--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Close your senses and the imagination…" description: "\"Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us all, dulled by endless television reruns and by a society that reins in fantasy as so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png" --- # Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's… ![“Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us all, dulled by endless television reruns and by a society that reins in fantasy as something not to be trusted, something to be purged. But it's in there, deep inside, a spark waiting to set a touch-paper alight.” quote by Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png) > “Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us all, dulled by endless television reruns and by a society that reins in fantasy as something not to be trusted, something to be purged. But it's in there, deep inside, a spark waiting to set a touch-paper alight.” [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights how media dulls imagination, urging a rekindling of inner creativity. **In simple terms:** Media can mute imagination. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination deliberately. Themes imagination media creativity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - creative writing - media consumption - mindfulness practices Key Concepts cognitive distraction cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect imagination in a digital age? - What practices revive creative spark? A Different Perspective May underestimate media's benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Deep inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-inside/) [Endless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endless/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-trusted-5914144/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-comes-863802/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Reins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reins/) [Reruns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reruns/) [Senses Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses-imagination-817212/) [Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trusted/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [We also maintain - again with perfect truth - that mystery is more than half of beauty, the element of strangeness that stirs the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-le-gallienne/we-also-maintain-again-with-perfect-truth-that-mystery-is-more-than/) [Richard Le Gallienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-le-gallienne/) > [He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-is-the-true-enchanter-whose-spell-operates-not-upon-the-senses-but/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“He is indeed the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-is-indeed-the-true-enchanter-whose-spell-operates-not-upon-the/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Fear of error which everything recalls to me at every moment of the flight of my ideas, this mania for control, makes men prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/fear-of-error-which-everything-recalls-to-me-at-every-moment-of-the/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Perfume opens endless horizons. It appeals both to the senses and to the imagination. Like an enchantment, it works on an instinctive level and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nino-cerruti/perfume-opens-endless-horizons-it-appeals-both-to-the-senses-and-to/) [Nino Cerruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nino-cerruti/) > [I used to think that when I set out that doing the research was enough! But then the gaps would emerge that could only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-used-to-think-that-when-i-set-out-that-doing-the-research-was/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Imagination comes from yourself and can deceive you, but vision is a gift from outside yourself - like light striking on your closed eyelids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/imagination-comes-from-yourself-and-can-deceive-you-but-vision-is-a/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Imagination comes in after we have experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris-hunt/imagination-comes-in-after-we-have-experience/) [William Morris Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris-hunt/) > [“And loneliness, well, that’s where your imagination comes in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kirkpatrick/and-loneliness-well-that-s-where-your-imagination-comes-in/) [Jane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kirkpatrick/) > [Imagination which comes into play in falling in love is different from any other. Certainly in my case, and I've fallen in love all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wesley/imagination-which-comes-into-play-in-falling-in-love-is-different/) [Mary Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wesley/) > [“The fuel for imagination comes from the feeling in your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-cornell/the-fuel-for-imagination-comes-from-the-feeling-in-your-heart/) [Charles A. Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-cornell/) > [“Terror thrives on the bottomless pit of imagination, and the imagination comes to life with the passage of time. Time is its vintner, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nykanen/terror-thrives-on-the-bottomless-pit-of-imagination-and-the/) [Mark Nykanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nykanen/) > [Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/your-imagination-comes-to-life-and-this-you-think-is-where-creation/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“From imagination comes our vision of the world, our vision of our future, and most importantly our vision of ourselves, who we are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/from-imagination-comes-our-vision-of-the-world-our-vision-of-our/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [Imagination only comes when you privilege the subconscious, when you make delay and procrastination work for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/imagination-only-comes-when-you-privilege-the-subconscious-when-you/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More by Tahir Shah > [“As the head of an expedition, you can't pussyfoot around being polite to everyone. You have to show your teeth once in a while;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/as-the-head-of-an-expedition-you-can-t-pussyfoot-around-being-polite/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“The last thing we wanted was for the Machiguenga to be sad again. Sadness appeared to bring out their violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/the-last-thing-we-wanted-was-for-the-machiguenga-to-be-sad-again/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/if-hot-food-is-they-key-to-maintaining-an-expedition-s-stamina-then/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Normally I would have been the first to go in search of cannibal monks, particularly as I had heard of a similar tradition at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/normally-i-would-have-been-the-first-to-go-in-search-of-cannibal/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/inscribed-on-it-was-a-verse-from-the-quatrains-of-omar-khayyam-the/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/moroccan-traffic-isn-t-like-normal-traffic-it-s-armed-combat-a-war-of/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Prideep pointed to the flames of paraffin lamps as they came alive in the distance and cackled in awe at the experience. (…) I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/prideep-pointed-to-the-flames-of-paraffin-lamps-as-they-came-alive-in/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“The very fact that a Frenchman was prepared, after tow minutes of conversation, to be so friendly towards anyone, especially one who had come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/the-very-fact-that-a-frenchman-was-prepared-after-tow-minutes-of/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/the-taste-for-glory-can-make-ordinary-men-behave-in-extraordinary-ways/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“As anyone who's ever taken an Ethiopian bus knows, there is an unwritten rule that the windows must remain firmly closed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/as-anyone-who-s-ever-taken-an-ethiopian-bus-knows-there-is-an/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/in-some-warped-way-having-an-embalmed-body-with-us-made-perfect-sense/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Back at the guest house I tried to acclimatise. A travel-worn adventurer had once told me that leaning with one's head dangling over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/back-at-the-guest-house-i-tried-to-acclimatise-a-travel-worn/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/any-man-who-has-ever-led-an-army-an-expedition-or-a-group-of-boy/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [In some peculiar way, indeed, the rules were now beginning to seem quite logical. It was then I knew that I had been in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/in-some-peculiar-way-indeed-the-rules-were-now-beginning-to-seem/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/the-forest-did-not-tolerate-frailty-of-body-or-mind-show-your/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) [Explore all 140 Tahir Shah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us all, dulled by endless television reruns and by a society that reins in fantasy as something not to be trusted, something to be purged. But it's in there, deep inside, a spark waiting to set a touch-paper alight.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tahir Shah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-comes-alive-it-s-inside-us-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-comes-alive-it-s-inside-us-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/tahir-shah-3083_alive_close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-co_763003.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us all, dulled by endless television reruns…” — Tahir Shah", "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": "Tahir Shah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Close your senses and the imagination...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-comes-alive-it-s-inside-us-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/close-your-senses-and-the-imagination-comes-alive-it-s-inside-us-all/#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 } } ] } ```