What role does shared experience play in personal growth? - How can mystics stay engaged? A Different Perspective Risk of romanticizing self‑negation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abnegation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnegation/) [Alcohol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcohol/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Choice Mystic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-mystic-3488608/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sense/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mystic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystic/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Opiates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opiates/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-choice-2966322/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Abnegation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-abnegation-1218911/) [Sense Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-self/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Shared Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shared-reality-681060/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Tolerance can be exercised only by those who have well-grounded convictions (although it will not always be exercised even by them). For such people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/tolerance-can-be-exercised-only-by-those-who-have-well-grounded/) [Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/) > [The supreme blossoming of character lies (or reside) in renounciation (or renuncement) and abnegation of self ("abnégation de soi", Fr.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/the-supreme-blossoming-of-character-lies-or-reside-in-renounciation/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [There are daily martyrdoms occurring of more or less self-abnegation, and of which the world knows nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-are-daily-martyrdoms-occurring-of-more-or-less-self-abnegation/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [In place of practising wholesome self-abnegation, we ever make the wish the father to the thought: we receive as friendly that which agrees with,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/in-place-of-practising-wholesome-self-abnegation-we-ever-make-the/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [A saint addicted to excessive self-abnegation is a dangerous associate; he may infect you with poverty, and a stiffening of those joints which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-saint-addicted-to-excessive-self-abnegation-is-a-dangerous/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-in-even-the-most-selfish-passion-a-large-element-of-self/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Sometimes you wonder, I mean really wonder. I know we make our own reality, and we always have a choice, but how much is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/sometimes-you-wonder-i-mean-really-wonder-i-know-we-make-our-own/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [How one encounters reality is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/how-one-encounters-reality-is-a-choice/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Problem Is,,, Just The Distance Between Expectation And Reality, So Either Expect Less And Accept The Reality Or Expect A Lot And Turn It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/problem-is-just-the-distance-between-expectation-and-reality-so/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [I always try to make work that activates the viewer to be a co-producer of our shared reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olafur-eliasson/i-always-try-to-make-work-that-activates-the-viewer-to-be-a-co/) [Olafur Eliasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olafur-eliasson/) > [We don't live in a shared reality, we each live in a reality of our own, and causing upset is often the price of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/we-don-t-live-in-a-shared-reality-we-each-live-in-a-reality-of-our/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [An illusion shared by everyone becomes a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/an-illusion-shared-by-everyone-becomes-a-reality/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Even if each of our realities is unique, our common cultures and environments ensure that we share some fundamental principles. That is what enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-gladstone/even-if-each-of-our-realities-is-unique-our-common-cultures-and/) [Brooke Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-gladstone/) > [The only shared reality we have is things we have seen on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando-iannucci/the-only-shared-reality-we-have-is-things-we-have-seen-on-television/) [Armando Iannucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando-iannucci/) > [“The opposite of self-assertiveness is self-abnegation--abandoning or submerging your personal values, judgment, and interests. Some people tell themselves this is a virtue. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/the-opposite-of-self-assertiveness-is-self-abnegation-abandoning-or/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) ## More by Stephen Batchelor > [“Gotama did for the self what Copernicus did for the earth: he put it in its rightful place, despite its continuing to appear just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/gotama-did-for-the-self-what-copernicus-did-for-the-earth-he-put-it/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“We perceive the world in a particular way and confidently expect it to conform to its appearance. 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We have to constantly confront our deepest anxieties, our emptiness, our despair, our doubts; and there is nowhere for us to escape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/we-have-to-constantly-confront-our-deepest-anxieties-our-emptiness/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“There is nothing one can have that one cannot fear to lose. Instead of living life in order to have more abundantly, live life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/there-is-nothing-one-can-have-that-one-cannot-fear-to-lose-instead-of/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [Buddhism, I think, is probably facing the single most difficult transition from one historical epoch to another, which is really the transition to modernity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/buddhism-i-think-is-probably-facing-the-single-most-difficult/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [ \[Mindfulness\] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/mindfulness-is-not-concerned-with-anything-transcendent-or-divine-it/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [The art of dharma practice requires commitment, technical accomplishment, and imagination. As with all arts, we will fail to realize its full potential if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-art-of-dharma-practice-requires-commitment-technical/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [The denial of "self" challenges only the notion of a static self independent of body and mind-not the ordinary sense of ourself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-denial-of-self-challenges-only-the-notion-of-a-static-self/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [While 'Buddhism' suggests another belief system, 'dharma practice' suggests a course of action. The four ennobling truths are not propositions to believe; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/while-buddhism-suggests-another-belief-system-dharma-practice/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“The inner aim of thought is never fully realized until it ripens into vocal utterances through which others can have access- albeit indirect- to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-inner-aim-of-thought-is-never-fully-realized-until-it-ripens-into/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“Our religion, with its beliefs, rituals, and dogmas becomes another segment among all the other segments that constitute our linear and fragmented existence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/our-religion-with-its-beliefs-rituals-and-dogmas-becomes-another/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“For others, however, the significance of anxiety in disclosing a fundamental insight into human existence is grasped. At this point their consciences will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/for-others-however-the-significance-of-anxiety-in-disclosing-a/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“Wisdom that neglects method leads to excessive introversion and an inability to effectively communicate with others. Method without wisdom can produce well-intentioned but naive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/wisdom-that-neglects-method-leads-to-excessive-introversion-and-an/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [So the Buddha is presenting awakening not as a single mystical experience that may come upon us at some meditation, some private moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/so-the-buddha-is-presenting-awakening-not-as-a-single-mystical/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) [Explore all 101 Stephen Batchelor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) ## More Abnegation quotes > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [We all have to lead our own life, and we only have the one life, and the only people who can live life not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/we-all-have-to-lead-our-own-life-and-we-only-have-the-one-life-and/) [Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-in-even-the-most-selfish-passion-a-large-element-of-self/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-women-are-brought-up-from-the-very-earliest-years-in-the-belief/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“Dear David, I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen the way we planned it. I can’t do it. I know you’re just going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/dear-david-i-m-sorry-but-it-s-not-going-to-happen-the-way-we-planned/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I guess I grew suspicious of both. Power and knowledge," I say. "To the Abnegation, power should only be given to people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-guess-i-grew-suspicious-of-both-power-and-knowledge-i-say-to-the/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Your Abnegation is showing,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/your-abnegation-is-showing/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-also-remember-that-my-father-was-one-of-the-people-who-voted-to-get/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I will be my undoing If I become my obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-will-be-my-undoing-if-i-become-my-obsession/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [She tips her chin up and looks at me with that Abnegation stubbornness I know so well. She may have left them, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/she-tips-her-chin-up-and-looks-at-me-with-that-abnegation/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Power is violence, its promise, its deed. Power cares nothing for reason, nothing for justice, nothing for compassion. It is, in fact, the singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/power-is-violence-its-promise-its-deed-power-cares-nothing-for-reason/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Yeah, well," I say, "I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be." "That's not entirely true."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/yeah-well-i-say-i-left-abnegation-because-i-wasn-t-selfless-enough-no/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I knew by the way he looked at her that he held her in a higher regard than he held even himself. No selfishness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-knew-by-the-way-he-looked-at-her-that-he-held-her-in-a-higher/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“no wonder you left." Yeah," i say, rolling my eyes. " It was just because of the food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/no-wonder-you-left-yeah-i-say-rolling-my-eyes-it-was-just-because-of/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Few people who are born into Abnegation choose to leave it. When they do, we remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/few-people-who-are-born-into-abnegation-choose-to-leave-it-when-they/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) [Browse all 82 Abnegation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnegation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We could decide simply to remain absorbed in the mysterious, unformed, free-play of reality. This would be the choice of the mystic who seeks to extinguish himself in God or Nirvana—analogous perhaps to the tendency among artists to obliterate themselves with alcohol or opiates. 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